Winning blow: bishop to c2 (a4·3)
c9-23731naming 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 h1, queen e6, rook c1 e1, bishop a4, pawn a2 d2 g2 h2 f4 c5.
Black: king g6, queen a6, rook b8 g8, bishop a7, knight f6, pawn b4 d5 d6 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (28 against 30; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h1, the black king on g6.
It is White to move on move 30, with 47 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 — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Bc2+ Kh6 31. Qh3+ Nh5 32. g4 Qf1+ 33. Qxf1
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c2 keeps the pressure (#9).
- Well found: queen to h3 (#8).
- Strong! pawn to g4 is the sharp choice (#7).
- Great move! queen to f1 keeps the pressure (#6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kh6, then Qh3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 30. Bc2+ — bishop to c2 with check
- Kh6 — king to h6
- 31. Qh3+ — queen to h3 with check
- Nh5 — knight to h5
- 32. g4 — pawn to g4
- Qf1+ — queen to f1 with check
- 33. Qxf1 — queen to f1 (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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #612.
SP-612 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on e1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 254.
The engine's main line opens with O-O, bringing the king out to g1.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #612Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-612
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