The Art of Attack in Chess
Vladimir Vukovic
 

Categories of Attacks:
1. The main action is not in fact an attack on the king, but there is the possibility of such an attack latent in the position.

2. A player's action really does contain a direct threat to his opponent's king, but his opponent can stave off this threat at a certain price, such as giving up material or spoiling his positional.

3. The attacker carries out an uncompromising mating attack, on which he can invest a considerable amount of material, as long as he is certain of checkmating.


Mistakes Concerning Mating Patterns:
1. The attacker fails to perceive that he can neither stop his opponent from moving his king nor drive him into a mating net, but still plays for mate.

2. The attacker plays on the basis of a typical mating pattern, overlooking an unusual pattern.

3. The player sees all mating patterns based on one focal point, but fails to realize that a new one is created if the king moves, creating new mating patterns that he has not prepared for.

4. The player decides on a course of action based on a certain focal point, without realizing that he can not provide cover for it.


Conditions for an attack along the King File against an uncastled king:

1. The opponents king should be on that file and it is difficult for it to move away.

2. The line should be open/ able to be opened, and the attacker has a piece which can control the file.

Attacks against an uncastled king usually make the piece protecting the king into a focal point and attack it which as many pieces as possible, especially heavy pieces along the King File.


A sacrificial assault on f7 is acceptable but must be followed up by aggressive action so that black can not artificially castle and the position remains open.


Stages of attack on the king which can not castle:
1. Spoiling of the king’s castling chances, or drawing the king out of a castled position.
2. The pursuit of the king across the board.
3. The final mating action in the middle of the board or somewhere on the edge.

Situations when it is correct to postpone castling:
1. Castling is not carried out because some other action is more useful.
2. Castling is for the time being still too dangerous.
3. The player may wish to castle on the other side.
4. The centre is permanently blocked and the king is safer there.
5. The endgame is already close at hand.

Attacks against g7 are the most dangerous attacks against the castled position, because the queen can mate more easily since it protects the f7 and f8 escape squares and because the weakness on g7 usually brings weaknesses on h6 and g6, while one on h7 only brings a weakness on g6.

Attacks on f7 when the king is castled are useful for drawing the king into the center, but only when the rook has moved and even then one must be sure of mate or else the king will just walk to the other side.

Complex Focal Points:
1. Adjacent Squares of Different Colors
2. Neighboring squares of the same color
3. Squares of the some color on a network of squares
One piece exerts control over both points while the rest transfer their influence from one to the other.

Three main variations after acceptance of the bishop sacrifice and Ng5+ with bishop on c1 and queen on d1.
1..... Kg8 2. Qh5 Re8 3. Qxf7+ Kh8 4. Qh5+ Kg8 5. Qh7+ Kf8 6. Qh8+ Ke2 7. Qxg7+
1..... Kh6 N x something + (Revealed check from bishop to win material)
1..... Kg6 2. Qg4 f5 3. Qg3 Qe8 4. h4 Rh8 5. N x something (revealed check from the queen)

If there is no bishop on c1 then bringing the rook into the attack may be necessary to win.

Necessary Conditions for Bishop Sacrifice on h7:
White needs a queen, bishop, and knight. Knight should be able to reach g5 and queen reach h5 and g4. Black must have a castled pawn structure and black’s knight can not reach f6 and his queen/bishop can not occupy the h7 - b1 diagonal.

Supporting Pieces which help (not necessary):
Pawn on e5
Bishop on c1
Knight on d2
Rook on e1

Back rank weaknesses can lead to a decisive attack, these combinations are usually short.
The weakness on the second rank is exploited for positional purposes, but can help an attack too.

Four ways of establishing a heavy piece on an open file:
1. The file is already open and all that is needed is for the piece to be placed on it.
2. The rook is posted in front of its own pawns.
3. The pawn in front of the rook is sacrificed to open the file.
4. The pawn in front of the rook leaves the file by capturing.

Using a rook to control the h-file after castling is a classic method of attack.

With a rook on h1 and a pawn on h4 the pawn must leave the file. Against fianchettoed positions this is easy, otherwise a sacrifice may be in order.

Tartakower’s Epithets of the files:
A: Positional B: Covetous C: Far-sighted D: Prosaic
E: Dangerous F: Tempting G: Sacrificial H: Contentious

Vukovic’s Epithets of the diagonals:
a1 - h8: long diagonals where kings die.
b1 - h7: classic diagonals where pieces die.
a2 - b8: developing diagonals that are confusing.
a4 - e8 and h4 - d8: pinning diagonals, enough said.

The queen is made for focal points and very good at covering all the king’s squares, but it is worth too much to be sacrificed and so it needs a controlled area to work in.

