“Can’t seal the deal” is probably actually draw by the 50-move-rule, not by stalemate. A stalemate is not synonymous with a draw; it’s just one specific sort of draw (and actually a fairly rare one). It happens when the current player has no legal move at all, and yet is not in check.
No, it’s stalemate.
Yes, there’s are well-known stalemates in the K+Q v K ending. The most glaring is probably some variant on this position: Black King on e8, White King on e6, White Queen on f6. Black to move is stalemated. Less common, but still important (it’s why King and Bishop’s pawn on the seventh draw against King and Queen), Black King on a1, White Queen on c2, White King anywhere, Black to move is stalemated.
The technique for winning is simple though: the Queen alone can shepherd the enemy King to the edge without ever checking. Once the King is forced to the edge, bring your own King up and finish him off. Weaker King on the edge, Queen one square in and defended by the King is the basic position, e.g. BK on e8, WQ on e7, WK on any of d6, e6 or f6.
…speaking of getting one’s ass handed to you…
But I should comment that I noticed a marked improvement in my game afterward. I haven’t been playing as much lately, so a similar game would be very helpful.
I suspect that someone else has better chops on the diagrams, but FWIW this site: Chess Board Editor - Apronus.com was helpful in the linked game.
It’s a shame you can’t embed images in an SDMB thread. A chess game would work really well then!
Stalemate shouldn’t really be a problem in a K&Q versus K end-game; it can only happen if you make a glaring mistake near the end.
Stalemate is a big deal in K+P versus K ; in certain cases the weaker side can put the stronger side in a position where he either loses the pawn or imposes stalemate. Learning how to use and avoid this is one of the first things you should learn. Learning perfect play in this endgame is quite easy and it forms the basis of other,much harder endgames.
If you haven’t already, you should also learn how to mate with K+R versus K.
Giraffe’s board has the chess plug-in enabled. It’s a bit clunky but good enough for edumacation purposes.
Question for Mr. glee:
Are there some (mature, experienced) ELO 2000 players that play blindfold chess much better than some ELO 2500 players?
…or does the talent for blindfold playing pretty much map directly to a player’s “innate” chess ability?
The simple tips I give inexperienced players for in the opening (rather than opening analysis, which they’re not ready for) are:
- control the centre (d4,d5,e4,e5), because it allows access to all parts of the board
- develop your pieces (don’t move the Queen all the time)
- get castled (it protects your King, especially when the centre opens up)
Here’s some short examples of what NOT to do.
-
e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3) Bc4 h6? 4) Nc3 Bg4 5) Nxe5! Bxd1 6) Bxf7+ Ke7 7) Nd5 checkmate
-
e4 e5 2) Bc4 Nf6 3) Nc3 Nxe4 4) Bxf7+ Kxf7 5) Nxe4 Nc6 6) Qf3+ Kg8?? 7) Ng5 Qxg5 8) Qd5 checkmate
- e4 e5 2. Qh5?* Nc6 3) Qg4?? d5 4) Qf3 dxe4 5) Qxe4 Nf6 6) Qf3 Bg4 7)Qb3 Nd4 8) Qxb7 Nxc2 checkmate
*the top US player Nakamura has played this - but only for shock value.
Thanks for remembering me!
I do recommend studying basic checkmates because:
- you can understand them completely
- it’s a good place to start and builds confidence
- they might come up and once you know how to win it’s easy
(Yes, I’ve only had K,B+N v K once. But failing to win such a known position would have worried me.)
Your position is:
White: Qc2 K ‘somewhere’
Black: Ka1
I assume White’s last move was Qb3xc2?
If we put the White King on a4,b4 or c4, White wins by playing
- Qc3+ Kb1 2) Kb3 c1=Q 3) Qd3+ Ka1 4) Qa6+ Kb1 5) Qa2 checkmate
Your point is basically true, but the exceptions show why studying endings is useful!
Don’t feel bad - I spent the ‘10,000 hours to mastery’ on chess in my youth (and had the concentration, logic and desire needed as well.)
I’m glad our game helped. 
How about this - I play SDMB games v Candyman 74 and Mosier; you kindly pop diagrams into each thread; then I give you another game?
You’re absolutely right this is important - and it’s reasonably easy to understand.
However any starting position with K+p v K is known to be a win or a draw.
So the weaker side can do nothing v best play if if the original position is a win; and must play perfectly to hold the draw.
(I hope I don’t sound pedantic, but chess is a game of supreme accuracy…;))
Call me glee! 
Of course all players analyse in regular games by moving pieces in their head (a form of blindfold.)
However blindfold simultaneous chess is very tiring.
Yes, I would say there’s a clear correlation. So top players would automatically be astonishingly good at blindfold (there is an annual tournament called the Melody Amber where half the games are blindfold.)
However they would probably not want to do it too much, especially simultaneously.
So maybe a club player who practised a lot could play more games than a top player - but I doubt the standard would be very high.
P.S. A cheeky chessplayer told me that if there is a blindfold simultaneous display, the players should agree to play similar bizarre moves to confuse the top chap;
e.g. as Black all play some combination of … b6 … Bb7 …Na6 … Rb8 … Ba8 … Rc8 …Nb8 … Ba6
(I don’t approve, but I’m sure you get the idea!)
OK, I’ve started v Mosier here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14531276#post14531276
Candyman 74 - let me know if you’d like a game. (I can play two at a time!)
sigh. Thank you for the correction…
And I’ve actually played to a K+R vs. K endgame a couple of times, even though I don’t play nearly as much as glee or other serious players do. Admittedly, both times I was in a strong position previous to that, and probably could have won quicker, but I knew I could win the K+R, and so accepted a few suboptimal trades to get to that. Better the slow victory you can be sure of, than the quick one you’re not sure of.
The simplest way to get better at chess is to play people better than yourself.
Didn’t read the thread, huh? 
I’d love to! I should have time next week if that’s convenient for you ?