Winning blow: bishop to f2 (e1)
c9-09602naming 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 970 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 f1, queen g5, rook d1, bishop b1 e1, knight e2 a4, pawn a2 b2 c3 d4.
Black: king f8, queen h7, rook f6, bishop b8 e8, pawn e4 h5 b6 c6 a7 e7 f7.
11 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (30 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 19, with 7 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, f, h.
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
19. Bf2 h4 20. Qg4 h3 21. Qxe4
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to f2 keeps the pressure (+1.5).
- queen to g4 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to e4 is the top choice (+1.6).
- You reach a winning position (+1.6).
- If instead h4, then Qg4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 19. Bf2 — bishop to f2
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
Blocking save
Block the check with tempo — and turn the game around.
The blocking save: you interpose a piece against the check — not passively, but with tempo, so the blocker creates a threat of its own. Such a block turns defense into attack. Whenever you are checked, compare all three replies — capture, move the king, interpose — and among the interpositions hunt for the one that counterattacks. The mistake is automatically stepping aside with the king when an active block would have turned the game around.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #88.
SP-88 · 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 f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 877.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #88Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-88
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