Battery

The battery is a strategy used in chess regularly, and often is used to gain an advantage of position or material. The tactic is a simple one - it’s just the act of having two pieces on the same diagonal, file, or rank.

The position here shows both the with queen and rook on the same file, allowing white to launch a successful attack on the h8 rook.

Despite it’s simplicity, the tactic can be used to great effect. The current situation, with white to move, means that white will gain at least a rook. If we attempt to visualize it, we can see why. First, the white queen takes the rook on h8, putting the black king in check. Now black can either take on h8 with his queen or move his king. If he moves his king, he’ll have given white a free rook. If he takes with his queen, then white will take the queen with its h2 rook, and black will still be down.

Normally, the tactic won’t be able to gain such a drastic advantage as white gained in the previous example. However, it can still be used to great effect to threaten opponents and obtain minor advantages.

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Author: Priyanshu Alluri