Winning blow: rook to e7 (b7·2)
c9-27368naming 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 d1, queen d4, rook b7, knight f6, pawn h2 g4 e5.
Black: king c6, queen e7, rook d8, knight g2 c8, pawn a5 d5 g5 e6 h7.
7 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (20 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 d1, the black king on c6.
It is White to move on move 30, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, d.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Rxe7 Nxe7 31. Qc3+ Kb6 32. Qb2+ Kc7 33. Qxg2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e7 keeps the pressure (+3.9).
- Spot on — queen to c3 (+4.4).
- Precise: queen to b2 is the top choice (+4.6).
- Best move. queen to g2 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.7).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxe7, then Qc3+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 30. Rxe7 — rook to e7 (capture)
- Nxe7 — knight to e7 (capture)
- 31. Qc3+ — queen to c3 with check
- Kb6 — king to b6
- 32. Qb2+ — queen to b2 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 33. Qxg2 — queen to g2 (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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #842.
SP-842 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, 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 e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2, c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 117.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #842Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-842
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