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: 2 soldiers.
The position
Red attacks with 2 cannons and 2 horses, and Black's General stands on d10. Black's defenders: 2 soldiers.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1753
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 帥 d2–e2. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 3 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red帥 d2–e2Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black將 d10–d9Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 b4–d4Checkmate.
Black has 3 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
The cannon fires through a soldier and lands on the General. Take the screen away and the threat disappears, which is the first thing to look for whenever a cannon is aimed at your palace.
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 1x1080 · rating 1251
- Red moves and mates in 1x1078 · rating 1254
- Find the mate in 1x1081 · rating 1351
- Red moves and mates in 2x1077 · rating 1784
- Find the mate in 2x1082 · rating 1809
- Red moves and mates in 1x1076 · rating 1130
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.