Winning blow: rook to f6 (f1·14)
c9-28136naming 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 1790 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 g1, queen g6, rook a1 f1, bishop c1, knight g5, pawn a2 b2 g2 c3 g3 d4 e4 h4.
Black: king g8, queen g4, rook a8 f8, bishop d7, knight f6, pawn a5 d5 h5 c6 b7 e7 g7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (33 against 32; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 13, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
13. Rxf6 Qxg5 14. Rxf8+ Rxf8 15. Bxg5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to f6 keeps the pressure (+7.7).
- Well found: rook to f8 (+7.9).
- Precise: bishop to g5 is the top choice (+8.1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qxg5, then Rxf8+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 13. Rxf6 — rook to f6 (capture)
- Qxg5 — queen to g5 (capture)
- 14. Rxf8+ — rook to f8 (capture) with check
- Rxf8 — rook to f8 (capture)
- 15. Bxg5 — bishop to g5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Zwischenzug
Before the obvious recapture — an in-between move that wins more.
A zwischenzug means refusing the obvious reply — usually a recapture — and playing a stronger move with tempo first. Typically it is a check or a deadly threat the opponent must answer, after which you calmly take what was hanging anyway. The sign: inside a sequence of exchanges you own a check or a threat that will not run away. Whenever a line looks forced, ask what poison you can slip in between the moves.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #596.
SP-596 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 270.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 93 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +11 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #596Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-596
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