Queen against a pawn on the seventh

The key idea

Check until the enemy king has to stand in front of its own pawn. That instant when the pawn is blocked by its own king is your free move: bring your king closer. And repeat.

Example 1 · The cycle: check, block, tempo for the king

Black pawn on d2 with its king beside it and the white king on h8, seven squares away. Doesn't matter: watch how the queen manufactures tempo out of thin air.

1. Qc3 The queen pulls up next to the pawn on the diagonal. It's not check, and that's exactly why it works: it attacks d2 and takes away both c2 and e1 from the black king along the way. Black can't queen (d1 is occupied by its own king) nor comfortably defend the pawn.
2. Ke2 The king steps off the promotion square to make way for the pawn. It threatens d1=Q next move: leave it be, and the game is over.
3. Qc4+ Check, and for a very specific purpose: force the king back to the bottom rank, in other words, back to blocking its own pawn's path.
4. Ke1 Forced. And with the king on e1, the d2 pawn is stuck again.
5. Qe4+ Another check, now along the e-file. Black is left with only squares that don't suit it — that's exactly the idea.
6. Kf2 It steps out toward f2. The pawn is left loose: that's what the queen was waiting for.
7. Qd3 The queen fixes its stare on d2 again. Notice the detail: no check. It's telling the black king 'either you go back to blocking your pawn, or you lose it.'
8. Ke1 Back it goes. No alternative: the pawn is its only chance in the game.
9. Qe3+ Check. And now the square it's left with is exactly the one we want.
10. Kd1 There it is: the black king on d1, IN FRONT of its own pawn, blocking its own promotion. Its pawn is frozen. And here comes the key moment of the whole ending.
11. Kg7 The free move. Since the pawn can't advance, the queen doesn't have to do anything this turn: the white king sets off. That step is the payoff of the whole cycle before it — checks, checks, block, and a tempo for the king.
12. Kc1 The black king steps away again trying to queen. The wheel turns again.
13. Qc3+ And the queen repeats the mechanism: check to send it back to the bottom rank.
14. Kd1 In front of its pawn again, frozen again.
15. Kf6 And another free king step. You've got it now: the cycle repeats as many times as needed until your king reaches the pawn's zone, and then the two of you eat it together. With a central or knight's pawn, this method ALWAYS wins, wherever your king is.

Example 2 · The exception: bishop's pawn and stalemate

Same mechanism, pawn on c2 instead of d2. Watch what happens when the black king ducks into the corner: the prize is a stalemate.

1. Qa3+ Same start as before: check to push the king. With the pawn on the c-file, the black king has a square it didn't have with the queen's pawn — and that square changes everything.
2. Kb1 It heads for the edge instead of blocking the pawn's path. In the previous example that would have been a mistake; here it's the escape.
3. Qb3+ Check again, tying down the c2 pawn. Everything looks like it's going according to plan: the pawn isn't advancing, the king is cornered against the edge.
4. Ka1 The corner. And here's where Black sets the trap: the king now has no legal square left except the ones you control. Take a good look at the board before the next move.
5. Qxc2 The pawn falls… and it's a draw. STALEMATE: the black king isn't in check and has no legal move. With the bishop's pawn, the defending king always finds that corner. And the rook's pawn ends up just as badly through another route: there the king hides between a1 and b1, the queen can't take the a2 pawn because the king would take the queen, and the checks go round and round without getting anywhere (also a draw). With those two pawns, the lone queen doesn't win: you need your king nearby. With the other four, you win from anywhere.

Practice

Black pawn on d2 one step from queening, its king right beside it and yours on h8. Carry out the full cycle: check until the king blocks its own pawn, and spend that turn bringing your king closer.

1. No check, and on the diagonal: you attack the pawn and take squares away from the king. That's how the cycle begins. Get close to the pawn on the diagonal, attacking it. No check needed: the black king has to react anyway.
2. Check to send it back down. The goal is for its king to end up blocking its own pawn. The king has stepped aside to queen. Send it back to the first rank with check.
3. Another check, another bad square for it. Keep checking along the file where its king is.
4. You aim at the pawn again without check: either it blocks it with its king, or it loses it. There's no third option. It has let go of the pawn. Aim at it again on the diagonal, no check.
5. There it is! Its king has just walked in front of its own pawn: the pawn is frozen and you get a free move. Check one more time: you want its king to end up exactly on d1, blocking the path to its own pawn.
6. That king step is the reward for the whole cycle. The queen can afford to sit out because the pawn isn't moving. The pawn is blocked by its own king: the queen doesn't need to move. Use the turn to bring your king closer.
7. The wheel turns again: check, and back to blocking it again. It has stepped away again to try to queen. You know the drill: check to send it back to the first rank.
8. Another free step. The cycle repeats until your king arrives and the two of you eat the pawn together. Pawn blocked again: free move. Bring your king closer.

The cycle, in your hands: check, check, block, king step. With a central or knight's pawn this wins wherever your king is. And the thing you really need to take away: ALWAYS look at the pawn's file before you calculate. Bishop or rook, and the goal changes on the spot: dodge the stalemate.