Winning blow: bishop to f3 (d1·4)
c9-24112naming 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 1620 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 c1, rook e1 g1, bishop d1, knight b1 g3, pawn c2 d2 g2 h2 a4 b4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen c8, rook f4, bishop h4 a8, knight b8 h8, pawn b6 a7 c7 d7 g7 h7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 9.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (35 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 9, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
9. Bf3 Bxf3 10. O-O Ng6 11. Rxf3 Rxf3 12. gxf3
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to f3 keeps the pressure (+2.1).
- king to g1 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to f3 is the top choice (+2.3).
- Great move! pawn to f3 keeps the pressure (+2.5).
- You reach a winning position (+2.5).
- If instead Bxf3, then O-O and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 9. Bf3 — bishop to f3
- Bxf3 — bishop to f3 (capture)
- 10. O-O — king to g1
- Ng6 — knight to g6
- 11. Rxf3 — rook to f3 (capture)
- Rxf3 — rook to f3 (capture)
- 12. gxf3 — pawn to f3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
Blocking save
Block the check with tempo — and turn the game around.
The blocking save: you interpose a piece against the check — not passively, but with tempo, so the blocker creates a threat of its own. Such a block turns defense into attack. Whenever you are checked, compare all three replies — capture, move the king, interpose — and among the interpositions hunt for the one that counterattacks. The mistake is automatically stepping aside with the king when an active block would have turned the game around.
Development punish
Half the army still asleep — the attack breaks through.
Punishing lazy development: half of your opponent's army is asleep on its starting squares, which means you outnumber him where the fight is. Count not the pieces on the board but the pieces in play — if five or more of his pieces have never moved, look for a forcing attack. The sign is a development lead plus open lines toward his king. Strike immediately: give him two quiet moves and the advantage evaporates.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #305.
SP-305 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and g1, the queen on c1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 363.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #305Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 012 · SP-305
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