Getting Rid of Your Best Piece to Secure the Win
In standard chess, the Queen is the ultimate weapon, valued at 9 points of material. She combines the power of a Rook and a Bishop. But in AntiChess (where you want to lose all your pieces), this immense power is a massive curse.
Because the Queen can control so many squares and diagonals, it is extremely easy for your opponent to trap her. When your Queen is forced to capture an opponent's piece, she will often find herself in a new position where she is forced to make another capture, and then another, and then another. A single Queen can easily be forced to capture 8, 10, or 12 opponent pieces in a row, leaving you with a huge material disadvantage (which means you have too many pieces left, and your opponent has almost none!).
Getting your opponent to capture your Queen requires careful planning. Here are the most effective tactical patterns for Queen sacrifices:
Place your Queen on an open diagonal where an opponent's Bishop or Pawn must capture it. Because captures are compulsory, they cannot ignore it, even if they know capturing your Queen will leave them in a terrible position.
Example: Advancing a pawn to open your Queen's diagonal, projecting her directly into the path of an enemy Knight or Bishop.
Exchange pawns in the center to create an open file, then slide your Queen down the file directly in front of the enemy King or Rook. Since Rooks can move vertically and horizontally, placing your Queen adjacent to their Rook forces the Rook to capture it.
If you cannot find a clean way to sacrifice your Queen, use her to capture as many of your opponent's valuable active pieces as possible before she is taken. This is called the "Desperado" play. While you are gaining material (which is bad), you are destroying your opponent's long-range threats, which can allow you to simplify the game in the endgame.
Mastering the Queen sacrifice is what separates beginner AntiChess players from experts. Treat your Queen not as a treasured monarch, but as a dangerous hot potato that you must pass to your opponent at the earliest, most advantageous opportunity.