Battery (chess)
A formation of pieces on the same line for tactical advantage.
A battery in chess is a formation of two or more pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal. It is a tactic used in planning a series of captures to remove the protection of the opponent's king or to gain a material advantage. Some authors limit the term to arrangements that deliver a discovered check, but it is also used for threats other than check.
Discussion and examples
Rooks are particularly effective in a battery because they can occupy the same rank or file. Bishops may form a battery only through underpromotion of a pawn to a bishop on the same diagonal. In practice, queens and rooks are usually employed. Batteries often appear in combinations involving other tactics. In some chess openings, the queen is part of the battery but reserved for the final capture. For example, in the Closed Sicilian main line after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6, White's options include 6.Be3 followed by Qd2 and 0-0-0, or 6.f4 followed by Nf3 and 0-0, with the intention of forming a battery with the rooks.
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