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Checkmate pattern · Beginner

Kiss of Death in chess

The kiss of death is a queen checkmate right next to the enemy king, with another of your pieces protecting the queen so the king can't take it.

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touch_appTry it: A queen right next to the king, protected by a friend, is checkmate.

What is a kiss of death in chess?

The kiss of death is a queen checkmate right next to the enemy king, with another of your pieces protecting the queen so the king can't take it. The classic square is g7 or h7 (g2 or h2), with a bishop, knight or pawn as the queen's bodyguard.

  • Can your queen reach a square touching the enemy king that another of your pieces already guards?
  • Bishop or knight aimed at g7 or h7, and your queen one move away: that's the pattern.

Worked examples

The kiss of death: White to move. A queen right next to the king, protected by a friend, is checkmate.

Solution: 1.Qg7#. Qg7#! The king can't take the queen because the bishop guards it, and every escape square is covered. A queen next to the king needs a bodyguard.

Mate on h7: White to move. Queen and bishop aim at the same square next to the castled king.

Solution: 1.Qxh7#. Qxh7#. The bishop protects the queen, and the rook on f8 blocks the king's escape.

Ask Wingo why it works

Wingo, our coach, never works out chess moves on its own. Stockfish finds the best line, chess.js writes down the facts of the position, and Wingo's explanation is built from that analysis. This is its real answer for "The kiss of death", unedited (a person checked it before it went on this page).

1 · Position + engine

2 · Fact sheet (chess.js + Stockfish)

Side to move: White.
White: king g1, queen h6, bishop f6, pawn f2, pawn g2, pawn h2.
Black: king g8, pawn f7, pawn h7, pawn g6.
Material: White 15, Black 3 (White up 12).
King in check (verified):
After 1.Qg7#: Black king on g8 is in check from the White queen on g7. Squares next to the king: f7: blocked by its own pawn; f8: covered by White queen g7; g7: covered by White bishop f6 (the White queen there is protected); h7: blocked by its own pawn; h8: covered by White queen g7; the other squares are off the board (edge). King moves: none. Capture the checking piece with another piece: impossible. Block the check: impossible. This is checkmate.
Loose/under-defended pieces: none.
Defenders and attackers (verified):
White bishop f6: defended by nothing; attacked by nothing.
White queen h6: defended by nothing; attacked by nothing.
White's legal moves (31): bishop f6: Be7, Bd8, Bg7, Bh8, Bg5, Bh4, Be5, Bd4, Bc3, Bb2, Ba1; queen h6: Qg7#, Qf8+, Qxh7+, Qh5, Qh4, Qh3, Qg5, Qf4, Qe3, Qd2, Qc1, Qxg6+; pawn f2: f3, f4; pawn g2: g3, g4; pawn h2: h3, h4; king g1: Kh1, Kf1.
Engine best line: 1.Qg7# — forced mate in 1 for White.
Best move theme: checkmate.

3 · What the coach said

Great job! The queen moves to the square g7 and gives check (attacks the black king). The queen is right next to the king, and the bishop on f6 also attacks that same square, so the queen is protected – the black king can’t capture it. All the squares the king could run to are either blocked by his own pawns or are covered by the queen, so he has no legal move. Because nothing can block the line or capture the queen, it is checkmate. Tip: When you see a queen (or any piece) sitting next to the opponent’s king, first ask yourself if a friendly piece also attacks that square. If it does, the queen is safe and the king often has no escape, giving a quick mate. Look for that “queen‑next‑to‑king + support” pattern in your games.
Engine line: Qg7#. In the app you can ask Wingo about any position, and about your own wrong moves.

Solve kiss of death puzzles at your level

extension12 kiss of death puzzles from real games, in three levels. Find the move; a wrong try is explained. No account needed.

Beginner · under 1200

Improver · 1200–1599

Intermediate · 1600+

Puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0), each checked by Stockfish.

Do you miss kiss of deaths in your own games?

Our mistake finder checks your recent games with Stockfish and lists the 3 mistakes you repeat most. Missed kiss of deaths are counted under "Missing checkmates". Every mistake it finds becomes a puzzle from your own game, so you practise exactly the positions you got wrong.

Check my Chess.com gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Lichess gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Wings Chess gamesarrow_forwardUses the games you play here, after 5 games.

Use it in a real game

Puzzles tell you a kiss of death is there. In a game nobody does. Play Blaze, one of our bots that think at a human pace and make human mistakes, and look for the pattern yourself. The coach can point it out afterwards if you miss it.

Play Blaze (1300)arrow_forwardAll-out attacker. Sacrifices first, asks questions later.About Blazearrow_forwardHow this bot plays, and tips to beat it.

Train this in the app

Lesson: The kiss of deatharrow_forwardA queen right next to the king, protected by a friend, is checkmate. With hints, stars and your progress saved.

Keep going

Back-Rank Matearrow_forwardA back-rank mate is a rook or queen giving check along the last rank while the king is boxed in by its own pawns.Boden's Matearrow_forwardBoden's mate is checkmate with two bishops on crossing diagonals, usually against a king that castled queenside.Smothered Matearrow_forwardA smothered mate is a checkmate by a knight against a king that is completely surrounded by its own pieces.Opening: Italian Gamearrow_forwardControl the center, develop fast, and aim at Black's weakest square, f7.