Day 765: Uncastled king
Target rating: 1631
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. Mate in 3: rook to f1Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Mate in 3: queen to c5Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Mate in 3: bishop to f5 (e4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Mate in 3: knight to c6 (a5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Mate in 3: queen to e6 (f5·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Mate in 3: rook to g7 (g1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Mate in 3: rook to d8 (d3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Mate in 3: bishop to f5 (d3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Mate in 3: bishop to f6 (a1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Mate in 3: queen to g7 (d4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f3 (f2·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h7 (b1·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e4 (e2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h1 (g1·20)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c3 (e1·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: knight to d6 (c4·13)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Mate in 2: bishop to c3 (d4·2)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: queen to b7 (a7·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Mate in 2: bishop to f4 (d2)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: rook to c7 (c1·21)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Mate in 2: bishop to d1 (h5)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
22. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to h8 (h1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Mate in 2: queen to d8 (d7·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: queen to c8 (a8·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: queen to f7 (f4·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 766 →