Winning blow: rook to b6 (b3·5)
c9-22450naming 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 1290 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 b1, rook b3, bishop g1, knight e7, pawn e2 h2 f3 f4.
Black: king a6, rook f8, bishop c4 h8, pawn d6 g6 h7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (15 against 14; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a6.
It is White to move on move 25, with 30 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, g.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
25. Rb6+ Ka7 26. Rb4+ Ka6 27. Rxc4
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b6 keeps the pressure (+5.1).
- Spot on — rook to b4 (+5.2).
- Precise: rook to c4 is the top choice (+5.3).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Ka7, then Rb4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Rb6+ — rook to b6 with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 26. Rb4+ — rook to b4 with check
- Ka6 — king to a6
- 27. Rxc4 — rook to c4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #911.
SP-911 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: e2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 48.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #911Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-911
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