Attacking the king

We previously treated this subject in Chapter 1 o

Boost Your Chess 2. There we mentioned Steinitz, whc
established that a successful attack can only be buil,
on positional advantages. Steinitz also formulated ar
important principle: The side which is in possessior
of the advantage must attack, otherwise it is ir
danger of losing that advantage.

The task of the attacking side is to concentrate all it:

forces against the opposing king and to try to brea1
open the castled position, or at least to weaken it.

The attack is often explosive in nature. In orde1

to reach his goals, the attacking player must b(
ready to sacrifice something so as to have more (01
better coordinated) forces in the important theatn
of operations than his opponent. The momenturr
of the attack is often crucial and the attacking sid(
may have superior lines of communication, or rna}
be able to gain time by assailing the opposing kin�
with checks or threats of mate, thus preventing hi:
opponent from mobilizing his defensive forces ir
good time.

Diagram 3-1
M.Tal - T.Petrosian
USSR 1 974

White has a large lead in development. Watch ho�

energetically Tal attacks. He sacrifices a piece so as tc
establish a knight on g5 and to destroy the castlec
position.
19.l2Jeg5t! hxg5 20.l2Jxg5t �g8 2I.Wi'f4
The queen draws closer to the opposing king ir
order to create mating threats.
2I. .. l2Jd7
Black wants to bring his knight into the defenG
and use it to protect the h7-square.
If 2 1 ...�h6, then 22.E':xe8! iWxe8 23.iWf6 �xg:
24.iWxg6t! �h8 25.iWh5t c±>g8 26.iWxg5t �h/
27.E':d4 iWei t 28.�fl and Black can do nothin�
against the threat of El:h4#. The coordinated whit(

30
 Attacking the king

pieces are attacking the deserted king and all the

black forces are just onlookers!
Diagram 3-2
22J'hd7!
After this sacrifice the weakened castled position
will collapse. The dark-squared bishop cannot protect
the weaknesses on h7 and f7.
The weaker 22.Wh4?! 'Llf6 would allow Black to
struggle on.
22...�xd7
Or 22 ... Wxd7 23.Wh4+-.
23..txf'7t!
Black resigned, on account of: 23 ...:1l:xf7 (23 ... �h8
24.Wh4t+-) 24.Wxf7t �h8 25.Wxg6 �f5 (25 ... �g8
26.Ele7 Wfs 27.Wh7#) 26.'Llf7t �g8 27.'Llh6t �h8
28.'Llxf5 White has a material advantage as well as a
continuing attack!
1-0

Diagram 3-3
M.Tal- M.Na·dorf 8
Leipzig Olympiad 1 960
7
1 5.exd5! 6
Black was expecting only 1 5.e5 'Llfe4=. Tal prefers
5
to open the position, since he has already prepared all
his pieces for an attack. 4
15 ... ctJxd3 16.cxd3 �xd5?! 3
This natural move is a mistake.
2
1 6 ... exd5 1 7.'Llf5± and 1 6 ... 'Llxd5? 1 7.'Llxe6!+- are
also good for White. 1
However, 1 6 ... b4!? is an improvement: 1 7.axb4 a b c d e f g h
�xd5 1 8.'Llxd5 exd5 1 9.'Llf5 �xb4± In contrast to
the game, Black has the b4-square available for his
bishop.
17.ctJxd5 exd5
1 7 ... 'Llxd5 is still bad on account of 1 8.'Llxe6!+-.
IS.tlJf5±
The knight is very active here.
18...�c5
Black wants to at least prevent the white bishop
from getting to d4.
1 8 ... Elfe8 can be met by either 1 9.Elcl Wd8 20.�d4
or 1 9.Wg3 �f8 20.�d4, with a strong attack in each
case.

31
 Tactics 2

19.d4! i.a7 20.i.h4!

