Red to play, mate in 1
Mate in 1, proven against every defence.
Red to move. There is exactly one winning first move here, and it mates in 1 against anything Black tries. Black's remaining force: nothing but the General.
The position
Red attacks with 2 cannons and 2 horses, and Black's General stands on f9. Black's defenders: nothing but the General.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1269
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 d6–f7. Look at what it does: it removes 3 escape points from the General.
The line
- Red傌 d6–f7Checkmate.
Mate is immediate: no flight square, no capture and no block.
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 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.
Next puzzles
- Find the mate in 2x4624 · rating 1665
- Red to play, mate in 2x4622 · rating 1789
- Find the mate in 1x4625 · rating 1181
- Red moves and mates in 1x4621 · rating 1337
- Red moves and mates in 1x4626 · rating 1109
- Red moves and mates in 1x4620 · rating 1216
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.