In this lesson you'll learn how your King and Queen can work together to kill the enemy King.

There are two ways to do this.

One is the GUILLOTINE.

The other is the KISS OF DEATH!!

Here's a GUILLOTINE!

The Queen has swooped down the board to cut off the King's head!

See how the White King is TWO SQUARES away from the Black King to stop him escaping.

Place the Queen on a8, e8, f8 or h8 and it's still CHECKMATE!

If the Queen gets in a bit closer she can also get CHECKMATE like this.

See how the Queen stops the Black King moving to d7.



And here's the KISS OF DEATH!!

The Queen KISSES the Black King. The White Queen is holding her hand, so it's the KISS OF DEATH!!

It's also CHECKMATE with the White King on e6 or g6.

But if the White Queen was on g7 it wouldn't be CHECKMATE - Black could move to e8.

Here's a slightly different KISS OF DEATH!

This time the Black King dies in the corner.

Move the White King to a6, b6, c7 or c8 and it's still CHECKMATE!

In this position White has FIVE ways of getting CHECKMATE!!

You can do the GUILLOTINE on f8, g8 or h8.

Or you can do the KISS OF DEATH on a7 or b7.

Which one would YOU choose?

Now for some questions.

Is this position CHECKMATE, or does Black have a way out?

It's CHECKMATE

It's NOT CHECKMATE


What about this one?

Checkmate or not checkmate. That is the question!

It's CHECKMATE

It's NOT CHECKMATE


And how about this position?

Is the Black King dead or alive?

It's CHECKMATE

It's NOT CHECKMATE


In this position you are White. You have just ONE way to get CHECKMATE.

Type in the move using computer notation (starting square, then finishing square).


OK, we've just moved the White Queen. You still have just ONE way to get CHECKMATE.

Can you find it?


In this position it's Black's move.

What's going on?

Black's NOT in CHECK but he CANNOT MOVE ANYWHERE. He has no other pieces to move so it's STALEMATE!

It would also be STALEMATE with the White King on f4, f6, g6 or h6.

Everyone laughs at kids who STALEMATE their opponents with King and Queen against King.

Make sure it doesn't happen to you!

It's a good idea to put your Queen next to the enemy King, but beware of this position.

If the Black King is in the corner and the White Queen is A KNIGHT'S MOVE AWAY it's STALEMATE.

The White King could be ANYWHERE on the board. It doesn't make any difference. It's still STALEMATE.

REMEMBER IT AND AVOID IT!

OK. buster! Some more questions for you about Kings and Queens.

You're White. Which of these moves would you play?

Kd5-d6 Kd5-e6

Qf6-e7 Qf6-g7


And what would you play in this position?

Ke4-f3 Qe2-f1+

Qe2-f2 Qe2-g2


It's White's move again here. Make your mind up!

Qb8-c7 Qb8-b6+

Qb8-b5+ Kc5-b6


This question's pretty tough!

White has ONLY ONE MOVE to FORCE CHECKMATE in TWO MOVES TIME. Is it...

Qg8-g3 Qg8-g6+

Qg8-h8+ Kf7-f6


It's worth stopping to look at this position.

White has placed his King so that Black only has ONE move: Kh5-h6. (Nearly STALEMATE, but not quite!)

Next move White will be able to give CHECKMATE either by playing Qg3-g6 (the KISS OF DEATH), as shown by the blue arrow, or by playing Qg3-hb4 (the GUILLOTINE).

Oh, by the way. How many different ways can White get CHECKMATE THIS MOVE here?

One Two

Three Four


And how many different ways can White get CHECKMATE THIS MOVE here?

Three Four

Five Six


At the end of the game you'll quite often find yourself with King and Queen against King.

You know what King and Queen CHECKMATES look like so you know what to go for.

You know what King and Queen STALEMATES look like, so you know what to avoid.

You've seen how you need to get the enemy King to the EDGE OF THE BOARD before you get CHECKMATE.

So now you need to know how to use your King and Queen together to force him there.

TIP: Get both your pieces AS CLOSE TO HIS KING AS YOU CAN!

In this position I wouldn't bother to play a check. That doesn't help at all. Instead I'd play Ke1-e2 to get my King into the action.

This is the tricky bit. Do you want to know a secret? OK!

When the enemy King is on the side of the board, STICK YOUR QUEEN ON THE NEXT ROW.

See how it works - choose a move!

Ke5-e6 Ke5-f6

Qd6-c7 Qd6-b8


Yes - that's the way to do it!

Black MUST play Ke8-f8. You then play Ke5-f6 and, whichever way he goes, you'll get CHECKMATE next move!

If you don't believe me, set the position up yourself and see what happens!

When you've got a spare moment, you can try it out for yourself.

And if you get stuck you can watch a movie which shows you how to do it.

Congratulations!!
You have now completed the KING & QUEEN CHECKMATE assignment.