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A First Attempt

Sam Loyd Puzzle #1 · White to play and mate in three.

Portrait of Samuel Loyd

About this composition

This is presented as Sam Loyd Puzzle #1 in the ChessBites “Loyd on Saturday” collection. The challenge is to find a forced mate for White in three moves. The source note supplied with this problem identifies the N.Y. Saturday Courier, 14 April 1855.

Sam Loyd Puzzle #1

A First Attempt

14th November 2026
Puzzle position · White at the bottom
White to play

Can you find the winning move?

"White to play and mate in three."

Previous puzzles

Explore the complete collection of Sam Loyd chess puzzles.