Sac A Queen To Find A Mate! A Love Story Video Series

We all have terrible ideas now and then. Typically, they stem from the crazy urge to sacrifice a piece. Even the best of the best can’t always resist. In fact, this series will pay tribute to those special moments when the game's most powerful piece was sacrificed for the greater good.

You’ll witness classic matches and opening play examples of queen sacrifices. We’ll caution you not to try this at home. It takes strong compensation to win without a queen.

The queen’s relevance in chess is similar to Taylor Swift’s in music. The queen is the only piece versatile enough to move like a bishop or a rook. Queen T-Swizzy is the only musician capable of crossing the lines from country to pop. No matter the genre, both ladies are the best in their field!

So the question is this: who in their right mind would give up their best piece? You could ask John Mayer; it doesn’t work out for everybody.

FM Mike Klein knows all about the queen sac, but even more about Taylor Swift. For this series, Mike explores those rare moments when that dreadful break-up ends well.

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Now, before you get that James Dean, daydream look in your eyes -- keep reading! You're in for a great video series!

The Most Famous Queen Sac In History -- You Decide! With all the hype leading up to the series, Mike Klein wanted to summarize history's greatest queen sacs in one video. Most these games might seem familiar, but Klein explores strategic concepts that you haven't heard yet! Watch and learn as one of the game's best coaches dissects its most entertaining tactic! (All)

5 Games Where Rooks Beat Queens Warning! Queen sacs are not a sure mate. Sometimes, compensation comes in material form. Watch as Klein demonstrates the power of two rooks vs one lovely lady. Despite being diagonally challenged, rooks give a queen fits when teamed. Chess royalty, like pop music, has its limits. While on the board, they cannot jump and in a battle they will not rap. Just ask Kanye! (All)

6 Theoretical Queen Sacs In The Opening! In a queen’s world, it’s the minors who strike gold. Klein reviews what limited opening theory requires a queen sac, but acts as a catalyst for knights and bishops to over achieve. This inspiring piece gets us excited about chess. We hope you feel the same! (All)

Girl Overboard: Forcing Queen Sacs! Sometimes we sacrifice material because we lose the willpower to resist our "cute" ideas. If you tumble down that rabbit hole, you may get addicted. As Klein observes in our next video, these GMs just can’t help themselves. Seven more queen sacs bring about seven different strategic concepts. Watch and learn! (All)

Walk The Plank! For our next lesson on queen sacs, Klein analyzes the more aggressive approach. In these examples the queen acts as bait for deep-sea king fishing. Learn from Klein, as well as a sacrificial genius in this Tigran Petrosian masterpiece. (All)

Queen Sacs For Blockades! So, want to know more? How about queen sacs fitting into other chess concepts?  We were serious in our comparison to Taylor Swift. There’s nothing the queen can’t do. Watch Klein utilize our lovely lady to make and break various blockades. (All)

World Championship Queen Sacs! We told you that even the best of the best practice the queen sac. You’ll witness that in Klein’s next installment. While the players are great, the games may be even better. Despite the risky play, these games turn out solid. You’re sure to love this one! (All)

Best Queen Sacs Of The 2000s We’ll ask for some audience participation to conclude the series -- but not before Klein exposes the greatest queen sacs of recent years. We hope these examples bring back memories of some of the better experiences you’ve had, and are willing to share. Thanks for joining; we bet you’ll be back for more soon!