White does not allow his opponent any breathin�
space.
20...CLJe4
20 . . . 1MI'b6 is answered by 2 U'le5± or 2 1 .1MI'g3±.
Diagram 3-4
21.�xe4! dxe4 22.i.f6!
In this way, Tal breaks open the king's defences.
22 .. .'1Wh6
22 ... gxf6? loses to 23.1MI'g4t.
23.hg7 �fe8 24.i.e5
The black castled position has been destroyed
There was not much that the isolated black force:
could do against the attack of the white pieces.
24...�g6
If 24 ... We6, then 25.:!''lc l aims to bring the rook t<
the third rank. (Also good is 25.Elel with the sam
aim.) In reply, 25 ... Elac8 would fail to 26.1MI'g4t Wg<
27.Elxc8!+-.
25.CLJh6t <i>f8 26.£5
Black resigned at this point. Of course it woul<
be no fun defending a position like this against th•
young Tal, but Black could at least have tried! Th,
following sample variations demonstrate how Whit•
might have concluded the attack:
a) 26 ...Wc6 27.1Mfh5 (or 27.<;t>hl ) and now;
al) 27 ... 1MI'd7 28.il.d6t+-
a2) 27 ... <;t>e7 28.f6t <±>d7 29.1MI'xf7t <;t>cs 30.ttJf'
Elxe5 3 l .ttJe7t+-
a3) 27 ...Wc4 28.il.d6t Ele7 29.Eldl Eld8 30.f6!
Elxd6 3 1 .1MI'g5 <;t>es 32.1MI'g8t <;t>d? 33.fxe7 <;t>xe·
34.lt:Jf5t <;t>d7 35.1MI'e8t!?+-
b) 26 ...1Mfg5 27.ttJxf7 <;t>xf7 28.1MI'xh7t <±>£:
29.il.d6t Ele7 30.f6 il.xd4t 3 l .<;t>hi il.xf6 32.il.xe7
8
<;t>es 33.il.xf6+-
1-0
7

6 Diagram 3-5
5 B.S ass - G.Ca elan
Solingen 1 974
4

3 White finds a forced solution.

18.i.xh7t! <i>xh7
2
Other moves also lose;
1 a) I S ... <;t>fs 1 9.1MI'c5t+-
a b c d e f g h
32
 Attacking the king

b) 1 8 ... cj;Jhs 1 9.2"\xdSt 1Wxd8 20.g5 cj;Jxh7 2 1 .g6t

fxg6 22.1Wh4t cj;Jgs 23.f7t+-
I9.�h4t cj{g8 20.�g5 gxdl t 21.gxdl cxh2t
Of course Spassky had calculated this counter­
attack!
2 l ...g6 is simply met by 22.1Wh6+-.
22,<j;Jxb2 �xc2t 23,<j;Ja3 �g6
After 23 ... 1Wxa2t 24. <j;xb4 a5t 25.cj;Jc3+- Black
has no more sensible checks.
24,gd8t <j;Jh7 25.�h4t �h6
Diagram 3-6
26.fxg7!
8
White cannot force mate, but he gains a decisive
material advantage. 7
26 .. ,cj{xg7 27,gg8t! <j;lxg8 28.�xh6 lLJc6 29.lLJc5! 6
The quickest route to success is to launch a fresh
mating attack. 5

29... lLle7 30.lLJe4 lLld5 31.g5 4

There is nothing Black can do against 32J2jf6t.
3
1-0
2

Sometimes you are obliged to attack because otherwise 1

you would be heading for a loss. The attack may give
a b c d e f g h
you good practical chances - if your opponent makes
just one single mistake in defence, then the tables can
be turned.

Diagram 3-7
A.Zaitsev - S.Furm an
USSR Ch, Kharkov 1 967

26.e5!?
White feels that it is necessary to sharpen the
position.
If 26.d5, then 26 ...�a6! 27.2"\el �c8 and Black is
better.
However, the white position is not yet quite
hopeless. He could play: 26.lL:lf5!? g5 (26 ... g6?
27.ctJd6) 27.d5 �a6 28.2"\el oo
26...�d5 27.exf6?!
Providing a bolt-hole for the king by 27.h3 is worth
considering.
27...gxf6
But not 27 ... g5? 28.tLlg6t! hxg6 29.1Wh3t <j;gs
30.f7t+-.

