Puzzle x0304 · rating 1774

Red moves and mates in 2

Mate in 2, proven against every defence.

Red is to move and forces mate in 2. Black is not helpless: there are a cannon and a advisor still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.

The position

Red attacks with a soldier, 2 horses and a cannon, and Black's General stands on f9. Black's defenders: a cannon and a advisor.

Mate in 2
Cannon finish
Rating 1774

Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.

Show the solution

傌 g9–f7 is the only move that wins. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 14 legal replies, none of which help.

The line

Red傌 g9–f7Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
Black砲 c9–c8Black's most stubborn defence.
Red炮 e6–f6Checkmate.

Black has 14 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

This is the cannon behind the horse, 马后炮: the horse takes the escape squares and stands as the screen the cannon fires through. A blocking piece only becomes a second screen, so there is nothing to interpose.

Read about this pattern

How 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.

Solve puzzles on a real board More mates in 2 Enter the board

Next puzzles

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.