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Day 565: Mate in 3

Lesson of the day

Mate in three is a forced staircase: each of your moves narrows the opponent's choices, and the third one ends the game. Look for the start among checks and sacrifices — quiet first moves are rare in mating problems, but deliciously sneaky. Keep the tree in your head: every defense gets its own branch. Do not stop calculating after move two — see the final mating picture with your own eyes.

Warm-up

1. Mate in 2: queen to d8 (g8)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Mate in 2: bishop to g6 (d3)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Mate in 2: knight to e7 (d5·5)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Mate in 2: queen to d6 (a3)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Mate in 2: pawn to g5 (g4)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to b7 (c6·9)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Mate in 2: pawn to f6 (e5·2)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Mate in 2: queen to g4 (g3·2)Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Mate in 2: fork on c5Shuffle Rating 1220Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to b5 (c5)Shuffle Rating 1200Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Core set

11. Back-rank mate in 3 on e1Shuffle Rating 1537Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
12. Mate in 3: pawn to g6Shuffle Rating 1556Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Winning blow: queen to d4 (c3·7)Shuffle Rating 1560Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Winning blow: queen to h7 (e4·3)Shuffle Rating 1560Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Winning blow: queen to g7 (e5·6)Shuffle Rating 1560Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c7 (b6·3)Shuffle Rating 1280Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: queen to g6 (h5·6)Shuffle Rating 1280Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Mate in 2: queen to g7 (g4·2)Shuffle Rating 1320Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Pin: rook to d8Shuffle Rating 1262Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: knight to d6 (f5·15)Shuffle Rating 1280Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e7 (e2·6)Shuffle Rating 1320Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Mate in 2: rook to d7 (f7)Shuffle Rating 1320Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Castling-960 to the rescue on d1 (c1·3)Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: pawn to f6 (g5·15)Shuffle Rating 1280Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Trap the rook on a8Shuffle Rating 1318Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation

Challenge

26. Winning blow: queen to f8 (g7·6)Shuffle Rating 1430Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
27. Winning blow: queen to c4 (c1)Shuffle Rating 1480Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
28. Mate in 3: queen to d4 (g1)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Review

29. Attack on the uncastled king: king to b1 (c2·2)Shuffle Rating 1250Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
30. Mate in 2: queen to d8 (d3·2)Shuffle Rating 1320Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!

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