Winning blow: bishop to h5 (e2)
c9-23804naming 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 d1, queen h7, bishop e2 c3, pawn a2 d2 f2 e3 f4 b5.
Black: king e8, queen a8, rook c8, bishop a3, knight h2, pawn h5 e6 f6 a7 d7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (21 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 20, 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): c, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
20. Bxh5+ Kd8 21. Ba5+ Rc7 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23. Qxa8
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to h5 keeps the pressure (+9.1).
- Well found: bishop to a5 (+10.3).
- Precise: queen to h8 is the top choice (#19).
- Best move. queen to a8 is exactly what the engine plays (+12.9).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kd8, then Ba5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 20. Bxh5+ — bishop to h5 (capture) with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 21. Ba5+ — bishop to a5 with check
- Rc7 — rook to c7
- 22. Qh8+ — queen to h8 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 23. Qxa8 — queen to a8 (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 #866.
SP-866 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and e1, the queen on b1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 87.
The engine's main line opens with Nf3, bringing the knight out to f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #866Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-866
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