The most common mating pattern in chess. The queen alone cannot mate, but she can box the enemy king into a corner or edge; the king then walks up and the queen delivers mate. Beware of stalemate at the very end.
Key ideas
1Use the queen a knight’s move away from the enemy king: it takes away the most squares without giving check.
2Shrink the box until the enemy king is on the edge, then bring your king up to support the mate.
3Never leave the enemy king with no legal moves unless it is checkmate: stalemate throws away the win.
4The queen alone cannot mate; the king must help on the final rank.
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About this endgame
Most won games pass through here: a pawn promotes, the board empties, and a queen and king have to finish against a bare king. The black king stands on e5 in the middle of the board, your queen on c1 and your king on d1. Twelve moves to mate, which is plenty once you stop checking and start fencing.
What you will learn
01How to pick queen squares a knight's move from the enemy king, so he loses ground without a single check.
02When to stop moving the queen and bring your own king up the board.
03How to spot the stalemate squares before you take away the last move.
The plan
From c1 the queen reaches c6 in one move. On c6 she stands a knight's move from the king on e5 and leaves him only d4, f4 and f5. Whichever he picks, the queen follows at the same distance, and every move he makes is backwards. Keep that spacing and he is on an edge within a few moves without ever being checked; then your king walks over from d1.
The queen cannot mate alone. Mate comes when your king stands opposite the black king with one square between them and the queen checks along the edge. The one way to throw it away is stalemate: with the king in a corner, count his squares before every queen move. King on h8, queen on f7, no check, is the classic version of that trap.
How to practise it
Play White. Make your first move Qc6, watch how little the black king has left, then follow him a knight's move away until he hits the edge. Take a hint if you lose the pattern. Mate inside twelve moves counts as done; then play it again, because Stockfish does not always run the same way.
How many moves does king and queen versus king take?
With best play never more than ten from any legal position. This drill gives you twelve from the position shown, so there is room for one wasted move but not for aimless checking.
Can the queen checkmate on her own?
No. She can confine the king to an edge or a corner, but she cannot cover the last escape square and give check at the same time. Your king has to stand opposite the enemy king first.