Mate in 3: queen to f3 (f5)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2092 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 h2, queen f5, pawn f2 h3 g4.
Black: king h4, queen d4, pawn b4 g5 h6.
5 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 12 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on h2, the black king on h4.
It is White to move on move 41, with 25 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
41. Qf3 Qf4+ 42. Qg3+ Qxg3+ 43. fxg3#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f3 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to g3 (#1).
- Strong! pawn to g3 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Qf4+, then Qg3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 41. Qf3 — queen to f3
- Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- 42. Qg3+ — queen to g3 with check
- Qxg3+ — queen to g3 (capture) with check
- 43. fxg3# — pawn to g3 (capture) and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Pawn mate
The humblest soldier delivers the final blow.
The pawn mate lets the humblest soldier land the final blow. It happens to a king stuck among its own and enemy pieces: the pawn strikes diagonally from one square away and there is nowhere left to run. The sign: the squares around the king are covered or occupied, and your pawn stands one step from striking distance. Never write pawns out of your attack — their blows are the cheapest and therefore the most humiliating.
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.
Queen endgame
Queens on an open board — precision above all.
Queen endgames are treacherous: the queen reaches everywhere, and one slip turns a win into perpetual check. The signs are few pawns, exposed kings, and checks hanging in the air. Tuck your king away early, and use your own checks to bring the queen closer or push your passer with tempo. The typical mistake is grabbing pawns while leaving your king exposed to endless checks.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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