Should You Trade Queens? Part 1
Trading queens is one of the most transcendental decisions you need to make in a game. In this post, I will give you some tips and examples to help you make that decision correctly. If you prefer video format, checkout this content in my YouTube channel here.
The Dilemma: Should We Force a Queen Trade with Qd5?
I showed this position to many players around 1500, and answers were mixed. Some players pointed out king safety, other players emphasized a desire to "kill Black's counterplay".
The Negative Consequences of Trading Queens
The example is inspired in a game, where White decided to go for a trade of queens. This was a major mistake. Up to this point, White had a substantial pressure against the d6-pawn, as well as a safer king. Combining these two factors would have given White excellent winning chances.
Unfortunately, the trade allows Black to bring their king to the defense of the d6-pawn (completely neutralizing any weakness) and later Black obtained massive counterplay and won the rook ending in a very instructive fashion. Check out the lines:
Keeping Queens on the Board: Example #1
The simple rule of thumb you can follow in most situations is: If my king is safer, I want to keep queens on the board. In this position, this works out extremely well for White for a simple reason: They can build pressure against the d6-pawn. Black has a tough choice to make between giving up the d6-pawn, or bringing the king to defend, thereby exposing their king to various checkmate threats. Let's see how this all plays out:
Keeping Queens on the Board: Example #2
Personally, I always want to make sure that my readers understand the point fully. To achieve this, I think it's always a good idea to see several sample continuations. The last thing I want is for you to walk away thinking a random tactic decided the game. So here's another possible continuation:
Now you might wonder: Wasn't that just another tactic? The answer is "yes and no". The game ends beautifully with a strong tactical sequence that results in a checkmate. However, the whole point I want to get across is that Black's exposed king will always be prone to fall victim of such tactical ideas. That's the whole reason why an exposed king is a bad idea.
Conclusion
If your opponent has a weakness (in this case, the d6-pawn) as well as an exposed king, then DO NOT trade queens! Keeping them on the board will allow you to focus on the weakness while keeping a secondary resource up your sleeve. Combining threats (attacking a second weakness) is the king is breaking through your opponent's defense.
