King & Queen vs King
Box the lone king toward a corner with the queen a knight's-move away — and never stalemate. The fastest of the basic mates once the technique clicks.
What you'll learn
- Boxing the king with the queen a knight's-move away
- Why you must bring your own king up before mating
- The one thing to avoid: stalemate
The technique, move by move
Every line below is verified against an endgame tablebase — perfect play, no guesswork.
Box and mate — mate in 3
1.Qd4 Kf8 2.Qh8#
Box the king a knight's move away — it can only shuffle along the back rank.
Drive to the edge — mate in 5
1.Qg1+ Kh7 2.Kf6 Kh6 3.Qh1#
Check to herd the king toward the edge.
The full technique — from the centre
1.Qd7 Ke4 2.Ke2 Kf4 3.Qd5 Kg4 4.Ke3 Kg3 5.Qg5+ Kh2 6.Kf2 Kh1 …
Slice off the king's space — the queen a knight's move away confines it without ever stalemating.
Box on the f-file
1.Qe3 Kg7 2.Qe7+ Kh8 3.Kd2 Kg8 4.Kc3 Kh8 5.Kd4 Kg8 6.Ke5 Kh8 …
From the centre
1.Qd7 Kf6 2.Ke2 Kg6 3.Qe7 Kh6 4.Ke3 Kg6 5.Kf4 Kh6 6.Kf5 Kh5 …
King in the corner
1.Qg2 Kh7 2.Kd2 Kh8 3.Kc3 Kh7 4.Kd4 Kh8 5.Ke5 Kh7 6.Kf6 Kh8 …
Knight-move the queen
1.Qe6 Kc5 2.Qd7 Kb6 3.Kd2 Ka6 4.Kc3 Kb6 5.Kb4 Ka6 6.Kc5 Ka5 …
Queenside mate
1.Qd6 Kc4 2.Kd2 Kb3 3.Qd4 Ka2 4.Kc3 Kb1 5.Qd2 Ka1 6.Qb2#
King near the edge
1.Qd4 Kf3 2.Qe5 Kg4 3.Kf2 Kh4 4.Kf3 Kh3 5.Qg3#
Kings already up
1.Qe7 Kc6 2.Kc4 Kb6 3.Qd7 Ka6 4.Kc5 Ka5 5.Qb5#
Back-rank squeeze
1.Qb2 Kf8 2.Qh8#
Drill the King & Queen vs King
Practice randomly served positions and play them out against a perfect tablebase until you convert the win every time.
Open the Endgame Trainer →Related endgames to master
The first checkmate every player must own. Use the rook to cut the king off and walk your own king up to force the lone king to the edge.
Two Bishops vs KingCoordinate the bishops into a wall and herd the king to a corner. Trickier than it looks and a classic test of piece harmony.
Bishop & Knight MateThe hardest basic mate — the king can only be mated in a corner matching the bishop's colour. Learn the W-manoeuvre and the 50-move clock stops scaring you.
King & Pawn vs KingThe single most important endgame there is. Master the opposition and key squares and you will win — or save — countless games.