Winning blow: bishop to f6 (a1·14)
c9-27969naming 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 d1, queen g6, rook c1, bishop a1 b1, pawn a2 d2 e2 b3 h3 f4.
Black: king d8, queen f2, rook c8 f8, bishop b8, pawn c5 f5 e6 a7 c7 d7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 17.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (26 against 28; 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 17, with 40 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): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c.
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
17. Bf6+ Rxf6 18. Qxf6+ Ke8 19. Qh8+ Ke7 20. Qxc8
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to f6 keeps the pressure (+6.3).
- Well found: queen to f6 (+6.3).
- Strong! queen to h8 is the sharp choice (+6.3).
- Great move! queen to c8 keeps the pressure (+6.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxf6, then Qxf6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 17. Bf6+ — bishop to f6 with check
- Rxf6 — rook to f6 (capture)
- 18. Qxf6+ — queen to f6 (capture) with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 19. Qh8+ — queen to h8 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 20. Qxc8 — queen to c8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #896.
SP-896 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on e1.
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: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 63.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #896Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-896
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