King & Queen Checkmate
Mate in 10 or fewer, if you dodge the one trap
King and queen versus king is the first mate every player must own: it is where most winning games end. It is a forced mate in at most 10 moves, and it has exactly one danger: stalemate.
Play this ending (free)The knight's-move technique
The cleanest method: place your queen a knight's move away from the enemy king, and keep it there. From that distance the queen fences the king into a shrinking rectangle without ever giving check. Each time the king moves, mirror it: re-establish the knight's-move distance. The king is herded straight to the edge of the board.
Once the enemy king is trapped on the edge shuffling between two or three squares, stop moving the queen entirely and march your own king up. When your king stands two squares from the enemy king (directly, or diagonally adjacent to the mating square), slide the queen in for mate on the edge: either right in front of the king, protected by yours, or along the last rank.
The stalemate trap
The knight's-move chase has one moment of danger: when the defending king reaches a corner region, a queen sitting a knight's move away can take away every square while giving no check: instant stalemate, instant draw. The classic picture: black king on a8, white queen on c7 (or b6). Black is not in check and has no move.
The fix is built into good technique: once the king is confined to the edge, the queen's job is done: stop “improving” it. If you ever notice the defending king has only one square left and it isn't mate yet, give it air. You have a queen; you can afford one quiet king move. You can never afford a stalemate.
Play it against perfect defense
A perfect defender does two things: it runs for the center for as long as possible (maximizing your move count), and it dives toward the stalemate corners the moment your queen gets careless. Practicing against tablebase defense teaches you the rhythm (queen herds, king walks, queen mates) until you can bang it out in seconds.
Questions
How many moves does the king and queen mate take?
At most 10 moves from any legal winning position, with perfect play. In practice 15–20 sloppy moves is fine too; the 50-move rule is never a real constraint here. Stalemate is the only genuine danger.
Can a queen checkmate without her king?
No. A queen alone can force the enemy king to the edge but can never deliver mate without help: every mating position needs the attacking king (or another piece) to cover the escape squares next to the enemy king.
How do you checkmate with two queens?
Even more simply: the two queens ladder-check on alternating ranks like the two-rook mate, no king help needed. The only care required is stalemate: with that much force, always confirm the defender still has a legal move.
How do I avoid stalemate in the queen endgame?
Keep the queen a knight's move from the enemy king while herding, and stop moving the queen once the king is confined to the edge. Before each quiet move, confirm the defender still has at least one legal reply.
Don't just read it, play it
Every position below is playable right now, free, no signup, against a tablebase-perfect opponent that never gives up and explains every mistake.
Follow the full curriculum (free)or sharpen these endings in the Gym