Winning blow: bishop to h6 (f4·2)
c9-18403naming 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 1200 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 f1, rook g6, bishop f4, knight b5, pawn a2 e2 b3 c3 f3.
Black: king d7, queen h6, rook f8, knight d5 a6, pawn c5 f5 b6 a7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 8 points of material (16 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on d7.
It is White to move on move 26, with 39 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
26. Bxh6 Rh8 27. Rd6+ Kc8 28. Rxd5 Rxh6 29. Rxf5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to h6 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- Spot on — rook to d6 (+4.1).
- Precise: rook to d5 is the top choice (+4.2).
- Best move. rook to f5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rh8, then Rd6+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 26. Bxh6 — bishop to h6 (capture)
- Rh8 — rook to h8
- 27. Rd6+ — rook to d6 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 28. Rxd5 — rook to d5 (capture)
- Rxh6 — rook to h6 (capture)
- 29. Rxf5 — rook to f5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #115.
SP-115 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on c1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 835.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 94 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +10 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #115Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-115
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