Winning blow: pawn to e6 (d5·19)
c9-09604naming 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 1280 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 b1, queen b4, bishop h1, knight c3, pawn b2 c2 d2 a5 d5 g6.
Black: king b7, bishop d7, pawn g5 b6 e6 a7 c7.
10 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 13 points of material (21 against 8; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 29, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: 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
29. dxe6+ Bc6 30. Bxc6+ Kxc6 31. g7
Why it works
- Best move. pawn to e6 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- Spot on — bishop to c6 (#3).
- A natural move: pawn to g7.
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead c6, then Qe7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. dxe6+ — pawn to e6 (capture) 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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #571.
SP-571 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on g1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
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: e2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 481.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #571Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-571
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