Queen and King vs. King - A chess endgame
Queen and King vs. King is probably the most common
endgame in
chess. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest to
master. It does, however, present a greater
risk for
stalemate than most other endgames; but, as long as you always look and make sure the opponent's king can move, you will be fine. Now, before I go into an example, I'm going to cover the techniques.
First and foremost, you must take advantage of the queens ability to simultaneously cover a
rank (horizontal line) and a
file (vertical line). This ability allows the queen to create a "
coffin" which confines the king to a certain number of spaces. As the game progresses this space must get smaller and smaller.
You will notice later in the game, while the queen is making the opponent's coffin smaller, that there will be instances in which the movement of the queen will result in the
escape of the king or the actual
capture of the queen. This is where the king comes in. If you can't make the coffin smaller, then you must bring up your king in
support.
In order to checkmate your opponent, he/she must be trapped against the side of the board (it doesn't matter which). If you execute the coffin method correctly, the king will be trapped against a side of the board. Also, remember that there are two possible
checkmate positions.
Make sure, and I can't stress this enough, to watch for
stalemate! During the last stages of the game, the presence of stalemate begins to louden. ALWAYS make sure that the opponent's king will be able to move after you move.
Example
Let's start out with the example we had in the first diagram:
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |BK | | 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| |WQ | | | | | | | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | |WK | | | | | | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
A B C D E F G H
As you can see, the black king is trapped in a coffin which consists of 30 squares. It is now our job to make it smaller.
1 Qd5
Kf6 - The queen just cut the coffin in half and has now confined the king to 12 squares. It doesn't really matter where black moves, the
method is just the same.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | |BK | | | 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | |WQ | | | | | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | |WK | | | | | | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
A B C D E F G H
What now? Can we make the rectangle smaller without the queen being in danger or the king escaping? No. If we gave check with Qd6+, the black king could escape. Just as if we moved with Qe5+, the queen would be lost. So, we must bring the king up.
2 Kd2
Kg6 - A long journey ahead for the king. No worries, you have 50 moves before a
draw.
3 Qe5
Kf7 - The opponent's movement allowed us to make the
coffin smaller.
4 Ke3
Kg6
5 Kf4
Kf7 - Our king is chugging along.
6 Kg5
Kg8 - At this point, black had only two choices, both of which would force him to the corner.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |BK | | 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | |WQ | |WK | | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
A B C D E F G H
It is important at this stage to be on the lookout for
stalemate. It's only a matter of looking one move ahead.
7 Qe7
Kh8 - Black is now trapped in a coffin that consists of two spaces.
8 Kg6
Kg8 - Bring that king up to
seal the coffin.
9 Qg7++ or Qe8++ -
Bickity Bam!
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |BK | | 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |WQ | | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |WK | | 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
A B C D E F G H
OR
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | |WQ | |BK | | 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | |WK | | 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
A B C D E F G H
So, Remember:
- Use your queen to create a "coffin" for the king. If you can make the rectangle smaller without causing stalemate or putting your queen in danger, then do so.
- If you can't make the rectangle smaller, bring your king up in support.
- You must trap the opposing king against the side of the board to checkmate.
- Beware of stalemate!