Winning blow: pawn to c6 (b5·11)
c9-24364naming 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 1560 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 f2, queen d5, rook c1 d1, knight f3, pawn b2 e2 g2 c3 e3 h4 b5 d6.
Black: king g7, queen e8, rook f5 g6, bishop d7, knight c6, pawn c4 h5 a6.
13 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (30 against 28; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f2, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 31, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
31. bxc6 Rxd5 32. cxd7 Qxd7 33. Rxd5
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to c6 keeps the pressure (+2.9).
- Well found: pawn to d7 (+2.8).
- Strong! rook to d5 is the sharp choice (+3.5).
- You reach a winning position (+3.5).
- If instead Rxd5, then cxd7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 31. bxc6 — pawn to c6 (capture)
- Rxd5 — rook to d5 (capture)
- 32. cxd7 — pawn to d7 (capture)
- Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
- 33. Rxd5 — rook to d5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #125.
SP-125 · 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 c1 and h1, the queen on b1.
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 d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 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 BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 840.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #125Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-125
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