Winning blow: bishop to d2 (e1·6)
c9-27187naming 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 1290 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 c1, queen g7, rook a1, bishop e1 f1, knight f5, pawn b2 c2 e4 h4 a5.
Black: king c8, queen h8, rook b8, bishop e8, knight c6, pawn d2 e3 a7 c7 d7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (28 against 25; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 3 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
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
21. Bxd2 exd2+ 22. Kxd2 Qxg7 23. Nxg7
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d2 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Spot on — king to d2 (+3.6).
- Precise: knight to g7 is the top choice (+3.2).
- You reach a winning position (+3.2).
- If instead exd2+, then Kxd2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Bxd2 — bishop to d2 (capture)
- exd2+ — pawn to d2 (capture) with check
- 22. Kxd2 — king to d2 (capture)
- Qxg7 — queen to g7 (capture)
- 23. Nxg7 — knight to g7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
Defensive exchange
Trade off the attacker — the storm dies with it.
The defensive exchange: your opponent's attack runs on one specific piece — trade it off, and the storm dies down. Find the "engine" of the attack, the piece without which the mating threats stop working: usually the queen or an invading knight. Offer the trade even at a small cost — your king breathes, and the material comes back later. The mistake is greedily dodging the exchange and getting mated a pawn up.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #570.
SP-570 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
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 BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 485.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #570Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-570
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