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: a elephant.
The position
Red attacks with a chariot, 2 cannons and a horse, and Black's General stands on f10. Black's defenders: a elephant.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1710
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 炮 e9–e10. Look at what it does: it removes 2 escape points from the General, and leaves Black 2 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red炮 e9–e10Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black象 b8–d6Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 a7–a10Checkmate.
Every one of Black's 2 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
Two cannons on one line, the front one screening the one behind it. That is 重炮, stacked cannons, and it cannot be blocked: any piece that steps in simply becomes another screen.
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.
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