Would there be a reason to promote a pawn to something other than a queen?
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Should you always just promote a pawn to a queen? Because it seems odd to have the option to promote it to any other piece if nobody actually does it. Is there a situation where you would promote it to something else?
Albin Counter Gambit. You have to promote to a knight to continue a forced line that favours you, else you hang mate I believe. Either way, there are a few lines with similar issues. Promoting with a knight check or checkmate is useful. Sometimes you promote to a rook to avoid stalemate as well.
Jan 16, 2024
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#3
What he said.......98% of time or more (guess) a queen is best. But there are limited situations where something else might be to avoid stalemate or draw...or even to win at all.
Beginner here, forgive me if my chess thinking is wrong. I understand the knight promotion, in some instances it definitely could help! Then I was thinking… why would you choose a rook or a bishop over a queen, when the queen can move exactly like these pieces plus more? So my conclusion was… if you got your pawn to the other side for promotion, and you were using it as a lure to draw out another piece, or create an opening in a defensive position, you would want a smaller value piece like a bishop or knight to be captured instead of a queen right?
Well for example let us say black has a king on a7, pawn on a6 and white has a pawn on a5 and c7 with the king on d7. It is white to move. e8=Q means stalemate as black can make no move but is not in check. e8=R allows Kb7. There are similar situations with a bishop where such could happen and you may require such a piece to avoid stalemate, but compliment the other material you have later in the game.
