Winning blow: bishop to c4 (e2·2)
c9-22589naming 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 f1, queen e1, rook c1 h1, bishop e2, knight f2 f3, pawn h2 c3 f4 g4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen e3, rook a8 f8, bishop d8, knight c6, pawn a2 b5 f5 d6 b7 g7 h7.
12 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (33 against 32; 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 g8.
It is White to move on move 20, with 30 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: a, b, d.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
20. Bc4+ bxc4 21. Qxe3 a1=Q 22. Rxa1
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c4 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Well found: queen to e3 (+3.6).
- Strong! rook to a1 is the sharp choice (+4.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead bxc4, then Qxe3 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 20. Bc4+ — bishop to c4 with check
- bxc4 — pawn to c4 (capture)
- 21. Qxe3 — queen to e3 (capture)
- a1=Q — pawn to a1
- 22. Rxa1 — rook to a1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #61.
SP-61 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on e1.
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.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 904.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 5 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +49 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #61Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-61
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