What is a chess mate in one?
A chess mate in one is a position where one side can give checkmate with a single move. Your job is to find that move: the one check the king can’t escape, block or capture. Mate in one puzzles, often written mate in 1, are the first tactics most players learn, and they never stop being useful, because every longer combination finishes with exactly this kind of blow.
This trainer has 450 mate in one chess puzzles taken from real games played on Lichess. Each position was found by the Stockfish engine and checked again for this site. They’re split into easy, medium and hard, so beginners and club players both get puzzles at the right level. Everything runs in your browser, with no app to install and no account to create.
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How to play these mate in one puzzles
Choose a level in the settings, then pick a mode.
Puzzle rush
- Pick Puzzle rush and press Start. A 3, 2, 1 countdown gets you ready.
- A position appears with the side to move at the bottom. The last move played is tinted on the board.
- Tap a piece and then its square, or drag it. Dots show where the selected piece can go.
- A checkmate scores a point and the next puzzle appears. A wrong move shows the answer, then moves on.
- Solve as many as you can before the time runs out.
Practice
- Pick Practice and press Start. There’s no clock.
- Take your time and look at every check the side to move has.
- A wrong move is taken back so you can try again.
- Stuck? Hint shows which piece to move, and Show answer reveals the mate.
- Press Next puzzle whenever you’re ready for another one.
The gear icon next to the board lets you choose the level, set the length of a puzzle rush, hide the coordinates or turn the sound off. The arrow icon flips the board.
What counts as checkmate?
Checkmate means the king is in check and has no legal way out. There are only three ways to answer a check: move the king to a safe square, block the line of attack, or capture the checking piece. When none of them works, the game is over. The FIDE Laws of Chess put it simply: the game is won by the player who has checkmated the opponent’s king.
That gives you a quick test for any move you’re considering in a one move mate puzzle. Does it give check? Can the king step away? Can anything block it? Can the checking piece be taken? Only a move that survives all four questions is checkmate.
Common checkmate patterns to know
Most mate in one positions repeat a handful of patterns. Once you know them, you’ll often see the answer at a glance.
| Pattern | What it looks like | Typical pieces |
|---|---|---|
| Back-rank mate | A rook or queen mates a king trapped on its first rank by its own pawns. | Rook, queen |
| Smothered mate | A knight mates a king surrounded by its own pieces, with no square to go to. | Knight |
| Supported queen mate | The queen gives mate right next to the king, protected by another piece. | Queen + any |
| Anastasia’s mate | A knight and a rook or queen trap the king against the edge of the board. | Knight + rook |
| Arabian mate | A rook and a knight work together to mate a king in the corner. | Rook + knight |
| Boden’s mate | Two bishops on crossing diagonals mate the king, often after queenside castling. | Two bishops |
| Mate by promotion | A pawn reaches the last rank and the new piece gives checkmate. | Pawn |
How to find mate in one faster
These habits work in every checkmate puzzle, and in real games too.
Check every check
Start by listing every check the side to move has, even the ones that look silly. The answer is always among them, because checkmate is a check with no way out.
Count the king’s squares
Look at the squares around the enemy king. Which are covered by your pieces, and which are blocked by its own? A king with no free squares is a mate waiting to happen.
Watch the back rank
A king behind its own unmoved pawns has no air. A rook or queen landing on that rank is often mate.
Remember the knight
A knight check can’t be blocked. When the king is boxed in by its own pieces, look for a knight check first.
Test the defence
Before you move, ask whether the checking piece can be captured or the check blocked. If either is possible, it isn’t mate.
Then speed up
When you solve the easy puzzles reliably, switch to Puzzle rush. Speed turns patterns into reflexes.
How to train chess tactics with mate in one
Mate in one is the best entry point to chess tactics training, because the goal is clear and the answer is always forcing. A simple routine works: a few puzzles in Practice to warm up, then one Puzzle rush to test yourself. When your accuracy stays above eight in ten, move up a level.
Speed of sight matters as much as calculation. If you lose time working out where squares like h7 or f7 are, a few runs of Chess Coordinate Training will help, and the Knight Move Trainer makes the knight checks behind smothered mates much easier to spot.
Chess mate in one FAQ
What is mate in one in chess?
It’s a position where one move gives checkmate. In a mate in one puzzle, you have to find that move.
Are these mate in 1 puzzles from real games?
Yes. Every position comes from a game played on Lichess and was turned into a puzzle with the Stockfish engine. Lichess publishes its puzzles under the CC0 licence, and each one was checked again with a chess rules library before going on this site.
Is this a chess mate in 1 AI?
Not quite. There’s no computer opponent to play against. A chess engine found the puzzles, and the site checks your move with the rules of chess, so every answer is verified. The thinking is left to you.
What if there is more than one mate?
Any move that gives checkmate counts. A few positions have two different mates, and both are accepted.
Which level should I start with?
Start on Easy if you’re new to checkmate puzzles. Move up when you solve most puzzles on the first try, and use Practice whenever a level feels too hard.
How many puzzles are there?
There are 450 checkmate in one puzzles: 150 easy, 150 medium and 150 hard, mixed in a new order every time you start.
Is it free, and do I need an app?
It’s free, there’s no app to install and it works in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Your best scores stay on your device.