Mate in 2: knight to e6 (c5·5)
li-02tYtnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Mate in 2: the first move creates an unstoppable threat, the second delivers mate.
Difficulty 2080 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
Mate in two usually opens with a forcing move — a check, a capture or an unstoppable threat — that strips the king of squares or defenders, so the follow-up mate becomes unavoidable. Look for the first move that leaves the opponent only losing replies.
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 g1, rook b7 c7, knight f1 c5, pawn b3 h3 a4.
Black: king d8, rook d1 d2, knight c2 h5, pawn a5 e5 c6 g7 h7.
8 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (19 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 g1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 29, with 19 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, e, g.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
29. Ne6+ Ke8 30. Re7#
Why it works
- Great move! knight to e6 keeps the pressure (#1).
- Well found: rook to e7 (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 2.
- If instead Ke8, then Re7# and it is mate.
Move by move
- 29. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 30. Re7# — rook to e7 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Mate in 2
A forced checkmate in two moves.
Mate in two: your move, any reply, then the mating blow. Start with the most forcing first moves — checks and sacrifices that shrink the opponent's options to almost nothing. Against every single reply you must have a mate ready, so check them all without exception. The common failure is analyzing the pretty defense and forgetting the boring one.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 015
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