Day 850: Mate in 3
Target rating: 1796
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: king to g2 (g1)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Mate in 3: pawn to c4 (b3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Mate in 3: rook to e1 (f1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Mate in 3: rook to f8 (c8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Mate in 3: queen to f8 (g8·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Mate in 3: queen to h6 (h3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Mate in 3: queen to f5 (d3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Mate in 3: king to e1 (e2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Mate in 3: queen to d5 (c6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Mate in 3: queen to a8 (f3·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Winning blow: knight to c6 (e7·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Winning blow: queen to d7 (g7·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Winning blow: knight to c8 (b6·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Mate in 3: bishop to e6 (c4·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Mate in 3: discovered attack on h6 (d2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: knight to c5 (d7·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: rook to d6 (d1·23)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: queen to f4 (f2·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: queen to g6 (d3·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: pawn to d6 (e5·16)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Winning blow: pawn to e7 (d6·12)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: queen to d8 (g5·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: bishop to f6 (d4·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: rook to e4 (d4·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: pawn to h8 (h7·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 851 →