Welcome back. Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you'd like me to call you this lesson.
Do you know all about the GUILLOTINE, kiddo?

Yes - now show me some more checkmates.

No, I still don't understand it.
To win a battle you have to kill the King. You have to get CHECKMATE.

It will be easier if you learn the most common CHECKMATE positions.

In this lesson you'll learn about a CHECKMATE called the KISS OF DEATH.





It's almost always the QUEEN who carries out the KISS OF DEATH.

It's a CHECK one row in from the side of the board from which the enemy King can't escape.

In the KISS OF DEATH the Queen is on the next square to the enemy King.

But if she doesn't have anyone to hold her hand the enemy King will kill the Queen first.
Here you see the KISS OF DEATH in action.

The White Queen is on the next square to the Black King, one square in from the side of the board.

The White King is holding the Queen's hand. He is DEFENDING the Queen so that she is safe from the Black King.

There's no way out. It's CHECKMATE. The King has been killed by the KISS OF DEATH.

The piece holding the Queen's hand could be anything: King, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Pawn or even another Queen!

In this position it's the Rook that's defending the Queen and holding her hand.

The Black King cannot capture the Queen because he'd be in check from the Rook.





Here the White Bishop is holding the Queen's hand.

Yes, it's a long way away from the Queen but that doesn't matter.

Defence is defence no matter how far away it is. So again it's CHECKMATE. The KISS OF DEATH strikes again.
This time it's the Knight who's supporting the Queen.

Get used to this idea. You will win so many games if you remember it.

Make sure you understand that the Black King can't capture the Queen because he'd be in CHECK from the Knight.
Even a Pawn can support his Queen and help her deliver the KISS OF DEATH.

Observe that when the enemy King is in the corner the Queen can also be one square DIAGONALLY in from the corner.
The Queen can also do the KISS OF DEATH on the diagonal if the escape square in the other direction is blocked.

Here the White Queen is CHECKING the Black King. The Bishop is holding the White Queen's hand so the Black King can't take her.

He would like to run away to d8 but sadly for him the Black Queen is on that square.

So again it's the KISS OF DEATH: CHECKMATE.

Here you can see how a KISS OF DEATH can be set up.

White has moved his Queen and Knight to ATTACK the Black Pawn on h7.

It's his move so he can CAPTURE the Pawn on h7 with his Queen.

This will be CHECKMATE: the KISS OF DEATH.
Look closely at this position. White has posted his Queen and Bishop on the same diagonal, again targeting the Black Pawn on h7.

It's his move so, just like last time, he can CAPTURE the Pawn on h7 with his Queen.

Again it will be CHECKMATE and the Black King will die.
Be very careful though! It's very easy to get carried away if you think you've seen a good move.

You must always stop and look very carefully to make sure it's safe before you play it.

This position might look just like the last one, but there's a big difference.

Black has a KNIGHT, not a ROOK on f8.

So this time taking the Pawn on h7 with your Queen would be a BIG MISTAKE.

Every game you play, look at EVERY CHECK to see if it's CHECKMATE.

But be very careful. Before you play the KISS OF DEATH you need to make sure that you really do have another piece supporting the Queen by holding her hand.

And you also have to make sure that you're not going to get taken by anohter piece when you play the move.
When you're playing KASPY and FISHY at low levels you should be able to win a lot of games using the KISS OF DEATH. If you bring your Queen out early on, along with a Bishop or Knight you'll often be able to score a quick win with this CHECKMATE.

But do make sure you keep your Queen safe at all times!!
Would you like to do a REALLY HARD EXAM about the KISS OF DEATH?

You bet! Killing Kings is really cool!

I'd like to repeat the lesson first please

I'd like to do the test later

No thankyou. Kissing is for girls