Red moves and mates in 1
Mate in 1, proven against every defence.
Red is to move and forces mate in 1. Black is not helpless: there are a cannon, a elephant and a advisor still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.
The position
Red attacks with a soldier and 2 cannons, and Black's General stands on f8. Black's defenders: a cannon, a elephant and a advisor.
- Mate in 1
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1339
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
炮 e6–f6 is the only move that wins.
The line
- Red炮 e6–f6Checkmate.
Mate is immediate: no flight square, no capture and no block.
Why it is mate
Two cannons on one line, the front one screening the one behind it. That is 重炮, stacked cannons, and it cannot be blocked: any piece that steps in simply becomes another screen.
Read about this patternHow this puzzle was checked
Nothing here is an engine opinion. The position was solved by trying every legal defence to the full mate distance, so the claim that Red mates in 1 is a proof rather than an evaluation, and the first move shown is the only one that works. The defence in the line above is Black’s most stubborn try, not a convenient one.
Next puzzles
- Red to play, mate in 2x0492 · rating 1643
- Red to play, mate in 1x0490 · rating 1230
- Find the mate in 1x0493 · rating 1278
- Find the mate in 2x0489 · rating 1589
- Red to play, mate in 2x0494 · rating 1634
- Find the mate in 1x0488 · rating 1291
New to mating patterns? The glossary names the ones that come up again and again, the piece guides explain what each piece can do, and the rules page covers everything from the start.