Position and objective
Red material: Horse + Cannon. Black defenders: Advisor.
Mate the black general within the move limit. Red moves first and the AI answers for Black, with every move validated as it is played.
The black general starts on e9. Trace Red's i8-i9 move on the diagram before checking Black's reply.
How the mate works
Verified line: Red i8-i9 (炮一进一), Black f9-e8 (士6进5), then Red d6-c8 (馬六进七) mates. This is one legal continuation of the validated solution.
The shortest mate takes two moves. The complete move list is on this page — try to find it yourself first.
The first move is the key to the forced mate. Black may have other legal replies; the line below shows one verified continuation.
Key move and common mistakes
The cannon advances from i8 to i9. The black advisor moves from f9 to e8 in the recorded reply, and the horse then jumps from d6 to c8 to mate. The changed advisor position matters to the cannon line and the combined control of the palace.
Recount the cannon’s intervening pieces after the advisor moves. Do not evaluate the final horse and cannon attacks using the initial screen positions.
Full move list
Moves alternate Red and Black, exactly as published in the solution.
- 1. i8-i9 f9-e8 （炮一进一 士6进5）
- 2. d6-c8 （馬六进七）
Difficulty and help
Use Hint when you are stuck, or Undo to take a move back.
A wrong move does not end the game — restart the same position and try again.