Winning blow: bishop to b6 (e3·4)
c9-16149naming 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 1790 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 c2, queen a7, rook e1, bishop d3 e3, pawn h2 g3 f4 d5.
Black: king c7, queen b7, rook f8, bishop d6, knight e8, pawn g5 c6 f6 d7 h7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (24 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c2, the black king on c7.
It is White to move on move 31, with 46 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c.
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
31. Bb6+ Kc8 32. Ba6 Qxa6 33. Qxa6+
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b6 keeps the pressure (#5).
- bishop to a6 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to a6 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kc8, then Ba6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 31. Bb6+ — bishop to b6 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 32. Ba6 — bishop to a6
- Qxa6 — queen to a6 (capture)
- 33. Qxa6+ — queen to a6 (capture) with check
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 #738.
SP-738 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on g1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 407.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #738Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-738
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