Winning blow: bishop to f6 (g5·6)
c9-11283naming 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 2100 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 e2, queen a8, rook h1 c7, bishop g5, knight e4, pawn b2 f2 a3 h4.
Black: king f7, rook b6, bishop e7, pawn e6 f6 a7 b7.
10 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 17 points of material (29 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 32, with 53 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
The White king has 7 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32. Bxf6 Rxb2+ 33. Bxb2 e5 34. Ng5+
Why it works
- Best move. bishop to f6 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- Spot on — bishop to b2 (#3).
- Precise: knight to g5 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead e5, then Rxe7+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 32. Bxf6 — bishop to f6 (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 #392.
SP-392 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on g1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
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: e2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 765.
The engine's main line opens with Nde3, bringing the knight out to e3.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #392Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-392
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads