Queen Rules!

We were told not to bring her out so early, but that's exactly how our first games were quickly won and lost. Some of us got nasty scoldings for pawn hunting with her, but there are known main line "poison pawn variations" in several openings that encourage us to do just that. She can morph from one bishop color to the other in a simple slender move. Her royal highness, with a single diagonal jag, presides over a new rank and file. Unquestionably ... the queen is the most powerful attacking piece in the game.

#1 Jaunich - Wu, 1992

When pondering queen moves, both subtle and not-so-subtle ideas need to be considered. After all, there are no other pieces possessing her dynamics. In short, she can be unexpectedly dangerous.

All too often, beginners fall prey to the classic Scholar's Mate attack (diagram #1). In our first position (Jaunich - Wu, 1992), Black prevented checkmate on f7, but failed to see all the threats the queen had generated. When checkmate doesn't materialize, winning material often does! After 4.Qxe5+, black will lose the h8-rook.

Not all tactics are as blatant as those of a Scholar's Mate attack. In fact, when queens are involved, there are many tricks to be aware of. Take, for instance, an old trap found in the Grob ... yep, the opening where white plays that crazy first move — 1.g4!

#2 Schmidt - Bender, 1992

In this trap, the focal point is the d5-square. One variation goes something like this: 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 (protecting d5) 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 e6 — again, protecting d5, but failing to see the a winning tactic! 5... e6? cuts off the unprotected g4-bishop, keeping it from being able to retreat to d7. (diagram #2). White now wins with 6.Qa4+ forking the king and the stranded bishop.

Similar opening traps can be found in chess books, databases, and several online sites. By researching those available resources a player can prepare against such trickiness in their own opening repertoires. What's not so easy to prepare for is when an opposing queen takes a subtle step or two, and lands on a square from which she lashes out across the board — in two very different directions at once! It's certainly an eye-opening experience to witness a trap of this nature, but even worse is ending up the victim of one! Ex-World Champion, Anatoly Karpov knows the feeling all too well; he fell into just such a trap ... and in just 12 moves!

#3 Christiansen - Karpov, 1993

Karpov, black, had previously played 10... Nh5 attacking the f4-bishop of former US champion, Larry Christiansen. After 11.Be3, Karpov played, 11...Bd6 (diagram #3) — a move that doesn't quite look right. Most players possessing the white pieces in this position would probably miss the winning move. Certainly, they might find a good move — but not the winning move. If you haven't seen this game before — give it a go! — see if you can find the move that grandmaster Christiansen discovered over the board.

[The answer is at the bottom of this page.]

The opportunity for long range tactics involving a queen brew as a game progresses. This is because there are more open lines to utilize. In fact, as more pawns get pushed and pieces get developed, the likelihood of dangerous tricks and traps increases.

#4 Bradford - Chaplin, 1995

Sometimes a game can be won simply by understanding what's unique about it. Consider the position reached in Bradford - Chaplin, 1995 (diagram #4). After original opening play (1.d4 h6 2.e4 g5), the game reached a position somewhat resembling a Sicilian Defense in which black's king is uncastled. Black had just played the listless 25... Bc6-d7? when White pounced on this error with the exchange sacrifice 26.Rxd6!, removing a central pawn — a critical defender. Play continued 26... Nxd6 27.Qxb6 Nc8 28.Qd4 Ra5 29.e5 Rh6 30.Nce4 Bc6 (diagram #5). The material advantage black now holds is insignificant due to his extremely dislocated pieces. At this point, just the powerful knight on e4 itself was worrying Black senseless! However, all the gnawing concerns and suffering concluded as White calmly played his queen back two squares (31.Qd2). This careful, almost polite move, delivers a laser-accurate attack on both black rooks. After the shock subsided, Black resigned.

#5 Position after 30...Bc6.

In hindsight, a comparison of the last two diagrams exposes the problem. In diagram #4, every one of Black's pieces has protection; and in diagram #5, four(!) of Black's six pieces are unguarded. This is likely the uniqueness of position that White had spotted when playing 26.Rxd6! — the exchange sacrifice. The final position shows open lines all over the board — but fatal to Black are the open diagonals leading to each of his rooks.

Related to this lesson on dynamic queen moves are endgame studies in which queens are still on the board. That, however, is a discussion worthy of a separate lesson!

So … whether in a transparent Scholar's Mate attack or in subtle middlegame maneuvering, it is always wise to keep an eye on her majesty. Though a constant irritant (or joy!) to some, she is an invaluable asset to most — addressing the entire board ... the queen, she rules! — PC

Answer for Diagram #3 — Return the queen to her original square! (12.Qd1! winning a piece.)

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