4/25/2023 – Middlegame secrets are revealed - in a series of articles featuring videos by Jan Markos. We'll begin with the Queen, exploring things to avoid when playing with the most powerful chess piece! If you wish to know more, we recommend the full course by Jan Markos: Middlegame Secrets Vol.1: The Power of the Queen | Photo: Alexis Fauvet/Unsplash
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Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
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Middlegame Secrets Vol.1: The Power of the Queen
For a chess player, chess pieces are like specific tools in a toolbox. We need to know how to use them best, like a craftsman knows their tools. We shouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail; and we shouldn’t use the queen just for defence. This series will show you in great detail the specific qualities of each chess piece, so that you can maximize their effectiveness and thus improve your game. Queens are the true ladies of the chessboard. They are dangerous attackers, but poor defenders. They dislike dirty work, and often wait until other pieces prepare space for them. Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Shall I exchange the queens? Let's have a look at the position of the kings!
The Queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board, but when is it beneficial to exchange Queens and when should we keep our most precious piece on the board? These questions will be answered by Jan Markos!
Aronian vs Ding Liren
Shall White exchange his Queen?
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21.Qb3!58 Of
course, White does not exchange the queens and continues a strong attack on
the black king. Suddenly appearing on the d2-square Black's queen is out of
work.Qf453The correct move was the energetic SHOULD HAVE
PLAYED22.Ngf5+22.Rd1?1:14Bb6?1:16 This
seems to be the decisive mistake.Black shoud have played22...c523.Ngf5+Bxf524.Nxf5+Kh825.g3Qc726.Nxh6g4where White is better, but
far from winning.23.Ngf5+6:03Bxf52After23...Kh824.Nxc8Raxc825.g3the position of the rook on c8 instead of a8
(as in the game) does not help Black.24.Nxf5+1Kh8125.g32Qg43:3126.Nxh60Qxh51:22 Other two alternatives are maybe more stubborn,
but White is still winning.26...Qh327.c5+-26...Qe627.Rfe1Ne428.Rxe4Qxh629.Rde1+-27.Kg2!17 Provides the decisive join
of the rook to the attack and the game immediately ends.d3428.Qc3!48The last accurate move. After the tempting28.Rh1??Black playsQe2and suddenly survives.28...Kg73829.Nf5+20Kg6230.Rh114 Black
resigns A super-important victory!22...Kh822...Bxf523.Nxf5+Kh824.Re723.g3Qg424.Qa3‼and White wins due to the double threat 25.Qxa5
and 25.Ng6+.1–0
Jan Markos is a grandmaster from Slovakia.. He is the author of numerous excellent books and for some time has also been a writer for ChessBase. Besides his column in ChessBase Magazine "Practical tips for the tournament player" he writes a column for ChessBase News "The Winning Academy". With his new video series "Middlegame Secrets" the specific qualities of each piece are explained in detail. Each piece has certain tasks for which it is better suited than others. With the help of rules of thumb and principles, The Queen and the Rook are dealt with in the first two volumes. Markos knows how to break down the complexity of the pieces into simple rules of thumb. This makes it easier to learn and apply. On the occasion of the publication of the courses, we have made a nice interview with the author:
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
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