«There should be no such thing as boring mathematics.» — Edsger W. Dijkstra
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Puzzle #58: Mate in 1

Rating ≈ 800 · 1 move to find

White to move and mate in 1.

Puzzle position: White to move and mate in 1.♝︎♜︎♜︎♚︎♞︎♟︎♟︎♛︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♜︎♟︎♝︎♛︎♟︎♜︎♚︎a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
Show a hint

Start with the most forcing moves: checks first.

Show the solution
  1. 31. Rxg7# — the rook takes the pawn on g7 — checkmate.

Why it works. It's checkmate: the king is in check, every square around it is covered or blocked, and the checking piece can be neither captured nor blocked.

Themes: Mate in 1

Want to recognise this pattern faster? Read the guide.

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.

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