Art of Attack in Chess

by Vladimir Vukovic

  The weakness of the second rank

  The second rank, on which the pawns stand at the start of the game, is generally as weak as the back rank; the pawns stand on it but do not protect it. There is, however, a difference, in that the second rank is harder to ‘clear’ prior to its being used by a rook or queen because the pawns tend to get in the way, just as trees in a forest tend to obstruct a clear view. Consequently, weaknesses on the second rank most frequently appear on individual squares or focal-points, and it is rarer to find a general weakness affecting the whole rank. The latter phenomenon, which concerns us here, is generally described as ‘a rook on the seventh rank’, but it would be more accurate to speak of a strongly-placed queen or rook on the opponent’s second rank.

  This kind of situation is on the whole exploited for positional purposes (to put pressure on the pawns and capture them or else to prevent the opponent from moving his king into the centre), but the position of a queen or rook on the seventh rank can also be useful in an attack on the castled king, where a ‘clearing up’ operation is often of decisive importance.

  A weakness on the second rank often goes hand in hand with a weakness on the back rank. The following combination of Rubinstein’s makes effective use of both ranks.

  This position occurred in the game Rubinstein-Maróczy, Gothenburg 1920. White’s first act was to advance his pawn to h6 and so create the necessary conditions for an attack on the seventh rank.

  1 h5 Nf8 2 h6! Ng6

  White now threatens 3 Bh4, which would also be decisive in the event of 2 ... gxh6.

  3 Qe6!

  Now White takes advantage of the weakness of the back rank to penetrate with his queen;

  3 ... Rf8

  3 ... Rxe6 is met by 4 Rd8+, while if 3 ... Rce7, then 4 hxg7+.

  4 Rd7

  The position is ripe for the rooks to take possession of the seventh rank. Black is now forced to play 4 ... gxh6, after which the ‘clearing’ of the rank is complete.

  4 ... gxh6 5 Bh4! 1-0

  The threat of Bxf6+ compels 5 ... Nxh4, but then White achieves total domination of the seventh rank (by 6 Qe7 followed by mate on h7).

  The reader should note the methodical character of this combination and especially the part played by the ‘clearing-up’ operation.

  In this position from the game Nimzowitsch-Capablanca, New York, 1927, Black’s rook is already on the seventh rank, but its bite is not yet fully felt because of the pawn in the way at f2. To obtain complete control over the rank, Black sacrifices a pawn, which enables him to double rooks.

  1 ... e5! 2 Bxe5 Rdd2 3 Qb7

  If 3 Qf1, Black’s strongest line is 3 ... Qd5 4 Bf4 (or 4 Bd4) 4 ... Qf3 5 Qg2 Qxg2+ 6 Kxg2 Rxf2+ 7 Kh3 (or 7 Kg1 Rg2+ 8 Kh1 Rxh2+ 9 Kg1 f6) 7 ... h5! 8 Rh1 Be7 9 Rac1 g5 and White loses his bishop owing to the threat of ... g4#.

  If 3 Rf1, then 3 ... Qxe3! is decisive (4 Bf4 Rxf2), since White cannot take the queen for fear of being mated by the rooks.

  These two alternatives are instructive illustrations of the use of rooks on the seventh rank.

  3 ... Rxf2 4 g4 Qe6 5 Bg3 Rxh2! 6 Qf3

  If 6 Bxh2, then 6 ... Qxg4+ 7 Kh1 Qh3 and White is mated, for he cannot defend both the focal-points g2 and h2 with his queen.

  6 ... Rhg2+ 7 Qxg2 Rxg2+ 8 Kxg2 Qxg4 and Black won as a result of his material superiority.

  The last example in this group is meant to take the reader away from the usual pattern.

  In this position from the game Flohr-Stoltz, Warsaw 1935, White has some pressure on the seventh rank but lacks reinforcements. Thus after 1 Bc4 Kf8 2 Ba6 Black has the reply 2 ... Bb8!, and the position resolves itself into an ending with bishops of opposite colours. This is not enough for White, and he sees that a successful invasion is possible on the sixth, rather than the seventh, rank.

  JN: Although 2 Qb7, and only then 3 Ba6, wins a piece for nothing.

  1 Bxf7! Kxf7 2 Ra6! Bd6

  Otherwise Black cannot stop the mating attack starting with Qxg6+. If 2 ... Qg8, then 3 Qd7+ mates, while 2 ... Bb6 is weaker than the text move on account of 3 Qxb6 Qxb6 4 cxb6 Rb8 5 Rxa5 and White goes on to win Black’s e-pawn.

