Mate in 2: queen to g1 (g5·2)
li-0B84Vnaming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Mate in 2: the first move creates an unstoppable threat, the second delivers mate.
Difficulty 1989 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
Black to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king h2, queen c2, rook f1 a8, bishop c1 d5, knight e1 c4, pawn c3 d3 e4 b5.
Black: king c8, queen g5, rook d8 h8, bishop b6 d7, knight b8, pawn f2 h3 e5 h5 d6 b7 c7.
12 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22... Qg1+ 23. Rxg1 fxg1=Q#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to g1 keeps the pressure (#1).
- Well found: pawn to g1 (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 2.
- If instead Rxg1, then fxg1=Q# and it is mate.
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 2
A forced checkmate in two moves.
Mate in two: your move, any reply, then the mating blow. Start with the most forcing first moves — checks and sacrifices that shrink the opponent's options to almost nothing. Against every single reply you must have a mate ready, so check them all without exception. The common failure is analyzing the pretty defense and forgetting the boring one.
Promotion mate
The pawn promotes — and the new piece mates on the spot.
In a promotion mate the pawn takes its final step and the newborn piece mates on the spot. Sometimes the hero is a knight rather than a queen — it checks from the promotion square in a way no queen can. The sign: the enemy king lingers near the promotion square while your pieces already control its escape routes. When counting pawn races, always check whether the promotion itself is mate — that gains you a full tempo in the evaluation.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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