It depends on the position. If you are material up, then all other things being equal, trading off pieces is a good idea. Conversely if you are material down you may wish to keep as much on the board as possible as an endgame is more likely to go against you.
Removing the queen early?
Sort:
This man is talking about Queenless Middlegames. Playing Queenless Middlegames is as legitimate a strategy as any. Kramnik likes to play Queenless Middlegames.
I tailored my message to the OP because I sensed that he was a beginner or near beginner and thought it more appropriate in games with possibly quite a few mistakes being made to give this as a guideline.
I thought is was illegal for UK citizens to talk about "removing the queen"...
Feb 16, 2016
0
#6
I've heard that trading queens early hastens a draw, and that has been my experience, too. (That's one reason the Berlin Defense of the Ruy Lopez is notoriously drawish.) In many cases you don't even need to castle when the queens are off the board, so clearly the board is safer when the queens are gone. Suddenly kingside attacks, queen sacrifices, and other common forms of quick losses largely disappear. I prefer to remove the queens early for those reasons.
I find that people are often at a loss for what to do without their queen, so trading them can be beneficial from that perspective if you're comfortable without them. Some players get so rattled by the thought of losing their queen you can literally push their queen around the board with yours. In other words there are sometimes psychological and competitive advantages to be gained even if the material on the board is traded evenly.
shimin wrote:
I thought is was illegal for UK citizens to talk about "removing the queen"...
This exactly. If recommend censoring the OP before the government gets you. I'll call the police for you if your account is suddenly removed, OP!
Don't remove the Queen!
A few people disagree.
Thanks for the replies guys!
I'm glad I'm not quite an utter moron. :)
Feb 16, 2016
0
#11
DrSebWilkes wrote:
I'm glad I'm not quite an utter moron. :)
You're not an utter moron unless you want to remove your king early. 
Sqod wrote:
DrSebWilkes wrote:
I'm glad I'm not quite an utter moron. :)
You're not an utter moron unless you want to remove your king early.
Haha nice one.
If I did, that must be treason, surely?
I think a lot of players move to mutually remove the queen as it presents lots of opportunities to win in a checkers type game. I am working hard at always thwarting this as I consider it skillful to capture a queen than this mutual, cowardly destruction that ultimately results in a crawling of pawns, running out the clock.
Hello everbody,
I would like someone to challenge my ideas of removing the queen early from play. Usually, I use my Queen to rid of the opponent's queen, knowing it will be taken.
It makes the game easier for me, as I feel there are no 'Over powered' pieces, but maybe it's just a terribad idea.
Thanks for looking