  3 Qd5+ Kg7 4 Rxd6 Qe8 5 Re6 Rxc5 6 Qb7+ 1-0

  The role of the files in the attack on the castled king

  Of all the long-range actions, the most important in attacking the castled king is the vertical one on the open file. It is important because it is easier to ‘clear’ a file than a rank, and it is useful because being placed on an open file is ‘the best way for a rook to be employed’.

  There are four ways of establishing a rook (or queen) on an open (or half-open) file:

  1) the file is already open from one end to the other or to an opposing piece and all that is needed is for the rook to be brought on to it.

  2) the rook is posted in front of one of its own pawns (e.g. the king’s rook is manoeuvred via e1 and e3 to h3 in front of the pawn on h2).

  3) the pawn in front of the rook advances and is sacrificed to open up the file.

  4) the pawn in front of the rook leaves the file by making a capture.

  The further operations of the rooks on the file are similar to those which take place when control is assumed of any line (constructing outposts, clearing, capturing pieces, squares, and focal-points, etc).

  As a first general example of the part played by the files in an attack on the castled king, let us examine a famous game of Rubinstein’s.

  P. Johner - Rubinstein

  Teplitz-Schönau, 1922

  Queen’s Gambit Declined

  1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 a6

  Modern theory does not rate this move very highly. White obtains a sound and useful position by exchanging on d5.

  4 cxd5 exd5 5 Nc3 Nf6 6 Bg5 Be7 7 e3 0-0 8 Bd3 c6 9 Bxf6

  The normal and objectively best course for White here is to prepare a so-called minority attack, e.g. after castling kingside and playing Rab1 he advances his pawns to b4 and a4, continuing with b5 and bxc6 in order to weaken Black’s pawn formation. Another way is to play on Black’s weaknesses at c5 and b6 after exchanging the dark-squared bishops. Johner, a player with an incisive style, does not fancy these positional schemes and chooses a third way: castling on the opposite side and making an attack on the castled king, which is not a bad plan, but allows Black equal chances.

  9 ... Bxf6 10 Qc2

  After eliminating Black’s knight at f6, White induces a weakening of Black’s castled position.

  10 ... h6 11 0-0-0

  First 11 h3 would have been better, and only then 0-0-0, with the further plan of Rdg1, g4, h4 etc. The text move permits Black to divert White’s g-pawn from its file by playing ... Bg4 and ... Bxf3, after which the danger of the thrust g5 is averted.

  11 ... Bg4! 12 h3 Bxf3 13 gxf3

  Admittedly, White now has an open g-file, but Black is not weak on this file, since the g7-square is excellently covered. Here the g-file is of less value than the possibility of g4-g5, which White enjoyed before the exchange on f3. If Black’s pieces had been differently arranged, the opening of the g-file might have been a good thing, but as it is Black’s weakness is at h6, not g7; the result is that the opening of the file has considerably blunted White’s potential attack on the kingside. This instructive point should be remembered, since similar positions often occur in practice.

  13 ... a5?

  The great Akiba is dozing at this point, and is not far from falling into an inferior position. The move 13 ... a5? did not appeal to Grünfeld or Becker, the conscientious authors of the tournament book, though they missed the essential point of the situation and recommended 13 ... Nd7, which is equally weak.

  The position can be briefly summed up as follows: gxf3 has undoubtedly blunted the direct attack on the castled king, but it has given an added sharpness to the central position, where White threatens e4-e5 (naturally, after strengthening d4 by means of Ne2 and perhaps Bf5). If White manages to play e5, a turning-point in the situation is reached and White, on the basis of his power in
the centre and his expulsion of the bishop from f6, obtains a strong attack, in which the open g-file also comes in very useful. Turning-points of this kind can be very instructive.

  There still remains the question what Black ought to have played in order to prevent or hinder White’s central advance. The answer is given by the following analysis: 13 ... b6! 14 Ne2 Ra7 15 Kb1 (after 15 e4 dxe4 White could not continue with 16 fxe4 because of 16 ... Bxd4, while after 16 Bxe4 White would not be able to drive the enemy bishop away from f6; note also that since there was a threat of 15 ... c5!, there is no time for further preparations, e.g. by 15 Bf5) 15 ... Rc7 16 Bf5 c5! and Black has the better prospects; on 17 dxc5 he naturally plays 17 ... bxc5, while if 17 Qd2, he makes the consistent reply 17 ... Nc6!, without having anything to fear from 18 dxc5 bxc5 19 Qxd5?, since by 19 ... Qb8 he can build up a powerful attack against White’s king position. The essence of this analysis lies in Black opening up files by ... b6 and ... c5. We shall see how Black returns to this motif later on in the game and by opening up these files finally settles the issue.

  14 Kb1

  More precise would be 14 Ne2, but even against the move played it is too late for Black to play 14 ... b6, etc, because he has lost a tempo by playing 13 ... a5?.

