Queen against pawn on the seventh is a lone queen stopping a pawn one step from promotion. It beats a centre or knight's pawn. A rook's or bishop's pawn draws if the stronger side's king is far away.
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Against a centre or knight's pawn, the queen checks until the king must stand in front of its pawn, then uses the free move to bring its own king closer. Against a rook's or bishop's pawn, stalemate breaks that method.
How to do it
- 1Check until the defending king has to step in front of its pawn.
- 2Use that free move to bring your king one square closer.
- 3Repeat until your king is close enough to win the pawn or mate.
For your level
A queen beats a pawn on the seventh by checking until the king blocks its own pawn. Each time it does, bring your king one square closer.
Check you have it
Pitch it for:
Question 1 of 2
Play the moves through. How does the game end?
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Question 2 of 2
Which black pawn has no friendly pawn on either neighbouring file?
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Common mistakes
- Checking without a plan, so the king never has to block its own pawn.
- Expecting to beat a bishop's pawn on the seventh when your own king is far away.
Questions
- Why do rook and bishop pawns draw against a queen?
- Stalemate. With a pawn on a2 the king sits on a1 and has no moves once the queen closes in. With a pawn on c2 the king goes to a1, and taking the pawn leaves it stalemated.
- When does a queen beat a rook's pawn on the seventh?
- When the queen's own king is close enough to help mate before stalemate matters. How close depends on the exact position, so check a tablebase rather than a rule of thumb.