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: nothing but the General.
The position
Red attacks with 2 horses and a cannon, and Black's General stands on e10. Black's defenders: nothing but the General.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1353
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 a9–c8. Look at what it does: it removes 2 escape points from the General.
The line
- Red傌 a9–c8Checkmate.
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 1x3106 · rating 1154
- Find the mate in 2x3104 · rating 1564
- Red moves and mates in 2x3107 · rating 1698
- Red to play, mate in 1x3103 · rating 1256
- Find the mate in 1x3108 · rating 1233
- Find the mate in 2x3102 · rating 1559
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.