Perpetual Check Saves the Half-Point
Black to play and draw
PlayYou are a pawn down with queens on the board, but a lone queen is the perfect harassing piece. Keep checking the enemy king and the extra pawn never gets to matter.
No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.
Perpetual Check Saves the Half-Point
Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
Queen and pawn versus queen is the most drawish of all the heavy-piece endings. A single queen generates so many checks that the attacker often cannot shelter the king long enough to promote.
Perpetual check. The defender wins the draw by giving an unbroken chain of checks. Each check must force the king to a square from which yet another check is available, so the attacker can never pause to push the pawn.
Where to check from. Aim your queen along the long diagonals and open files that slice through the king's cover. Distance is your friend: a queen far from the enemy king is hard to attack and can keep checking from range.
In this drill you are a pawn down and must hold. Stop checking for one move and the perfect opponent will tuck its king away and queen the pawn.