Winning blow: rook to a1 (b1·4)
c9-22531naming 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 g2, queen e7, rook b1 h1, bishop d3, pawn f3 g4 h4.
Black: king a3, queen a8, rook b8 h8, pawn c2 b4 d4 e6 c7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (25 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on a3.
It is White to move on move 34, with 48 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, c, d, e.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34. Ra1+ Kb3 35. Qc5 c1=Q 36. Qxc1 Qxf3+ 37. Kxf3
Why it works
- Great move! rook to a1 keeps the pressure (#8).
- queen to c5 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to c1 is the top choice (#5).
- Great move! king to f3 keeps the pressure (#4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kb3, then Qc5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Ra1+ — rook to a1 with check
- Kb3 — king to b3
- 35. Qc5 — queen to c5
- c1=Q — pawn to c1
- 36. Qxc1 — queen to c1 (capture)
- Qxf3+ — queen to f3 (capture) with check
- 37. Kxf3 — king to f3 (capture)
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 #481.
SP-481 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 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.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 571.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 99 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +5 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 51.0% (95% CI 37.6–64.3%).
Explore position #481Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-481
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