Mate in 3: queen to e3 (f4)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 1700 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 d3, queen g6, knight c3, pawn a2 b2 c2 g2 h2 e6.
Black: king b7, queen f4, bishop c5, pawn g5 b6 a7 c7.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 39.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (18 against 16; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d3, the black king on b7.
It is Black to move on move 39, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: e, h.
The Black king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
39... Qe3+ 40. Kc4 Qd4+ 41. Kb3 Qb4#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e3 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to d4 (#1).
- Strong! queen to b4 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kc4, then Qd4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 39… Qe3+ — queen to e3 with check
- 40. Kc4 — king to c4
- Qd4+ — queen to d4 with check
- 41. Kb3 — king to b3
- Qb4# — queen to b4 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
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.
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.
Queen endgame
Queens on an open board — precision above all.
Queen endgames are treacherous: the queen reaches everywhere, and one slip turns a win into perpetual check. The signs are few pawns, exposed kings, and checks hanging in the air. Tuck your king away early, and use your own checks to bring the queen closer or push your passer with tempo. The typical mistake is grabbing pawns while leaving your king exposed to endless checks.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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