Winning blow: rook to c6 (c8)
c9-22785naming 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 1420 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 g1, queen g5, rook e1 c8, bishop d2, pawn a2 g2 d4 f4 c5.
Black: king h7, queen a8, rook b7 h8, bishop b8, knight f8, pawn h4 a5 d5 c6.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (27 against 29; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on h7.
It is White to move on move 30, with 46 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Rxc6 Bd6 31. Rxd6
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c6 keeps the pressure (#6).
- Well found: rook to d6 (#5).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Bd6, then Rxd6 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 30. Rxc6 — rook to c6 (capture)
- Bd6 — bishop to d6
- 31. Rxd6 — rook to d6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
X-ray
A long-range piece acts through an enemy piece on the same line.
An X-ray lets a long-range piece act through an enemy piece standing on the same line — its power shines straight through. The square behind looks safe or defended, and that illusion is exactly what the tactic exploits. Check your rooks, bishops and queens: is a key square or a target hiding behind an enemy piece on their line? When counting captures on a square, include the X-ray attackers — they join the fight the moment the line opens.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #868.
SP-868 · ThroneScout — A knight starts on the edge (a/h) and the king sits centrally on d or e; the mirror twin stays in this family too.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 94.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 0 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +75 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 59.0% (95% CI 45.2–71.5%).
Explore position #868Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-868
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