Light to move, with 4 light and 7 dark men in the game. Placement is over; from here on a turn means sliding one man to an adjacent free point.
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
- sliding phase — Every man is on the board; a move is one step along a line to an empty neighbour.
- 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.
Play the position in your head from the opponent's side: what would you do against your favourite move? If there is a good answer, try the next candidate.
Show the first move
Start with c4-c5. Played out against the stiffest resistance, the whole line goes: c4-c5 f2-d2xc5 g7-b2 a7-d7 c3-b6xd7.
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.