Winning blow: bishop to a6 (d3·3)
c9-07890naming 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 1290 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 c1, queen e2, rook g1 b3, bishop a1 d3, knight g3, pawn a2 c2 f2 g2 h2 e3 b4 d4.
Black: king b7, queen d7, rook b8 h8, bishop h4 a8, knight d6, pawn d5 b6 e6 a7 c7 f7 g7.
15 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 12.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (36 against 35; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 12, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
12. Ba6+ Kc6 13. b5+ Nxb5 14. Bxb5+
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to a6 keeps the pressure (+7.0).
- Well found: pawn to b5 (+7.1).
- Precise: bishop to b5 is the top choice (+6.6).
- You win decisive material (+6.6).
- If instead Kc6, then b5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 12. Ba6+ — bishop to a6 with check
- Kc6 — king to c6
- 13. b5+ — pawn to b5 with check
- Nxb5 — knight to b5 (capture)
- 14. Bxb5+ — bishop to b5 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Check chase
Every move is a check — the king is chased into losing ground.
In a check chase every one of your moves is a check, so the opponent never gets a free second. The king is herded across the board until it loses a piece or walks into a decisive blow. Such lines are the easiest to calculate: each check allows only a handful of replies, so try them all. Make it a habit to start calculating any sharp position with the checks — they are the most forcing moves on the board.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #802.
SP-802 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 151.
The engine's main line opens with e3.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #802Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 009 · SP-802
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads