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 advisor, a horse and a cannon.
The position
Red attacks with a chariot, 2 soldiers and a horse, and Black's General stands on d8. Black's defenders: a advisor, a horse and a cannon.
- Mate in 2
- Horse finish
- Rating 1761
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 俥 c9–e9. Look at what it does: it removes 1 escape point from the General, and leaves Black 10 legal replies, none of which help.
The line
- Red俥 c9–e9Quiet, and there is no answer to the threat.
- Black士 f9–e8Black's most stubborn defence.
- Red傌 a7–b9Checkmate.
Black has 10 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
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
- Red moves and mates in 1x4110 · rating 1243
- Red moves and mates in 1x4108 · rating 1134
- Red moves and mates in 1x4111 · rating 1245
- Red to play, mate in 2x4107 · rating 1550
- Red to play, mate in 2x4112 · rating 1552
- Red moves and mates in 1x4106 · rating 1214
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.