Dark to move, with 9 light and 8 dark men in the game. Not every man has been placed yet: Light still holds 5, Dark 6.
Your job is to close a mill in at most 3 of your own moves, and it has to work against every defence, including the opponent closing a mill of their own.
What the position is about
- placement phase — The men are still being set down, so each move places a new piece on an empty point.
- double threat — The key move creates two threats at once, and one reply cannot stop both.
- counter-mill — The defender can close a mill too and will take a man; the solution still works after that hit.
Finding the way in
Three-move mills usually need a quiet first move that builds two separate threats; check what the opponent can close in reply before you commit.
Before you touch a piece, list every forcing move you have and every threat the opponent has; the answer is almost always on that short list.
Show the first move
Start with b4. Played out against the stiffest resistance, the whole line goes: b4 e3xb4 b4 a7 a4xa7.
Solve it and the next puzzle of the same game is one tap away. Your solved puzzles are ticked in the list, in this browser only.