Winning blow: bishop to b3 (c4)
c9-08988naming 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 1200 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 e2, queen d7, bishop c4, knight e6, pawn h2 g3 a4 f4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen f7, rook f8, bishop h8, knight b3, pawn a5 c6 g6 b7 e7 h7.
9 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 6 points of material (20 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 29, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, c.
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
29. Bxb3 Bxe5 30. Nc5 Qxb3 31. Nxb3 Bxf4 32. Nc5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b3 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- Well found: knight to c5 (+5.3).
- Strong! knight to b3 is the sharp choice (+5.3).
- Best move. knight to c5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.8).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Bxe5, then Nc5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. Bxb3 — bishop to b3 (capture)
- Bxe5 — bishop to e5 (capture)
- 30. Nc5 — knight to c5
- Qxb3 — queen to b3 (capture)
- 31. Nxb3 — knight to b3 (capture)
- Bxf4 — bishop to f4 (capture)
- 32. Nc5 — knight to c5
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #511.
SP-511 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 544.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 51, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #511Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-511
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