Day 480: Castling to safety
Target rating: 1222
Lesson of the day
Castling to safety: the only escape from the attack is to castle — one move whisks the king to g1 or c1 and brings the rook into play as a bonus. In Chess960 this leap can cross half the board, which is exactly why it slips out of sight. Whenever your king is under pressure, ask first: can I still castle? The typical blunder is throwing that right away with a careless king or rook move.
Warm-up
1. Winning blow: queen to f6 (f3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c8 (f5·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to h7 (b1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Winning blow: queen to h7 (d3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: rook to b7 (b6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: queen to c6 (b5·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to g7 (g1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Winning blow: rook to c7 (c3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: queen to g8 (g6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: queen to b7 (h1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Castling-960 to the rescue on b8 (e8)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
12. Castling-960 to the rescue on b8 (e8·2)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
13. Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (e1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Castling-960 to the rescue on b1 (e1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Castling-960 to the rescue on g1 (d1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Mate in 2: knight to b8Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Mate in 2: knight to f6 (h7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Mate in 2: knight to e6 (d4·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Mate in 2: knight to f7 (g5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Mate in 2: queen to g6 (d3·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f6 (a1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Mate in 2: fork on f6 (h5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Mate in 2: rook to e1 (e4·2)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
24. Mate in 2: rook to b7 (b8·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c7 (d5·28)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 481 →