White to move · 3 moves · Rating 575
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
Show the solution
27.Qg8+ Bf8 28.Qxf8+ Rd8 29.Qxd8#
Ponderchess / Puzzles
Mate in 3 puzzles
56 mate in 3 puzzles from real games, rated 575 to 2407. Here are 18, from easiest to hardest.
Three-move mates usually combine two ideas: a sacrifice to open the king, then a sequence of checks that leaves it nowhere to go. The defender often has more than one reply, so the line branches.
These puzzles stretch your calculation. Solving them reliably means visualising the board two moves ahead without moving the pieces, which is exactly the skill that decides real games.
How to solve them: Look at the squares around the enemy king first and count which ones you already control. The winning line usually takes away the remaining escape squares one check at a time.
18 mate in 3 puzzles to solve
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Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 751
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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33...Rb1+ 34.Qd1 Rxd1+ 35.Rf1 Rdxf1#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 990
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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41.Qf7+ Kh8 42.Qf8+ Rxf8 43.Rxf8#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 1199
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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20...Nxg3+ 21.hxg3 Rh6+ 22.Qh5 Rxh5#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1326
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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32.Re8+ Rxe8 33.Rxe8+ Kf7 34.Qg6#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1421
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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36.Qd6+ Ke8 37.Bb5+ Rc6 38.Bxc6#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1487
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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18.Qxf7+ Rxf7 19.Re8+ Rf8 20.Rfxf8#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1568
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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23.Qxh7+ Kf8 24.Bh6+ Bg7 25.Qxg7#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 1599
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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28...fxg2+ 29.Kg1 Qd4+ 30.Rf2 Qxf2#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1712
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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30.Rxh7+ Kxh7 31.Rh1+ Bh4 32.Rxh4#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1799
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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20.Qh7+ Kf8 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Nd5#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 1929
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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33.Qf8+ Kc7 34.Rc8+ Kb6 35.Qc5#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 2018
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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27...Rxf1+ 28.Rxf1 Bxg2+ 29.Kg1 Bf3#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 2061
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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23.Rh8+ Kxh8 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Qxg7#
White to move · 3 moves · Rating 2103
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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31.Nf8+ Kg8 32.Qh7+ Kxf8 33.Qh8#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 2219
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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33...Ng3+ 34.Kxh2 Qh5+ 35.Kg1 Qh1#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 2233
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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23...Rf4+ 24.Ke1 Rh1+ 25.Ke2 Rf2#
Black to move · 3 moves · Rating 2407
Find checkmate in 3 moves.
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35...Rf4+ 36.Kxg5 Rg4+ 37.Kh6 Qd2#
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Positions from the open Lichess puzzle database (CC0).