Winning blow: bishop to b1 (f5)
c9-10105naming 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 e1, queen e5, rook f1, bishop f5, pawn a2 d2 e2 h2 f3 c4 g5.
Black: king d8, queen b1, rook b8 g8, bishop c6, knight h5, pawn c5 g6 a7 f7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (24 against 29; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 2 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 7 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Bxb1 Rxb1+ 22. Kf2 Rb6 23. Re1 Bd7 24. Qxc5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b1 keeps the pressure (+3.7).
- king to f2 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: rook to e1.
- Best move. queen to c5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxb1+, then Kf2 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 21. Bxb1 — bishop to b1 (capture)
- Rxb1+ — rook to b1 (capture) with check
- 22. Kf2 — king to f2
- Rb6 — rook to b6
- 23. Re1 — rook to e1
- Bd7 — bishop to d7
- 24. Qxc5 — queen to c5 (capture)
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #872.
SP-872 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on a1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 93.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #872Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-872
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