  14 ... Nd7 15 Ne2 Qb6 16 Bf5 Rfd8

  17 Bxd7?

  White misses the opportunity to advance his e-pawn to e5; after 17 e4! dxe4 18 fxe4 Nf8 19 e5 Be7 20 Rhg1 White’s advantage is obvious. The exchange on d7 makes Black’s task easier.

  17 ... Rxd7 18 Nf4

  If White attempts to prepare e4 by 18 Rd3, etc, Black has 18 ... Rad8 to exert sufficient pressure on White’s pawn at d4. For this reason White decides on an attack against the castled king with pieces alone, unaided by an aggressive central pawn formation, and as a result his prospects of success are not so great.

  18 ... Rd6 19 Rhg1 Kh8 20 Rg4 Rg8 21 Rdg1 Qc7 22 Nd3!

  After a series of necessary defensive moves Black bas begun preparing ... b6 and ... c5, and White realizes that he cannot endanger Black’s position by operations with his pieces down the flank without the support of his central pawns. Thus if 22 Nh5 b6 23 Qf5, which the commentators in the tournament book recommended, Black simply plays 23 ... Qe7 and finally carries out his threat with 24 ... c5. Thus White was correct to decide to centralize his knight on e5.

  22 ... b6 23 f4 c5!

  Black gives up a pawn with the aim of opening up the b- and c-files and so promoting an attack on the castled king. The sacrifice is absolutely correct; White should have declined the poisonous gift and instead of 24 dxc5? played 24 Ne5!, in which case the position would have been approximately level. The official commentators showed that against the continuation 24 ... c4 White then has 25 Qa4 with the idea of playing 26 Qb5; against this 25 ... b5 26 Qxb5 Rb6 (or 26 ... Rb8) is of no avail because White thwarts all Black’s designs with 27 Nxf7+. After 24 Ne5 it would perhaps be best for Black to play 24 ... Rb8! 25 Qb3 Rc8, in which case White would have to defend himself with 26 Rc1. At this point 26 Qb5 is no good because of 26 ... cxd4, while in the event of an attack by 26 Qc2 Kg8 27 Qf5 Black has an interesting counterattack based on a ‘heavy barrage’ along the c-file: 27 ... cxd4! 28 Nxf7!? Rc6 29 Nxh6+ Kf8 30 a3 Rc1+ 31 Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32 Ka2 d3 and wins.

  24 dxc5? bxc5 25 Qxc5 Rc6 26 Qa3

  If 26 Qxd5, then 26 ... Rd8 27 Qe4 (or 27 Qf5 g6) 27 ... Qb7!, with the double threat of 28 ... Rxd3 and 28 ... Rc1+, is decisive.

  26 ... Rc8!

  Black has two files on which to attack and he decides on the c-file, since then things move even more quickly than after 26 ... Rb8.

  27 Rd1

  If 27 R4g2, then 27 ... Bxb2 is also decisive.

  27 ... Bxb2! 28 Kxb2

  White cannot take with his knight 28 Nxb2 because of 28 ... Rc1+ and mate, while if 28 Qxb2 then 28 ... Rb6 29 Rc1 Rxb2+ 30 Kxb2 Qb6+ 31 Ka1 Qf6+ 32 Kb1 Rc3 and Black wins.

  28 ... Rc3!

  First of all Black forces White’s queen to abandon its defence of the square c3.

  29 Qa4 Rc2+ 0-1

  30 Ka3 Qd6+, 30 Kb1 Rb8+ and 30 Ka1 Qc3+ are all hopeless for White.

  In this game and its notes we can see the various degrees of significance which open files can have. Firstly, there was White’s open g-file, which was shown to be ineffective without support from another quarter; nevertheless, the notes pointed out its value as soon as White’s pawn was advanced to e5. Then followed Black’s manoeuvres to open up the b- and c-files, described firstly in the commentary and later actually put into practice at a critical stage of the game. Once the c-file had been opened by means of a sacrifice, the formidable power of the rooks on the file eventually brought the attacker victory.

  The attack along the h·file

  Using a rook to control an open h-file is one of the classic methods of attack after castling kingside, and so a number of examples will be devoted to it.

  Firstly, we have an instance of a rook exercising control from h3, in front of the h2-pawn.

  This diagram comes from Rödl-Sämisch, Swinemünde 1931. White plays:

  1 Bxh7+

  A sacrifice of the bishop which might be termed ‘semi-classic’, this draws the king out to h7 so that the rook can get to h3 with gain of tempo; at the same time defence by ... h6 is excluded. It could also be put like this: the temporal factor here requires that the operation of ‘clearing’ h7 be carried out before posting the rook on the h-file.

  1 ... Kxh7 2 Rh3+ Kg8 3 Bxf6

  White removes the bishop from f6 to allow his queen to move immediately to h4.

