Winning blow: rook to e8 (e1·15)
c9-26112naming 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 h1, rook e1, bishop g2 c7, knight c4, pawn c2 f2 b3 f6.
Black: king a8, queen g4, rook a2, bishop e8, pawn h2 d6 g6 b7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (18 against 21; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h1, the black king on a8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 39 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, g, h.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Rxe8+ Ka7 27. Bb6+ Ka6 28. Ra8+ Kb5 29. Rxa2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e8 keeps the pressure (+6.3).
- Well found: bishop to b6 (+6.7).
- Strong! rook to a8 is the sharp choice (+7.0).
- Great move! rook to a2 keeps the pressure (+6.7).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ka7, then Bb6+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 26. Rxe8+ — rook to e8 (capture) with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 27. Bb6+ — bishop to b6 with check
- Ka6 — king to a6
- 28. Ra8+ — rook to a8 with check
- Kb5 — king to b5
- 29. Rxa2 — rook to a2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #731.
SP-731 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 417.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #731Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-731
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