Winning blow: bishop to b5 (f1·3)
c9-23103naming 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 1430 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 b2, queen b6, rook a1, bishop f1, pawn h2 f3 e4 g4.
Black: king d7, queen g7, rook a8, bishop g8, knight b3 e7, pawn b5 e5 g5 a6 f6 h7.
8 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 8 points of material (21 against 29; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b2, the black king on d7.
It is White to move on move 27, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b.
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
27. Bxb5+ axb5 28. Rxa8 Nc6 29. Qb7+ Kd6 30. Qxg7
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b5 keeps the pressure (+5.6).
- Well found: rook to a8 (+5.6).
- Precise: queen to b7 is the top choice (+5.8).
- Great move! queen to g7 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead axb5, then Rxa8 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 27. Bxb5+ — bishop to b5 (capture) with check
- axb5 — pawn to b5 (capture)
- 28. Rxa8 — rook to a8 (capture)
- Nc6 — knight to c6
- 29. Qb7+ — queen to b7 with check
- Kd6 — king to d6
- 30. Qxg7 — queen to g7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #958.
SP-958 · RampartGuard — Both knights begin on inner files while the king sits on the wing (b/g); mirror twins stay together in this family.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and c1, the queen on h1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 4.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 11 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +42 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #958Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-958
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads