Exchanging the queens
Free sample from ChessBase Magazine #227
by Mihail Marin
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"The queen is the strongest piece in chess. Exchanging it is likely to radically change the situation on the board. We should keep in mind that this type of exchange does not imply simplifying to an endgame. It can lead to a queenless middlegame, too. First thoughts are that exchanging queens favours the side with a material advantage or the player under attack. These are general cases. Things become more interesting if we think of the global piece coordination. Minor pieces lacking stable squares typically require the help of a coordinator, and the queen is perfect for this purpose. There are other interesting nuances, too. As mentioned in the comments to a game below, it is not always important whether we exchange the queens, but how we achieve that. In many situations, exchanging from a position of force can make a difference if compared to banal exchanges. There are cases when the queens' exchange takes place as a result of complex forced operations.
As a disclaimer, I will mention that sometimes, there were interesting aspects of other exchanges, too. I have commented on them, since isolating the mere queens' exchange would have revealed only part of the essence of the fight. I have created the following sections:
- A) Elementary queen exchanges
- B) Exchanging the queens from a position of force
- C) Complex exchange operations
..."
Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #227
From the Biel 2025 Chess Festival to Felix Blohberger's opening video on the "Dubov Dragon" and Oliver Reeh's tactics article "Exchange sacrifices, Harry and more" to Dr Karsten Mueller's video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge".
Over 7 hours of video playing time with Felix Blohberger, Luis Engel Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Dr. Karsten Mueller, Michael Prusikin, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris, Dorian Rogozenco and Ivan Sokolov - Biel 2025: analyses by Aravindh, Dardha, Ma Qun, Hakobyan, Jumabayev, Navara, Theodorou and Wojtaszek - Perfect attacking play: Dorian Rogozenco shows the "modern classic" Kasparov vs. Kramnik (Novgorod 1994), in which the world champion used a new concept with 15.Qd2 and long castling in the Sveshnikov Variation - Aggressive Sicilian: Yago Santiago acts with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bc5!? on the black squares - Opening trends in the video: Sicilian Dragon Variation, Slav Defence and Sicilian Najdorf Variation - Endgame Basics Queen + Pawn vs Queen: A material constellation that requires the most precise technique, explained in detail by Karsten Müller and much more.
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- A) Elementary queen exchanges
- B) Exchanging the queens from a position of force
- C) Complex exchange operations
- A) Elementary queen exchanges
- B) Exchanging the queens from a position of force
- C) Complex exchange operations
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