Winning blow: pawn to c6 (b5)
sf-t-0031naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Difficulty 780 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
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.
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.
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, queen b3, rook f1, bishop d4, knight h1 f3, pawn a2 d2 g2 h2 e3 b5 f5.
Black: king f8, queen a7, rook c6 a8, bishop b6, knight h6 h8, pawn a5 f6 e7 g7 h7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (30 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 f8.
It is White to move on move 18, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — 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
18. bxc6 Rb8 19. Bxb6 Qxb6 20. Qxb6
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to c6 keeps the pressure (+4.7).
- Spot on — bishop to b6 (+4.8).
- Precise: queen to b6 is the top choice (+5.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rb8, then Bxb6 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 18. bxc6 — pawn to c6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 003
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