Queen and King Mate

Queen and king versus king is the first endgame technique every player must know: the queen drives the king to the edge, your king approaches and the queen mates on the last rank.

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Start

Pieces: Queen + king
Level: Beginner
Mating side: White
Also known as: vezirle mat, vezir ile mat nasıl yapılır, queen mate

Moves

1.Qa8#

White's king on g6 covers f7, g7 and h7. 1.Qa8 checks along the eighth rank: mate. Careful: a quiet move like 1.Qh6 that leaves Black without a move is stalemate.

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How to recognise Queen and King Mate

Keep the queen a knight's move away from the king to box it in.
Once the king reaches the edge, bring your own king closer.
Mate comes with the queen checking along the edge.

How to defend

For the defender: stay central and hope for a stalemate.
For the attacker: check every move that the enemy king still has a move.

Frequently asked questions

How many moves does it take?

From any position it can be done in at most 10 moves.

Can the queen mate alone?

No, it needs help from its own king (or the enemy's own pieces must block the escape).

Continue with lessons

Lesson 41: How to Mate with Queen and King

Similar checkmate patterns

Rook and King Mate — In the rook and king mate the rook boxes in the enemy king and, when the kings stand face to face, checks along the edge for mate.
Ladder Mate (Two Rooks) — In the ladder mate two rooks (or rook and queen) take turns giving check, push the king to the edge and mate it.
Dovetail Mate — In the dovetail mate the protected queen checks diagonally next to the king, and the one escape the queen doesn't cover is blocked by the king's own piece.

← All checkmate tactics Next: Rook and King Mate →