Winning blow: bishop to b8 (c7·2)
sf-t-0034naming 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, rook f1, bishop h1 c7, knight e7, pawn a2 b2 e2 f2 h2 c3 g3.
Black: king g7, queen b8, rook c6 h8, bishop f6, pawn a5 g6 f7 h7.
12 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 17.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (21 against 26; 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 g7.
It is White to move on move 17, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
17. Bxb8 Re6 18. Nc6 Rxc6 19. Bxc6
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b8 keeps the pressure (+3.3).
- knight to c6 develops smoothly.
- Strong! bishop to c6 is the sharp choice (+3.2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Re6, then Nc6 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 17. Bxb8 — bishop to b8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
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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