Bible Chess

Mate in 1 Chess Puzzles with Answers

20 puzzles · rated 250 to 1084 · answers under each board

A mate in 1 puzzle asks for a single move: the checkmate. It sounds simple, but these puzzles train the habit every strong player has, which is to look at every check before anything else.

The puzzles start easy and get harder down the page. Each has exactly one mating move.

How to solve them

The side to move is at the bottom of each board. White’s pieces are gold and Black’s are stone, drawn as the biblical figures of Bible Chess: the queen is a Judge, the rook a Tower, the bishop a Prophet, the knight a Scout and the pawns are Shepherds.

Puzzle 1: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 250

White: king c4, rook d1. Black: king a4.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Ra1#

  1. Rook d1 to a1. Checkmate!

Puzzle 2: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 481

White: king g1, queen f4, knight e5. Black: king f8, pawn f7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qxf7#

  1. Queen f4 to f7, taking the pawn. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00dOP (CC0)

Puzzle 3: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 543

White: king h1, pawns g2 and h2. Black: king g8, rook f8.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Rf1#

  1. Rook f8 to f1. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 02wjb (CC0)

Puzzle 4: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 628

White: king h6. Black: king f6, rook b8.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Rh8#

  1. Rook b8 to h8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00rIF (CC0)

Puzzle 5: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 681

White: king g1, queen c5. Black: king h8, pawn h7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qf8#

  1. Queen c5 to f8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 02Or9 (CC0)

Puzzle 6: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 714

White: king h1, queen h5, bishop f5. Black: king h8, bishop h6, pawn g7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qe8#

  1. Queen h5 to e8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03B7b (CC0)

Puzzle 7: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 772

White: king h1, queen h2. Black: king h6, queen h4, pawn g3.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Qxh2#

  1. Queen h4 to h2, taking the queen. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 025U2 (CC0)

Puzzle 8: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 809

White: king h4, knight d6, pawn h6. Black: king h8, rook g8, pawn h7.

Hint

Your knight moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Nf7#

  1. Knight d6 to f7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00OPk (CC0)

Puzzle 9: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 821

White: king h2, queen f5, knight f8. Black: king h8.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qh7#

  1. Queen f5 to h7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 02lJV (CC0)

Puzzle 10: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 841

White: king f7, rook f3. Black: king h6, pawn g5.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Rh3#

  1. Rook f3 to h3. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00OXc (CC0)

Puzzle 11: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 877

White: king g1, pawn f2. Black: king g8, queen h4, rook h5.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Qh1#

  1. Queen h4 to h1. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00SOy (CC0)

Puzzle 12: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 903

White: king g1, queen h5, knight g5. Black: king g8, rook f8.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qh7#

  1. Queen h5 to h7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03RFF (CC0)

Puzzle 13: White to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 929

White: king g6, rook a7. Black: king g8.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Ra8#

  1. Rook a7 to a8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 02Pxu (CC0)

Puzzle 14: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 951

White: king g3, bishop f3, pawn g2. Black: king g7, queen h6, pawn g5.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Qh4#

  1. Queen h6 to h4. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03F8X (CC0)

Puzzle 15: Black to move, mate in 1

EasyRating 969

White: king h1, queen g1, pawn g2. Black: king g7, knights g4 and h5.

Hint

Your knight moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Ng3#

  1. Knight h5 to g3. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 00FH6 (CC0)

Puzzle 16: White to move, mate in 1

MediumRating 1004

White: king f1, queen h6. Black: king h8, pawn h7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qf8#

  1. Queen h6 to f8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03hK3 (CC0)

Puzzle 17: White to move, mate in 1

MediumRating 1016

White: king e1, queen e2, knight e4. Black: king e8, queen d8, bishop f8, knight d7.

Hint

Your knight moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Nd6#

  1. Knight e4 to d6. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 01rgi (CC0)

Puzzle 18: Black to move, mate in 1

MediumRating 1041

White: king h2, rooks g1 and g2. Black: king f6, queen g5.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Qh4#

  1. Queen g5 to h4. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03PL7 (CC0)

Puzzle 19: White to move, mate in 1

MediumRating 1051

White: king g1, queen g6, knight g5. Black: king g8, rook g7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qe8#

  1. Queen g6 to e8. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 03bJr (CC0)

Puzzle 20: White to move, mate in 1

MediumRating 1084

White: king h2, rooks e5 and g6, pawn f2. Black: king h4, bishop g3.

Hint

Your pawn moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. fxg3#

  1. Pawn f2 to g3, taking the bishop. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 01zLs (CC0)

Questions

What is a mate in 1 puzzle?

A position where one move gives checkmate. You have to find that move.

How do I get better at mate in 1 puzzles?

Solve many of them and always look at every check first. After a few dozen, patterns like the back rank mate start to jump out.

Is there only one answer?

Yes. Every puzzle on this page has exactly one mating move.

More chess puzzles