Mate in 1: queen to e6
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The tactical motive
Mate in 1: find the move after which the enemy king has no escape.
Difficulty 916 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
White 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 g1, queen g4, rook a1 f1, bishop c1, knight b1 g5, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 h2 c3 e4.
Black: king g8, queen d8, rook a8 h8, bishop f8, knight c6 e7, pawn d4 a6 d6 h6 b7 c7 g7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 11.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 35 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 11, with 37 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: d.
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
11. Qe6#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e6 keeps the pressure (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 1.
Move by move
- 11. Qe6# — queen to e6 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.
Relative pin
A piece shields a more valuable one behind it — moving it loses material.
In a relative pin the piece shields not its king but something valuable behind it, usually the queen. Moving is legal but costly, because the piece behind falls. Look for three units on one line: your long-range piece, a cheaper enemy piece, and an expensive one hiding behind. Beware the classic trap — a relatively pinned piece can still move with check or a bigger threat, so verify before you cash in.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 004
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