Double attacks with the queen
The queen moves in every direction, so one move can hit two loose pieces, or the king and a piece.
The idea
The queen makes two threats at once, often a check and a loose piece.
- The queen checks the king along the diagonal.
- She also attacks the knight, and nothing defends it.
- Black must answer the check, and then she takes the knight.
In a game: When an enemy piece is loose, look for a queen move that attacks it and gives check.
How the lesson begins
The queen moves along ranks, files and diagonals, so from one square she looks in eight directions. That makes her the best piece for a double attack: one move that makes two threats at once.
Here White’s queen has just gone to a4. She gives check to the king on e8 along the diagonal, and she attacks the knight on e4 along the rank. Nothing defends that knight. Black must answer the check first. Press Next move.
- 1... c6 Black blocks the check with a pawn. That does nothing for the knight.
- 2. Qxe4+ The queen takes the knight, with check again. White has won a whole piece.
Find the move
White to move. Nothing defends Black’s bishop on c5. Find the queen move that gives check and attacks the bishop at the same time.
A hint
The diagonal from your queen to the black king is open.
Show the answer
1. Qh5+
Qh5+ checks the king on e8 along the diagonal and attacks the bishop on c5 along the fifth rank. Black has to answer the check, for example with g6, and then the queen takes the bishop.