Winning blow: bishop to b6 (g1·4)
c9-22347naming 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 c1, queen a1, rook b1 h1, bishop g1 h3, knight b5, pawn c2 d2 h2 b3 a4 g5.
Black: king d8, queen a8, rook b8 h8, bishop e2 f8, knight c6 e8, pawn h4 a5 b6 b7 g7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (34 against 36; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 15, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
15. Bxb6+ Ke7 16. Qc3 Kf7 17. Qe3 g6 18. Qxe2
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b6 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- queen to c3 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: queen to e3.
- Best move. queen to e2 is exactly what the engine plays (+7.1).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Ke7, then Qc3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 15. Bxb6+ — bishop to b6 (capture) with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 16. Qc3 — queen to c3
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 17. Qe3 — queen to e3
- g6 — pawn to g6
- 18. Qxe2 — queen to e2 (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 #686.
SP-686 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 468.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #686Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-686
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