Winning blow: bishop to a5 (e1)
c9-10698naming 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 920 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 b2, queen g1, rook c7, bishop e1 e2, knight b5, pawn g2 h2 b3 e3 d4 f4.
Black: king b8, queen f8, rook a5 a8, knight e4 d7, pawn d5 f5 b6 e6 g6 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (29 against 31; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b2, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 39 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): a, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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. Bxa5 Rxa5 23. Rxd7
Why it works
- Brilliant! The bishop on a5 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+2.7).
- Spot on — rook to d7 (+3.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxa5, then Rxd7 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 22. Bxa5 — bishop to a5 (capture)
- Rxa5 — rook to a5 (capture)
- 23. Rxd7 — rook to d7 (capture)
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #666.
SP-666 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2, c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 197.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #666Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 004 · SP-666
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads