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Hi, this is Scott and Today I'm going to show you how to mate a lone King when you have
a King and a Queen.
This situation frequently occurs in pawn endings where you have a King and a
pawn vs your opponents lone King.
The pawn advances to the eighth rank where it is promoted to a Queen.
The Black King heads towards the center of the board. The key to mating a lone King
is to drive it to the edge of the board, and then to one of the corners where it has
fewer options. The Black King, on the other hand, Should do his best to stay in the
center of the board where he can move in any direction and the Queen can't mate him.
Notice how the Queen moves a Knights move away from the Black King. That means that
if the Queen were a Knight, he would be attacking the King. That is the key to
moving the Black King into a corner. He must be a Knights move away, that's two
squares down and one square over from the Black King. This limits the Black Kings
options and he has no choice but to head towards the corner.
The Queen stays a Knight's move away from the Black King.
Notice how the Black King is being forced to one edge.
Continue staying a Knight's move away from the King
Now he's trapped on the edge and has no choice but to head for the bottom left-hand
corner.
Keep driving him into the corner
This is a very important position. The Queen must not move any closer to the corner.
If the Queen were to move to the b3 square, the Black King would have nowhere to
move and the game would be a stalemate. We haven't come this far to only get a draw.
It's time to bring the King in. You see, no matter how hard you try, it's impossible
to mate the Black King with only the Queen. You need the King's assistance.
The White King starts moving toward the corner as the Black King helplessly shuffles
back and forth between the only two squares availiable to him.
The White King continues to march towart the corner.
And we go in for the kill
There it is. CheckMate.
That's all there is to mating the lone King with a King and a Queen.
Just remember,
First, drive your opponents King to the edge of the board and then to the corner
by staying a Knight's move away from his King.
Second, After you have driven him to the corner, Don't stalemate him. Leave him two
squares where he can shuffle back and forth.
And finally, bring your King in to help. It takes both your King and Queen to
Checkmate your opponent.
Now that you know how to Mate you opponent with a King and a Queen, practice it.
Practice it with your friends, your family, on your computer, or even by yourself.
Practice it until it feels natural and you don't have to stop to try to remember
each move.
This is Scott and don't forget: Every Chess Master was once a beginner.