The Queen

Rook and bishop together

In this lesson you will learn

How the queen moves
Why the queen is the strongest piece
Attacking two pieces at once

Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.

4.1 How the queen moves

The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together: along files, ranks and diagonals, as many squares as she likes. That makes her the strongest piece on the board.

The queen’s movesFrom d4 the queen reaches 27 squares, more than any other piece.

4.2 Double attack

Because she looks in so many directions, the queen can often attack two pieces at once. The opponent can save only one of them. This is called a double attack or a fork.

Diagram 4.1White to move

Diagram 4.1 · Two targets

The black rook on b3 and knight on h5 are both loose.

Move the queen to a square where she attacks both of them.

Remember

The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together.
She is the strongest piece, so do not lose her for a smaller piece.
A queen can often attack two pieces at once.

Exercises · Lesson 4

Move the white queen. Look in all eight directions.

Solve these 9 exercises on the boardCreate a free account to check your moves, open hints and solutions, and save your progress.

Join free Sign in