Endgames featuring kings, queens, and pawns.
Why it matters
Queen endgames are about checks. With so much open board, the defender can usually check forever, which is why the side that is winning must think about escaping checks before thinking about the pawn.
The other half is the passed pawn. In a queen endgame a far-advanced passed pawn is worth more than a pawn or two elsewhere, because promoting with check ends the checking sequence for good.
See it on a board
Black has two rooks for the queen and it makes no difference. The king has only two squares, the queen covers both in turn, and the position repeats.
Checked: this line reaches a drawn position.
How to play it
- As the stronger side, find a shelter for your king before pushing — often behind the opponent's own pawns.
- Advance the passed pawn with the queen behind or beside it, and use checks of your own to gain the moves you need.
- As the defender, look for perpetual check first, and only then think about material.
At each level
The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.
Queen · ages 8–11
Before you push the pawn, find a square where your king is safe from checks. Otherwise the checks never end.
King · ages 10 and up
Queen endgames are drawn far more often than the material suggests. When you are worse, look for perpetual check as a first plan, not a last one.
What goes wrong
- Advancing the pawn while the king is in the open and running into an endless series of checks.
- Grabbing a second pawn when the first one could have been escorted home instead.
Questions people ask
- Is an extra pawn enough to win a queen endgame?
- Often not. It depends almost entirely on whether the passed pawn is far advanced and whether your king can hide. Two connected passers usually decide it; one isolated pawn often does not.