Queen or 9
Queen or 9
It is a well-known fact that the queen is the most powerful piece on the board and that it is worth 9 points in material. Very rarely do players want to give up their queen unless it is for a queen trade for checkmate. Recently, I played a game that would require a risk to save the game.
The Game
In this game, I was playing a 10 minute control with the black pieces against an 1819 from Belgium. He would begin the game with d4.
I responded by bringing out Nf6. White decided to play c4, pairing together the c and d pawn. I played g6, preparing for a fianchetto, while white developed his knight to c3. From here, I decided to strike in the center immediately with d5-the Grunfeld. The Grunfeld has a lot of theory and can get fairly sharp with moves that might be difficult to find if you don't know the theory.
The theory continues with the exchange version, with white getting a large pawn center. However, black is still completely fine in the game because the Grunfeld permits black to have a lot of imbalancing counter play, especially with the dark squared bishop.
The theory does continue with the critical c5, which can't be taken because of Bxc3+. c5 adds a lot of flanking pressure on white's center, so white plays Ne2. This defends white's pawn and prevents the knight from being pinned by Bg4, which can now be met with f3.
The game continues with Rb1, taking control of the semi-open file. I develop my knight and continue adding pressure to d4. The amount of pressure that the Grunfeld entails on the d4 square is immense and will tip over eventually. White adds more pressure with Be3, developing his bishop to defend. Then, I make the first mistake of the game with Qa5. Normally, Qa5 is an alright move because it attacks c3 and a2. But what about in this position? Everything the queen normally targets is completely protected, and she is just hanging out on the side of the board.
I decide to continue the game by taking in the center with my c pawn. But taking with the knight first was actually the best move. White can't take the knight with his pawn because the pawn is pinned to the king by the queen, and the knight has an insane amount of range, hitting the queen and momentarily preventing the rook from sliding to b5. But I take in the center, and white finds the only move with Rb5, threatening my queen and gaining a huge tempo.
Now, I do have a slight advantage in this position, even if the queen seems to be in danger. There are a lot of lines that help retain the advantage, which does include bringing my queen back to its original square, providing ample protection of d4. But I decide to play a risker approach with dxe3. And after Rxa5, I give the king a check with exf2+, forcing the king out. At the end of the exchange, I have traded my queen for a rook, knight, and pawn, as well as preventing the white king from castling.
White continues by sliding his bishop back and taking control of the open d file. I prepare to fianchetto my light squared bishop and connect my rooks to complete development. Now, the computer does prefer that I move the bishop to a6 because it thinks that the long diagonal is already well under white's control with Bd5, but I didn't see that nor did my opponent.
I continue by targeting one of white's weakness, which is his isolated c pawn. White tries to defend his pawn with Rd3, but this move is kind of awkward for the rook, especially after Ba6, kicking the rook either off the open file or off the defense of the pawn.
White finds the best move with Rf3, applying pressure to the f7 square, preventing my rook from moving. I decided to reroute my knight to a better square on e5, where it has the potential to be an outpost, and it will now be difficult for white to avoid a fork or loss of material from the amount of pressure black is applying to the position.
The knight does get a fork after Rf4, but I decide to kick the bishop out and then play the fork. But the sequence doesn't end there.
White's c pawn is hanging, so I capture it with the bishop. Now, white has to get its king off a dark square because I have a potential discovered attack with my bishop that would result in white losing their queen. In the process, I also get the open d file.
After I give a check with the rook, it is impossible for white to avoid a discovered attack. The line above is just the best way to reveal the attack, but there are multiple different ways that can result in a massive advantage for black.
In the game, white decided to play Kf2, and I was able to capture the queen for rook and bishop, which isn't the worst thing for white.
From here, we enter an end game, where I have a pawn majority on both sides and I have a rook and bishop against a bishop and knight. I still have to be careful, however, as the knight can be a tricky piece to play against. But I continue the game by advancing my majority forward.
The game keeps going with both sides trying to threaten each other's loose pawns. White avoids trading pieces and is careful to not lose their bishop or knight. White's coordination does get annoying, but I still am the one that is playing for a win.
The game does continue with white getting one of my doubled pawns and holding the position together. However, I begin harrassing the king and trying to get behind white's pawns. But white does a good job defending. However, I begin pushing my passed pawn towards promotion.
White, however, continues by checking my king, threatening my bishop, and gets a fork to capture my passed pawn. At this point, I was realizing why chess.com added endgame practice to their learning tab.
White keeps attacking with his knight. His knight kept checking my king, and my king kept chasing the knight. But on move 53, white didn't have any more checks and slips with Nd6, allowing Re3+, a fork between white's king and bishop. And on move 53, white resigns because even I can win an endgame of rook and bishop with 4 pawns against a knight and 3 pawns.
But what are your thoughts on this game? Would you trade 9 points of material for the queen? Let me know!
