In this lesson you'll learn about a very common sort of QUEEN CHECKMATE.

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

In this CHECKMATE the Queen is on the next square (away from the side of the board) to the opponent's King.

But if she's not DEFENDED by a friendly piece the opponent's King will capture her first.
Here you see this CHECKMATE 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 defending the Queen so that she is safe from the Black King.

There's no way out. It's CHECKMATE.

The piece defending the Queen could be anything: King, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Pawn or even another Queen!

In this position it's the Rook that's defending the Queen.

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





Here the White Bishop is defending the Queen

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.
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 CHECKMATE.

Observe that when the opponent's King is in the corner the Queen can also be one square DIAGONALLY in from the corner.
The Queen can also CHECKMATE 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 defending the Queen 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 CHECKMATE.

Here you can see how this sort of CHECKMATE 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.
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.
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 try this sort of Queen CHECKMATE you need to make sure that you really do have another piece supporting the Queen.

And you also have to make sure that you're not going to get taken by another 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 this Queen CHECKMATE. 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!!
That's the end of the lesson.

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