To checkmate with a queen and king against a lone king, follow three steps. First, use your queen to trap the enemy king in a box and make the box smaller, keeping the queen a knight's jump away from the king. Second, once the king is stuck on the edge of the board, stop and bring your own king close. Third, give checkmate on the edge, with your king guarding the queen. Always check that the enemy king still has a move, or the game ends in a draw.

This is the most important ending for a beginner. In many school and club games in India, a child wins the opponent's pieces, gets a queen, and then cannot finish the game. With a little practice, you can finish it in about ten moves from almost any position.

What you need to know first

Checkmate means the king is attacked and has no way to escape. Stalemate means the king is not attacked, but the player has no legal move at all. Checkmate wins the game. Stalemate is a draw, which means nobody wins. If these words are new, read check, checkmate and stalemate first. It also helps to know how the queen moves: any number of squares in a straight line or along a diagonal.

A lone queen cannot checkmate by herself. The enemy king could simply walk up and take her. That is why your own king must join the attack at the end.

Step 1: Make a box with the knight's-move trick

Think of the queen's lines as walls. When the queen stands one rank and one file away from the king's area, the king is shut inside a box. The easiest way to build the box is to place your queen a knight's move away from the enemy king. A knight's move is an L shape: two squares one way and one square to the side.

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The queen on e3 is a knight's jump from the black king on d5. Look at the e-file and the 3rd rank: the queen guards both, so the king is locked in the top-left part of the board.

Now the trick: every time the king moves, move your queen so it is again a knight's move away from the king. Each time you do this, the box gets a little smaller. You do not need to give check. Checks often let the king run back to the middle. Quiet queen moves that shrink the box work much better.

Step 2: Stop and bring your king

Keep squeezing until the enemy king can only move along the edge of the board, for example between g8 and h8. Now stop moving the queen. If you keep pushing, you will soon take away the king's last square and give stalemate. Instead, march your own king towards the enemy king, one square at a time. The queen stays where she is and holds the wall.

Your king should arrive two squares away from the enemy king, usually on the same file or close to it. Then the queen can deliver the final blow.

The stalemate trap: the most common mistake

Stalemate happens when the defending king is not in check but has no legal move. With a queen it happens very easily, because the queen controls so many squares. Look at this position. It is Black's turn, the king on h8 is not in check, but every square around it is guarded. The game is a draw.

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Stalemate: Black to move, the king on h8 is not in check, but g8, g7 and h7 are all covered. White threw away a certain win.

Before every queen move near the end, ask yourself one question: after my move, can the enemy king move anywhere? If the answer is no and it is not check, choose another move.

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Practise: White to move. One queen move gives checkmate and one gives stalemate. Find the checkmate (Qg7). Then reset and see why Qg6 is stalemate.

Your turn: move the pieces on the board.

Tap a piece, then tap where it should go, or drag it.

Step 3: The final checkmate patterns

There are two main ways to finish.

  • Queen on the edge: your king stands two squares in front of the enemy king, and the queen gives check along the edge rank or file. The king cannot step forward because your king guards those squares.
  • Queen right next to the king: the queen sits on the square directly in front of (or diagonal to) the enemy king, protected by your king. The enemy king cannot capture her, because your king guards her.
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White to move: find checkmate in one. Careful, one move that looks similar is stalemate.

White to move. Make your move on the board.

Tap a piece, then tap where it should go, or drag it.

In the puzzle above, Qb7 is checkmate because your king on c6 protects the queen. But Qb6 is stalemate: the black king is not in check and has no square to go to. Small difference, big result.

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White to move: checkmate in two. Hint: the queen is already doing her job. Bring the king closer first.

White to move. Make your move on the board.

Tap a piece, then tap where it should go, or drag it.

How to practise

Set up a white king and queen and a black king anywhere on a real board. Ask a parent, sibling or friend to play the black king and to run to the middle as much as possible. Count your moves. When you can always checkmate without stalemate, in about twenty moves or fewer, you have mastered it. Next, learn the slightly harder rook and king checkmate, and keep your eye sharp with today's free puzzle.

Questions parents and kids ask

Can a queen checkmate without the help of the king?

No. Against a lone king, the queen alone cannot force checkmate, because the enemy king can always approach and attack her. Your king must come and help.

How many moves does a queen and king checkmate take?

From most positions it takes ten moves or fewer if you play well. The rules give you 50 moves without a capture or pawn move before the game can be claimed as a draw, so there is plenty of time.

Why did my game end in a draw when I had a queen?

Most likely it was stalemate: the enemy king was not in check but had no legal move. Always leave the king at least one square until the very last move, which must be check.

Should I keep giving check with my queen?

Usually not. Random checks let the king escape back to the centre. Quiet queen moves that keep a knight's-move distance shrink the box much faster.