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: 2 advisors and 2 chariots.
The position
Red attacks with 3 horses and a soldier, and Black's General stands on e8. Black's defenders: 2 advisors and 2 chariots.
- Mate in 2
- Horse finish
- Rating 1799
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 a6–c7. Look at what it does: and leaves Black 1 legal reply, none of which help.
The line
- Red傌 a6–c7Check. Black must answer.
- Black將 e8–f8Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red傌 g5–e6Checkmate.
Every one of Black's 1 answers was played out to the end. The line below follows the most stubborn of them, the one that lasts longest and costs Red the most.
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
- Find the mate in 1x0019 · rating 1346
- Find the mate in 1x0017 · rating 1144
- Find the mate in 2x0020 · rating 1686
- Red moves and mates in 3x0016 · rating 2293
- Find the mate in 1x0021 · rating 1106
- Red to play, mate in 1x0015 · rating 1260
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.