Winning blow: bishop to c4 (d3·7)
c9-26189naming 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 1700 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 g2, rook h1 e2, bishop d3, knight f3, pawn a2 b2 f2 g3 h4 e5 d6.
Black: king e6, rook d7 f8, bishop c5, knight a4, pawn d4 a5 h5 f6 g6 b7.
12 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (23 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on e6.
It is White to move on move 26, with 37 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): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Bc4+ Kf5 27. e6 Nxb2 28. e7 Nxc4 29. exf8=Q
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c4 keeps the pressure (+12.0).
- pawn to e6 develops smoothly.
- Strong! pawn to e7 is the sharp choice (#15).
- Great move! pawn to f8 keeps the pressure (#14).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kf5, then e6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Bc4+ — bishop to c4 with check
- Kf5 — king to f5
- 27. e6 — pawn to e6
- Nxb2 — knight to b2 (capture)
- 28. e7 — pawn to e7
- Nxc4 — knight to c4 (capture)
- 29. exf8=Q — pawn to f8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Promotion
The pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen — decisively.
Promotion turns a pawn on the last rank into a queen and rewrites the evaluation on the spot. In tactics the passer rarely walks in for free — usually a sacrifice clears its path. Count the tempi: how many moves does the pawn need, and can the defender stop it in time? And watch the promotion square itself — it must be out of enemy reach or won by force in your combination.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #120.
SP-120 · RampartScout — King on the wing (b/g) with a knight on the rim (a/h) — the rarest family.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on d1 and h1, the queen on c1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: e2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 845.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 14 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +40 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #120Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-120
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