Chess Queen Rules
The other half of your royal couple is the superpiece of chess. Each side gets only one to begin with, and that’s just as well — two would be awfully hard to deal with.
The queen is not only the most powerful chess piece; she is also the newest. The early Indian and Persian forms of chess had no queen. Instead, they gave the raja or shah a “viser,” or counselor, that had approximately half the power of the monarch, and had to stay nearby. The new powerful queen is an invention of the Renaissance.
The queen is essentially a rook/bishop combination. She is another long-range piece, like the rook and the bishop, but she combines the power of both. Queens can operate on an empty board along ranks or files, just like a rook, and also along diagonals, just like a bishop. Furthermore, she can operate like both bishops, since in between diagonal moves, she can move along a file or rank and change the color of her diagonal. This is formidable power.
The queen can move to any of the twenty-seven dotted squares. The queen is the most powerful piece in chess, particularly on an empty board.
Captures
The queen can capture just like any chess piece. Sight along rank, file, or diagonal from where your queen stands, find the piece or pawn you want to capture, and move the queen there, removing the enemy from the board. Provided nothing is in the way except empty squares, you have made a capture.
Tips on Use
The queen is so powerful that most beginning chess players want to bring her out right away to wreak havoc on the enemy position. But this is often a foolish strategy, since the very power of the queen can be turned against her.
Any lesser piece or pawn (and in terms of power, that’s all of them by definition) can come out and threaten to capture your powerful queen. She will wind up running from one attacker after another while your opponent pours more and more lesser pieces into the fight.
It’s generally better to hold off on bringing the queen into the attack until the way has been cleared. Then her true power can be unleashed.
