Day 693: Uncastled king
Target rating: 1346
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: pawn to a7 (b6·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to a8 (a1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: pawn to f4 (g3·13)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Winning blow: pawn to b4 (a3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: knight to b5 (c3·14)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: knight to c4 (d6·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: rook to d3 (f3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f1 (e1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: rook to c7 (g7·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: rook to a7 (a1·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d7 (b8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to d4 (e3·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to g8 (g1·9)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c4 (d3·40)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to f5 (e4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g8 (h7·19)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: queen to e7 (e6·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: knight to c5 (b3·12)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: queen to d5 (d4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: rook to f6 (f5·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e5 (c5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: knight to f6 (h5·14)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: knight to d7 (b6·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: rook to f8 (f5·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: bishop to d5 (f3·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 694 →