Mate in 3: rook to c6 (d6·2)
c9-24821naming 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 b1, queen b7, rook e2 d6, pawn b2 h2 b4.
Black: king c4, queen c3, rook b3, knight c6, pawn g3 a4 f5 h6.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (22 against 21; 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 c4.
It is White to move on move 41, with 43 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, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, f, g.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
41. Rxc6+ Kd3 42. Qb5+ Kd4 43. Rd6#
Why it works
- Best move. rook to c6 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — queen to b5 (#1).
- Precise: rook to d6 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kd3, then Qb5+ and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 41. Rxc6+ — rook to c6 (capture) with check
- Kd3 — king to d3
- 42. Qb5+ — queen to b5 with check
- Kd4 — king to d4
- 43. Rd6# — rook to d6 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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #574.
SP-574 · BastionGuard — Both knights begin inside the board while the king stands on c or f; a position and its mirror twin share this family.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and e1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 484.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #574Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-574
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