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 a horse, and Black's General stands on f9. Black's defenders: nothing but the General.
- Mate in 1
- Horse finish
- Rating 1181
Red moves first. Find the move that forces mate whatever Black replies, then open the solution below.
Show the solution
It starts with 傌 g4–f6. Look at what it does: it removes 2 escape points from the General.
The line
- Red傌 g4–f6Checkmate.
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
- Red moves and mates in 1x4976 · rating 1236
- Red to play, mate in 2x4974 · rating 1719
- Red moves and mates in 2x4977 · rating 1788
- Find the mate in 1x4973 · rating 1124
- Red moves and mates in 1x4978 · rating 1102
- Red to play, mate in 2x4972 · rating 1772
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.