Mate in 3: rook to e7 (e6·2)
c9-24305naming 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 c1, rook b2 e6, knight f2, pawn a3 g4 c5 g5.
Black: king a5, knight e7, pawn a4 c6 h7.
8 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 11 points of material (17 against 6; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on a5.
It is White to move on move 33, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33. Rxe7 Ka6 34. Rb6+ Ka5 35. Ra7#
Why it works
- Best move. rook to e7 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — rook to b6 (#1).
- Precise: rook to a7 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Ka6, then Rb6+ and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 33. Rxe7 — rook to e7 (capture)
- Ka6 — king to a6
- 34. Rb6+ — rook to b6 with check
- Ka5 — king to a5
- 35. Ra7# — rook to a7 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.
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 #626.
SP-626 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on e1.
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.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 231.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #626Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-626
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