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The Queen's "Hidden Passage"

The Queen's "Hidden Passage"

Gserper
| 27 | Strategy

A Queen is by far the most powerful chess piece and whenever we attack we are usually trying to bring our Queen to the action ASAP. But what if a chess player moves his Queen in the opposite direction? Is he insane? As the saying goes, there is a method to the madness.  Since our opponents are well aware of our intentions, they try to prevent our major force from joining the attack.  In situations like this sometimes moving in the opposite direction is the shortest way to achieve the goal.  Here is the classical example:

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Even though Grandmaster Janowski didn't defend the best way, the game nevertheless made a very strong impression on the chess world.  Here is how on of the best chess players of his time utilized Rubinstein's idea:

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After these two brilliant games, I hope you, my dear readers, are ready for the next gem. Don't try to figure out all the details, just guess White's idea in the position on the next diagram!

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If even after checking out the solution you still have no idea what's going on, don't be upset, this is absolutely natural Smile Here is GM Rozentalis' explanation:
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"I was thinking how to use my strategic advantage and penetrate into Black's position. Position was closed, so I wanted to open the Queen-side.  That's why I put my Queen back to d1. I played a3-a4 in order to win some space. I think that the swap of the Queens on a3 was a decisive mistake, as White gained the open b-file. The a-pawns could never be attacked and moreover they could attack the Black b-pawn. Black should refrain from ...Qxa3.  However, White could try to play further Qc5 or even Qd6."  After this detailed explanation, please enjoy the whole game:
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Using a hidden passage to quickly transfer Her Majesty to the desirable destination is not very common. Personally, I never had such an opportunity in my games; yet I enjoy the sheer beauty of this idea.  I hope you will have more luck and surprise your opponents with an unexpected Queen maneuver!
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