Endgame · Checkmate
Checkmate with King and Queen
The first checkmate every player should own: the queen does the cornering, but it is your king that makes mate possible.
Step through the moves
Starting position. Press Next to begin.
Model line: 1.Ke6 Kf8 2.Kf6 Ke8 3.Qc8#
The idea
A queen cannot checkmate a lone king by herself — you need your own king to help cover the escape squares. The method is safe and simple: use the queen to shrink the space the enemy king is allowed to move in, herding it toward the edge of the board, then bring your king up to support the final blow. The one thing you must never do is stalemate: if the enemy king has no legal move and is not in check, the game is an instant draw.
Step by step
- White’s king marches in first. 1.Ke6 takes the opposition, standing face to face with the black king and stealing the d7, e7 and f7 escape squares.
- After 1…Kf8, the move 2.Kf6 keeps the kings opposed and boxes Black onto the back rank, with the queen poised on c4.
- 2…Ke8 is forced back toward the corner, and now 3.Qc8# delivers mate: the queen covers the whole 8th rank while the White king on f6 guards e7 and f7 — the black king has nowhere to run.
The key rule
Herd with the queen, mate with the king. In longer versions, keep your queen a knight’s-move from the enemy king to drive it to the edge without ever giving it a free square — and always bring your king up before you deliver mate. Above all, never stalemate: if the enemy king has no move, give it one or check it.