#1  |
The queen is the most powerful
piece on the board. She may not be able to leap tall buildings (or
enemy pieces), but as these diagrams show, she can do a lot of other things.
In
#1, White's queen (on e4) has nine moves that are check. Two
give the queen away, and six are check but not mate. Can you find the
one that's mate? |
#2  |
Mating the enemy king is not the only way
to make use of the queen. A queen in the center of the board can
travel in eight different directions, perfect for double attacks.
You can usually win any time you can attack two things at once. In
#2, White has a quadruple attack, attacking all of the black pieces at
once without being attacked herself. Can you find it? |
#3  |
Sometimes a win is just not possible.
Since half a point is better than none, sometimes you have to play for
a draw to avoid losing. In #3, Black can force stalemate by sacrificing
the queen. Which is the right move?
A. Qg1+
B. Qf4+
C. Qc7+
D. Qe3 |
#4  |
In #4 Black has mate on the move.
Do you see it? Unfortunately for Black, it's White's move. White
has a forced mate in three. Sacrifice the queen to smother the
king! |
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