Puzzles 2026 – Solution to Puzzle (iii)

(iii) White is in check and has exactly six legal moves – none of these moves is a capture, and all of them are mate in one. Target: 8 units.

One possible 8-unit solution to Puzzle (iii) appears in the diagram below.

White is in check from Black’s knight, but White’s queen and rook cannot capture the knight as they are pinned to the White king. As a result, White has exactly six legal moves – all with the king, and none of them captures – each of which delivers a discovered mate from White’s bishop. Crucially, Black’s knight is unable to block as it is pinned to the Black king by White’s rook.

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Sample solution, 8 units (T. Paulden, 2026)