Winning blow: bishop to c5 (e7)
c9-08913naming 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 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 f3, rook c7, bishop d5 e7, knight d3, pawn d2 h2 g3.
Black: king g7, rook b8, knight b2, pawn b3 a5.
8 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 7 points of material (17 against 10; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f3, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 33, with 46 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 7 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33. Bc5+ Kg6 34. Be4+ Kg5 35. Be3+
Why it works
- Best move. bishop to c5 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- Spot on — bishop to e4 (#4).
- Precise: bishop to e3 is the top choice (#3).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Kf6, then Rf7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. Bc5+ — bishop to c5 with check
Types in this puzzle
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #411.
SP-411 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 737.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #411Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-411
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