Winning blow: rook to d8 (d1·20)
c9-27525naming 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 c1, rook d1 f5, bishop c5, pawn b2 c2 g2 h2 a4.
Black: king b8, queen d8, rook g7 a8, pawn e4 f4 g4 h4 a5 b6 c7.
9 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 8 points of material (18 against 26; 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 b8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, f.
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. Rxd8+ Kb7 27. Rxa8 Kxa8 28. Bf8 Rd7 29. Rxf4
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d8 keeps the pressure (+2.6).
- A brilliant blow: rook to a8, and you stand better (+2.7).
- A natural move: bishop to f8.
- Best move. rook to f4 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kb7, then Rxa8 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 26. Rxd8+ — rook to d8 (capture) with check
- Kb7 — king to b7
- 27. Rxa8 — rook to a8 (capture)
- Kxa8 — king to a8 (capture)
- 28. Bf8 — bishop to f8
- Rd7 — rook to d7
- 29. Rxf4 — rook to f4 (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 #541.
SP-541 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 520.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #541Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-541
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