Winning blow: bishop to h4 (f2·4)
c9-25628naming 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 e1, rook h1 c7, bishop b1 f2, knight d2, pawn a2 e2 g2 d6.
Black: king d8, rook a8 h8, bishop a3 f7, knight e5, pawn f4 b5 h5 h6 b7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (23 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 24, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, f, h.
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
24. Bh4+ Ke8 25. Re7+ Kf8 26. Rxe5 Bxd6 27. Rxb5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to h4 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Well found: rook to e7 (+4.7).
- Strong! rook to e5 is the sharp choice (+4.6).
- Best move. rook to b5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.6).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Ke8, then Re7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 24. Bh4+ — bishop to h4 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 25. Re7+ — rook to e7 with check
- Kf8 — king to f8
- 26. Rxe5 — rook to e5 (capture)
- Bxd6 — bishop to d6 (capture)
- 27. Rxb5 — rook to b5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #236.
SP-236 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on d1.
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 b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 636.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 16 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +39 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #236Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-236
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