Attacking along the h-file is among the most thematic attacking patterns in chess. You neglect material or structure and go all in to strip the opponent’s king naked!
I have attempted to demonstrate the power of h-file attacks using four games. In the first two, the attack was achieved by using pawns (specifically the h and the g pawns) to open up the king. In the other two, the players used a less common method - pieces! Without moving their kingside pawns, Kupreichik and Polgar managed to bring too many attackers near their opponent’s king and the attack became overwhelming.
1) Boris Spassky vs Larry Evans, 1962 Varna Olympiad
2) Boris Spassky vs Robert James Fischer, 1992 Match
3) Viktor Kupreichik vs Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov, 1985
4) Judit Polgar vs Ferenc Berkes, Budapest 2003
Attacking the king is often made easier by opposite side castling, but even when the kings are both short castled, it’s still an idea to keep in mind. There are two different ways of launching an h-file attack. More commonly, it is achieved by starting a pawn storm which is used to break open the defenses and exchange the defending pawns around the opponent’s king. Less often an attack is successfully led using only pieces. That is so because pieces will have to sacrifice themselves in order to create holes for the attack. Regardless, if you checkmate the material is irrelevant, so both methods work.
The hardest thing to learn when trying to improve your attacking skill (including h-file attacks) is recognizing when the time is right for an attack. Starting it too early or too late means a lot, and often means the difference between winning or losing.
There is one major indicator which has to be taken into account. Attacking vs defending pieces. This is the most important indicator of a successful attack. Simply count the pieces which you have in the attack and count the pieces your opponent has in the defense. If you have more, it’s probably justified to start attacking!
Another thing are the potential attackers; pieces which can be transferred towards the king. They should also be taken into account (for both sides). Lastly, a certain indicator is the pawn structure. Most often, pawns on h6 or g6 make the position vulnerable because they serve as targets. If you play h4, h5 and the opponent’s pawn is on g6, that makes the attack much more powerful because you have an “anchor”, something to attack.
These are just the most important indicators, there are numerous, of course, but these should never be neglected!
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Philip D., Alexandre M., Pascal S., Daniel N.
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1 окт 2024
