Day 698: Mate in 3
Target rating: 1496
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: rook to e1 (c1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: rook to b8 (b1·14)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: bishop to a5 (b4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d7 (d6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: rook to a7 (a5·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: knight to e7 (f5·26)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: queen to f7 (f4·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f8 (f3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: rook to e6 (d6·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e6 (d4·24)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Winning blow: knight to h6 (g8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Winning blow: pawn to b8 (b7·11)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Winning blow: bishop to g4 (e2·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Winning blow: rook to a7 (a8·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h7 (h4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Mate in 2: queen to g4 (f3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Mate in 2: queen to d7 (d1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d6 (d1·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d8 (d4·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to b6 (d5·8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Winning blow: pawn to c4 (d3·10)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Mate in 2: knight to b5 (d6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: queen to g7 (g1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to c3 (c1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d7 (d3·10)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 699 →