Mate in 3: rook to d6 (e6)
c9-20556naming 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 1980 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 b1, rook e6 c7, bishop c8, pawn g2 h2 a3 b4 d5.
Black: king b5, bishop g3, knight e5, pawn a4 f4 g5 d6.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 8 points of material (18 against 10; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b5.
It is White to move on move 35, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
35. Rxd6 Nc6 36. Rdxc6 f3 37. Ba6#
Why it works
- Best move. rook to d6 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — rook to c6 (#1).
- Precise: bishop to a6 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Nc6, then Rdxc6 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 35. Rxd6 — rook to d6 (capture)
- Nc6 — knight to c6
- 36. Rdxc6 — rook to c6 (capture)
- f3 — pawn to f3
- 37. Ba6# — bishop to a6 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
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.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #806.
SP-806 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 150.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #806Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-806
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