Winning blow: rook to h2 (h1·5)
c9-22405naming 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 1200 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 d3, rook e1 h1, bishop d5, pawn g3 c4 f4 b5.
Black: king h6, queen h2, rook d6 f8, bishop a1, pawn b6 g6 e7 h7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 9 points of material (17 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d3, the black king on h6.
It is White to move on move 28, with 20 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, h.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
28. Rxh2+ Kg7 29. Rxe7+ Kf6 30. Ra7 h5 31. Rxa1
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h2 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Well found: rook to e7 (+5.3).
- A natural move: rook to a7.
- Best move. rook to a1 is exactly what the engine plays (+5.5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kg7, then Rxe7+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 28. Rxh2+ — rook to h2 (capture) with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 29. Rxe7+ — rook to e7 (capture) with check
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 30. Ra7 — rook to a7
- h5 — pawn to h5
- 31. Rxa1 — rook to a1 (capture)
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 #583.
SP-583 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: c2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 274.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #583Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-583
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads