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Chess960 puzzles: Only move

Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.

An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.

6689 puzzles

Fork: bishop to e3
Shuffle Rating 600
Mate in 2: queen to d5
Shuffle Rating 602
Mate in 1: queen to e1
Shuffle Rating 604
Back-rank mate in 3 on g1
Shuffle Rating 606
Mate in 2: rook to a1
Shuffle Rating 607
Mate in 1: rook to e1
Shuffle Rating 607
Mate in 1: rook to h8
Shuffle Rating 609
Mate in 2: rook to d8
Shuffle Rating 609
Mate in 1: rook to f1
Shuffle Rating 609
Mate in 1: queen to h2 (h4)
Shuffle Rating 610
Mate in 1: rook to h1
Shuffle Rating 611
Back-rank mate in 2 on a1
Shuffle Rating 612
Back-rank mate in 2 on e8
Shuffle Rating 616
Mate in 2: rook to c1
Shuffle Rating 617
Mate in 2: queen to a8
Shuffle Rating 617
Mate in 1: queen to f1
Shuffle Rating 619
Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b7 (c5·3)
Shuffle Rating 620
Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g7 (h5·3)
Shuffle Rating 620
Attack on the uncastled king: knight to h7 (g5·9)
Shuffle Rating 620
Mate in 2: queen to e1
Shuffle Rating 620
Mate in 1: rook to h1 (d1)
Shuffle Rating 620
Mate in 1: queen to f8
Shuffle Rating 620
Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b7 (c5·11)
Shuffle Rating 620
Mate in 1: rook to e8
Shuffle Rating 621

Defence