In every game we play, trading pieces in inevitable. However, this shouldn’t be done automatically and it is important to choose the right moment and the right pieces to trade.
Today we are going to talk about queens and when you should decide to trade them off and when to keep them on the board. As always in chess, there are no rules without exceptions, but we have tried to outline a few guidelines that could help you take the right decision in such a moment.
Aside from this, remember that most of the times queen trades are neutral and exchanging them doesn’t necessarily change the position for better or for worse for one of the sides.
We can see how in this game black was constantly under pressure and had some difficulties in finishing his development. However, he didn’t rush into exchanging the queens when the opportunity arose and correctly assessed that the resulting position would be hopeless. Instead, he looked for a way to activate his pieces and offered the trade only later on, when the position was equal.
Position 1:
White to move
Position 2:
White to move
Position 3:
White to move
Position 4:
White to move
Position 5:
Black to move
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