Winning blow: bishop to c6 (g2·6)
c9-24737naming 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 b1, queen h1, rook d1, bishop g2, knight c1 d4, pawn c2 h2 g3 f4 a5.
Black: king b7, queen h8, rook a8 d8, bishop g8, knight b8 c8, pawn c6 g6 a7 e7 h7.
11 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 16.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (28 against 33; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 16, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
16. Bxc6+ Nxc6 17. Qxc6+ Kb8 18. Nb5 Qc3 19. Qxc3
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c6 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- Well found: queen to c6 (+5.7).
- Strong! knight to b5 is the sharp choice (#11).
- Great move! queen to c3 keeps the pressure (#10).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxc6, then Qxc6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 16. Bxc6+ — bishop to c6 (capture) with check
- Nxc6 — knight to c6 (capture)
- 17. Qxc6+ — queen to c6 (capture) with check
- Kb8 — king to b8
- 18. Nb5 — knight to b5
- Qc3 — queen to c3
- 19. Qxc3 — queen to c3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
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.
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #862.
SP-862 · RampartGuard — Both knights begin on inner files while the king sits on the wing (b/g); mirror twins stay together in this family.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on h1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 100.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +46 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #862Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-862
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads