Winning blow: rook to g8 (g5·2)
c9-20409naming 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 c1, queen h7, rook d1 g5, knight c2 d3, pawn b2 d2 h2 c3 f5 c6.
Black: king d8, queen a2, rook a5, knight c4, pawn a4 b7 d7 e7.
12 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (31 against 21; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 42 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): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, e.
The White king has 0 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Rg8+ Kc7 22. Qxe7 Ne5 23. Nxe5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g8 keeps the pressure (#9).
- Well found: queen to e7 (#7).
- Precise: knight to e5 is the top choice (#7).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Kc7, then Qxe7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Rg8+ — rook to g8 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 #189.
SP-189 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 776.
The engine's main line opens with Nab3, bringing the knight out to b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #189Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-189
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