Day 824: Mate in 3
Target rating: 1753
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. Mate in 3: queen to f7 (f2·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to a6 (f1·16)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Mate in 3: queen to g4 (b4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Mate in 3: queen to c8 (c2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Mate in 3: bishop to f6 (g5·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Mate in 3: pawn to c7 (c6·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Mate in 3: king to d2 (e1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Mate in 3: pawn to f7 (e6·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Mate in 3: queen to h4 (d4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Mate in 3: queen to g8 (g5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Mate in 3: pawn to e5 (e4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Mate in 3: queen to a6 (a3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Mate in 3: rook to e6 (e4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Mate in 3: queen to c5 (c7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to c7 (c6·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Mate in 3: pawn to f6 (g5·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g5 (h4·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Mate in 3: queen to h6 (h7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Mate in 3: bishop to c7 (a5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Mate in 3: queen to g6 (g4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Mate in 3: rook to f6 (e6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Mate in 3: bishop to a4 (d1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Mate in 3: bishop to e6 (a2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Mate in 3: pawn to d6 (e5·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Mate in 3: rook to g1 (f1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 825 →