Solomon is the Deadlock hero whose reload animation references chess positions. The board state is reportedly selected by his current ammunition count: the esports.gg guide maps 25 layouts to labels from 8 through 32, while Dexerto describes the same eight-to-32-piece range. The references mix famous historical games, individual games from larger matches, opening traps, checkmate patterns and the joke Double Bongcloud. Valve’s official announcement confirms Solomon’s chess theme and his October 9, 2026 release, but it does not publish a position-by-position key. Treat the detailed mapping below as reported player and guide identification, not a Valve-confirmed canonical list.
What Solomon’s reload animation is referencing
Solomon’s reload sequence briefly arranges chess pieces on a board instead of showing a generic ammunition animation. The official Deadlock community announcement presents him as a fighter who sees the city as “one giant chessboard” and gives his abilities chess-themed names. It also says Solomon became available in-game on October 9, 2026. Read the official Deadlock announcement for that character framing and release information.
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The board is not a single match that plays from opening to finish. According to the detailed esports.gg guide, Solomon has 25 possible board permutations, with the displayed state tied to ammunition count. The guide labels the states from 8 to 32 and says Solomon normally starts with eight ammunition, making the eight-piece arrangement a frequently seen state. Dexerto separately describes layouts ranging from eight to 32 pieces and notes that several are tactical patterns rather than complete games. Those figures are reports about the in-game feature, not results of an independently published statistical study.
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When you identify a screenshot, first read the ammunition value shown on the board or in the reload interface. Then compare the visible piece placement with the matching row in the reference table. A partial screenshot is not enough to identify a game reliably: the guide warns that the Active Reload item can interrupt the animation and reset the board before its intended arrangement is fully displayed.
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How to identify a board state in-game
1. Capture the ammunition count
Use the number associated with Solomon’s current reload state as the primary key. The reported mapping uses the count itself, not a chronological ordering of chess history. A label of 23 therefore means the layout associated with 23 pieces in the animation, not “the 23rd game played” or the year 1923.
2. Let the board finish forming
Watch until the pieces settle. If an Active Reload cuts the sequence short, the board can reset and leave you with an incomplete or misleading position. Do not identify a match from two or three visible pieces unless the distinctive position is unmistakable and the ammunition count agrees.
3. Match the type of reference
Most rows name players and a year, but they do not all represent the same thing. The list includes an entire celebrated game, one game from a match, a named opening trap, a checkmate pattern and a deliberately comic opening. Knowing the category prevents false assumptions—for example, Scholar’s Mate is a pattern, not a historical tournament game.
4. Use the distinctive cue
For historical games, the player pair and year are the quickest check. For traps and mates, look for the familiar tactical arrangement. For the Double Bongcloud, the key is the full 32-piece, mutually mirrored king-opening joke rather than a conventional competitive game narrative.
Reported Solomon chess references, from eight to 32
The following table preserves the labels used by the esports.gg guide. Descriptions of specific games and positions are attributed to that guide; Dexerto supports the broader eight-to-32 range and the inclusion of traps. The labels should be used as screenshot-matching identifiers, not as a ranking or timeline.
| Ammo/board label | Reported reference | Reference type and recognition cue |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Joshua Waitzkin vs Maurice Ashley (1999) | Complete historical game. The guide calls this the most common state because Solomon starts with eight ammunition. |
| 9 | Hikaru Nakamura vs Loek van Wely (2010) | Named player game; compare both names and the 2010 date. |
| 10 | Levy Rozman (GothamChess) vs Lelys Martínez Duany (2024) | Recent player game. The guide identifies the 2024 game behind this layout. |
| 11 | Garry Kasparov vs Veselin Topalov (1999), “Kasparov’s Immortal” | Complete celebrated game. Keep this title distinct from the 1851 Immortal Game at label 23. |
| 12 | Maurice Ashley vs Sofia Polgar (1992) | The guide specifies game 3 of their 1992 exhibition. |
| 13 | Judit Polgar vs Garry Kasparov (2002) | Named player game from 2002; use the player pairing to distinguish it from the Ashley–Polgar row. |
| 14 | Deep Blue vs Garry Kasparov (1996) | The first game of the 1996 Deep Blue–Kasparov match, according to the guide. |
| 15 | Viswanathan Anand vs Veselin Topalov (2010) | Named player game from 2010; the year overlaps label 9 but the players differ. |
| 16 | Emory Tate vs Leonid Yudasin (1997) | Complete historical game identified by the player pair and 1997 date. |
| 17 | Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand (2014) | Game 6 of the 2014 World Championship match, as specified by the guide. |
| 18 | Irina Krush vs Alice Lee (2025) | Recent player game; the 2025 date is the distinguishing cue. |
| 19 | Mikhail Tal vs Vasily Smyslov (1959) | Named game from 1959, recognized by the Tal–Smyslov pairing. |
