Mate in 3: knight to d5 (f6·2)
c9-11153naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2210 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
In a mate in three every move must be forcing; the defender should never get a free tempo. Find the check or threat that herds the king, calculate the single defence to each, and confirm the net closes on the third move.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king f1, queen g5, rook b1 h3, bishop d1 b2, knight h1 f6, pawn c2 d2 f2 a3 b4 e4.
Black: king e7, rook b8, bishop h2, pawn a5 b5 e5 c6 d6 f7.
14 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 23 points of material (37 against 14; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on e7.
It is White to move on move 21, with 56 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Nd5+ Kd7 22. Qe7+ Kc8 23. Qc7#
Why it works
- Best move. knight to d5 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — queen to e7 (#1).
- Precise: queen to c7 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kd7, then Qe7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Nd5+ — knight to d5 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 22. Qe7+ — queen to e7 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 23. Qc7# — queen to c7 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Ladder mate
Two heavy pieces climb line by line, cutting off every retreat.
The ladder mate uses two heavy pieces climbing rung by rung: one cuts the king off along a line, the other checks on the next line, driving him toward the edge. It is the classic two-rook technique — check, the king retreats one rank, the other rook checks, until mate on the last rank. The only danger is the king creeping close enough to attack one of your rooks. If it does, simply slide that rook to the far side of the same line.
Mate in 3
A forced checkmate in three moves.
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.
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #773.
SP-773 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on a1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 186.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #773Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-773
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads