The goal: the king on the edge
With only a queen and a king you can't give mate in the middle of the board. The king has too many squares around it. So the whole endgame is about pushing your opponent's king to the edge, and there are two mating pictures to aim for.
In the first, the queen stands right in front of the king, protected by her own king. In the second, the kings face each other, and the queen checks along the edge. Both need your own king to take part. The queen can't give mate on her own.
The method: the queen builds a box
Don't check for no reason. A check only moves the king, and often the wrong way. Use the queen to shut the king in instead. A simple trick is to put the queen a knight's move from the king, for example on d3 when the king stands on e5. Then the queen guards both a file and a rank that the king can't cross.
Every time the king moves, the queen follows, still a knight's move away, and the box shrinks. Once the king is on the edge and can only go back and forth between two squares, the queen's job is done. Now your own king has to come up.
Watch out for stalemate
The only thing that can go wrong is stalemate. When the box is small, one careless move is enough to take the king's last square, and if it isn't in check, the game is over. A draw, despite a whole extra queen.
Near the end, ask yourself before every move: does the king have a square left after my move? If the answer is no, the move has to be check, and preferably mate.
The whole mate, move by move
Here is the method from start to finish. Black defends as well as it can and keeps the king away from the edge as long as possible. Watch the box shrink, and see how White's king comes up once the queen has done her part.
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15.…
Practice against the computer
Now it's your turn. The computer defends Black and makes it as hard as it can. With best play the mate always takes ten moves at most, but it doesn't matter if you need more.
You are playing White. Make your first move.
You have White. Checkmate with queen and king. The computer defends Black and keeps its king away from the edge as long as it can.
Three things to remember
- Shut in, don't check. The queen a knight's move from the king builds a box that only gets smaller.
- Bring the king. Once your opponent's king is on the edge, your king comes up. The queen can't give mate on her own.
- Leave a square. Until you can give mate, the king must always have at least one move, or it is stalemate.
The next step is mate with a rook, which builds on the same idea but takes a little longer.
Frequently asked questions
How do you checkmate with a king and queen?
Use the queen to shut your opponent's king into a smaller and smaller box, preferably with the queen a knight's move from the king. Once the king is on the edge, bring up your own king, and then the queen gives mate, protected by the king or along the edge.
How many moves does it take?
With best play from both sides it always takes ten moves at most, wherever the pieces stand. With a simple method it usually takes more, fifteen in the example on this page, and that's fine: the 50-move rule gives you plenty of time.
Why did it end in stalemate?
Stalemate happens when the lone king isn't in check but has no legal move. With a queen it happens easily when the queen takes too many squares and the king is in a corner. Always leave the king at least one square until you can give mate.
Updated October 28, 2026