Winning blow: bishop to g6 (e4·2)
c9-23782naming 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 f1, queen h4, rook g1, bishop e4 e7, knight e1 a4, pawn a2 e2 h2 b3 h7.
Black: king f7, queen a5, rook d1 h8, bishop a1 c8, knight d8 e8, pawn b4 e5 c7.
12 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (31 against 34; 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 f7.
It is White to move on move 22, with 45 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c.
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
22. Bg6+ Ke6 23. Nc5+ Qxc5 24. Bf5+ Kf7 25. Bxc5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to g6 keeps the pressure (+7.3).
- Spot on — knight to c5 (+7.9).
- Strong! bishop to f5 is the sharp choice (+8.1).
- Best move. bishop to c5 is exactly what the engine plays (+8.2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ke6, then Nc5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Bg6+ — bishop to g6 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 23. Nc5+ — knight to c5 with check
- Qxc5 — queen to c5 (capture)
- 24. Bf5+ — bishop to f5 with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 25. Bxc5 — bishop to c5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
Zwischenzug
Before the obvious recapture — an in-between move that wins more.
A zwischenzug means refusing the obvious reply — usually a recapture — and playing a stronger move with tempo first. Typically it is a check or a deadly threat the opponent must answer, after which you calmly take what was hanging anyway. The sign: inside a sequence of exchanges you own a check or a threat that will not run away. Whenever a line looks forced, ask what poison you can slip in between the moves.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #452.
SP-452 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on e2 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 702.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 40 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +29 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #452Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-452
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