Winning blow: rook to g1 (f1·6)
c9-27222naming 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 c1, queen f5, rook f1, pawn a2 b4 e4.
Black: king g7, queen h4, rook a8, knight b6, pawn b5 d6 a7 c7.
6 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (17 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 c1, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 27, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, d.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
27. Rg1+ Kh8 28. Qg6 Qf4+ 29. Kb1 Qc1+ 30. Rxc1
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g1 keeps the pressure (#4).
- Well found: queen to g6 (#3).
- Strong! king to b1 is the sharp choice (#2).
- Best move. rook to c1 is exactly what the engine plays (#1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kh8, then Qg6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 27. Rg1+ — rook to g1 with check
- Kh8 — king to h8
- 28. Qg6 — queen to g6
- Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- 29. Kb1 — king to b1
- Qc1+ — queen to c1 with check
- 30. Rxc1 — rook to c1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #182.
SP-182 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 774.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 78 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +18 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #182Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-182
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads