How to solve mate in 3 puzzles
- After the opponent’s move, you have a forced checkmate in three moves. Work out the whole line before you play the first move.
- Play each move by clicking or dragging. The opponent answers with their best defense each time.
- Each move has to match the forcing line; on the final move, any checkmate counts. A wrong move is taken back.
Ideas behind three-move mates
- A first move often clears the way, opening a line or a diagonal so another piece can join the attack.
- Checks can drag the king out, pulling it away from its defenders into the open.
- Some lines capture or deflect the one piece that holds the position together, then mate.
- In a mating net, quiet moves close every escape square before the final check.
Tips
- Many mate in three lines are all checks. If you find a line of checks that ends in mate, test it against every reply.
- Material doesn’t matter once the king is mated, and some solutions give up the queen.
- Saying the line to yourself (“rook takes, king takes, queen check”) helps you hold it in your head.
About these puzzles
Every puzzle comes from a real Lichess game, from the public-domain Lichess puzzle database, with a forced mate in three confirmed by an engine. Only puzzles played at least a thousand times and well rated by players are included.