Winning blow: rook to b8 (b2·2)
c9-26556naming 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 g1, rook b2 h3, knight f3 e4, pawn f2 g2 a3 h4 d6.
Black: king g7, rook g6 b8, bishop a5, knight c6, pawn d3 f4 h5 a7.
10 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (21 against 20; 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 g7.
It is White to move on move 33, with 33 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, c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33. Rxb8 Nxb8 34. Nfg5 d2 35. Rd3 Nd7 36. Nxd2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b8 keeps the pressure (+3.8).
- knight to g5 develops smoothly.
- Strong! rook to d3 is the sharp choice (+4.1).
- Best move. knight to d2 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.2).
- You reach a winning position (+4.2).
- If instead Nxb8, then Nfg5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. Rxb8 — rook to b8 (capture)
- Nxb8 — knight to b8 (capture)
- 34. Nfg5 — knight to g5
- d2 — pawn to d2
- 35. Rd3 — rook to d3
- Nd7 — knight to d7
- 36. Nxd2 — knight to d2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #153.
SP-153 · RampartScout — Wing king plus a rim knight, and only 72 positions qualify — the rarest pattern of all.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 809.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #153Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-153
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