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 f9. Trace Red's c5-f5 move on the diagram before checking Black's reply.
How the mate works
Verified line: Red c5-f5 (炮七平四), Black f7-e8 (士6退5), then Red d6-f7 (馬六进四) 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 shifts from c5 to f5, and the black advisor retreats from f7 to e8 in the recorded reply. The horse then jumps from d6 to f7 for mate. The changed cannon line and the final horse move must be checked separately.
The advisor’s reply changes the occupied squares. Check the horse leg for d6-f7 on that new board, not on the starting position.
Full move list
Moves alternate Red and Black, exactly as published in the solution.
- 1. c5-f5 f7-e8 （炮七平四 士6退5）
- 2. d6-f7 （馬六进四）
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.