Bible Chess

Mate in 4 and Mate in 5 Chess Puzzles

12 puzzles · rated 1207 to 2263 · answers under each board

These are the longest puzzles in Bible Chess: four or five moves of forcing play before the king falls. Each has a single first move that wins, and the answer shows the whole line.

Long mates are rarely long to find once you see the idea. Look for a series of checks that drives the king toward your pieces.

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: Black to move, mate in 5

MediumRating 1207

White: king f1, pawn b3. Black: king g3, pawns f2 and c5.

Hint

Your king moves first, and it is not a check.

Show the answer

1... Kf3 2. b4 c4 3. b5 c3 4. b6 c2 5. b7 c1=Q#

  1. King g3 to f3. White answers: pawn b3 to b4.
  2. Pawn c5 to c4. White answers: pawn b4 to b5.
  3. Pawn c4 to c3. White answers: pawn b5 to b6.
  4. Pawn c3 to c2. White answers: pawn b6 to b7.
  5. Pawn c2 to c1, promoting to a queen. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle DGctw (CC0)

Puzzle 2: White to move, mate in 4

MediumRating 1393

White: king a5, pawns a4 and b7. Black: king b8, pawn f4.

Hint

Your king moves first, and it is not a check.

Show the answer

1. Kb6 f3 2. a5 f2 3. a6 f1=Q 4. a7#

  1. King a5 to b6. Black answers: pawn f4 to f3.
  2. Pawn a4 to a5. Black answers: pawn f3 to f2.
  3. Pawn a5 to a6. Black answers: pawn f2 to f1, promoting to a queen.
  4. Pawn a6 to a7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 2CjkG (CC0)

Puzzle 3: White to move, mate in 4

MediumRating 1423

White: king g1, rooks e5 and c7, pawns f3 and d4. Black: king f4, rook h3.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Rf7+ Kg3 2. Rg5+ Kh4 3. Rg4+ Kh5 4. Rh7#

  1. Rook c7 to f7, check. Black answers: king f4 to g3.
  2. Rook e5 to g5, check. Black answers: king g3 to h4.
  3. Rook g5 to g4, check. Black answers: king h4 to h5.
  4. Rook f7 to h7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 710wD (CC0)

Puzzle 4: White to move, mate in 4

HardRating 1530

White: king f6, knight g5, pawn h6. Black: king g8, knight e2.

Hint

Your pawn moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. h7+ Kh8 2. Kg6 Nf4+ 3. Kh6 Ng6 4. Nf7#

  1. Pawn h6 to h7, check. Black answers: king g8 to h8.
  2. King f6 to g6. Black answers: knight e2 to f4, check.
  3. King g6 to h6. Black answers: knight f4 to g6.
  4. Knight g5 to f7. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 74aiZ (CC0)

Puzzle 5: Black to move, mate in 4

HardRating 1619

White: king h2, bishop e3, pawn f2. Black: king f3, rook a5, bishop e4.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Rh5+ 2. Kg1 Ke2 3. f3 Bxf3 4. Bf4 Rh1#

  1. Rook a5 to h5, check. White answers: king h2 to g1.
  2. King f3 to e2. White answers: pawn f2 to f3.
  3. Bishop e4 to f3, taking the pawn. White answers: bishop e3 to f4.
  4. Rook h5 to h1. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle H4OMg (CC0)

Puzzle 6: White to move, mate in 4

HardRating 1686

White: king h2, queen f7, pawns g2 and h4. Black: king g4, queen h8, pawns g6 and h7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1. Qf3+ Kxh4 2. g3+ Kg5 3. Qf4+ Kh5 4. Qh4#

  1. Queen f7 to f3, check. Black answers: king g4 to h4, taking the pawn.
  2. Pawn g2 to g3, check. Black answers: king h4 to g5.
  3. Queen f3 to f4, check. Black answers: king g5 to h5.
  4. Queen f4 to h4. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle Gukk9 (CC0)

Puzzle 7: Black to move, mate in 4

HardRating 1821

White: king h5, rook b4, pawn h3. Black: king h7, rook g2, pawns f6 and g7.

