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: a elephant and a soldier.
The position
Red attacks with a cannon and 2 horses, and Black's General stands on f10. Black's defenders: a elephant and a soldier.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1357
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 c7–d9. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General.
The line
- Red傌 c7–d9Checkmate.
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 to play, mate in 2x4697 · rating 1666
- Find the mate in 1x4695 · rating 1155
- Red moves and mates in 1x4698 · rating 1131
- Find the mate in 2x4694 · rating 1780
- Red moves and mates in 2x4699 · rating 1723
- Red to play, mate in 1x4693 · 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.