The queen (♕, ♛) is the most powerful piece in the game of chess. It can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, combining the powers of the rook and bishop. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. Because the queen is the strongest piece, a pawn is promoted to a queen in the vast majority of cases; if a pawn is promoted to a piece other than a queen, it is called underpromotion. The predecessor to the queen is the ferz, a weak piece originating from the Persian game of shatranj, able to move or capture only one step diagonally. The queen acquired its modern move in Spain in the 15th century.
