ChessA battery is two pieces that move along the same kind of line, lined up and aimed at the same target. The front piece charges in, the back piece covers it from behind, and your opponent can't take it even if he wants to. A queen and bishop on one diagonal, or two rooks stacked on one file: those are batteries. When you play a chess game online, lining your pieces up into a battery suddenly doubles your attacking power.
What it looks like
Why is Qxh7 checkmate? Because the bishop is behind the queen. The black king would like to take the queen, but h7 is protected by the bishop on b1. f8 holds its own rook, g7 and f7 hold its own pawns, and the queen covers h8. The king can't move.
That's the power of a battery: one piece charges, one piece backs it up. With the queen alone, the king would just take her and be fine.
Kinds of batteries
Two rooks on one file
Two rooks stacked on an open file are called doubled rooks. If your opponent has only one piece guarding, he can't hold off two.
Queen and rook
With the queen and rook on one file, the queen charges in and the rook backs her up. This battery is most often used against the pawns in front of the enemy king.
Alekhine's gun
Two rooks in front and the queen at the back, three pieces stacked on one file, is called Alekhine's gun. It's named after former world champion Alexander Alekhine. One story says he used this setup in a 1930 game to squeeze his opponent until he couldn't move. The queen goes last because she's worth the most, so the cheaper rooks go in first to do the trading.
A real example: the queen-bishop battery in the London System
London System players love putting the bishop on d3 and the queen on c2, lined up on a diagonal aimed at h7:
Now if Black gets careless and moves the f6 knight, for example to go chase the white bishop:
White wins a free pawn and rips open the black king's cover. So when your opponent has a battery set up, don't wander off with the piece guarding that square. For the whole opening, see the London System.
How to defend
- When you see two enemy pieces on one line, check what's at the end of that line. That's usually the target.
- Add another defender to the line. If he attacks with two, defend with two.
- Block the line. Put a pawn or minor piece in the way and the battery can't fire through.
- Trade off one of them. A battery missing one piece has half the power.
Practice puzzles
Show answer
1. Qxg7# The queen takes on g7. The bishop on b2 backs her up, so the black king can't take her. f8 holds Black's own rook and the queen covers h8. Checkmate.
Show answer
1. Rxd8+ Qxd8 2. Rxd8# The front rook takes on d8 with check, and the black queen takes back. The back rook takes on d8 again, this time capturing the queen, and the black king is stuck behind its own pawns. Checkmate. Two attackers against one defender, plus the queen's help, still isn't enough, because White's last capture is mate.
Show answer
1. Qxf7+ Kh8 2. Qxe8# The queen takes on f7 with check. The black king can't take her, because the bishop backs her up. f8 is covered by the queen, so the only move is Kh8. Then the queen takes the rook on e8. Checkmate.
FAQ
What's the difference between a battery and an X-ray?
A battery is two of your own pieces lined up, with the front one charging and the back one protecting. An X-ray is attacking or protecting through another piece. They often come together: the back piece of a battery is protecting "by X-ray" through the front piece.
Should the queen or the bishop go in front?
It depends on what you want. To charge in and mate, put the queen in front with the bishop behind (like taking on h7). To open things up with a cheaper piece first, put the bishop in front with the queen behind. When the bishop captures, your opponent doesn't dare take it back.
Why does the queen go last in Alekhine's gun?
Because in a series of trades, the front piece gets taken first. The queen is worth the most, so she goes last. The two rooks go in first to trade, and the queen comes in at the end without losing anything.
Try it yourself
Batteries are a basic attacking skill. Line your pieces up and many tactics, like the windmill and the discovered attack, appear naturally. For more tactics, go back to chess tactics. To try it out, play a free online chess game and line your queen and bishop up on one diagonal on purpose.