Winning blow: rook to h8 (h1·10)
c9-19640naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1280 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
This position hides a concrete tactic that wins material or mates. Start with the most forcing candidate moves — checks, captures and threats — and calculate each to a clear end before choosing; the winning line is usually the one the opponent cannot meet.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king f1, queen e6, rook h1, bishop f3 f4, knight g5, pawn a2 b2 f2 g3 g4 c5.
Black: king g8, rook f8 h8, knight c4 f7, pawn b5 a7 e7 g7.
12 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 9 points of material (29 against 20; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 56 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Rxh8+ Kxh8 22. Qxe7 Nxg5 23. Qxf8+
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h8 keeps the pressure (#6).
- Spot on — queen to e7 (#6).
- Precise: queen to f8 is the top choice (#5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxh8, then Nxf7+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 21. Rxh8+ — rook to h8 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #213.
SP-213 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and h1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on f2, g2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 650.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #213Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-213
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads