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A simple brainteaser - A queen cannot do something all other pieces can do. What is that?

April 18 2014 9:15 PM GMT. EDIT: In this context, by "doing" I mean making a move that leads to the desired result.

NM Wesley Falcao
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    Capture a more valuable piece? – Akavall Apr 17 '14 at 16:23
  • @Akavall, good try, but not quite. Knights can also capture more valuable pieces :) – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 17 '14 at 16:24
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    Are you asking because you don't know the answer? I have an answer but I don't want to post it and spoil it for others if you are just posting this as a fun brainteaser (in which case I'm not sure it belongs as a question on StackExchange). – dfan Apr 17 '14 at 16:24
  • @dfan I do know the answer! Just posting it as a fun brainteaser! :) – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 17 '14 at 16:25
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    @Wes, The queen is the most powerful piece; therefore, it cannot capture a more valuable piece. – Akavall Apr 17 '14 at 16:26
  • OK, I won't spoil it for the others. – dfan Apr 17 '14 at 16:26
  • @Akavall, oh I see, ok. Maybe in some extremely rare contexts a knight could be more valuable than a queen, so this is still not the exact answer. – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 17 '14 at 16:28
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    if it is just for fun.. it is a female? it can't do what male can do.. :) – Mr_Green Apr 17 '14 at 16:28
  • @Mr_Green, lol! – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 17 '14 at 16:28
  • Does other pieces include King? For example, let's say for white, white can put Rook or Bishop or Knight on the h3 on the second move, but not the queen. Queen can't get to h3 on 2nd move. – Akavall Apr 17 '14 at 16:29
  • Yes, the King is included. – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 17 '14 at 16:29
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    @Akavall The king can't capture a more valuable piece either. :) – Brilliand Apr 17 '14 at 21:18
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    This question seems to be extremely badly worded, as there are 100's of correct, valid answers to this question. "The queen can never start on the opposite color it is, all other pieces can". "The queen can not not be the queen, all other pieces can not be the queen" etc. etc. etc. Questions on SE should as far as I know have a single correct and distinguishable answer. If anything a criterium should be added that the accepted answer will be decided based on popularity or something like on CR. – David Mulder Apr 18 '14 at 00:03
  • @DavidMulder I think "doing" is different from "being" or "having". The mere fact that the queen's starting square is d1 doesn't mean that that is something the queen did. It's funny, but I'm reminded of a batman quote - "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGGXgjfOWTc – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 18 '14 at 00:11
  • @Brilliand, True. I missed that :). – Akavall Apr 18 '14 at 00:20
  • @Wes: Ok, let's be exact then: The queen can not move from a tile [...] in the first turn. – David Mulder Apr 18 '14 at 00:54
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    not sure if this question belongs here. – NoviceProgrammer Apr 18 '14 at 05:20
  • @Mr_Green what do you mean? all pieces except kings are female. mwahaha https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/gender-of-the-chess-pieces – BCLC Feb 05 '21 at 09:32
  • There are two things that a queen cannot do. 1. Not fit snugly into the foam lined box cut out perfectly for the queen piece. 2. Fail to give me the most awful gut wrenching feeling when I lose her in exchange for any other piece. – Daz Nov 24 '20 at 21:14

5 Answers5

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I'll have a go at saying the queen is the only piece that cannot reveal a discovered check.

GrizzlyRawrz
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    This blog states the same. but I didn't get what it means actually.. any help? – Mr_Green Apr 17 '14 at 16:42
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    @Mr_Green Moving the queen cannot cause another piece to give check to the opposing king. – dfan Apr 17 '14 at 16:44
  • Some answers are being dismissed with "it isn't the queen itself doing it" - similarly, in the case of discovered check, it's (arguably) more the piece that gives check that's doing something, rather than the piece that's getting out of the way. – Brilliand Apr 18 '14 at 14:57
  • Well, that's why I was sure to specify reveal a discovered check, rather than giving one. :) But yeah, which answers are right is just a matter of definitions really. – GrizzlyRawrz Apr 18 '14 at 18:13
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  1. A Queen cannot be captured when static by an attacking King.
  2. A Queen cannot capture a piece more valuable than itself.
  3. A Queen cannot move to create a discovered check.
  4. A Queen cannot sacrifice itself for a higher valued piece.
  5. A Queen cannot initiate a double check.
Amal Murali
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  • 3 and 5 coincide in the case of a queen. For 1, 2, and 4, the same holds true for the King as well. – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 18 '14 at 13:48
  • @Wes: Double check and discovered check are different. – Amal Murali Apr 18 '14 at 13:49
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    I know. That's why I said they coincide in the case of a queen. Every double check is a discovered check. – NM Wesley Falcao Apr 18 '14 at 13:51
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    Double checks are a pretty interesting case. It's possible to have a double check by two queens with a promotion, but I guess in that case you would say it was initiated by the pawn, even though it became a queen on the same move. – GrizzlyRawrz Apr 18 '14 at 18:16
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    @AmalMurali I can't think of a double check that isn't a discovered check. For a piece to check something, it either has to move this turn, or discover. Since you can't move more than one piece discovered check is the only way to double check. Thus 5 follows from 3 and is redundant. – Cruncher Apr 25 '14 at 12:39
  • is also true for the king.
    • – Evargalo Nov 25 '20 at 10:02