Winning blow: rook to g8 (g1·16)
c9-25171naming 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 1700 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 b1, rook g1, bishop e3 c6, knight e5 f5, pawn b2 f4 c5.
Black: king b8, queen b3, bishop c7, knight b5, pawn h5 a7 h7.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (20 against 18; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 29, with 42 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, h.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
29. Rg8+ Qxg8 30. Nd7+ Kc8 31. Ne7+ Kd8 32. Nxg8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g8 keeps the pressure (+7.4).
- Well found: knight to d7 (+7.7).
- Strong! knight to e7 is the sharp choice (+7.5).
- Great move! knight to g8 keeps the pressure (+7.6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qxg8, then Nd7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. Rg8+ — rook to g8 with check
- Qxg8 — queen to g8 (capture)
- 30. Nd7+ — knight to d7 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 31. Ne7+ — knight to e7 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 32. Nxg8 — knight to g8 (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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #741.
SP-741 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 410.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #741Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-741
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