Winning blow: rook to c1 (f1·5)
c9-23453naming 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 1750 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 e2, queen b3, rook f1 c7, bishop h6 d7, pawn a2 b2 d4.
Black: king a7, queen b8, rook a8 h8, knight g6, pawn d5 a6 d6 b7 e7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (28 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on a7.
It is White to move on move 28, with 63 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): c, f, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
28. Rfc1 Rxh6 29. R1c6 Qxc7 30. Rxc7
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c1 keeps the pressure (+6.9).
- Well found: rook to c6 (+8.3).
- Strong! rook to c7 is the sharp choice (+11.4).
- You win decisive material (+11.4).
- If instead Rxh6, then R1c6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28. Rfc1 — rook to c1
- Rxh6 — rook to h6 (capture)
- 29. R1c6 — rook to c6
- Qxc7 — queen to c7 (capture)
- 30. Rxc7 — rook to c7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #471.
SP-471 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on g1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 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: c2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 674.
The engine's main line opens with d3.
Morozov Balance Index: 100 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: 0 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 50.0% (95% CI 36.6–63.4%).
Explore position #471Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-471
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads