Mate Me

Welcome to Mate Me

Chess is a game of patterns, calculation, and problem solving. The more positions you work through, the more you start to recognize those patterns when they show up again.

That's the idea behind Mate Me: solve a lot of chess problems and get better at seeing the solution.

Mate Me was designed to make that practice simple. Each book gives you hundreds of chess problems to work through, arranged to become progressively more challenging as you go.

One board. One problem. Find the mate.

There are no pieces to move and no computer waiting to tell you whether your first idea was right. Study the position, consider the possibilities, and calculate the solution before turning to the answer.

That matters.

Solving from a static board forces you to calculate instead of click. You have to visualize the moves, anticipate the defense, and work out the continuation yourself rather than relying on trial and error.

The computer isn't moving the pieces for you.

Your brain has to.

And because this is the print edition, there's nothing between you and the position. No screen, no app, and no notifications. Just a chessboard on the page and a problem waiting to be solved.

Take your time. Calculate as far as you need to. If you aren't sure, look again before checking the solution. Some problems will come quickly. Others may take a while. That's part of the process.

That's what Mate Me is about: a simple way to work through a lot of chess problems, one at a time, at your own pace.

Study the board. Calculate the moves. Find the mate.

About This Book

Book 3 moves into the intermediate part of the Mate Me series.

The problems in this book range from approximately 950 to 1400 and are arranged to get harder as you go. The ratings use the Glicko-2 rating system and are based on how difficult the problems have been for people to solve.

Every problem in Book 3 is Mate in Three: you need to find three moves to deliver checkmate. Your opponent will make a move after each of your first two moves, so you'll need to anticipate those responses and follow the sequence all the way to checkmate.

The early problems start around the 950 level. The solution may still begin with a fairly natural check or forcing move, but you'll need to visualize what happens afterward. Instead of just seeing the next move, you're beginning to hold a short sequence in your head.

As you move through the book, there may be several reasonable first moves, different ways for the king to defend, or pieces that need to work together before the checkmate becomes possible. A move that looks like the obvious answer may turn out to give the king exactly the escape square it needs.

By the end of the book, you'll be working on problems approaching the 1400 level.

At this point, calculation starts to matter more. Try to work out the entire sequence from the printed position before checking the solution. If a line doesn't work, return to the original position and try another idea rather than moving pieces around to find the answer.

The goal is to get better at keeping track of the whole position as the sequence develops.

The ratings aren't grades or estimates of your playing rating. Some lower-rated positions may give you more trouble than higher-rated ones, and that's completely normal. Different patterns are easier for different players to see.

By the time you reach the end of Book 3, hopefully you'll be more comfortable calculating a few moves ahead while keeping the position in your head.

When you're ready for longer combinations, move on to Book 4.