Day 329: Uncastled king
Target rating: 878
Lesson of the day
Punishing the uncastled king: your opponent delayed castling, and now his king is stuck on its starting square under fire. In Chess960 this is deadlier than in classical chess — the king may start in the center or near the edge, and the familiar defensive setups simply do not apply. The signs: the victim still holds castling rights, and the files toward his king are half-open. Open lines before the king manages to hide.
Warm-up
1. Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to f1 (g1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: knight to h3 (f2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h8 (a1·20)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f5 (e4·56)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to g3 (f2·16)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: queen to d4 (g1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c5 (d4·49)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c5 (a7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: knight to c4Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c6 (h1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c5 (d4·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c4 (d2·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e4 (c3·17)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (h4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: queen to g6 (g4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: rook to b1 (a1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: pawn to e5 (e4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: queen to e1 (g3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: rook to h1 (g1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Winning blow: queen to d4 (h8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: queen to b7 (b8·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: queen to h8 (g7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: rook to g1 (h1·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: knight to c6 (e5·11)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 330 →