  3 ... Nxf6 4 Qh4 Qc5+ 5 Rf2 Nh5

  Since the f-pawn is blocked, this is the only possible way of averting mate.

  6 Qxh5 f6 7 g5 Qxd5

  To stop the fatal thrust g6. If 7 ... Rfe8, the quickest results are attained by 8 gxf6.

  8 Qh7+ Kf7 9 Rxf6+ 1-0

  If 9 ... Ke7 10 Qxg7+ Rf7 11 Rxf7+ Qxf7, then 12 Re3+ is decisive.

  Next we have an example of a complex sacrificial combination based on an explosive opening of the h-file.

  White (P. Schmidt) mated Black (K. Richter) in spectacular style:

  1 Qh6+

  Drawing the king into the fire of the battery of rook and h-pawn.

  1 ... Kxh6 2 hxg6+

  Discovered check, or ‘a salvo from the battery of rook and pawn’, or, lastly, the pawn on h5 as a kind of outpost – three names for the same thing.

  2 ... Kg5 3 Rh5+!

  With this sacrifice White lures the king into the file of a new battery – bishop and pawn!

  3 ... Kxh5 4 f4+ Nxe2 5 Nf6+ Kh6 6 Rh1+ Kg7 7 Ne8+ Rxe8 8 Rxh7+ Kf6 9 Rxf7#

  This is also an instructive example with reference to weaving the mating net: White is the master of the h-file, but he still needs to deprive the black king of squares on the g-file. The most difficult to deal with is g5, but White solves that problem with his third and fourth moves.

  This example, from the game Toth-Szigeti, Budapest 1946, shows us an execution of Anastasia’s mate on the h-file.

  1 Bxh7+ Kxh7 2 Rh3+ Kg8 3 Qh5 Qh6

  To all appearances Black has parried the attack on the h-file, but now comes the unexpected point.

  4 Nf5! Qxh5 5 Ne7+ Kh7 6 Rxh5#

  One of the most important types of attack along the h-file is that which involves the doubling of the heavy pieces on the file, threatening mate at h8. If the enemy king’s flight squares on the second rank are occupied by its own pawns, then the attacker must concentrate his effort on doubling his heavy pieces as rapidly as possible and mate his opponent at the focal-point h8. However, if the king has a square to escape to or there is a threat to get one by moving the g-pawn or f-pawn, attention must be turned to this possible means of defence. The most economical formation against this, as far as the use of attacking material is concerned, is one with an assault pawn at g6 and a defending one at g7. The continuations from the following diagram are devoted to this typical formation (with colours reversed).

  In this example Black is the attacker. He ha
s already sacrificed his queen in order to reach this position, his intention being to mate White’s king with a rook on h1. Doubling rooks is not a problem for Black in this position, but he is involved in a struggle for f2, which is important as a flight square for the white king. There are two methods of handling this: the king can be allowed to get out and a mating net then woven round it, or the formation with the pawn at g3 and doubled rooks can be set up. Both courses lead to success in this position, and both do so in two ways, so that in all Black has four lines which lead to victory. Here they are:

  A) 1 ... Rah8 2 f4

  The only reply; if 2 g3, White is mated by the rooks; if 2 f3, then 2 ... g3.

  2 ... Rh1+

  This is the ‘mating net’ method; 2 ... g3 allows White to reply 3 Qxh5.

  3 Kf2 Nxe4+ 4 Ke1 Rxf1+ 5 Kxf1 Rh1+ 6 Bg1 Rxg1+ 7 Kxg1 Nf3+ 8 Kf1 Ng3#

  In this variation the doubled rooks have disappeared, but the ‘doubled knights’ are not to be overlooked.

  B) 1 ... Ne2+ 2 Qxe2 Rah8 3 f4 g3 4 Qxh5 Bxe3+ 5 Rf2

  Some players are more hurt by forced moves of this kind than by mate itself.

  5 ... Nxh5 6 Kf1 gxf2 7 Ke2 f1Q+ 8 Kxf1 Ng3+ 9 Ke1 Rh1#

  Let us now look at the two continuations which use the method based on the ... g3 formation.

  C) 1 ... Ne2+ 2 Qxe2 Rah8 3 f4 Bxe3+ 4 Qxe3 Nxe4!

  This controls f2 and draws the queen away from the defence of g3.

  5 Qxe4 g3

  By means of a series of diversions Black has now established the necessary conditions for the success of the pure formation of doubled rooks plus pawn on g3 against pawn on g2. 5 ... g3 To avoid mate White would now have to give up nearly all his material: 6 Qe7+ Kxe7 7 Re1+ Kd7 8 Kf1 Rh1+ 9 Ke2 Re8+, after which 10 ... Rexe1 leads to a further harvest on the back rank.