Mate in 3: rook to h7 (h1·5)
sf-t-0089naming tag (square·N)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
Position on the board
White: king g2, queen e3, rook e1 h1, bishop e6, knight d2, pawn a2 b2 e2 c3 d4 g4 g5.
Black: king g7, rook e8 g8, bishop d8, knight a8, pawn d5 c6 d6 a7 b7.
13 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22. Rh7+ Kxh7 23. Qh3+ Kg7 24. Qh6#
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h7 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Spot on — queen to h3 (#1).
- Strong! queen to h6 is the sharp choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kxh7, then Qh3+ and you stay on top.
Types in this puzzle
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
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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