Winning blow: bishop to a5 (d2·5)
c9-21066naming 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 1290 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 c6, rook d1 b3, bishop d2, knight d3, pawn b2 h2 e3 g3 a4 f4.
Black: king b8, queen f8, rook e8, bishop c8 h8, knight b7 g8, pawn a5 f5 g5 d6 g6 c7 e7.
12 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (31 against 33; 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 b8.
It is White to move on move 20, with 50 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: c, d.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
20. Bxa5 Bd4 21. Bxc7+ Ka7 22. exd4
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to a5 keeps the pressure (#4).
- Spot on — bishop to c7 (#3).
- Precise: pawn to d4 is the top choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Bd4, then Bxc7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 20. Bxa5 — bishop to a5 (capture)
- Bd4 — bishop to d4
- 21. Bxc7+ — bishop to c7 (capture) with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 22. exd4 — pawn to d4 (capture)
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 #935.
SP-935 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on f1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 18.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 0 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +78 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 60.0% (95% CI 46.2–72.4%).
Explore position #935Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-935
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