How do I win a piece in the middlegame and convert the advantage in the endgame?

The queen is the strongest piece, so winning any minor piece with it while keeping yours is a huge gain. When your queen attacks a defended piece, look for a second attacker on the square the defender will recapture from. If your own piece already controls that square, the opponent cannot save both, and you win material by force. Once you are a piece up, trade queens and head for the chess endgame, where the extra piece converts cleanly.

What is the difference between a pin and a skewer in chess?

In a pin, a weaker piece stands between a stronger piece (or the king) and the attacker, so the pinned piece cannot legally or safely move. In a skewer, the stronger piece is in front and the weaker piece hides behind it, so moving the front piece exposes the one behind. Both force the defender to give something away. In this position you can spot both ideas at work, which is why the tactic runs so cleanly.

Why is it smart to trade queens when you are a piece up?

When you are ahead a piece, exchanging queens removes the opponent's best chance for counterplay and simplifies your task in the chess endgame. With the queens gone, the extra piece is much easier to convert because there are no mating threats or perpetual checks to worry about. The trade also reduces the risk of a blunder, which is why strong players happily simplify when material ahead. Just make sure you are actually winning the piece before you offer the trade.

What is a double attack and how do I spot one with my queen?

A double attack uses one piece to threaten two targets at once, and the queen is the best double-attacking piece because she moves like a rook and a bishop combined. Look for loose or lightly defended pieces, especially bishops and pawns near the enemy king, and find a square where your queen hits two of them at the same time. Ask which defender is overloaded and what happens after the forced captures. If the opponent can only save one target, you win material.

How can a game review help me find winning tactics I missed?

A game review flags the moments where you missed a decisive tactic — often labeled an inaccuracy or a missed win — and shows the engine line that would have gained material. When you review, look for positions where you could have won a piece with a queen sortie or simplified into a winning endgame. Training with chess puzzles is the fastest way to make those patterns automatic in real games.

What is a chess endgame and when does the middlegame become an endgame?

The endgame is the final phase of the game, when most of the pieces have been exchanged and the kings can take part in the fight. It typically starts once the queens are off the board and only a few pieces and pawns remain. A common middlegame goal is to win material and then force trades that steer the game into a clearly winning endgame. That is exactly the plan here: win a piece, simplify, and convert.

Sicilian Defense French Variation Puzzle (Rated 1190): Win

Sicilian Defense French Variation Puzzle (Rated 1190): Win a Piece — Skewer

Winning a minor piece with your queen and trading the queens off is a clean way to bank a decisive material advantage. In this middlegame position Black's queen slips deep into White's camp and hits a bishop that appears defended — but the defense is an illusion. White's natural blocking move puts that bishop on a square Black's own bishop already covers, so the first capture is answered by a second and White loses a whole piece as the queens come off. The result is a simplified position where Black's extra bishop decides the chess endgame.