Winning blow: rook to h6 (h2)
c9-27532naming 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 f1, queen e5, rook h2, bishop a1, pawn a2 d2 f2 b3 f6.
Black: king h7, queen h6, rook g8, bishop a8, knight g2 c8, pawn c4 c5 d5 a6 e6 f7.
9 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 7 points of material (22 against 29; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on h7.
It is White to move on move 29, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, e.
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
29. Rxh6+ Kxh6 30. Qh2+ Kg6 31. Qxg2+ Kf5 32. Qxg8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h6 keeps the pressure (+6.8).
- Well found: queen to h2 (+6.8).
- Strong! queen to g2 is the sharp choice (+6.9).
- Best move. queen to g8 is exactly what the engine plays (+7.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kxh6, then Qh2+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 29. Rxh6+ — rook to h6 (capture) with check
- Kxh6 — king to h6 (capture)
- 30. Qh2+ — queen to h2 with check
- Kg6 — king to g6
- 31. Qxg2+ — queen to g2 (capture) with check
- Kf5 — king to f5
- 32. Qxg8 — queen to g8 (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.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
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 #34.
SP-34 · RampartGuard — Both knights begin on inner files while the king sits on the wing (b/g); mirror twins stay together in this family.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on e1 and h1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on f2 is defended by the king alone — the classic soft spot of the standard setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 919.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 89 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #34Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-34
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