Mate in 3: rook to d8 (d1·11)
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The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Difficulty 2065 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 h3, rook d1, bishop a3, knight g5, pawn g3 f4 a5.
Black: king g8, rook b7 c7, bishop f2, pawn e4 f5 a6 g6.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (14 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h3, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 41, with 30 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, d, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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. Rd8+ Kg7 42. Bf8+ Kf6 43. Rd6#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d8 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: bishop to f8 (#1).
- Strong! rook to d6 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kg7, then Bf8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 41. Rd8+ — rook to d8 with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 42. Bf8+ — bishop to f8 with check
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 43. Rd6# — rook to d6 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.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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