Red moves and mates in 1
Mate in 1, proven against every defence.
Red is to move and forces mate in 1. Black is not helpless: there are a elephant, a horse and 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 2 cannons, a horse and a chariot, and Black's General stands on e10. Black's defenders: a elephant, a horse and a cannon.
- Mate in 1
- Cannon finish
- Rating 1280
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
炮 h5–h10 is the only move that wins.
The line
- Red炮 h5–h10Checkmate.
Mate is immediate: no flight square, no capture and no block.
Why it is mate
The mating piece arrives on a square the defence cannot cover.
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 1 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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