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Imagine that in the endgame of a game your opponent has only a king left, while you have both a king and a queen. Such a game is considered already won, but you still need to know how to deliver checkmate.
The main fact you need to know is that in this situation it is only possible to checkmate the king if it is located on the edge of the board, meaning either on the A- or H-files, or on the first or eighth rank. If the enemy king is in the center of the board in your position, you need to force it to the edge before delivering checkmate. In most cases, your own king is required to help with this task, but the queen is the only piece that can do it on its own.
Let’s examine the position from Diagram №1. The black king is in the center of the board, the white king is on a8, and the queen is on h8. The goal of White is to push the black king to the edge of the board, and the queen can accomplish this task by itself.
With the very first move, Qf6, White cuts off the black king’s path along the F-file. The black king moves to d5, but White plays Qe7, already cutting off the E-file. This continues until the black king reaches the A-file. The white queen maximally restricts the number of possible moves for the opponent’s king, but it is important not to completely take away all of its escape squares. Look at the position in Diagram №2. The queen has pushed the black king into the corner. It currently has only two squares where it can move freely — a1 and a2. But what happens if the queen restricts its movement even further and moves to b3 (Diagram №2)? It is Black’s turn, but all squares around the black king are controlled by the queen, meaning it has no legal moves. However, the king is not in check, which means the game ends in a draw by stalemate!
Therefore, the move Qb3 is not allowed. Instead, you need to bring the white king into the mating combination, as it has been waiting on a8. Its task is to approach the black king, while the latter is forced to stay in place. Eventually, the white king gets closer to the black king, and all that remains is to deliver checkmate with the queen!
You can view all the described moves here:
Also consider the position in Diagram №3. Here the kings are standing opposite each other, and the black king is already on the eighth rank. The squares c7, e7, and d7 are unavailable for the black king because they are controlled by White. It is White's move, and there are two ways to deliver checkmate in one move. The queen can move to a8, and the black king has nowhere to escape because the entire eighth rank is controlled, while the squares on the seventh rank are attacked by the white king. This is checkmate. The same situation occurs if the queen moves to g8.
A similar position is shown in Diagram №4. However, if in Diagram №3 the queen had two possible moves to deliver checkmate, in this position there are as many as five!
In this case, checkmate with the queen is possible on the squares g7 and h7 by moving close to the black king. However, it is also possible to deliver checkmate from a distance, namely from the squares a8, b8, and c8.
We have examined checkmate with a queen and king. If you also have other pieces available, such as a rook, bishop, or knight, delivering checkmate becomes much faster and easier. In some positions, even a pawn can be extremely helpful!
However, not only your own pieces can help you — your opponent's pieces can also play a role. Often, pieces from the enemy camp restrict the movement of their own king. In Diagram №5, the white queen was placed on a8. The black king is protected on the side by a rook and a pawn but has no protection along the H-file. White takes advantage of this and plays Qh1, delivering checkmate. In this case, the rook and pawn that protected the king from the side became obstacles preventing its escape.
To easily practice delivering checkmate with a queen, you can use the chess board editor, set up the required positions, and try to checkmate the enemy king. Try to deliver checkmate with a queen in the following positions:
- White — king on c5, queen on h7. Black — king on d8. Deliver checkmate with the queen in two moves.
- White — king on b6, queen on b1. Black — king on b8. There are eight ways to deliver checkmate with the queen in two moves. Try to find them all.
- White — king on d4, queen on a1. Black — king on d7. Try to deliver checkmate with the queen in fewer than 5 moves.
Choose the "Grandmaster" difficulty level. In these positions, even the computer on the highest difficulty level will not be able to escape if your moves are accurate.
