Mate in 3: rook to g2 (a2)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 1637 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
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 g3, rook c5, knight f5, pawn b3 c4 e6.
Black: king g6, rook a2, knight e1, pawn g5 h6.
6 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (11 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 g3, the black king on g6.
It is Black to move on move 35, with 23 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, d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: b, c, e.
The Black king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
35... Rg2+ 36. Kh3 g4+ 37. Kh4 Nf3#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g2 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: pawn to g4 (#1).
- Strong! knight to f3 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kh3, then g4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 35… Rg2+ — rook to g2 with check
- 36. Kh3 — king to h3
- g4+ — pawn to g4 with check
- 37. Kh4 — king to h4
- Nf3# — knight to f3 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Knight mate
The knight lands the killing blow from its unique angle.
In a knight mate the final blow comes from the knight — the only piece whose check can never be blocked. That makes it lethal against a cramped king: only a king move or capturing the knight itself can help. The sign: the squares around the king are occupied or covered, and there is a hop from which the knight checks while staying untouchable. Bring the knight over early — it is slower than the long-range pieces, but its strike cannot be parried.
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.
Passed pawn
Nothing can stop the passer — escort it to the last rank.
A passed pawn has no enemy pawns in front of it or on the neighboring files: only pieces can stop it. Check who can blockade the pawn or catch it with the king — if nobody can, the pawn is worth a whole piece. Push the passer with your pieces supporting it, and put your rook behind it. The beginner's mistake is shoving the pawn forward unprotected, straight into a capture.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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