Red to play, mate in 1
Mate in 1, proven against every defence.
Red to move. There is exactly one winning first move here, and it mates in 1 against anything Black tries. Black's remaining force: a elephant.
The position
Red attacks with a horse and a chariot, and Black's General stands on d10. Black's defenders: a elephant.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1128
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 d9–f8. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General.
The line
- Red傌 d9–f8Checkmate.
There is nothing to try. The General cannot move, the checking piece cannot be taken, and nothing can be interposed.
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 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 moves and mates in 1x2181 · rating 1193
- Find the mate in 2x2179 · rating 1764
- Red moves and mates in 2x2182 · rating 1570
- Find the mate in 1x2178 · rating 1148
- Red to play, mate in 1x2183 · rating 1224
- Find the mate in 2x2177 · rating 1725
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.