Mate in 3: rook to d8 (d1·10)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2003 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
White 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 c4, queen h4, rook d1, pawn c3 g3 a6.
Black: king g8, queen b2, bishop c5, pawn b6 e6 a7 f7 g7.
6 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 17 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on c4, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 35, with 31 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, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e, f.
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
35. Rd8+ Bf8 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Qd8#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d8 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: rook to f8 (#1).
- Strong! queen to d8 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Bf8, then Rxf8+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 35. Rd8+ — rook to d8 with check
- Bf8 — bishop to f8
- 36. Rxf8+ — rook to f8 (capture) with check
- Kxf8 — king to f8 (capture)
- 37. Qd8# — queen to d8 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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