Mate in 3: rook to h4 (g4)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2115 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 h1, rook f1 g4, bishop f6, pawn f2 h2 e5.
Black: king h7, queen b2, rook a8, bishop d7, pawn a6 e6 b7 c7 f7.
7 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 6 points of material (16 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h1, the black king on h7.
It is White to move on move 27, with 32 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, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, c.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
27. Rh4+ Kg6 28. Rg1+ Kf5 29. Rg5#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h4 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: rook to g1 (#1).
- Strong! rook to g5 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kg6, then Rg1+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 27. Rh4+ — rook to h4 with check
- Kg6 — king to g6
- 28. Rg1+ — rook to g1 with check
- Kf5 — king to f5
- 29. Rg5# — rook to g5 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Ladder mate
Two heavy pieces climb line by line, cutting off every retreat.
The ladder mate uses two heavy pieces climbing rung by rung: one cuts the king off along a line, the other checks on the next line, driving him toward the edge. It is the classic two-rook technique — check, the king retreats one rank, the other rook checks, until mate on the last rank. The only danger is the king creeping close enough to attack one of your rooks. If it does, simply slide that rook to the far side of the same line.
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.
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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