Winning blow: rook to c5 (a5)
c9-23368naming 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 1560 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 d2, queen a1, rook a5, bishop a6 a7, pawn b2 f2 b3 e3 g3 h4.
Black: king c7, queen f7, rook b4 c8, knight d6, pawn g4 f5 d7 h7.
11 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 26 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on d2, the black king on c7.
It is White to move on move 30, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 7 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Rc5+ Kd8 31. Qa5+ Ke7 32. Qxb4
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c5 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- Spot on — queen to a5 (+6.3).
- Precise: queen to b4 is the top choice (+7.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kd8, then Qa5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 30. Rc5+ — rook to c5 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 31. Qa5+ — queen to a5 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 32. Qxb4 — queen to b4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #282.
SP-282 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 581.
The engine's main line opens with Nb3, bringing the knight out to b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #282Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-282
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