Winning blow: bishop to c3 (b2·3)
c9-24426naming 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 g1, queen e4, rook d1 f1, bishop b2 e2, pawn a2 f2 b3 g3 h4 c5 e5.
Black: king g8, queen e6, rook d8 f8, knight c3 c6, pawn b4 h5 g6 a7 e7 f7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (32 against 31; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 20, with 47 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
20. Bxc3 bxc3 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Bc4 Qg4 23. Qxc6
Why it works
- Brilliant! The bishop on c3 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+2.6).
- Spot on — rook to d8 (+3.3).
- A natural move: bishop to c4.
- Best move. queen to c6 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead bxc3, then Rxd8 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 20. Bxc3 — bishop to c3 (capture)
- bxc3 — pawn to c3 (capture)
- 21. Rxd8 — rook to d8 (capture)
- Rxd8 — rook to d8 (capture)
- 22. Bc4 — bishop to c4
- Qg4 — queen to g4
- 23. Qxc6 — queen to c6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
X-ray
A long-range piece acts through an enemy piece on the same line.
An X-ray lets a long-range piece act through an enemy piece standing on the same line — its power shines straight through. The square behind looks safe or defended, and that illusion is exactly what the tactic exploits. Check your rooks, bishops and queens: is a key square or a target hiding behind an enemy piece on their line? When counting captures on a square, include the X-ray attackers — they join the fight the moment the line opens.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #210.
SP-210 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and h1, the queen on c1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from e1 to c1.
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: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 647.
The engine's main line opens with Nf3, bringing the knight out to f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 99 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +4 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #210Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-210
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