King and Queen vs King

Why This Endgame Matters

• Most winning king-and-pawn endings become king and queen versus king after promotion.
• This endgame occurs very frequently in practice.
• The queen is powerful enough to force mate, but careless players still stalemate the defender on the edge.
• This mate teaches the habit of using your king as support.

Key Concepts

• Use the queen to make the defender's box smaller one rank or file at a time.
• The Queen alone can't mate the King, the Queen needs the support of the King.
• Avoid putting the queen a knight move away from the king if it accidentally leaves no legal move without check.
• When the enemy King is not moving backwards towards the edge, bring your King closer to support boxing in the King.

Interactive Chess Board

Supported queen mate

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1. Qf7+ { Keep the king boxed: The white King is already blocking the black Kings escape towards the center. Its time for the Queen to check and force the black King back. } 1... Kc8 { Force the King to the edge: The Queen check forces the King to the last rank. This is where the mate will happen. } 2. Kc6 { Approach with your King: Approach the black King with your King, this will take away key escape squares and allow the Queen to checkmate. } 2... Kb8 { The black King tries to run away but can't go back anymore. He is already at the edge of the board. } 3. Qb7# { Deliver Checkmate: Use your Queen to checkmate. } *

Common Mistakes

• Checking randomly instead of shrinking the box.
• Not using your King. Mate with a Queen alone is not possible.
• Covering every escape square with a quiet queen move and stalemating the defender.

Practice Positions

Finish the supported mate

Use the queen and king together to deliver mate in one.

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Practice Positions

Avoid the corner stalemate

Push the black King backward to the edge of the board and checkmate.

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Practice Positions

Practice

Shrink the box and mate the black King.

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Quiz

FAQ