Queen vs Bishop Pawn: The Corner Trick
Black to play and draw
PlayYour bishop pawn should draw here: the enemy king is just outside the winning zone. So the queen will not press honestly. She will circle, switch wings, and wait for your king to stand on the one wrong square. Do not oblige her.
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The Corner Trick: Invite the Promotion
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
A draw you still have to defend. A seventh-rank bishop pawn holds against the queen when the enemy king sits outside the narrow winning zone. But the defense is not automatic: the stronger side circles the queen, changes wings, and hopes you will park your king on the one losing square.
The corner is a stalemate haven. Behind a c-pawn the safe corner is a1. Your king is buried there, so the queen can never simply take the pawn: Qxc2 would be stalemate, and she never wins the tempo her own king needs. Step the other way, in front of the pawn, and you block it yourself while the enemy king walks up. Two squares, opposite results.
In this drill the queen will feint and invite you forward. Take the corner, lean on the stalemate, and then keep the queens on to steer into the trade or the perpetual. There is one drawing path here, and this is it.
Keep going
Queen and Pawn versus Queen: Getting the King in Front
Black to play and draw
Queen vs Queen: The Skewer Check
White to play and win
Queen and Pawn vs Queen
White to play and win
All 18 queen endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)