Queen Endgame
Queen versus Pawn
Also known as: Queen against Pawn
Queen versus a lone pawn that has reached the seventh rank is normally a win. The queen is worth about nine pawns, so once the pawn is captured the resulting king-and-queen ending is trivial; the only difficulty is that the pawn is a single step from promoting. The winning method is a repeating check that forces the defending king in front of its own pawn, blocking it for a move and buying the attacker time to march the king one square closer. Repeated, this drives the king near enough to help win the pawn or deliver mate. It works against centre- and knight-pawns, with an important exception for rook- and bishop-pawns.
1. Kb3 Kb1 2. Qxb2#
Queen against a runner
Queen versus a lone pawn on the seventh rank is normally a win, because the queen is worth about nine pawns; capture the pawn and the king-and-queen ending that remains is trivial. The problem is timing: the pawn is a single step from promoting, so the attacker cannot simply walk the king over before it queens.
The solution is a repeating manoeuvre. The queen checks in such a way that the defending king is forced to step in front of its own pawn, blocking the pawn's advance for a move. That wasted tempo lets the attacking king march one square closer; the queen then checks again, and the process repeats until the king is near enough to help win the pawn or deliver mate.
The demonstration
In the diagram the black pawn stands on b2, one square from queening, but the position is already decided. The pawn itself blocks the queen's diagonal from c3 to a1, so it cannot promote with any check, and that gives the white king time to close in. 1.Kb3 steps up beside the pawn, covering a2 and leaving the black king no useful square.
The black king is squeezed into the corner and 1...Kb1 is forced. Now 2.Qxb2# captures the pawn and mates at once, the queen defended by its own king on b3 so the black king cannot recapture. The knight-pawn on b2 was exactly the kind against which the queen wins most cleanly.
The pawns that draw
The winning method works against centre-pawns and knight-pawns. Against a rook-pawn on the a- or h-file, or a bishop-pawn on the c- or f-file, the defender has a saving resource: after being checked, stepping in front of the pawn threatens stalemate, so the attacker cannot gain the vital tempo and the game is drawn if the attacking king is too far away.
Against those drawn pawn types the queen wins only when its own king is already close enough to help. Knowing which pawns win and which draw, together with the checking technique that gains a tempo, is the whole of this common ending.
Key ideas
- Queen versus a lone pawn on the seventh is normally winning against centre- and knight-pawns.
- The queen checks to force the enemy king in front of its own pawn, blocking promotion.
- Each such check buys a tempo to march the attacking king one square closer.
- Rook-pawns and bishop-pawns are the exception, drawing by stalemate tricks if the king is far.
- The queen is worth about nine pawns, so once the pawn falls the ending is trivial.
- Against the drawn pawn types the queen wins only if its king is already near.
Typical plans
White
- Check the defending king into the path of its own pawn to stop it advancing.
- Use the tempo gained to bring the king one square nearer each time.
- Once the king arrives, win the pawn or deliver mate.
Black
- Push the pawn to the seventh with the king in support.
- With a rook- or bishop-pawn, head for the corner to set up stalemate.
- Keep the attacking king as far from the pawn as possible.