Tsume Shogi Puzzle 5: Mate in 1

Mate in 1 Theme: Back-rank rook drop

Black to move and mate in 1. Black has a rook 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*8a (R*8a)

Drop the rook anywhere far along the back rank. The king cannot step off the rank because its own pawns and your pawn on 5c block every exit.

Keep practicing

Puzzle 5 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.