← Legends · 25 of 50
A pawn mates in the centre
Gioachino Greco vs NN · Italy 1620 · White to play and win
White to play. Mate in 3.
Find the move that was played. The other side answers by itself.
Gioachino Greco vs NN
Italy, 1620
Share this puzzle on X →The game
Gioachino Greco against NN, Italy, 1620. The board above holds the position as it stood: White to move, and mate in 3. Find the move that was played and the other side answers by itself, exactly as it answered then.
The story behind it, which gives the finish away
The black king is lured to e6 by a bishop and mated there by a pawn. Four centuries old, and still the shortest lesson on a king in the centre.
More from Gioachino Greco and NN
- Greco's smothered mateGioachino Greco vs NN · 1619
- The rook that did not matterGioachino Greco vs NN · 1620
- Greco's ItalianGioachino Greco vs NN · 1620
- The Peruvian ImmortalEsteban Canal vs NN · 1934
- Legal's mateKermur de Legal vs Saint Brie · 1750
- The Emperor's mateNapoleon Bonaparte vs Madame de Remusat · 1804