Red moves and mates in 2
Mate in 2, proven against every defence.
Red is to move and forces mate in 2. Black is not helpless: there are a elephant and a cannon still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.
The position
Red attacks with 2 horses, a cannon and a chariot, and Black's General stands on d8. Black's defenders: a elephant and a cannon.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1602
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
傌 d5×f6 is the only move that wins. Look at what it does: it takes a defender off the board on the way, and leaves Black 2 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red傌 d5×f6Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black象 c10–e8Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 a6–a8Checkmate.
Every one of Black's 2 answers was played out to the end. The line below follows the most stubborn of them, the one that lasts longest and costs Red the most.
Why it is mate
This is the cannon behind the horse, 马后炮: the horse takes the escape squares and stands as the screen the cannon fires through. A blocking piece only becomes a second screen, so there is nothing to interpose.
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.
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