Winning blow: bishop to e3 (c1·4)
c9-18135naming 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 1250 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 f2, queen d3, rook a1 f1, bishop c1 d1, knight g3, pawn a2 b2 g2 h2 g5.
Black: king g8, queen a7, rook a8 e8, bishop c8, knight h8, pawn a6 b7 d7 f7 g7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 14.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (33 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 f2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 14, with 4 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, f.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
14. Be3 Qxe3+ 15. Qxe3 Rxe3 16. Kxe3
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to e3 keeps the pressure (+5.3).
- Spot on — queen to e3 (+5.4).
- Strong! king to e3 is the sharp choice (+5.3).
- You win decisive material (+5.3).
- If instead Qxe3+, then Qxe3 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 14. Be3 — bishop to e3
- Qxe3+ — queen to e3 (capture) with check
- 15. Qxe3 — queen to e3 (capture)
- Rxe3 — rook to e3 (capture)
- 16. Kxe3 — king to e3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
Blocking save
Block the check with tempo — and turn the game around.
The blocking save: you interpose a piece against the check — not passively, but with tempo, so the blocker creates a threat of its own. Such a block turns defense into attack. Whenever you are checked, compare all three replies — capture, move the king, interpose — and among the interpositions hunt for the one that counterattacks. The mistake is automatically stepping aside with the king when an active block would have turned the game around.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #885.
SP-885 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 74.
The engine's main line opens with Nf3, bringing the knight out to f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 92 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 51.0% (95% CI 37.6–64.3%).
Explore position #885Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-885
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads