Winning blow: bishop to c5 (g1·5)
c9-06382naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1060 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
This position hides a concrete tactic that wins material or mates. Start with the most forcing candidate moves — checks, captures and threats — and calculate each to a clear end before choosing; the winning line is usually the one the opponent cannot meet.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king e1, rook b1 f1, bishop g1 c2, knight g3, pawn a2 b2 d2 e2 h2 c4 f4.
Black: king c8, queen c5, rook d8 f8, bishop c7 g8, knight b6, pawn f5 a7 b7 e7 h7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 12.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 7 points of material (26 against 33; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 12, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
12. Bxc5 Nxc4 13. Bxe7 Nxd2 14. Bxd8
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c5 keeps the pressure (+2.4).
- Spot on — bishop to e7 (+2.5).
- Precise: bishop to d8 is the top choice (+2.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxc4, then Bxe7 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 12. Bxc5 — bishop to c5 (capture)
- Nxc4 — knight to c4 (capture)
- 13. Bxe7 — bishop to e7 (capture)
- Nxd2 — knight to d2 (capture)
- 14. Bxd8 — bishop to d8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Bishop fork
The bishop attacks two pieces on crossing diagonals at once.
A bishop fork happens when the bishop lands where two diagonals cross and attacks a target on each of them. Both victims must stand on the bishop's color — that is the first thing to verify. Scan for loose enemy pieces that share the color of squares with their own king or queen. A common sin is placing your own pieces on squares of one color and handing your opponent exactly this geometry.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
Relative pin
A piece shields a more valuable one behind it — moving it loses material.
In a relative pin the piece shields not its king but something valuable behind it, usually the queen. Moving is legal but costly, because the piece behind falls. Look for three units on one line: your long-range piece, a cheaper enemy piece, and an expensive one hiding behind. Beware the classic trap — a relatively pinned piece can still move with check or a bigger threat, so verify before you cash in.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #333.
SP-333 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on c1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 344.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 4 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +50 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #333Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 006 · SP-333
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