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: nothing but the General.
The position
Red attacks with 2 cannons, and Black's General stands on f9. Black's defenders: nothing but the General.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1580
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 炮 e4–f4. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 2 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red炮 e4–f4Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black將 f9–f8Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 g7–f7Checkmate.
Black has 2 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 general 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.
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