The Queen
Value
Number of pieces
Weakest becomes strongest.
Chess is a game of nobles, so it should come as no surprise that the royal pair comes first.
The queen is a special piece: it is the most powerful piece of all. Actually, the queen used to be one of the weakest pieces, but that didn't fit the mentality of Europe because they wanted every member of the royal family to be special.
In primitive chess, chaturanga, the mantrin took the place of the queen today. This counselor or minister was the weakest piece on the board, its moves limited to one square at a time on the diagonal. In Arabic this chess piece is called firz.
With the introduction of the game to Europe, it became ferz or fers. Because of the similar pronunciation of Fers to the French vierge (virgin) and the proximity to the king's piece, the term queen became common.
Like a queen.
The queen can move any number of squares in any direction in a straight line - horizontally, vertically or diagonally, as long as her path is not blocked by her own pieces.
It is by far the strongest piece in the game. The exchange value of the queen equals nine pawn units and is thus worth one pawn unit less than two rooks (each with five pawn units), but one more than a rook and a bishop or knight (the latter both with about three pawn units each).
Bobby Fischer - world famous chess player - once wrote: "The queen is boss!" Because the queen moves like a rook and bishop together and is even more powerful. But she is not quite the most important piece. That honor is reserved for the king, which is the final piece in our chess arsenal.
Heavy weight.
The queen may move to any free square of the same line, row or diagonal, but without jumping over other pieces. It thus combines the action of the rook and bishop in a single piece.
The queen is therefore the most mobile of all pieces. Together with the rook, it also belongs to the so-called heavy pieces.
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