Tsume Shogi Puzzle 3: Mate in 1

Mate in 1 Theme: Dragon head mate

Black to move and mate in 1. Black has no pieces in hand. Every attacking move must give check, and the defender always plays the toughest reply. Find the one move that leaves the king no answer.

Solve it on the board above and the explanation appears automatically. If you are stuck, the Show solution button plays the line through, or open the spoiler below.

Reveal the solution

Black: +R-5b (4c5b)

The dragon steps diagonally to 5b. Its rook power and diagonal steps cover every square around the king, and the pawn on 5c guards the dragon.

Keep practicing

Puzzle 3 of the mate-in-3 set raises the difficulty.
All 20 puzzles in one place.
New to checkmate problems? The tsume shogi guide explains the rules and conventions.