Red to play, mate in 2
Mate in 2, proven against every defence.
Red to move. There is exactly one winning first move here, and it mates in 2 against anything Black tries. Black's remaining force: a chariot.
The position
Red attacks with 2 cannons and 2 horses, and Black's General stands on f8. Black's defenders: a chariot.
- Mate in 2
- Horse finish
- Rating 1778
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 炮 a10×e10. Look at what it does: it takes a defender off the board on the way, and leaves Black 1 legal reply, none of which help.
The line
- Red炮 a10×e10Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black將 f8–f9Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red傌 e9–d7Checkmate.
Black has 1 legal moves after the first blow and each was refuted to mate. The main line shown is the toughest defence rather than a convenient one.
Why it is mate
A horse delivering mate beside the palace is the shape players call the trough horse, 卧槽马: it checks and covers escape points at the same time, and because a horse cannot be blocked by a piece in its path once it has landed, only capture or flight would help.
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 2 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
- Find the mate in 1x0730 · rating 1267
- Red moves and mates in 1x0728 · rating 1332
- Red to play, mate in 1x0731 · rating 1326
- Red to play, mate in 2x0727 · rating 1727
- Red to play, mate in 2x0732 · rating 1647
- Find the mate in 1x0726 · rating 1274
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.