Winning blow: rook to c8 (c1·8)
c9-22641naming 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, rook c1 h1, knight d3 e3, pawn e2 f2 g3 h4.
Black: king e8, rook a4 g8, bishop h8, knight d4, pawn g4 b5 d6 d7 f7 h7.
9 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (20 against 22; 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 e8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, d.
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
22. Rc8+ Ke7 23. Nd5+ Ke6 24. N3f4+ Ke5 25. Rxg8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c8 keeps the pressure (+6.6).
- Spot on — knight to d5 (+6.5).
- Precise: knight to f4 is the top choice (+6.5).
- Great move! rook to g8 keeps the pressure (+6.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ke7, then Nd5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Rc8+ — rook to c8 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 23. Nd5+ — knight to d5 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 24. N3f4+ — knight to f4 with check
- Ke5 — king to e5
- 25. Rxg8 — rook to g8 (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 #3.
SP-3 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: d2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 947.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 72 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +20 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #3Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-3
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