Winning blow: bishop to d2 (f4·3)
c9-21840naming 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 1390 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 e1, queen c7, rook b2, bishop f4 d5, pawn a2 h2 g3 c4.
Black: king e8, queen f8, rook d8 h8, bishop g6, pawn e5 f6 a7 d7 h7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (24 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 29, with 51 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, e, f.
White 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
29. Bd2 Qe7 30. Ba5 Kf8 31. Qxd8+ Qxd8 32. Bxd8
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d2 keeps the pressure (+4.9).
- Spot on — bishop to a5 (+5.0).
- Strong! queen to d8 is the sharp choice (+5.0).
- Great move! bishop to d8 keeps the pressure (+4.9).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qe7, then Ba5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. Bd2 — bishop to d2
- Qe7 — queen to e7
- 30. Ba5 — bishop to a5
- Kf8 — king to f8
- 31. Qxd8+ — queen to d8 (capture) with check
- Qxd8 — queen to d8 (capture)
- 32. Bxd8 — bishop to d8 (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.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
Trapped piece
The attacked piece has no safe square — it is caught.
Trapping a piece means the attacked piece has no safe square left — it simply perishes. Do not chase it around; build a cage instead: cut off the escape squares with pawns and pieces first, and attack last. The typical victim has wandered deep into your camp or is stuck at the edge of the board, where its mobility is tiny. And always check the way home for your own raiders — or the trapped piece will be yours.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #92.
SP-92 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 876.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #92Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-92
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