The rooks must overcome their clumsiness and be more active than the opponent’s.

The typical sacrifice in the attack on the castled king changes the structure of the pawns, draws the king onto a vulnerable square, or creates a focal point.

A sacrifice and the following operations must have the aim of creating a focal point.

In calculating a sacrifice, simply think about what you would do in the position if a pawn was not there.

Brief Summary of the Pawn’s Role in the attack on the Castled King:
1. The pawn forces the opponent to weaken his castled position.
2. It creates combinational elements in attack.
3. It forms part of an attack formation.
4. A pawn centre serves either to confine the opponent or to provide a basis for a king attack.
5. The pawn advances independently to drive away an enemy piece or take control of a square.
6. Two or three wing pawns advance against the castled position (pawn storm).
7. The pawn moves into the castling area as a straight-forward attacking unit against the king.
8. The pawn advances into the castling area and threatens promotion.

Career of an H-Pawn:
h3: The pawn advances and drives an opposing piece from g4.
h4: It makes up a set formation in conjunction with a rook on h1.
h5: It threatens to open up the h-file by capturing a pawn on g6.
h6: It acts as a support point for an attack against the focal point on g7.
h7: The pawn turns into a direct attack.

The point of the pawn centre is to restrict the opponent, but also, by advancing the pawns near the king, it can provide a basis for an attack and may help prevent the opponent’s pieces from helping in defense.

When pawn storming it is important that one’s opponent can not counter-attack on the center or queenside..

Ten Practical Tips:
1. When you attack the castled king, the opponent must not be able to counter attack elsewhere.
2. A central pawn blockade limits counter-attacks and makes a pawn attack easier.
3. One should always be aware if an attack can be made by pieces alone.
4. As a rule, it is difficult for pawn assaults to succeed against unweakened castled positions.
5. Every blockade in the castled area radically changes the character of the position.
6. One’s own pawns are a great obstacle to one’s rooks.
7. A pawn storm increases the risk of an inferior endgame.
8. A player who has an advanced pawn against his opponent’s castle might advance the adjacent pawn.
9. Attacks on a castled king in general should be judged based on the position as a whole.
10. The attacking player must be incisive, consistent, and merciless.

To attack a fianchettoed position, advance the h-pawn and exchange off the bishop.


Direct Defenses:
1. Protect the squares of the castled position, including over-protection.
2. Transform the castled position by moving the pawns in front of the king, often creating a blockade.
3. Alter the castled position by moving the king.
a. Consolidating king move (g8-h8)
b. Radical alteration (g8 - f7)
c. King’s flight
4. Repulse the opponent’s pieces through capture, exchange, or ejection from powerful positions.

Indirect Defenses:
1. A counter-attack on the opponent’s castled king (usually in opposite-castled positions)
2. An action on the opposite side which prepares an attack, such as grabbing the 7th rank.
3. An attack on any part on the board to gain material, which forces the attacker to reconsider.
4. A counter-attack which brings the opponent’s attack to a halt and goes towards the endgame.
5. A counter-attack while leads to a direct defense, such as attack the enemy’s pieces from the rear.
6. Advance of a queen-side pawn majority with aim of promotion.
7. Retaliation in the center.
a. A central thrust which weakens the attacker’s formation.
b. Destruction of the pawn centre which ends the attack.
c. Creation of a blocked position.
d. Destruction of the pawn center gives better positional prospects.

Overprotection, Blockading, Elimination of Attacking Pieces, Self-Defense by the King, Advance of a Queenside Pawn Majority, Defense by Counter-Attack, and Defense by Central Thrust are all valid.

Thesis of the Attack:
1. An attack on the castled king can not be successfully carried out based on brilliance, the essential conditions must also be present.
2. These preconditions may be fulfilled, and the attacker’s game must adapt itself accordingly.
3. The degree and type of these preconditions determine the extent of the commitments which the attacker can undertake.

Preconditions:
The attacker should have his pieces strongly deployed in the vicinity of the enemy king position or aimed in that direction. There must be deficiencies in the defender’s camp, such as vulnerability in the king’s position through weaknesses in the pawn structure, or misplacement of pieces (such that they are not ready to defend).

Phases of Attack:
1. Preconditions are either present or created by force (such as by provocation of a weakness).
2. Further conditions are created which guarantee success.
3. Execution: The attacker either gains a large material advantage or checkmates the king.

Of all the preconditions for an attack on the king, one should create first those which entail the lesser degree of commitment, that is, those which also strengthen the position as well as potentially aiding in the attack.

Operations designed to create preconditions for an attack:
1. Inducement of weaknesses in the castled position.
2. Fluctuations in the phases of attack.
3. Quiet moves.
4. Toying with an attack to scare the opponent into passive moves.