The movement of chess pieces is typically done in a straight horizontal, vertical or diagonal line, except for the Knight which moves in a unique L-shape and also jumps over other pieces in its way.
In chess, the queen begins at the first rank of the player’s side, directly next to the king. If it’s a white queen, it starts at d1 square, and if it’s a black queen, it starts a d8 square.
The player objective should then be to move the Queen from those squares towards the enemy territory to take control of the board and the opponent’s King.
So, how does a Queen move in a chess game? A Queen moves in any direction that is forward, backward, horizontal, vertical and diagonal plane to any number of unoccupied square spaces on the board.
This gives the Queen the largest range of movement in the game. Just like the King, a Queen can move in any direction, but the Queen is not limited to only one square per move.
In this regard, a Queen is the only piece in a chess game that can attack or defend the largest number of squares. When a Queen moves, someone can think it’s a combination of Bishop and Rook moving together, that is it moves freely up, down, right, left or diagonally on any of the ranks on the chessboard.
A Queen is allowed to move as many space to any unoccupied squares as possible, unless any piece blocks it or when another opponent piece occupies the square. Answered below are frequently asked questions about how a Queen moves and chess tips for moving a Queen more effectively.
Why is the Queen the strongest piece in chess?
The ability of the Queen to have a long-range of attacks and defense because of its ability to move in multiple directions to any number of unoccupied square spaces. Its ability to move both diagonally, horizontally, and vertically gives it a combined power of both the Rook and Bishop.
In addition, the full power of a Queen is transferrable from space to another in one move compared to that of a rook and a bishop, which typically requires two moves for the transfer to be complete. It’s more mobile compared to other pieces, and it can control the opposite color of a square they sit on.
Moreover, a Queen becomes very powerful towards the enemy King when poorly defended. The Queen is not restricted, and it’s most powerful in a closed position.
A Queen is so powerful that it is worth more points in a chess game than any other piece. One queen worth is equivalent to 9 points, which can equate to 9 pawns in chess.
How many moves can a Queen have in Chess?
There is no limited number of moves that a Queen should make. A queen can move as many squares as possible, as long as it is not blocked along the way, or another opponent piece has already occupied the square they want to occupy.
However, if the occupied square is not protected, a queen can attack the opponent piece in the occupied the space, and capture the piece. Players use similar tactics to make their Queen kill unprotected opponent pieces.
A queen is the most powerful piece of chess, and in that regard, it possesses the ability to shift between their attacking and defending skills to as many squares in all the directions more than any piece in the game.
Can a Queen move like a Knight?
No, a Queen can never move the same way the Knight does. A Knight moves in a unique way that distances itself from the way all the other pieces move in a chess game, including the Queen.
The Knights movement is such that it moves three squares, of which two squares are in one direction, and the remaining one square in at a right angle with the other two squares. The style is quite different from the Queen, and its normally considered the L- format of movement.
Furthermore, Knights can jump over other pieces in its path, while a Queen is bound to line of sight and cannot hop over pieces in the way.
The Queen can only move vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, but only in a straight line. However, the queen can move like any other piece on the board but NOT the knight.
Can a Queen jump over another piece? Why or why not?
No, a queen cannot jump over an opponent piece whenever it’s blocked. Yes, a Queen’s movements are not restricted in a straight line on the chessboard, but the movement comes to a stop when other pieces are in the way.
Queens movement resemble that of a Rook and Bishop combined. It can move as many unoccupied squares is a straight path, as long as the movement is either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
However, if it hit an obstacle in the way, the queen cannot jump over pieces like a Knight does. The movement has to stop, and a player can either decide to move backwards to an unoccupied space or settle on the occupied square by attacking the opponent.
Thus, the piece blocking the Queen is replaced, and it’s captured by the attack. A player can capture only one piece per turn, which will only apply if the piece is not protected.
If the piece is protected, then a player will recapture the attacking Queen, which you don’t want that to happen unless it is your intention to exchange Queens to even out the advantage.
Only Knights can jump over another piece on the board, but not the Queen. A Queen can move from one to seven squares in a straight line, provided there is no blockage along the way.
Queen Moves in Chess: Conclusion
Queens are the most powerful pieces in the game of chess. They can move in all directions just like a King, but the added advantage over the King is that the Queen is not limited to a specific number of squares it can move.
The Queen can move as many squares from one to seven, either diagonally, vertically, or horizontally provided the movement is in a straight line. However, the Queen is not allowed to jump over pieces in its way like a Knight.
The only thing a Queen can do is occupy the space of the piece blocking the way, and when that happens, the queen captures the opponent’s piece in an attack.
A Queen’s movement is quite different from the Knight which follows a unique L-shaped pattern of three squares, which forms a right angle of two squares and one square. The queen’s movements resembles a combination of a Bishop and Rook.
The Queen is not limited to the number of moves it makes unless it gets blocked or the square it wants to occupy is already taken by another piece.
Although a Queen moves as multiple spaces in a diagonal, horizontal or vertical direction, making the piece more powerful than all others on the board. Once you understand how a Queen moves, use it to your advantage to gain position and dominance over the opponents King region for a checkmate.