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Day 744: 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. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e5 (a1·9)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: knight to c6 (d4·16)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: bishop to f7 (d5·5)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Winning blow: bishop to d6 (c5·6)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: bishop to b7 (g2·3)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: queen to e7 (e1·5)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: queen to e6 (h3·7)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Winning blow: queen to c5 (b4·4)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to g6 (f6)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: rook to d7 (d1·20)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Core set

11. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d6 (d1·6)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Mate in 3: queen to c6Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Mate in 3: rook to d4Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Mate in 3: queen to h8 (g8)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Mate in 3: rook to e3Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Mate in 2: rook to h3 (h2)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Mate in 2: rook to c1 (b1)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Mate in 2: queen to f8 (f5·2)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Mate in 2: queen to d6 (d4·2)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Mate in 2: bishop to d6 (b8)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c7 (c2·3)Shuffle Rating 1670Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Mate in 3: queen to d7 (c7·3)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Mate in 3: queen to b8 (c7)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Mate in 2: rook to h3 (d3)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Mate in 3: rook to f4 (f1·2)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Challenge

26. Mate in 3: queen to b7 (f3·3)Shuffle Rating 1760Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
27. Mate in 1: queen to h2 (g2)Shuffle Rating 1870Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
28. Deflection: bishop to h7Shuffle Rating 1885Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Review

29. Mate in 3: queen to a6 (c4·2)Shuffle Rating 1630Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
30. Winning blow: queen to e4 (c2·2)Shuffle Rating 1510Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!

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