Mate in 3: bishop to e3 (f4·2)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2029 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 g1, rook e8, bishop c5 d5, knight e5, pawn a2 h3 d4.
Black: king h6, rook b2, bishop f4, knight h5, pawn a4 f5 g6 h7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (17 against 15; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on h6.
It is Black to move on move 32, with 28 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: d.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32... Be3+ 33. Kf1 Ng3+ 34. Ke1 Rb1#
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to e3 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: knight to g3 (#1).
- Strong! rook to b1 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kf1, then Ng3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32… Be3+ — bishop to e3 with check
- 33. Kf1 — king to f1
- Ng3+ — knight to g3 with check
- 34. Ke1 — king to e1
- Rb1# — rook to b1 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.
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 014
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