Winning blow: rook to d6 (d1·12)
c9-26742naming 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 b1, rook a1 d1, bishop f2 c4, pawn a2 b2 g2 h2 f3 b5.
Black: king b7, rook a8 e8, bishop d6, knight f4 f6, pawn a5 e5 b6 f7 g7 h7.
11 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (22 against 25; 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 b7.
It is White to move on move 18, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — 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 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
18. Rxd6 Rac8 19. Rxb6+ Ka8 20. Rc6 e4 21. Bxf7
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d6 keeps the pressure (+2.5).
- Spot on — rook to b6 (+2.9).
- A natural move: rook to c6.
- Best move. bishop to f7 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.2).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Rac8, then Rxb6+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 18. Rxd6 — rook to d6 (capture)
- Rac8 — rook to c8
- 19. Rxb6+ — rook to b6 (capture) with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 20. Rc6 — rook to c6
- e4 — pawn to e4
- 21. Bxf7 — bishop to f7 (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 #922.
SP-922 · RampartScout — A knight in the corner and the king out on the wing (b/g); like every family, it is closed under mirror twins.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and c1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
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: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 37.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 97 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +7 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #922Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-922
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads