Mate in 3: queen to h6 (e3·2)
li-02AXBnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 1650 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White 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, queen e3, knight e6, pawn g2 h2 c3.
Black: king h8, queen c2, rook d7, pawn b5 h5 g6 c7.
6 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 42.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (15 against 18; 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 h8.
It is White to move on move 42, with 32 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): a, d, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
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
42. Qh6+ Kg8 43. Qf8+ Kh7 44. Ng5#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h6 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to f8 (#1).
- Strong! knight to g5 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kg8, then Qf8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 42. Qh6+ — queen to h6 with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 43. Qf8+ — queen to f8 with check
- Kh7 — king to h7
- 44. Ng5# — knight to g5 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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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