Mate in 3: rook to g2
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 1489 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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 h2, queen e8, rook a1 g1, pawn a2 b2 g2 c3 f3 h3.
Black: king h6, queen f5, rook g7, knight f4, pawn e5 d6 e6 f6 a7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (25 against 23; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on h6.
It is Black to move on move 33, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: b, c, g.
The Black king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33... Rxg2+ 34. Rxg2 Qxh3+ 35. Kg1 Qxg2#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g2 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to h3 (#1).
- Strong! queen to g2 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Rxg2, then Qxh3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33… Rxg2+ — rook to g2 (capture) with check
- 34. Rxg2 — rook to g2 (capture)
- Qxh3+ — queen to h3 (capture) with check
- 35. Kg1 — king to g1
- Qxg2# — queen to g2 (capture) 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.
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 011
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