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Worksheet: Queen and King Checkmate

Topic: endgame | Level: 3 | Week 8

Make a smaller queen box, walk your king closer, and finish the mate without accidentally stalemating the king.

Why This Matters

  • The queen usually mates by making a smaller and smaller box, not by chasing the king wildly.
  • Keep the queen a knight move away when possible so the king cannot attack it.
  • Near the edge, always ask: “Does Black still have a legal move?” If not, and it is not check, that would be stalemate.

Objectives

  • Use the queen to make a box that the enemy king cannot cross.
  • Bring your king closer only when the queen is already keeping the king trapped.
  • Recognize positions where a careless queen move would stalemate instead of winning.

Practice Tasks

  1. Write one sentence explaining what the “queen box” means.
  2. Why is it important to bring your king closer instead of only checking with the queen forever?
  3. Solve the queen-mate practice positions and circle the one where a careless queen move could stalemate.

Board Walkthrough

Follow the lesson one board at a time. The teacher answer key includes the move list.

Board 1
Board 2
Board 3
Board 4
Board 5
Board 6
Board 7
Board 8
Board 9
Board 10
Board 11
Board 12

Practice Positions

Solve each position on paper first. Answers live only in the separate teacher/parent key.

Practice 1

White to move. Find checkmate in one.

Practice 2

Shrink the box with a checking queen move.

Practice 3

Your queen already has the king boxed in. Bring your king one safe step closer.

Practice 4

Be careful: one queen move here would stalemate. Choose a queen move that keeps the box but leaves the king a square.

Practice 5

Finish the queen-and-king method from this point. Find White’s full forcing line to mate.

Mini-Game

Play this with a partner. White should keep making a box with the queen before walking the king closer. If White ever stalemates Black by mistake, reset and try the method again.

Answer Key

Queen and King Checkmate

Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Queen and King Checkmate.

Worksheet Answers

  1. Prompt: Write one sentence explaining what the “queen box” means.

    The queen box is the area the enemy king is trapped inside because the queen controls the edges of that box.

  2. Prompt: Why is it important to bring your king closer instead of only checking with the queen forever?

    Your king helps cover the last escape squares so the queen can finally mate safely.

  3. Prompt: Solve the queen-mate practice positions and circle the one where a careless queen move could stalemate.

    The near-corner practice position is the stalemate warning; Qc5 keeps one square open, while the full line ends with Qf7#.

Model Line

  1. Ke4
  2. Kd6
  3. Qc4
  4. Kd7
  5. Ke5
  6. Ke7
  7. Qc7+
  8. Ke8
  9. Ke6
  10. Kf8
  11. Qf7#

Practice Position Solutions

Queen and King Checkmate — Practice 1

White to move. Find checkmate in one.

Solution: Qa8#

The white king on g6 already covers g7 and h7, so those squares are off-limits for Black's king. Qa8 checks along the 8th rank, and with g7/h7 covered and g8 controlled by the queen's rank, the king is trapped.

Queen and King Checkmate — Practice 2

Shrink the box with a checking queen move.

Solution: Qc5+

Qc5+ checks while taking away many center squares. The king is still not trapped yet, but the box is smaller.

Queen and King Checkmate — Practice 3

Your queen already has the king boxed in. Bring your king one safe step closer.

Solution: Kf4

Kf4 keeps your king safe while helping for the final mate. The queen keeps the black king from running away.

Queen and King Checkmate — Practice 4

Be careful: one queen move here would stalemate. Choose a queen move that keeps the box but leaves the king a square.

Solution: Qc5

Qc5 keeps control and still leaves Black a square, so the game continues. Avoid queen moves that trap the king without giving check.

Queen and King Checkmate — Practice 5

Finish the queen-and-king method from this point. Find White’s full forcing line to mate.

Solution: Qc7+ Ke8 Ke6 Kf8 Qf7#

First the queen checks from a safe distance, then the king steps up, and finally Qf7# ends the game with king support.