Chapter 4
The Queen forces checkmate

In Diagram 11, White can mate and win the game by moving the queen to any of the dotted squares. When searching for a checkmate, first look at all moves which deliver check and then test each to see if your opponent's king can escape. In the example, the moves Qe3+, Qf4+, Qg5+ and Qg7+ would all deliver check but not checkmate. Test each of them and identify the king's escape squares. Our next task is to learn how to force your opponent into a position similar to Diagram 11, with their king on the edge of the board, so that mate can be delivered.
	Diagram 12 shows the queen "building fences" along the c-file and third rank. The black king can never venture outside the "paddock" because he cannot get past the fences without moving into check. White will now make the paddock smaller to trap the king as close as possible to an edge. The move 1 Qe3 gives the position in Diagram 13, where the black king is restricted to the f, g and h-files.
Black will try to stay away from the edges, but White has an unbeatable plan. It goes like this... Use the queen to make the paddock smaller and smaller until your opponent's king is forced to an edge of the board. Keep the king on that edge by moving your queen to a square in the rank or file second from the edge. Then bring your own king toward your opponent's king. Be careful not to allow a stalemate. The game may continue 1 ...Kf6 2 Qe4 Kg5 3 Qf3 (now the king can only use two files) 3 ...Kg6 4 Qf4 Kg7 5 Qf5 Kg8 (now that the king has been forced to the edge, we want to keep him there, so...) 6 Qd7 Kf8 7 Kb4 Kg8 8 Kc4 Kf8 9 Kd5 Kg8 10 Ke6 Kh8 11 Kf6 Kg8 12 Qg7 mate.
	In forcing checkmate with the queen, your moves will vary according to what moves are played by your opponent. But the method is always the same... Use your queen to force the king to an edge and to keep him there, then bring your own king closer. Let's start again from Diagram 13, with Black playing different moves: 1 ...Kg4 2 Qf2 Kg5 3 Qf3 Kg6 4 Qf4 Kg7 5 Qf5 Kh8. This gives the position in Diagram 14. BEWARE THE TRAP... If White plays 6 Qg6, Black is not in check and cannot make any legal move, so the result would be a draw by stalemate. The correct continuation is 6 Qg4 Kh7 7 Kb4 Kh8 8 Kc4 Kh7 9 Kd5 Kh8 10 Ke6 Kh7 11 Kf7 Kh8 12 Qg7 mate (note that the queen could also mate by moving to g8, h4, h5 or h6.
Exercise 1 On your own chessboard, place your pretend opponent's king on one of the four central squares and your own king and queen on any other squares, but not so your opponent's king is in check. See how fast you can force checkmate. When you make moves for your pretend opponent, always try to keep the king away from the edges. After a few tries you'll be doing it almost without thinking. Hint: When you make your first "paddock", try to have your own king outside the paddock. If it's inside, it can get in the way.