Find the mate in 1
Mate in 1, proven against every defence.
A one move finish, Red to play. Black holds nothing but the General, which is enough to survive most attacks and not this one.
The position
Red attacks with 3 horses, and Black's General stands on f10. Black's defenders: nothing but the General.
- Mate in 1
- General finish
- Rating 1281
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
The move is 帥 d2–e2. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General.
The line
- Red帥 d2–e2Checkmate.
Mate is immediate: no flight square, no capture and no block.
Why it is mate
The Generals decide it. With the file between them clear, the enemy General cannot stay where it is and cannot legally move to where it would still face its opposite number. That is the flying general rule doing the work.
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
- Find the mate in 2x3172 · rating 1785
- Red moves and mates in 1x3170 · rating 1263
- Red to play, mate in 1x3173 · rating 1150
- Red to play, mate in 2x3169 · rating 1649
- Red moves and mates in 2x3174 · rating 1557
- Find the mate in 1x3168 · rating 1225
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.