In this level, your opponent is threatening checkmate in one move.

How can you defend against this kind of threat?
There are five main ways to defend against checkmate in one move:

1. Protect the square where checkmate is threatened.
2. Capture one of the pieces threatening checkmate.
3. Escape with the king.
4. Make an escape square for the king.
5. Block one of the pieces threatening checkmate.

The following diagram illustrates the five main ways to defend against an immediate checkmate threat:

Here, Black is threatening checkmate in one move with Qxg3#. White can defend by:

• Capturing one of the pieces threatening checkmate with 1.Nxd6.
• Protecting the square where checkmate is threatened with 1.Qe1, 1.Rh3, or 1.Kh2.
• Escaping with the king with 1.Kf2. This opens an escape route to e2 and also clears the way for the rook to defend the g3 pawn.
• Blocking one of the pieces threatening checkmate with 1.g4 or 1.f4.
• Making an escape square for the king with 1.Be2 or 1.Bd3. (1.Rh2? would also make an escape square, but it would still be mate after 1...Qxg3+ 2.Kh1 Qxh2#.)

1.Bd3 is probably the best move, because after 1...Qxg3+? 2.Kf1, the queen would be trapped.

In this level, you must make an escape square for the king.

Explanation

This situation happens very often in a game:

Black is threatening checkmate with Re1#.
To prevent mate, White has to make an escape square by moving one of the pawns in front of the king.
g3, g4, h3, h4 all prevent checkmate.

This is sometimes called "making luft", using the German word "Luft" for "air", giving the king some air to breathe.

Note that there are four possible moves, so the position in the diagram would not be a puzzle, which requires only one solution move on the first move. The puzzles in this level illustrate some less common situations, where there is only one good move to make an escape square.

Examples

White is threatening Anastasia's mate with Rh4#.
Black has to make an escape square with 1...g6 to prevent checkmate.
If White now plays 2.Rh4+, Black can escape with 2...Kg7.

This can also sometimes happen in the endgame:

Black's last move Kc7 takes White's king's last escape square d6 away.
Black is now threatening checkmate with Na4# or Nd7#.
White has to make a new escape square with 1.b5 to prevent checkmate.
If Black now plays 1...Na4+ or 1...Nd7+, White can escape with 2.Kb4.

Related motifs