Mate in 1: queen to g2 (h1)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 1: find the move after which the enemy king has no escape.
Difficulty 972 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A mate in one hides among forcing checks. Run through every check you can give: does it cover all the king's escape squares, is the checking piece safe or supported, and can nothing block or capture it? If yes, that is the mate.
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 e2, queen c2, rook d1 e1, bishop d3, pawn a2 b2 g2 e3 f3 c4 d4.
Black: king g8, queen h1, rook a8 f8, bishop c8, pawn g3 e4 f5 c6 e6 a7 b7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 29 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on e2, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 22, with 30 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: d.
The Black king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22... Qxg2#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to g2 keeps the pressure (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 1.
Move by move
- 22… Qxg2# — queen to g2 (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 1
Checkmate in a single move — find it.
Mate in one: the combination is over, only the final precise shot remains. The method is simple — list every check you have and test the three escapes against each: king moves, blocks, and capturing the checker. If none of them works, it is mate. The classic blunder is falling in love with the first check you see and missing the one escape hatch.
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 006
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