Vibe ChessVibe Chess

The queen beats the rook's pawn

A rook's pawn on the seventh is the classic draw in queen against pawn - but only with the stronger side's king far away. Let the king get close and the stalemate defence collapses.

Here White has the king on g7 and a pawn on h7; Black has the king on e5 and the queen on d4. Black to move, and Black wins (per the tablebases): the king on e5 is close enough to help the queen stop the pawn and deliver mate.

Compare it with the drawn version, where the king stands far away: the same rook's pawn is a salvation in one case and a loss in the other. The king's distance decides everything.

87654321
abcdefgh

Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.

Side to move
Castling
More
FEN of the position
Load FEN
Named mates and combinations

The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.

Puzzles: mate in one

It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.

Popular positions

Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.

How to win with the queen

  1. 1Give a check that forces the king in front of its pawn.
  2. 2While it blockades its own pawn, move your king one square nearer.
  3. 3Repeat: each cycle brings the king one move closer.
  4. 4Once right up, take the pawn or announce mate.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting about stalemate with the king in the corner.
  • Losing the queening square by taking the queen too far away.
  • Trying to mate before your own king has arrived.

Common questions

How does the queen beat a pawn on the seventh rank?

With a series of checks forcing the king in front of the pawn. In those tempi your own king comes up and settles the game.

Why can you not simply take the pawn?

While the king defends it, the queen cannot manage alone: your own king is needed, or the position is drawn by stalemate.

How many moves does the win take?

Usually ten to twenty: that is how long the king needs to reach the pawn in short steps.

Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.

FreeThe tournament app

The app instead of arbiter software

Pairings are computed by bbpPairings, an open-source engine implementing the Dutch system by FIDE rules: score groups, floats on an odd field, colour alternation. Free to use.

  1. 1The event is created in the app in a minute
  2. 2Players register themselves through the link
  3. 3The engine pairs every round, not the organizer
  4. 4The finished tournament exports as a TRF file that arbiter software accepts
  • Swiss system. proper rounds with correct pairings, not random matchups
  • Round robin. a full circle, with the round count derived from the field
  • Free meetup. a light format with no tournament machinery

Fancy the next chess evening?

Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.