Mate in 3: queen to f7 (f1)
c9-21036naming 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 1760 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 e2, queen f1, bishop g4, pawn h2 d4 c5.
Black: king h6, bishop f7, pawn c6 h7.
6 white and 4 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 40.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (15 against 5; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on h6.
It is White to move on move 40, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, e, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 7 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
40. Qxf7 Kg5 41. Qf5+ Kh6 42. Qf6#
Why it works
- Best move. queen to f7 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — queen to f5 (#1).
- Precise: queen to f6 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kg5, then Qf5+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 40. Qxf7 — queen to f7 (capture)
- Kg5 — king to g5
- 41. Qf5+ — queen to f5 with check
- Kh6 — king to h6
- 42. Qf6# — queen to f6 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.
Queen endgame
Queens on an open board — precision above all.
Queen endgames are treacherous: the queen reaches everywhere, and one slip turns a win into perpetual check. The signs are few pawns, exposed kings, and checks hanging in the air. Tuck your king away early, and use your own checks to bring the queen closer or push your passer with tempo. The typical mistake is grabbing pawns while leaving your king exposed to endless checks.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #356.
SP-356 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on g1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 318.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #356Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-356
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