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 2 elephants still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.
The position
Red attacks with 3 soldiers, 2 cannons and a horse, and Black's General stands on d8. Black's defenders: 2 elephants.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1695
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
傌 c4–d6 is the only move that wins. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 4 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red傌 c4–d6Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black象 d9–f7Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 f5–d5Checkmate.
Every one of Black's 4 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
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 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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