Winning blow: bishop to d4 (f2·6)
c9-09351naming 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.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
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.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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 e4, rook b1, bishop f2 h3, knight c3, pawn a2 b2 c2 d2 h2 g3.
Black: king b8, queen h8, rook d8, bishop f8 g8, knight d4 b6, pawn g6 a7 b7 c7 d7 h7.
12 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 12.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (29 against 32; 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 b8.
It is White to move on move 12, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f — 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. Bxd4 Bg7 13. Qe7 Bxa2 14. Bxg7
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d4 keeps the pressure (+3.9).
- queen to e7 develops smoothly.
- Strong! bishop to g7 is the sharp choice (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Bg7, then Qe7 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 12. Bxd4 — bishop to d4 (capture)
- Bg7 — bishop to g7
- 13. Qe7 — queen to e7
- Bxa2 — bishop to a2 (capture)
- 14. Bxg7 — bishop to g7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
Queen fork
The queen lands on a square from which it attacks two targets at once.
The queen strikes along files, ranks and diagonals, so she forks more often than any other piece. Look for a square where the queen attacks two undefended targets at once — most often a check combined with a loose piece. Diagonal blows are especially venomous: a slanting check that also eyes a rook in the corner is the classic of the genre. Remember that both targets must be unprotected, or your «fork» is just a shot into the air.
Development punish
Half the army still asleep — the attack breaks through.
Punishing lazy development: half of your opponent's army is asleep on its starting squares, which means you outnumber him where the fight is. Count not the pieces on the board but the pieces in play — if five or more of his pieces have never moved, look for a forcing attack. The sign is a development lead plus open lines toward his king. Strike immediately: give him two quiet moves and the advantage evaporates.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #286.
SP-286 · 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 e1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 580.
The engine's main line opens with Nc3, bringing the knight out to c3.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #286Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-286
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