Queen endgames
The one ending where being a piece up guarantees nothing, because a lone queen can check forever and a draw is always one move away.
- 120 positions in the course
- Difficulty 406–2345
- Section: Endgames
- 5 levels
What queen endings turn on
Two things dominate: king safety and passed pawns. A queen can check a loose king from a dozen squares, so a material advantage means very little until your own king has somewhere to hide, and finding that shelter is usually the whole winning method.
The second is that queen endings are decided by promotion races far more often than by technique. A far-advanced passed pawn supported by a queen is worth more than an extra pawn anywhere else, because the queen both escorts it and covers the checks.
How to spot it
- Before you count material, ask where your king can stand without being checked. If the answer is nowhere, you are not winning.
- Look for perpetual check whenever you are worse. It is available far more often than it looks.
- Centralise the queen. A queen on the fourth or fifth rank in the middle covers both wings and stops checks from arriving in series.
- Count promotion races to the move. Queen endings are decided by one tempo more than any other ending.
Three queen endings
Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.
Position 1
White to move. Find the best move.
Show the answer
50...Kh6 51.Qh8#
The line ends in checkmate. With queens on the board the checks decide the position, so the move shown is about king safety or a pawn race rather than material.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 954 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 2
Black to move. Find the best move.
Show the answer
72.Kf8 72...Qe7#
The line ends in checkmate. With queens on the board the checks decide the position, so the move shown is about king safety or a pawn race rather than material.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1349 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 3
White to move. Find the best move.
Show the answer
39...Kg4 40.Qf3+ Kxh4 41.Qf4#
The line ends in checkmate. With queens on the board the checks decide the position, so the move shown is about king safety or a pawn race rather than material.
The position comes from an endgame of a real game, rated 1880 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Perpetual check as a plan
When you are losing a queen ending, perpetual check is not a lucky escape, it is the objective, and you should be looking for it from the moment the position turns. Drive the enemy king to a square where two checking squares alternate and the game is drawn regardless of material.
The mirror of that is the winning method: before you go pawn-hunting, spend a move giving your own king a shelter, because a won queen ending with an exposed king is a drawn one.
Questions people ask
Why are queen endgames so drawish?
Because a single queen can deliver perpetual check against almost any exposed king, and with few pieces on the board most kings are exposed. Material advantages only convert once your own king is safe.
How do I win a queen endgame a pawn up?
Find shelter for your king first, then centralise the queen, then advance the passed pawn. Trying to convert before the checks are neutralised is how most of these end in perpetual.
Nearby patterns
Queen Endgames sits in Endgames. The rest of that section: