Winning blow: bishop to h2 (f4·2)
c9-28037naming 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 g1, rook c1 e1, bishop f3 f4, knight d5, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 d3 c4 g5.
Black: king g8, queen h2, rook c8 h8, bishop f7 d8, knight a6, pawn c5 f5 d6 a7 b7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 7 points of material (26 against 33; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 2 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 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Bxh2 Bxg5 22. Ne7+ Bxe7 23. Rxe7 Nb4 24. Bxd6
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to h2 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Spot on — knight to e7 (+3.9).
- Strong! rook to e7 is the sharp choice (+4.1).
- Best move. bishop to d6 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Bxg5, then Ne7+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 21. Bxh2 — bishop to h2 (capture)
- Bxg5 — bishop to g5 (capture)
- 22. Ne7+ — knight to e7 with check
- Bxe7 — bishop to e7 (capture)
- 23. Rxe7 — rook to e7 (capture)
- Nb4 — knight to b4
- 24. Bxd6 — bishop to d6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
Mate defense
Mate is threatened — parry it and stay on top.
Mate defense: your opponent is one move from mating you — but it is your turn, and that changes everything. Find the defense that kills the mating threat while keeping your advantage: often a check or a counter-threat that leaves no time for the mate. First name the exact square where the mate would land — otherwise you are defending blind. The mistake is playing a "defensive" move that does not actually remove the threat.
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #73.
SP-73 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 889.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #73Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-73
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads