Day 720: Castling to safety
Target rating: 1543
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: king to h1 (g1·35)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: king to b2 (c3·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: king to c1 (b1·23)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Attack on the uncastled king: king to d1 (c1·11)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: pawn to e3 (e2·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: king to f1 (e1·23)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to g1 (f3·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Attack on the uncastled king: king to h1 (g1·10)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f4 (f2·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: king to d4Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (e1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Castling-960 to the rescue on h1 (g1·14)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (d1·18)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Castling-960 to the rescue on h1 (f1·13)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Castling-960 to the rescue on c1 (e1·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: rook to b1 (g1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to f5 (e3·25)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: queen to d6 (d4·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: rook to g4 (a4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to f6 (f5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d3 (a6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: rook to e1 (a1·9)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e3 (c4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: bishop to e2 (d3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: queen to a6 (e2·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 721 →