And bonus: there are some very nice almost-solution moves here.
Come on, find checkmate in two moves.
As usual, you need to find a move that White can play now that guarantees mate on the next turn, even if Black plays accurately. This is the winning move. Then tell us: What will be the mate move you plan on the second turn? How will you deal with Black’s defenses? Good luck and enjoy, both the solution and the deceptions.
โก๏ธMore about this Art-Puzzle
Recommendation: Try solving it yourself first
Solved it yet?
Read more
The title was referring to the author, of course. We are already experienced with solution moves that involve the risk of getting check on White.
So how can we be surprised? Did we think of checkmate despite double check?
In previous puzzles (like this & this & this) weโve seen mate delivered even in the face of check: White allows a check on the first move, and still manages to deliver mate on the second, all while responding appropriately to the threat. The twist in this puzzle is even more striking โ itโs mate despite a double check!
When dealing with double check, there’s only one way to respond: the threatened โ must move. And to ensure that the checking pieces โ here โ and โ โ canโt reach d6 on the next move and block the โ threat, both are tactically pinned in advance by white pieces: the โ(โ) and the โh(โ).
๐What made us go โWow!โ :
๐กYou can win at checkmate even if you just got double check!! Message for life ๐
How beautiful! In the previous puzzles I wondered if it was possible to checkmate despite double check… It’s fun to discover that the author read my thoughts ๐
Hi Liam,
Thatโs a lovely way to put it ๐
Some ideas have a way of โasking to be explored,โ and itโs especially rewarding when a puzzle seems to meet a question you were already carrying. Weโre glad you enjoyed the discovery! โ๏ธโจ
โ The ChessAPit Team