| 20 | Paul Morphy’s Opera Game against Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard | Famous complete game, commonly called the Opera Game. Morphy played against the duke and count as a team. |
| 21 | Viktor Korchnoi vs Anatoly Karpov (1974) | Named player game from 1974. |
| 22 | Mikhail Botvinnik vs Paul Keres (1948) | Named player game from 1948. |
| 23 | Adolf Anderssen vs Lionel Kieseritzky (1851), the Immortal Game | The original “Immortal Game” label in this list. Do not confuse it with Kasparov’s Immortal at 11 or other games sometimes given the same nickname. |
| 24 | Bobby Fischer vs Pal Benko (1963) | Named player game from 1963. |
| 25 | Mikhail Botvinnik vs Rudolf Spielmann (1935) | Named player game from 1935. |
| 26 | Mikhail Tal vs Georgi Tringov (1964) | Named player game from 1964. |
| 27 | Paul Morphy vs Schulten (1857) | Named Morphy game from 1857; this is separate from the Opera Game at 20. |
| 28 | Larry Christiansen vs Anatoly Karpov (1993) | Named player game from 1993. |
| 29 | Légal’s Mate / Legal Trap | Opening trap and checkmate pattern rather than one complete historical match. Look for the characteristic tactical motif. |
| 30 | Viswanathan Anand vs Alfonso Zapata (1988) | Named player game from 1988. |
| 31 | Scholar’s Mate | Basic four-move checkmate pattern, not a player-versus-player game attribution. |
| 32 | Hikaru Nakamura vs Magnus Carlsen (2021), Double Bongcloud | The full 32-piece example in the guide and Dexerto’s account. It is a joking opening sequence, not a conventional tournament match reference. |
The most recognizable positions and why they are easy to confuse
The two “Immortal” labels
At label 23, “the Immortal Game” means Adolf Anderssen versus Lionel Kieseritzky in 1851. It is the nineteenth-century game traditionally known by that exact nickname. Label 11 is Garry Kasparov versus Veselin Topalov in 1999, which the guide calls “Kasparov’s Immortal.” The shared word is a nickname, not evidence that the two board states depict the same game.
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Morphy’s Opera Game
Label 20 is Paul Morphy’s Opera Game, played against Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard. Because the opponents are often shortened in chess references, a screenshot caption that says only “Morphy” is incomplete; the identifying description is the duke-and-count game, not the separate Morphy–Schulten entry at label 27.
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Match games versus whole matches
Several rows refer to one game inside a larger match. Label 14 is specifically the first game of the 1996 Deep Blue match with Kasparov, and label 17 is game 6 of the 2014 Carlsen–Anand World Championship match. Calling either row “the whole match” overstates what the animation is reported to depict.
Patterns that have no historical player pair
Scholar’s Mate at 31 and Légal’s Mate at 29 are recognizable tactical patterns. They belong in the same reference set as famous games, but they should not be described as newly discovered historical match attributions. Dexerto also emphasizes that the set includes traps as well as real games.
The Double Bongcloud
The 2021 Hikaru Nakamura–Magnus Carlsen Double Bongcloud is the high-ammunition state at label 32. “Double Bongcloud” is a joke opening in which both sides make the characteristic king move; it is included for humor and recognizability rather than as a model of orthodox opening play.
What Valve confirms—and what remains a reported mapping
Valve’s October 9, 2026 community post establishes Solomon’s chess identity, his chess-oriented presentation and his availability in Deadlock. It does not provide a numbered list connecting ammunition counts to individual games. The post describes Solomon as approaching the city as if it were one giant chessboard and includes the line, “There’s a lot you can learn from losing to a master.” Those statements are official character material, not a confirmation of every board attribution.
The exact 8–32 mapping comes from secondary coverage. The esports.gg guide names 25 possible permutations and lists the references above; Dexerto independently reports the eight-to-32 range and the mixture of historical games, traps and the Double Bongcloud. No Valve-authored, position-by-position key has been published in the material available for this guide, and every individual attribution has not been independently verified. Use the table as the best reported identification aid while leaving the canonical status unresolved.
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The guide’s “25 possible permutations” wording appears alongside labels 8 through 32. Those labels contain 25 integers, but the source does not explain why the ammunition value is used as the numbering convention or whether any internal game logic adds another distinction. Do not infer a chronological order, a ranking of games or a claim that the numbers represent move counts.
A practical method for checking a screenshot or clip
- Record the state before interacting with the reload. Note Solomon’s ammunition number and whether any item or ability is altering the animation.
- Capture the complete board. Wait for all visible pieces to settle. If the sequence resets, discard that frame and record a new, uninterrupted reload.
- Go to the matching table row. Start with the ammo label, then check the listed players, year and reference category.
- Check for duplicate names and nicknames. Anand appears in more than one row; Morphy appears in two; “Immortal” refers to different games at 11 and 23.
- Classify the result accurately. Say “reported reference to game 6” for the Carlsen–Anand row, “pattern” for Scholar’s Mate or Légal’s Mate, and “joke opening” for the Double Bongcloud.
- Mark uncertainty when the view is incomplete. A cropped board, a reset animation or an unverified fan screenshot cannot establish a position-by-position match with confidence.