33
 Tactics 2

28.�g4
28.Elxf6 fails to 28 .. . \Wxd4t, in view of 29.mhl
VMxf6-+.
28 ... �e4?
Black wants to simplifY the position and reduce the
danger, but he overlooks a tactical counter.
The correct way to simplifY is 28 ... Elg8 29.Elxg8t
llMxg8 30. \fMxgSt mxg8 3 1 .Elxf6 b5+ (Belov).
Diagram 3-8 Diagram 3-8
29.ltlg6t!
Suddenly White can bring his major pieces into the
game with tempo. Black cannot protect his king.
29 ...hxg6
29 ... mg7 3o.tM4t+-
3oJWh4t �g8
Other moves also lose quickly:
a) 30 ... mg7 3 1 .llMxf6t+-
b) 30 ...VMh5 3 I .llMxf6t �h7 32.VMf7t mhs 33. \fMfst
mh7 34.Elf7#
31.�xg6t �f8 32.Wfxf6t �e8 33.Wff8t �d7
34.�f7t
34 ...VMxf7 is followed by 35.Eld6t mc7 36. \fMdS#.
1-0

In the test which follows you should first try to

break open the opposing castled position. Play very
energetically, create threats and take advantage of
every chance for an attack.

34
Exercises

1
a b c d e f g h

35
 Exercises

a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h

36
 Solutions
Ex. 3-1 Nothing is achieved by 2.Wh4? h6.
R.S ielmann - N.N. 2...gxf6
Or 2 ...h6 3.1::l h4+-.
I.Wi'xh7t! 3.�h4 <l>gs 4.�xh7 lDg6 s.Wfh6+-
Dragging the black king out into the open. (another 1 point)
l. ..<i>xh7 2.�h4t <i>g6 3.�h6t <i>gS 4.h4t s Wi'e3t 6.Wl'xe3 <i>xh7 7.Wi'f3! �bs s.Wfx£6
.•.

<l>g4 s.tDe3t <i>g3 6.�f3# ... 1-0

(1 point)
Ex. 3-5
Ex. 3-2 A.Koch ev - V.Tukmakov
Y.Razuvaev - Briem Odessa 1 972
Puerto Rico 1 971
I.f7t!
l.Wi'gS! ( 1 point)
This is even stronger than 1 .Wxa5 bxa5
2.lt:'ld6±. Other moves lose on the spot: l ...�xf7??
l. ..�gS 2.tlJd6! 2.lt:'lxd6t; or l ...lt:'ldxf7?? 2.lt:'le7#.
( 1 point) 2.�e1 Wl'xe1 t?
2 ...Wxg5 is met by 3.lt:'lxf7#. Black had to try: 2 ...Wh1 t 3.�f2 Wxe1 t
1-0 (another 1 point for this variation)
4.�xe1 lt:'lc6 5.lt:'lxd6 lt:'lxh6 6.lt:'lxb7±
3.Wi'xe1 lDeS 4.Wi'g3
1-0
Sousse 1 967
Ex. 3-6
l.Wi'h6! V.Sm slov - I.Rudakovs
( 1 point) USSR Ch, Moscow 1 945
This prepares the decisive blow.
l. WffS
•. l.f6!
Or l ...clWt 2.1::l xcl �xcl t 3.�h2 Wf8 ( 1 point)
4.Wxh7t �xh7 5.hxg6t �xg6 6.j,e4#. A typical attacking move.
2.Wi'xh7t! l. ..gx£6
(another 1 point) l ...j,xf6 is met by: 2.lt:'lxf6 gxf6 3.Wh4 :1l:e6
The finish would be 2 ... �xh7 3.hxg6t �xg6 (3 ... :1l:g8 4.Wxf6t :1'lg7 5.:1'lg3+-) 4.:1'lh3 �g8
4.j,e4#. 5.Wh6 f5 6.Wxh7t �f8 7.Wxf5+-
1-0 2.Wi'h4 �gS 3.tlJxf6 �g7 4.�g3
Threatening 5 .Wxh7t!.
Ex. 3-4 4 .ixf6
•.•

.Barle - A.Beliavs ��
Or 4 ... j,e7 5.:1'lxg7 �xg7 6.Wxh7t �xf6
USSR - Yugoslavia, Yerevan 1 97 1
7.Wh6#.
S.Wi'x£6 �cgS 6.�d1 d5 7.�xg7
I.tlJf6t! 1-0
( 1 point)
I...<i>hs 2.Wi'h3!
(another 1 point)

