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White to Play

Pete Tamburro on Oct 7, 2026

Queen and pawn vs queen is a very tough ending. World Champ Botvinnik showed one way in 1955 to win vs. Minev. Very instructive.

1.g7 Qh1+ 2.Kd4 Qd1+ 3.Kc5 Qc1+ 4.Kd6 Qd2+ 5.Ke6 Qa2+ 5...Qg2 6.Qf4+ Ka5 7.Qc7+ Ka4 8.Qa7+ Kb4 9.Qb8+ Ka4 10.g8Q 6.Qd5! Qe2+ 7.Kd6 Qh2+ 8.Kc5 and now any Black queen check brings a White interposing the queen and giving a counter check, forcing the exchange and queening the pawn.

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.

More Chess Puzzles

White to Play

Chess Puzzles / October 05, 2026

Here is your chance to beat a world champion from the 1920s. Jose Capablaca couldn’t solve this mate in two in a contest—the only problem he could not solve.

White to Play

Chess Puzzles / October 02, 2026

White has a powerful rook, but Black has advanced connected passed pawns. What do you do as White?

White to Play

Chess Puzzles / September 30, 2026

This is a Grigoriev study that demonstrates that the lone king and advanced c-pawn on c2 don’t always draw. Can you do the whole concrete calculation all the way, with the variations, to the finish?