Day 498: Mate in 3
Target rating: 1240
Lesson of the day
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.
Warm-up
1. Winning blow: king to g1 (h1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: king to h1 (g1·8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: king to d2 (c2·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Winning blow: king to f1 (e1·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: king to c1 (d1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Attack on the uncastled king: king to d1 (e1·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: king to d3 (d4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Winning blow: king to e2 (e1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: rook to b2 (b1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: queen to b8 (b1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Mate in 3: rook to g8Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Mate in 3: queen to f2 (e2)Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
13. Mate in 3: queen to h3Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
14. Mate in 3: queen to g7Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Mate in 3: pin on g2Analysis
Black to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: rook to e6 (e1·21)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: rook to e7 (f7·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: bishop to d7 (a4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: knight to e6 (c5·15)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: rook to b8 (b7·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Winning blow: rook to c1 (d1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: rook to g1 (e1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: queen to a3 (f3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: rook to h7 (h1·8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Mate in 2: queen to c7 (c3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
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