37
 Solutions
Ex. 3-7 Ex. 3-9
A.Yusu ov - E.A rest E.Torre - V.Hort
Monaco 2005 Nice Olympiad 1 974

White wins a piece with a tactical trick. I..td6!

l.f6! h£6 2.�xf6 ltlf5 ( 1 point)
The key line is 2 ...Wfxf6 3J�h4 g5 4.�xg5 l. ..�h5!
Wfxg5 5.Wfxh7#. ( 1 point for spotting this defensive try)
(2 points for this variation) Black threatens 2 ...Wfd1#.
2 ... ltlb4 does not make any difference: The alternatives lose instantly:
3.�b 1 CLJxa2 4.CLJxa2 Wfxf6 5.�h4 8:xcl t a) 1 ...8:f7 2.8:b8+-
6.CLJxcl �c8 7.�xf6+- b) l ...�xd6 2.8:xg7t �h8 3.8:xh7t �g8
3.i.h4 ltlxh4 4.'1Wxh4 e5 5.g5 �c7 6.�cfl 4.8:ag7#
�e8 7.i.c2 �ee7 8.� 1f3 2.�b1!
The quickest route to victory is an attack on (another 1 point)
the king. Not quite so convincing, although also
8...exd4 9.exd4 ltlb4 10.�h3 h5 1 I.i.xg6! earning 1 point is the variation: 2.�xc5!? �xc5
fxg6 12.�xg6t mhs 13.�xh5t �h7 14.�h6 3.8:xg7t �h8 4.8:xh7t W!'xh7 5.8:xh7t �xh7
1-0 6.W!'c2t±
On the other hand, 2.h3?! is not good:
Ex. 3-8 2 ...�xd6 3.8:xg7t �hSoo
B.Larsen - F.Olafsson 1-0
Dundee 1 967
Black cannot escape the pin. For example:
2 ... 8:d8 3.h3! (things are not so clear after
I .ltlf5! 3.8:b8 8:xb8 4.W!'xb8t �f7 5.h3 Wi'd1 t 6.�h2
(1 point) W!'d4±) 3 ... 8:xd6 (or 3 ... CLJc3 4.W!'el �xd6
White brings the knight into the attack. 5.W!'xe6t �h8 6.Wfxd6+-) 4.8:xe7 CLJxe7
l...�f8?? 5.W!'b8t �f7 6.Wfxd6+-
The knight is clearly taboo: 1 ...Wfxf5??
2.8:b8t+- Ex. 3-10
It was necessary to play: l . ..�f7! 2.CLJh6t
�g7 3.CLJxf7 8:e6! (3 ... Wff8? 4.W!'b7+-) 4.CLJd6t Siegen Olympiad 1 970
8:xe7 5.CLJxc8 8:c7 6.CLJd6 8:c3±
( 1 point for this variation) 1...�8xf3
2.ltlh6t! ( 1 point)
(another 1 point) l ...cxd5 2.�xd5 8:8xf3!-+ (also 1 point) is
But not 2.8:b8? 8:a1 t=. equally good.
1-0 0-1
2 ...Wfxh6 is met by 3.8:b8t. 2.gxf3 is met by 2 ... 8:xh2t! 3.�xh2 W!'h4t
4.�g2 �h3t 5.�h2 �fl#.

38
 Solutions
Ex. 3-1 1 Ex. 3-12
B.S ass - T.Petrosian L.Stein - V.Tukmakov
USSR 1 967 USSR 1 972

l.b5! The white d7-pawn is just getting in the way...

(1 point) I.d8VNt!
Black has no way to successfully ward off ( 1 point)
the threat of 2.b6#. I..J�bxd8 2.VMe7t
I...i.xd4 1-0
Or l ...axb5 2.t2lxb5t �a6 3 .E&a8t �a7
4.E&xa7#.
2.VMxd4t!
1-0
(another 1 point)

Scoring
Maximum number of points is 22

19 points and above······················,.. Excellent

1 5 points and above··································· ,.. Good
1 1 points······························································� Pass mark

Ifyou scored less than 11 points, we recommend that you read the
chapter again and repeat the exercises which you got wrong.

39