Hint

Your pawn moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... g6+ 2. Kh4 Kh6 3. Rb5 g5+ 4. Rxg5 fxg5#

  1. Pawn g7 to g6, check. White answers: king h5 to h4.
  2. King h7 to h6. White answers: rook b4 to b5.
  3. Pawn g6 to g5, check. White answers: rook b5 to g5, taking the pawn.
  4. Pawn f6 to g5, taking the rook. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle GOtEZ (CC0)

Puzzle 8: Black to move, mate in 4

HardRating 1866

White: king h2, rook e4, pawn g2. Black: king f2, rook d3, pawn g4.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Rh3+ 2. gxh3 g3+ 3. Kh1 g2+ 4. Kh2 g1=Q#

  1. Rook d3 to h3, check. White answers: pawn g2 to h3, taking the rook.
  2. Pawn g4 to g3, check. White answers: king h2 to h1.
  3. Pawn g3 to g2, check. White answers: king h1 to h2.
  4. Pawn g2 to g1, promoting to a queen. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 6Hdtz (CC0)

Puzzle 9: Black to move, mate in 4

Very hardRating 1938

White: king f1, rook b1. Black: king f3, rook g2, knight d4.

Hint

Your rook moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Rf2+ 2. Ke1 Nc2+ 3. Kd1 Ne3+ 4. Ke1 Re2#

  1. Rook g2 to f2, check. White answers: king f1 to e1.
  2. Knight d4 to c2, check. White answers: king e1 to d1.
  3. Knight c2 to e3, check. White answers: king d1 to e1.
  4. Rook f2 to e2. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 5hnOn (CC0)

Puzzle 10: Black to move, mate in 4

Very hardRating 1990

White: king h1, pawns g2, f4 and g4. Black: king g3, pawns h3 and g5.

Hint

Your pawn moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... hxg2+ 2. Kg1 gxf4 3. g5 f3 4. g6 f2#

  1. Pawn h3 to g2, taking the pawn, check. White answers: king h1 to g1.
  2. Pawn g5 to f4, taking the pawn. White answers: pawn g4 to g5.
  3. Pawn f4 to f3. White answers: pawn g5 to g6.
  4. Pawn f3 to f2. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle Fd8cY (CC0)

Puzzle 11: Black to move, mate in 4

Very hardRating 2087

White: king h3, queen e4, pawns h2 and g4. Black: king g8, queen f6, pawns g5, h5 and f7.

Hint

Your queen moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... Qf1+ 2. Qg2 hxg4+ 3. Kxg4 Qf4+ 4. Kh5 Qh4#

  1. Queen f6 to f1, check. White answers: queen e4 to g2.
  2. Pawn h5 to g4, taking the pawn, check. White answers: king h3 to g4, taking the pawn.
  3. Queen f1 to f4, check. White answers: king g4 to h5.
  4. Queen f4 to h4. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 3ayk2 (CC0)

Puzzle 12: Black to move, mate in 4

Very hardRating 2263

White: king g4, pawn h2. Black: king f6, rook f3, pawns e4, g6 and h7.

Hint

Your pawn moves first, with check.

Show the answer

1... h5+ 2. Kh4 Kf5 3. h3 g5+ 4. Kxh5 Rxh3#

  1. Pawn h7 to h5, check. White answers: king g4 to h4.
  2. King f6 to f5. White answers: pawn h2 to h3.
  3. Pawn g6 to g5, check. White answers: king h4 to h5, taking the pawn.
  4. Rook f3 to h3, taking the pawn. Checkmate!

Based on Lichess puzzle 8Ag3O (CC0)

Questions

What is a mate in 4?

A position where one side can force checkmate within four of its own moves, whatever the defence.

How do I calculate four moves ahead?

Stick to forcing moves. Against a check the opponent has only a few replies, so the lines stay short enough to see.

More chess puzzles