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 is a cannon still on the board, and every legal defence has been tried against this solution. All of them lose.
The position
Red attacks with 3 cannons, and Black's General stands on d9. Black's defenders: a cannon.
- Mate in 2
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1597
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
帥 d1–e1 is the only move that wins. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 13 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red帥 d1–e1Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black將 d9–d8Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red炮 i6–d6Checkmate.
Black has 13 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
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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