Queen vs Pawn on the 7th
Queen usually beats a pawn one step from queening — except with a rook or bishop pawn. Learn the zig-zag that walks your king in.
What you'll learn
- The checking zig-zag that freezes a pawn on the 7th
- Walking your king in to win the pawn
- The rook- and bishop-pawn exceptions that only draw
The technique, move by move
Every line below is verified against an endgame tablebase — perfect play, no guesswork.
Freeze the pawn, walk the king in
1.Qd1+ Kc3 2.Kg7 Kd3 3.Kf6 Ke3 4.Ke6 Kd3 5.Ke5 Kc3 6.Qe2 d1=N …
The queen drops behind the pawn, controlling its promotion square so it can never advance.
c-pawn, king far
1.Kg7 Kc3 2.Kf6 Kc4 3.Qxc2+
g-pawn (knight pawn)
1.Kb7 Kg4 2.Qxg2+
b-pawn (knight pawn)
1.Kb7 Kd4 2.Qxb2+
d-pawn, king on h8
1.Qd1 Ke3 2.Kg7 Kd3 3.Kf6 Ke3 4.Ke6 Kd3 5.Ke5 Kc3 6.Qe2 d1=N …
e-pawn, king on a8
1.Qe1 Kf3 2.Kb7 Ke3 3.Kc6 Kf3 4.Kd6 Ke3 5.Kd5 Kf3 6.Qd2 e1=N …
c-pawn, king on h8
1.Qc1 Kd3 2.Kg7 Kc3 3.Kf6 Kc4 4.Qxc2+
b-pawn, king on h8
1.Qb1 Kc4 2.Qxb2
g-pawn, king on a8
1.Qg1 Kg4 2.Qxg2+
Drill the Queen vs Pawn on the 7th
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.
King & Queen vs KingBox 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.
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.