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: a cannon.
The position
Red attacks with a horse, a chariot and 3 cannons, and Black's General stands on d8. Black's defenders: a cannon.
- Mate in 2
- Horse finish
- Rating 1705
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 a10–c9. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 17 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red傌 a10–c9Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black將 d8–d9Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red傌 c9–d7Checkmate.
Black has 17 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
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 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
- Red to play, mate in 1x2778 · rating 1180
- Red to play, mate in 1x2776 · rating 1177
- Red to play, mate in 2x2779 · rating 1553
- Red to play, mate in 1x2775 · rating 1156
- Red to play, mate in 1x2780 · rating 1163
- Red to play, mate in 2x2774 · rating 1611
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.