How To Refute Early Queen Sacrifices In 3 Check

This post is sort of an unofficial sequel to How much is a check worth In 3 Check? In that post I demonstrated that you shouldn't try to attack or sacrifice before you have all of your pieces in position first. If you attack or sacrifice too early then you may run out of active pieces before you are able to land a third check. This lull in the attack will give your opponent time to defend and you will then be left in a vulnerable position because your opponent can start a decisive counter attack with their stronger, better developed army. 

Many players like to sacrifice their Queen very early on for a single check before they have developed any other pieces. This is a very bad strategy that they are often rewarded for because most players don't know how to properly defend against it. Often the best way to outright refute these early Queen sacrifices is to allow your opponent to sacrifice an additional piece for a 2nd check. This may sound counter-intuitive, but you should keep in mind that a determined opponent will usually be able to force a 2nd check at some point anyway, whether it's good for them or not.

That's why it's better to allow the 2nd check on your own terms when your opponent is lacking development rather than later when they have more developed pieces and therefore more potential to set up checking combos. Another benefit to allowing a 2nd check is that often one of your pieces will be brought to a better square as a result of capturing the checking piece. You will then be so far ahead in both material and development that you should be able to prevent your opponent from getting a third check.

Here are some example games:

Here are some tips for defending if your opponent only needs one more check and you aren't able to immediately set up a counter attack:

• Identify which of your opponent's pieces have the potential to give checks and then eliminate those pieces if possible.
• Use your pawns to restrict and push back your opponent's Knights. Knights are especially dangerous when your opponent only needs one more check because they can jump over pieces and can't be blocked.
• Seal off the diagonals towards your King with you pawns or pieces if necessary.
• If your opponent only has one Bishop then keep your King on the opposite color.
• Prevent your opponent's Rooks from getting to open files.
• Look for opportunities to give some material back in exchange for development or King safety.