1 queen or 2 Rooks

which is better to have for an end game situation? each player has 3 pawns ....

Two rooks. Always.

Originally posted by renmaster
which is better to have for an end game situation? each player has 3 pawns ....

was curious what players thought would be a stronger position. although 2 rooks would probably dominate the board, would the 3 pawns be able to block their 3 files and allow the queen to manourvre ? just a thought...

Originally posted by renmaster
was curious what players thought would be a stronger position. although 2 rooks would probably dominate the board, would the 3 pawns be able to block their 3 files and allow the queen to manourvre ? just a thought...

Depends on the Pawn configuration, the safety of the Kings, and whether the Rooks are connected. Generally speaking though, two connected Rooks are better than the Queen when all other factors are equal.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
Statistically, Q tends to beat 2R more than the opposite. However in the particular endgame you describe, I don't know.

I searched my database and found 101 games with Q + 3 connected pawns vs. RR + 3 connected pawns, and the rooks won almost twice as many as the queen. Most ended in draws, however. If the pawns are not connected, I suspect the queen may gain a bit, but did not conduct that search.

Originally posted by renmaster
which is better to have for an end game situation? each player has 3 pawns ....

Originally posted by powershaker
They say two "active" rooks are stronger than a Queen. If you have two inactive rooks, you might as well have no pieces against a Queen. But, if they are "active," they are much more powerful so I've heard. But, something about losing my "darling" always gets me depressed - even if I kill the other guy's "lady." When I win a game with my Queen still on the board, I feel like I'm going to get rewarded when I get home. HAHA

2 rooks are usually better. Keep one rook at home defending the king and pick off pawns with the other rook but be careful for queen forks etc...

The main problem with new players is that they cannot cooperate the 2 rooks well and therefore, prefer the queen vs 2 rooks, since she is easier to move and so powerful.

King safety is very important though in these situations and pawn structure.