Winning blow: bishop to e7 (d6·4)
c9-15934naming 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 1510 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 g1, queen h2, rook e1 f1, bishop c6 d6, knight b3 g5, pawn a2 b2 c2 f2 g2 h3 d4.
Black: king f8, rook b8 h8, bishop g7 c8, knight h6 c7, pawn b6 g6 a7 e7 h7.
15 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 11 points of material (38 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 52 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: e.
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
22. Bxe7+ Kg8 23. Qxc7 Be5 24. Qxe5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to e7 keeps the pressure (#5).
- Spot on — queen to c7 (#4).
- Precise: queen to e5 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kg8, then Qxc7 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 22. Bxe7+ — bishop to e7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #246.
SP-246 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on e1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 614.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #246Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-246
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