Puzzle #3: Mate in 3: fork
Rating ≈ 1600 · 3 moves to find
White to move and mate in 3.
Show a hint
Look for a move that attacks two things at once.
Show the solution
- 18. Bg7+ — the bishop goes to g7 with check and at the same time attacks the rook on f8.
- 18… Kg8 is the only legal move.
- 19. Qd5+ — the queen goes to d5 with check and at the same time attacks the knight on c6.
- 19… Rf7 is the only legal move.
- 20. Qxf7# — the queen takes the rook on f7 — checkmate.
Why it works. Every move in the line is forcing, so the defender never gets time to organise a defence.
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This position comes from a training game and was checked with a chess engine: every move you need to find is the only one that works.