Winning blow: rook to e6 (e1·6)
c9-20212naming 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 1010 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 g1, queen h5, rook e1, bishop f6, knight c3 f4, pawn a2 b2 c2 d2 g3 g5.
Black: king e8, rook d5 g8, bishop e6, knight a7, pawn c4 b7 f7.
12 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (29 against 19; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 56 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
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
23. Rxe6+ Kd7 24. Qxf7+ Kc8 25. Qxg8+
Why it works
- Best move. rook to e6 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- Spot on — queen to f7 (#3).
- Precise: queen to g8 is the top choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kd7, then Qxf7+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 23. Rxe6+ — rook to e6 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #473.
SP-473 · BastionGuard — Off-centre king (c/f), no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 681.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +47 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #473Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-473
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