Winning blow: bishop to d5 (h1·17)
c9-25512naming 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.
A piece strikes across the board from its Chess960 starting square.
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.
From some Chess960 setups a bishop or queen rakes a long diagonal straight from move one. Trace those long-range lines into the enemy camp: a single opened file or diagonal can create an immediate pin, skewer or mating threat.
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 c1, queen f1, rook d1, bishop a1 h1, knight g1, pawn a2 b2 c2 e2 h2 c3 f4 g5.
Black: king e6, queen g7, rook c8 e8, bishop a8, knight a6 g8, pawn f5 g6 a7 b7 c7 e7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 9.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (31 against 35; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on e6.
It is White to move on move 9, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 7. 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 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
9. Bd5+ Kd6 10. Bxb7+ Ke6 11. Bxa6 Kf7 12. Bxc8
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d5 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Spot on — bishop to b7 (+5.1).
- Precise: bishop to a6 is the top choice (+5.2).
- Best move. bishop to c8 is exactly what the engine plays (+5.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kd6, then Bxb7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 9. Bd5+ — bishop to d5 with check
- Kd6 — king to d6
- 10. Bxb7+ — bishop to b7 (capture) with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 11. Bxa6 — bishop to a6 (capture)
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 12. Bxc8 — bishop to c8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Long-range opener
From its unusual home square a long-range piece strikes across the board.
The long-range opener: a bishop, rook or queen strikes across the whole board straight from its starting area. In Chess960 the long-range pieces sit on unfamiliar squares, and a single pawn move can uncover a shot deep into the enemy camp. In the opening, trace with your eyes the diagonals and files of every long-range piece — yours and theirs. The mistake is pushing a pawn without checking whose line you have just opened.
Bishop fork
The bishop attacks two pieces on crossing diagonals at once.
A bishop fork happens when the bishop lands where two diagonals cross and attacks a target on each of them. Both victims must stand on the bishop's color — that is the first thing to verify. Scan for loose enemy pieces that share the color of squares with their own king or queen. A common sin is placing your own pieces on squares of one color and handing your opponent exactly this geometry.
Corner bishop
A bishop born in the corner rakes the longest diagonal.
The corner bishop: in Chess960 a bishop often starts on a1 or h1, staring down the longest diagonal from birth. One pawn move and it fires across the entire board, hitting a rook or king in the far corner. In every starting position inspect the long diagonals: whose bishop sits in the corner, what blocks its path, which pawn move opens the line. The mistake is noticing the enemy corner bishop only after it has collected its loot.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #355.
SP-355 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and e1, the queen on f1.
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.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 307.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #355Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-355
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads