rules, tactics, strategies and history

The Queen in the Middle Game

It remains to examine typical middle-game maneuvers with the Queen and with the Pawns. Little is to be said about the Queen. On account of her tre pieces dous mobility she is liable at any time to initiate a dangerous attack in conjunction with one or more of the other pieces, and most of the examples given for the typical Rook's, Bishop's and Knight's maneuvers have also shown the methods by which the cooperation with the Queen can be effected. The main field of action for the Queen is the side on which the opponent has castled. In games, in which both players have castled on the same side of the board, and which, as stated previously, constitute the vast majority of cases it is dangerous to make excursions with the Queen to distant regions away from the King, as her retreat might be cut off, making impossible an adequate defense against an attack which the opponent might be able to initiate on the King's side with the help of its own Queen.

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In the position above for instance, it would be very risky for White to take the Pawn a6. Black would play P-c4, cutting off the retreat of White's Queen, and then start a violent attack with its Queen in conjunction with the two Bishops. Another example is the position below which occurred in a game between Capablanca and Bernstein in the San Sebastian Tourna pieces t 1911. White played (1) Kt-e2 and Black, in view of the threatening accumulation of white pieces on the King's wing, should not have risked to capture the Pawn a2, getting its Queen quite out of play.

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He underestimated the danger and lost the game very quickly. The attack developed as follows: (1) ..., Qxa2; (2) Kte2-g3, Qxc2. In taking the second Pawn Black loses another move. He might have tried Q-a5, threatening to exchange Queens with Q-b6. But it is doubtful whether he would have been able to save the game. White would, of course, have avoided the exchange by playing its King into the corner. (3) R-c1, Q-b2; (4) Kt-h5; this prevents the Queen from getting back into play via f6. The threat is now R-c3, cutting Black's Queen off from g7, and then Kth5xg7 and Qxh6. Black defends himself against this threat by (4) ..., R-h8 with the intention to answer R-c3 with K-g8; but White's position involves so many threats that Black cannot provide a satisfactory protection. (5) R-e2, Q-e5; (6) P-f4, Q-b5; (7) Ktf5xg7 ! and wins, as Ktxg7 is followed by (8) Kt-f6+, (9) Ktxd7 and (10) P-f5 or P-e5 with overwhelming attack.