Winning blow: bishop to f6 (a1·11)
c9-25696naming 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 d1, queen a7, rook h1, bishop a1, pawn c2 g2 e3 f3 h3 d5.
Black: king d8, queen e8, rook g8, bishop b5, knight f6, pawn g4 g5 d6 e6 d7 h7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (23 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
21. Bxf6+ Kc8 22. Qa8+ Kc7 23. Qa5+ Kc8 24. Qxb5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to f6 keeps the pressure (+8.4).
- Well found: queen to a8 (+8.9).
- Precise: queen to a5 is the top choice (#19).
- Best move. queen to b5 is exactly what the engine plays (#18).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kc8, then Qa8+ and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 21. Bxf6+ — bishop to f6 (capture) with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 22. Qa8+ — queen to a8 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 23. Qa5+ — queen to a5 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 24. Qxb5 — queen 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 #530.
SP-530 · ThroneGuard — The king starts in the middle of the back rank, on d or e, and neither knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on e1.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 519.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #530Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-530
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