Mate in 2: knight to c6 (e7·3)
c9-23735naming 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 2: the first move creates an unstoppable threat, the second delivers mate.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
Difficulty 1450 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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.
Mate in two usually opens with a forcing move — a check, a capture or an unstoppable threat — that strips the king of squares or defenders, so the follow-up mate becomes unavoidable. Look for the first move that leaves the opponent only losing replies.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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 d1, rook e1 f7, knight a1 e7, pawn b2 d3 h4.
Black: king b8, bishop d4, knight g3, pawn a5 d5 b7 h7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 9 points of material (19 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 d1, the black king on b8.
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 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
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
35. Nc6+ Ka8 36. Re8#
Why it works
- Great move! knight to c6 keeps the pressure (#1).
- Spot on — rook to e8 (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 2.
- If instead Ka8, then Re8# and it is mate.
Move by move
- 35. Nc6+ — knight to c6 with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 36. Re8# — rook to e8 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.
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
Mate in 2
A forced checkmate in two moves.
Mate in two: your move, any reply, then the mating blow. Start with the most forcing first moves — checks and sacrifices that shrink the opponent's options to almost nothing. Against every single reply you must have a mate ready, so check them all without exception. The common failure is analyzing the pretty defense and forgetting the boring one.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #269.
SP-269 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 600.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 98 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: 0 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 48.0% (95% CI 34.8–61.5%).
Explore position #269Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-269
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