Tsume: Mate In One
📋 What it is
A tsume is a checkmate puzzle where every move must be a check; a mate-in-one asks for the single finishing check.
🗣️ Coach says
Tsume are shogi's famous mate puzzles: you must check on EVERY move, and the defender plays perfectly, until it's mate. A mate-in-one asks for the one move — often a drop — that ends it. Solving tsume is how players train their finishing eye.
🧠 Memory hook
Every move a check. Mate-in-one = find the single finishing blow (often a drop).
😂 Giggle
Why is the King so calm even when surrounded?
Because it trusts its Generals to have its back — literally!
😲 Whoa!
Shogi tsume can require checking on EVERY move for dozens of moves — the longest composed tsume runs over 1,500 moves, all forced checks.
✅ Quick check: In a tsume problem, what must every one of the attacker's moves do?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Give check — a tsume requires the attacker to check on every move until checkmate, with the defender resisting perfectly.
The all-checks rule is what defines a tsume mating puzzle.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Find a shogi "mate in 1" puzzle online, cover the answer, and look for the single finishing check.