Winning blow: bishop to c6 (a4)
c9-18151naming 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 1060 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 b1, queen d2, rook a1 e1, bishop a4, knight d5, pawn b2 h2 c3 f3 g3 d4 e4.
Black: king a7, queen g6, rook c6 e8, bishop c4 a5, knight d7, pawn e5 h5 a6 d6 f6 b7 g7.
13 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (32 against 35; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a7.
It is White to move on move 21, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: a.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Ne3 Nb6 23. Rxa5
Why it works
- Brilliant! The bishop on c6 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+3.0).
- Well found: knight to e3 (+3.2).
- Precise: rook to a5 is the top choice (+3.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead bxc6, then Ne3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Bxc6 — bishop to c6 (capture)
- bxc6 — pawn to c6 (capture)
- 22. Ne3 — knight to e3
- Nb6 — knight to b6
- 23. Rxa5 — rook to a5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #381.
SP-381 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 296.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #381Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-381
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