Chess lessons › Chess strategy
Three minor pieces against a queen
Three minor pieces can beat a queen when they guard each other and the queen has nothing to attack.
The idea
Three pieces that guard each other can beat a queen with no target.
- The bishop on d3 attacks the pawn on a6, which nothing guards.
- The knight on e3 attacks g4, another pawn with no guard.
- The black queen on d8 attacks no white piece.
In a game: Count the points, then ask whose pieces are guarded and whose pawns hang.
How the lesson begins
On the usual count a queen is worth 9 points and so are three minor pieces. Here White has two bishops and a knight, and Black has a queen. Each side also has two rooks and six pawns, so the pieces come to 19 points a side. This is Amos Burn with White against Abram Rabinovich, Karlsbad 1911. White to move.
A question
The points are level. Who is better?
Show the answer
White: its pieces are active, and two black pawns have no guard.
Right. The engine puts White more than three pawns ahead. The bishop on d3 attacks the pawn on a6 and the knight on e3 attacks the pawn on g4, and nothing guards either.