Mate in 3: rook to e8 (e4·2)
sf-t-0010naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Difficulty 1860 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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.
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
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 c1, queen e1, rook b1 e4, bishop f2 c4, pawn a2 c2 g2 h2 f3 a5.
Black: king b8, queen d6, bishop f7 f8, knight d5 g6, pawn a3 b7 c7 g7 h7.
12 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (31 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 20, with 50 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
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
20. Re8+ Bxe8 21. Qxe8+ Qd8 22. Qxd8#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e8 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to e8 (#1).
- Precise: queen to d8 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Bxe8, then Qxe8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 20. Re8+ — rook to e8 with check
- Bxe8 — bishop to e8 (capture)
- 21. Qxe8+ — queen to e8 (capture) with check
- Qd8 — queen to d8
- 22. Qxd8# — queen to d8 (capture) 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.
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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