If you want to study a position away from the game, any ordinary physical chess set is sufficient. It is a general study aid, not required Deadlock equipment or official merchandise. Set up the pieces from a complete, uninterrupted screenshot and compare the resulting pattern with a trusted game score; do not treat a partially visible animation as a complete reconstruction.
Quick recognition guide by reference category
- Historical games: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 are presented as named games, although 12, 14 and 17 are identified with particular exhibition or match games.
- Opening or mate patterns: 29 is Légal’s Mate/Legal Trap and 31 is Scholar’s Mate.
- Joke opening: 32 is the 2021 Double Bongcloud.
- Commonly confused nicknames: 11 is Kasparov’s Immortal; 23 is Anderssen–Kieseritzky’s Immortal Game.
- Morphy references: 20 is the Opera Game; 27 is Morphy versus Schulten.
Requirements for a reliable identification
You do not need a special Deadlock setting, a tournament chess clock or paid software to identify a board. The minimum useful record is the ammunition number, a full view of the settled pieces and the point in the reload at which the arrangement appears. A clip is better than a single image because it shows whether the board completed normally or was reset.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesIf you are comparing a clip with a game score, preserve the orientation shown in the animation before rotating or mirroring the board. Player names alone are not always enough: Anand, Morphy and the Polgar family occur in multiple rows. Add the year, match context and category to your notes. For example, “Carlsen–Anand, 2014, game 6” is materially more useful than “Anand position.”
A standard physical chess set can help you recreate a complete position, but it is optional. There is no supported Deadlock merchandise requirement, named brand recommendation or special board specification. The useful requirement is accuracy: place every visible piece from an uninterrupted frame and keep the ammo label with the reconstruction.
Common comparison mistakes
The largest mistake is treating the labels as a historical sequence. Label 8 is not older or less important than label 32, and label 23 does not encode a date or move number. The numbers are identifiers tied to the reported animation states.
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A second mistake is collapsing a match reference into a whole match. Deep Blue versus Kasparov and Carlsen versus Anand each produced multiple games; the reported entries specify one game in each case. A third is calling every row a “famous match.” Scholar’s Mate and Légal’s Mate are tactical teaching patterns, while the Double Bongcloud is a humorous opening motif. Their inclusion explains why the list feels broader than a museum-style catalog of historic games.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Finally, avoid upgrading a guide attribution into official canon. Valve confirms Solomon’s concept and release, not the 25-row key. If a future patch changes an animation or publishes its own notation, that official material would supersede the secondary labels.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the references matter to Solomon’s character
The animation is more than a decorative chessboard: it gives Solomon a visual vocabulary built from recognizable chess culture. A player who knows only the famous names can still identify the high-profile states—Morphy’s Opera Game, the 1851 Immortal Game, Scholar’s Mate and the Double Bongcloud—while a chess enthusiast can use the ammo count to look for less obvious rows such as Tate–Yudasin or Botvinnik–Spielmann.
The mixture also fits the official description of Solomon as calm and analytical. Serious championship games sit beside beginner traps and an internet-era joke opening. That contrast is why the board should be read as a collection of references rather than a claim that every displayed position belongs to a single coherent match chronology.
Bottom line on identifying Solomon’s chess boards
Use ammunition count first, let the reload finish, and then match the resulting board against the 8–32 table. The reported set contains 25 states, but the exact game-by-game mapping is secondary reporting from esports.gg and Dexerto, not a list Valve has published. Distinguish complete games from match-specific games, traps and joke openings, and keep the two “Immortal” references and the two Morphy references separate. That method gives you the most defensible identification without presenting fan and guide attributions as official canon.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which Deadlock hero shows chess positions during a reload?
Solomon. Valve’s October 9, 2026 announcement establishes his chess theme and describes him as treating the city like one giant chessboard.
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How does the animation choose a chess position?
Secondary coverage reports that the current ammunition count selects the layout. The commonly listed states run from label 8 through label 32, with Solomon starting at eight ammunition.
Is every Solomon board a real historical chess match?
No. The reported set mixes complete games, individual games from larger matches, Légal’s Mate, Scholar’s Mate and the joke Double Bongcloud.
What is the most common board state?
The esports.gg guide identifies label 8, Joshua Waitzkin versus Maurice Ashley (1999), as the state players see most often because Solomon starts with eight ammunition.
Why might my screenshot not match the table?
An Active Reload can interrupt the sequence and reset the board before the intended arrangement is complete. A cropped or partially formed board should not be matched confidently.
Are the 8–32 references officially confirmed by Valve?
Valve officially confirms Solomon’s chess identity and release, but the position-by-position labels come from secondary guides. No Valve-authored numbered key is established here.
Do I need a special chess set to recreate a position?
No. Any ordinary chess set is an optional study aid. Deadlock equipment or official merchandise is not required; the important requirement is a complete, uninterrupted view of the board.
The Bottom Line
Read the ammo count, wait for the full reload animation, and use the reported 8–32 table as a guide—not as Valve-confirmed canon. Separate historical games from match-specific positions, traps and joke openings, especially the two Immortal labels and the two Morphy entries.
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