Worksheet: Queen and King Checkmate

Topic: endgame | Level: 3

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.

Practice Tasks

Write one sentence explaining what the “queen box” means.
Why is it important to bring your king closer instead of only checking with the queen forever?
Solve the queen-mate practice positions and circle the one where a careless queen move could stalemate.

Board Evolution (One Step per Board)

Step 0: Starting Position

Step 1: Ke4

Step 2: Kd6

Step 3: Qc4

Step 4: Kd7

Step 5: Ke5

Step 6: Ke7

Step 7: Qc7+

Step 8: Ke8

Step 9: Ke6

Step 10: Kf8

Step 11: Qf7#

Practice Positions

Find each move on paper, then check the Answer Key at the end.

Practice 1

White to move. Find checkmate in one.

Practice 2

Shrink the box with a checking queen move.

Practice 3

Your queen already has the king boxed in. Bring your king one safe step closer.

Practice 4

Be careful: one queen move here would stalemate. Choose a queen move that keeps the box but leaves the king a square.

Practice 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.

Answer Key

The queen box is the area the enemy king is trapped inside because the queen controls the edges of that box.
Your king helps cover the last escape squares so the queen can finally mate safely.
The near-corner practice position is the stalemate warning; Qc5 keeps one square open, while the full line ends with Qf7#.

Practice Position Solutions

Practice 1: Qa8# — The white king on g6 already covers g7 and h7, so those squares are off-limits for Black's king. Qa8 checks along the 8th rank, and with g7/h7 covered and g8 controlled by the queen's rank, the king is trapped.
Practice 2: Qc5+ — Qc5+ checks while taking away many center squares. The king is still not trapped yet, but the box is smaller.
Practice 3: Kf4 — Kf4 keeps your king safe while helping for the final mate. The queen keeps the black king from running away.
Practice 4: Qc5 — Qc5 keeps control and still leaves Black a square, so the game continues. Avoid queen moves that trap the king without giving check.
Practice 5: Qc7+ Ke8 Ke6 Kf8 Qf7# — First the queen checks from a safe distance, then the king steps up, and finally Qf7# ends the game with king support.