Chess960 proves a hit

A Chess960 (or Fischerrandom) tournament was held between Horsham players on Lichess last Tuesday night. This chess variant begins with all the pieces in randomised locations on the first rank and throws opening theory out the window!

Mark quickly took the lead but was gradually reeled in by Alex, who went on to win with a superb 8 wins, 1 draw and no losses. Mark finished second and I was third. Good games also played by Ian and Chris once they had figured out the strange castling rules. Great to see James McLean and Simon taking part and getting to grips with the weird openings!

The diagram position shows Higgs-Taylor, I had just blitzed out 19.Bc3 expecting a concession with either the rook retreating or Alex swapping his excellent knight. Instead I was rudely awakened by Alex's brilliant reply - what did Black play here? Answer in the comments below.