📚 Lanke Shenji — a Ming-dynasty endgame manual
Red to move — checkmate in 8. At first glance the numbers favour Black: a full pair of advisors, plus knight, chariot, two cannons and three pawns. Red has fewer pieces — one chariot, two knights, two cannons, two pawns — but every Red piece is already aimed at the attack, while Black's king stands inside a tightening ring without knowing it. Eight moves is not long, yet every single one has to be exact. The position comes from Lạn Kha Thần Cơ and bears the name of Xiang Yu's final moment on the bank of the Wu River in 202 BC — when a boat was already waiting and the defeated general still shook his head. The story behind "what face have I to meet the elders of Jiangdong" is in the anecdote below. First, the challenge: can you find the first move of the 8-move mating sequence?
✓ Engine-verified — The Fairy-Stockfish engine (NNUE) confirms Red checkmates in 8 moves — the main line was checked move by move, every move legal. Date checked: 2026-11-03.
'강동의 부로들을 무슨 면목으로 보겠는가': 항우와 타지 않은 배 한 척
기원전 202년 오강(烏江) 강가에는 배 한 척이 이미 기다리고 있었고, 오강의 정장(亭長)은 패한 장군에게 애원했다. "강동은 작지만 땅이 천 리요, 백성이 수십만이라 왕이 되기에 충분합니다. 지금 강을 건너십시오 — 배는 저 혼자만 가지고 있습니다. 한의 군대가 도착하면 건널 길이 없을 것입니다!" 항우는 미소 지으며 고개를 저을 뿐이었다. 그는 방금 천하 전체를 잃었다 — 그런데도 그 배에 오르지 못하게 한 것은 패배보다 더 무거웠다. 그것은 무엇이었을까? 《사기》(7권)는 이렇게 전한다. 해하(垓下)의 포위를 기병…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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