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 horse and a elephant still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.
The position
Red attacks with a cannon, a horse and a chariot, and Black's General stands on f10. Black's defenders: a horse and a elephant.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1359
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
傌 b9–d10 is the only move that wins. Look at what it does: it removes 2 escape points from the General.
The line
- Red傌 b9–d10Checkmate.
Mate is immediate: no flight square, no capture and no block.
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 2x2499 · rating 1655
- Red to play, mate in 2x2497 · rating 1786
- Red to play, mate in 1x2500 · rating 1358
- Find the mate in 1x2496 · rating 1186
- Red to play, mate in 1x2501 · rating 1343
- Red moves and mates in 1x2495 · rating 1252
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.