C&C Chess Club

Queen against two connected pawns — the wall on the seventh

Draw White to move · Queen endgames · Difficulty about Elo 1600

Position: 8/8/7K/8/8/1k6/1pp5/2Q5 w - - 0 1
White to move · FEN 8/8/7K/8/8/1k6/1pp5/2Q5 w - - 0 1

The plan

Two connected pawns on the seventh rank, defended by their own king, are not prey for the bare queen but a wall. The queen can only ever hold up one of the two; if it takes one, the other promotes. So it cannot win — and because it also stands constantly within the pawns' capturing range, it can even lose. In the starting position exactly one move out of eighteen holds. The recipe is: the queen may only bring itself out of danger WITH CHECK, because only that way does it win the tempo it is missing. After that the defence lives off a check series that never lets the black king come to rest. Only once the king is pushed all the way into the corner may the queen take one of the pawns — because then, although the other one does promote, the new queen stands undefended next to its king and gets traded off.

Rule of thumb: against two connected pawns on the seventh, the queen does not play for the win but for check — and only captures once the enemy king is stuck in the corner.

Why this level: Queen against two connected pawns

The solution, move by move

  1. 1. Qe3+ The ONLY move. The queen stands within the pawn's capturing range and has to move — but it may not simply move away, only with check, otherwise Black promotes (second sideline). Taking the pawn costs the queen (first sideline).
    Sideline 1. Qxc2+ The obvious greed: a pawn is a pawn, after all. Except it is defended by the king. 1… Kxc2 The queen is gone, the other pawn promotes. The half point has turned into a loss.
    Sideline 1. Kg5 Standing in for every quiet move: White wants to bring up the king and overlooks that its own queen is under attack. 1… bxc1=Q+ The pawn captures it and becomes a queen in the process, with check. This is exactly why the first move has to be a check. 2. Kg6 Qh6+
  2. 1… Kc4
  3. 2. Qe4+
  4. 2… Kc3 The ONLY move that keeps Black's winning chance alive — but even this only leads in a circle.
  5. 3. Qe1+ The queen changes rank and keeps checking.
  6. 3… Kb3
  7. 4. Qe3+
  8. 4… Ka2 Black tries it the other way round: the king goes into the corner to defend the pawn there.
  9. 5. Qe2 A quiet move — the queen places itself on the pawns' rank and keeps both in sight.
  10. 5… Ka1
  11. 6. Qxc2 Now, and only now, may it grab one: the black king stands in the corner and defends nothing any more.
  12. 6… b1=Q The ONLY move — Black has absolutely nothing else left to keep it in the game.
  13. 7. Qxb1+ And the new queen stands undefended right next to its king.
  14. 7… Kxb1 Bare kings, a draw. Two pawns on the seventh were worth exactly half a point — no more and no less.

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