CHESSDORRAMate in 2
Black to move
Solution
One solution line: Bg3 b4 Re1#.
Position analysis
What happens on the board after the solution.
The key idea
Bg3 b4 Re1# The king on f1 is in check from rook e1. The other escape squares are covered: e1 — bishop g3, g1 — rook e1, e2 — rook h2, f2 — bishop g3, g2 — rook h2. No legal capture or block removes the check. It is checkmate. Every defense and mating continuation: c5 → Re1#; b4 → Re1#; f4 → Re1#; Kg1 → Re1#.
How to find checkmate
Check the king’s escape squares and every available defense.
When check becomes checkmate
Checkmate occurs when the king is in check and its side has no legal move. With no legal move and no check, the result is stalemate.
Three ways to defend
First check whether the king can move to a safe square. Then look for a legal capture of the checking piece or a block. A knight check cannot be blocked. In double check, only a king move can get out of check.
Mate against every reply
For mate in two, choose a first move, list the opponent’s replies, and find a mate after each. The first move can be quiet. A quiet move leaving the opponent with no legal reply produces stalemate.
Sources
Check and king safety
How to identify check and test the legality of a reply.
King safety after a move
Check your own king after the move you are considering. A pawn can leave a file and expose its king to a rook check even if the king was safe before the move.
Pinned pieces
A pinned piece still attacks squares according to its movement rules. Count those attacks when testing a king move or castling.
Reading the line of check
Locate the checking piece first. If the check travels along a line, test whether it can be blocked. Then check captures and king moves.
Sources
Quiet first moves in mating puzzles
How to prepare mate when an immediate check falls short.
Find the threat first
Find a mating threat you can create with the first move. Then check every legal reply: the opponent may give check, take a piece you need, or free an escape square. Different replies can require different mating moves.
The opponent must have a move
If the preparatory move gives no check and leaves the opponent with no legal move, the game ends in stalemate before the intended mate.
Sources
Morphy’s Opera Game, 1858
The queen was sacrificed, and a rook and bishop delivered mate.
What made Rd8# possible
In Paris in 1858, Paul Morphy played White against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, who consulted over Black’s moves. After 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8#, the rook delivered mate on d8. The bishop on g5 guarded it along g5–f6–e7–d8, so the king could not take it.
Sources
Sources · Lichess