Queen and King Checkmate
Make a smaller queen box, walk your king closer, and finish the mate without accidentally stalemating the king.
Why This Matters
- The queen usually mates by making a smaller and smaller box, not by chasing the king wildly.
- Keep the queen a knight move away when possible so the king cannot attack it.
- Near the edge, always ask: “Does Black still have a legal move?” If not, and it is not check, that would be stalemate.
Objectives
- Use the queen to make a box that the enemy king cannot cross.
- Bring your king closer only when the queen is already keeping the king trapped.
- Recognize positions where a careless queen move would stalemate instead of winning.
Guided Interactive Lesson
Lesson Line
- Ke4
- Kd6
- Qc4
- Kd7
- Ke5
- Ke7
- Qc7+
- Ke8
- Ke6
- Kf8
- Qf7#
Practice Positions
Find the move yourself — the answer stays hidden until you solve it or reveal it.
Practice 1 of 5
White to move. Find checkmate in one.
Practice 2 of 5
Shrink the box with a checking queen move.
Practice 3 of 5
Your queen already has the king boxed in. Bring your king one safe step closer.
Practice 4 of 5
Be careful: one queen move here would stalemate. Choose a queen move that keeps the box but leaves the king a square.
Practice 5 of 5
Finish the queen-and-king method from this point. Find White’s full forcing line to mate.
Mini-Game
Play this with a partner. White should keep making a box with the queen before walking the king closer. If White ever stalemates Black by mistake, reset and try the method again.
Printable Move-by-Move Boards
Print one board per step to review the full sequence offline.
Open printable version