Winning blow: bishop to c6 (a4·2)
c9-15599naming 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 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 d5, rook c1 g1, bishop a4 c5, knight a1 b1, pawn a2 d2 e2 h2 b3 c3 f4 g5.
Black: king e8, queen h8, rook c6, bishop d8, pawn e5 a6 d7 h7.
16 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 18 points of material (39 against 21; 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 e8.
It is White to move on move 19, with 51 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 4. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
19. Bxc6 Be7 20. Qxd7+ Kf7 21. Qxe7+
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c6 keeps the pressure (#5).
- Spot on — queen to d7 (#4).
- Precise: queen to e7 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Be7, then Qxd7+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 19. Bxc6 — bishop to c6 (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 #93.
SP-93 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 872.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 11 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +42 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #93Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-93
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads