Winning blow: bishop to b7 (h1·10)
c9-18784naming 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 1930 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 b3, rook a7, bishop h1, pawn b2 h3 c5 c7.
Black: king c8, rook e2, bishop g5, pawn h5 g6 d7.
7 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (12 against 11; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b3, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 31, with 23 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, g.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
31. Bb7+ Kxc7 32. Bf3+ Kb8 33. Ra8+ Kc7 34. Bxe2
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b7 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- Well found: bishop to f3 (+6.1).
- Strong! rook to a8 is the sharp choice (+6.0).
- Best move. bishop to e2 is exactly what the engine plays (+6.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxc7, then Bf3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 31. Bb7+ — bishop to b7 with check
- Kxc7 — king to c7 (capture)
- 32. Bf3+ — bishop to f3 with check
- Kb8 — king to b8
- 33. Ra8+ — rook to a8 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 34. Bxe2 — bishop to e2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #607.
SP-607 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and e1, the queen on b1.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 256.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #607Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-607
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