Mate in 3: queen to d4 (f2·2)
c9-26929naming 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 1630 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 d1, queen f2, rook b3 g8, bishop a3, knight e1, pawn a2 c2 d2 h3 b5 d5 f5.
Black: king b6, queen h6, rook b8, bishop d4 d7, knight d6, pawn f4 a7 b7 h7.
13 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (32 against 27; 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 b6.
It is White to move on move 19, with 47 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
19. Qxd4+ Kc7 20. b6+ axb6 21. Qxb6#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d4 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Spot on — pawn to b6 (#1).
- Precise: queen to b6 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kc7, then b6+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 19. Qxd4+ — queen to d4 (capture) with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 20. b6+ — pawn to b6 with check
- axb6 — pawn to b6 (capture)
- 21. Qxb6# — queen to b6 (capture) and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Epaulette mate
The king's own pieces flank it like epaulettes — mate comes head-on.
In the epaulette mate the king stands between two of its own pieces — most often rooks — like an officer wearing epaulettes. The side squares are blocked by friends, there is no retreat, and the queen mates head-on from directly in front of the king. The sign: a king on the edge rank with both neighboring squares on that rank occupied by its own pieces. Remember, extra defenders crowding the king can be deadlier than no defenders at all.
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.
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #263.
SP-263 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on f1.
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 h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 594.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #263Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 012 · SP-263
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