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BOS vs CHoCH: break of structure vs change of character

A BOS continues the trend; a CHoCH is the first break against it. The exact close rule our engine uses, a gold example with numbers and common mistakes.

2026-10-21 · 5 min read · by the ICC Charts team (how we write)

Two labels show up on almost every smart money chart: BOS (break of structure) and CHoCH (change of character). Both mean price broke a swing point. The difference is only which way it broke compared with the trend before it. That small difference decides whether a trader keeps following the trend or starts watching for a turn.

First: what counts as a swing

Structure is built from swing highs and swing lows. In the ICC Charts engine a swing high is a candle whose high is above the candle on its left and not below the candle on its right; a swing low is the mirror. A swing is only known once that right-hand candle has closed, so nothing is labelled in advance. Swings of swings give the bigger (intermediate and long-term) highs and lows.

Break of structure (BOS)

A BOS is a break in the direction of the trend. In an uptrend, a candle that closes above the last swing high is a bullish BOS: buyers made a new high, the trend is still alive. In a downtrend, a close below the last swing low is a bearish BOS.

Change of character (CHoCH)

A CHoCH is the first break against the trend. In an uptrend, a close below the last higher low is a bearish CHoCH: for the first time sellers broke a low that buyers had defended. It does not prove the trend has turned; it says the character of the move changed and a reversal is now possible.

CHoCH and MSS: two names, one idea

ICC Charts labels a break against the trend MSS (market structure shift), the ICT name. Many SMC teachers call the same event CHoCH, and some keep "MSS" only for a break that comes with a strong candle. Our engine keeps it simple and checkable:

The longer comparison of BOS and MSS, with how they fit into a setup, is in market structure: BOS vs MSS.

A gold example with numbers

XAUUSD on the 1-hour chart, ATR about $6:

  1. Price makes a swing low at 3,982 and a swing high at 4,010.
  2. A candle closes at 4,015, above 4,010: bullish BOS. The trend is up.
  3. Price pulls back and makes a higher low at 3,996, then a new high at 4,028.
  4. A candle drops to 3,994, a wick below 3,996, but closes at 3,999. No break: only the wick went through. If price closes back above within a few candles, the engine calls that a liquidity sweep of the lows.
  5. Later a candle opens at 4,001 and closes at 3,990, below 3,996. That is the CHoCH (MSS on our chart). Its body is $11, more than 1.5 × $6 = $9, and most of the candle: it also counts as displacement.

What a trader does next depends on the plan. A trend trader stops buying dips. A reversal trader waits for price to come back up into the move that broke (often a fair value gap or an order block) and plans a sell with the stop above 4,028.

Which time frame?

Structure exists on every time frame, and they often disagree. A 5-minute CHoCH inside a 4-hour uptrend is usually just a pullback. A common way to use both: read the trend on the 1-hour or 4-hour chart, then look for a CHoCH back in that trend's direction on a lower time frame after price has reached a level that matters, such as a discount zone in an uptrend.

Common mistakes

Practise it

The Market Structure layer of the terminal marks BOS and MSS by the rules above on every time frame (how the indicator works), and you can set an alert for a new MSS on any symbol. To train your eye on past charts, play the free Chart Challenge, and if you are new, start with the structure lesson of the free ICT course.

Education only. ICC Charts is not affiliated with Inner Circle Trader (Michael J. Huddleston); these ideas are explained in our own words. A structure break is not a signal on its own. Trading involves risk; practise on a demo account first.

Try it on a live chart

Open ICC Charts in your browser, free, with the ICT and VSA layers and the model scanner. Or practise on past charts in the free Chart Challenge game.

Open the terminal → Practise spotting order blocks

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