Kingside attacks
An attack is a counting exercise before it is anything else. More attackers than defenders on the squares around one king, or nothing happens.
- 120 positions in the course
- Difficulty 629–2311
- Section: Attacking
- 5 levels
How a kingside attack works
Three things have to be true. Your pieces must outnumber the defenders near the king, there must be a way to open a line -- a file, a diagonal, or the pawn cover itself -- and the opponent must not have faster counterplay elsewhere. Attacks that fail almost always fail on the first or the third.
The recurring mechanisms are few and worth knowing by name: the classical bishop sacrifice on h7, the knight jump to g5 or f5, the rook lift along the third rank, and the h-pawn advance to open the file. Most kingside attacks in club chess are one of those four.
How to spot it
- Count attackers and defenders on g7, h7 and f7 -- or the mirror squares. If you are not ahead, do not start.
- Look for the line you intend to open before you sacrifice anything.
- Check what the opponent has on the other wing. A queenside break that arrives first beats an attack that is one move short.
- Look for the sacrifice on h7 or g7 specifically, and calculate the follow-up before deciding it does not work.
Three kingside attacks
Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.
Position 1
White to move. Find the best move.
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23...Bc8 24.Rxe8#
The line ends in checkmate. The attacking pieces already outnumber the defenders, and the move shown is the one that opens the line they need.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 919 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 2
White to move. Find the best move.
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21...Rd8 22.Qf7+ Kh8 23.Qxg7#
The line ends in checkmate. The attacking pieces already outnumber the defenders, and the move shown is the one that opens the line they need.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1325 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 3
White to move. Find the best move.
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21...Nfd5 22.Bxh7+ Kxh7 23.Rxf8
The line wins a piece. The attacking pieces already outnumber the defenders, and the move shown is the one that opens the line they need.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1919 for difficulty. The answer reaches a clear advantage.
Defending against one
Bring a piece back. One extra defender near the king is usually worth more than any active move elsewhere, and the single most common defensive error is continuing your own plan one move too long.
Beyond that: trade attackers rather than defenders, keep the pawn structure in front of the king intact if you can, and if it is going to be opened anyway, consider opening it yourself on your terms.
Questions people ask
How do I know if my attack is real?
Count. If you have more pieces bearing on the squares around the enemy king than they have defending, and you can open a line, the attack is real. If the count is level it is not an attack, it is a plan to lose a piece.
What is the classical bishop sacrifice?
Bxh7+ against a castled king, followed by a knight to g5 and the queen to the h-file. It is the oldest and most common attacking pattern in chess, and whether it works depends on precise details of the defender's setup.
Nearby patterns
Kingside Attack sits in Attacking. The rest of that section: