Winning blow: bishop to g5 (e3·3)
c9-09252naming 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 d1, queen d2, rook h1 a2, bishop f1 e3, knight c1 d3, pawn g2 c4 h5.
Black: king e8, queen e4, rook d8 h8, bishop g5 f7, knight b6, pawn c5 e6 h6 a7 g7.
11 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (34 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 d1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, e.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22. Bxg5 hxg5 23. Qxg5 Nxc4 24. Rxa7
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to g5 keeps the pressure (+2.4).
- Well found: queen to g5 (+2.5).
- Precise: rook to a7 is the top choice (+2.6).
- You reach a winning position (+2.6).
- If instead hxg5, then Qxg5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Bxg5 — bishop to g5 (capture)
- hxg5 — pawn to g5 (capture)
- 23. Qxg5 — queen to g5 (capture)
- Nxc4 — knight to c4 (capture)
- 24. Rxa7 — rook to a7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
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 #510.
SP-510 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on b1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
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 548.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #510Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-510
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads