--- title: "Battery in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/battery.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/battery" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A battery is two of your pieces lined up on one file, rank or diagonal, with the rear piece backing up the front one so that both press on the same target." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/x-ray-attack.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/discovered-attack.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/mating-attack.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/windmill.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Battery in chess > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. A battery is two of your pieces lined up on one file, rank or diagonal, with the rear piece backing up the front one so that both press on the same target. A battery is two of your pieces lined up on one file, rank or diagonal, with the rear piece backing up the front one so that both press on the same target. What makes a battery work is addition. The front piece does the capturing or checking, and the piece behind it adds a second attacker and a second defender on the very same line. If the front piece is exchanged, the one behind simply takes over. Typical shapes are two rooks doubled on a file or the [seventh rank](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/seventh-rank.md), a queen with a rook behind it on an [open file](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/open-file.md), and a queen with a [bishop](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/bishop.md) behind it on a [diagonal](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/diagonal.md), often aimed at h7. The rear piece needs no open lines of its own, which is why batteries are cheap to build. Order matters. A bishop behind the queen on the diagonal toward h7 supports a queen [capture](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/capture.md) there, so the enemy king cannot recapture. Reverse the order, with the bishop in front, and you often get a [discovered attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/discovered-attack.md) when the bishop moves. To build one, line your pieces up on a line that leads to a target, then make sure nothing blocks it and count attackers against defenders on the target square. To fight a battery, block the line, cover the target square more times than it is attacked, or trade off the front piece. In the diagram White plays Qxh7#. The queen on e4 and the bishop on d3 form a battery on the diagonal toward h7. The bishop guards the queen on h7, so the king cannot take it, the rook on f8 blocks the king's only flight square, and the queen covers h8. ## Example position White to move plays Qxh7#. The queen on e4 and the bishop on d3 form a battery, so the king cannot recapture on h7, its rook blocks f8, and the queen also covers h8. Position (FEN): `5rk1/5ppp/8/8/4Q3/3B4/8/6K1 w - - 0 1` A neighboring idea is [Blackburne's mate](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/blackburnes-mate.md). Blackburne's mate is a checkmate made with two bishops and a knight, where a bishop checks on h7 guarded by a knight on g5 while the other bishop on the long diagonal covers g7 and h8. Also worth reading is [Hook mate](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/hook-mate.md). A hook mate is a checkmate in which a rook gives check next to the king, a knight guards the rook, a pawn guards the knight, and one of the defender's own pawns blocks the last flight square. A neighboring idea is [Morphy's mate](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/morphys-mate.md). Morphy's mate is a checkmate against a king in the corner in which a bishop gives check along the long diagonal while a rook controls the neighboring file, and the king's own pawn blocks the last flight square. Knowing "Battery" helps most once you can spot it in a real game. A [first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) with George Li starts from your own games and finds the tactics you keep missing. ## Related terms - [X-ray attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/x-ray-attack.md) - [Discovered attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/discovered-attack.md) - [Mating attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/mating-attack.md) - [Windmill](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/windmill.md) ## Guides that go further - [How to choose a chess coach](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-choose-a-chess-coach.md): What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid. - [How much does chess coaching cost?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-coaching-cost.md): Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each. - [The first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li. [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [X-ray attack in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/x-ray-attack.md) - [Discovered attack in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/discovered-attack.md) - [Mating attack in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/mating-attack.md) - [Windmill in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/windmill.md) - [Chess terms: Tactics and combinations](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)