Tsume Shogi Puzzle 4: Mate in 1

Mate in 1 Theme: Knight drop

Black to move and mate in 1. Black has a knight 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: N*4c (N*4c)

Drop the knight on 4c, checking from a distance. Nothing can capture it, and the silver on 5c seals the escape squares on the second rank.

Keep practicing

Puzzle 4 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.