Day 930: Mate in 3
Target rating: 1968
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: knight to h7 (g5·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: bishop to c4 (e2·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Winning blow: queen to d5 (e5·8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Winning blow: bishop to c4 (d3·10)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: queen to e5 (b2·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: queen to a2 (a1·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Winning blow: queen to f8 (e7·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Winning blow: pawn to h7 (g6·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: pawn to a4 (b3·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: rook to d6 (e6·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Core set
11. Mate in 3: rook to h7 (g7·2)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Mate in 3: queen to d7 (d4·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Mate in 3: rook to a8 (a6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Mate in 3: queen to c4 (f1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Mate in 3: rook to g6 (g3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Winning blow: rook to c1 (f1·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: queen to g3 (h3·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Winning blow: king to h1 (g2·5)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Winning blow: rook to e1 (f1·14)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Winning blow: queen to d7 (g4·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g6 (c2·6)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Winning blow: queen to b6 (b5·7)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: rook to g1 (h1·8)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: rook to f1 (h1·3)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: pawn to a5 (a4·4)Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
Challenge
Review
Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!
Day 931 →