Chess School Quiz Challenge #18
Challenge
Vincent Keymer's white pieces were ready for an attack on h7. With 17...h7-h6, Black has ensured that nothing will happen there for the time being. How should White proceed now?
Solution
While the black queen stands alone in an offside position, White has brought four pieces into position to attack the barely defended black king. The white intentions are obvious: attacking the king. But how?
In this game from December 2024, two-time World Championship finalist Ian Nepomniachtchi has averted the immediate threats with his move 17…h7-h6. Nf3-g5 is no longer possible for Vincent Keymer, and the critical point h7 is no longer under fire.
But 17…h7-h6 was also weakening.
Let us recall what former world champion Max Euwe (1901-81) once taught about attacking: “To be able to undertake an attack on the king, the player must have control in the middle... so that the opponent cannot start any serious action in the center,” Euwe wrote.
That applies here. With his c4/d4 pawn phalanx and three centrally positioned pieces, the center belongs to White only.
Euwe continued: “The opponent must show some kind of weakness or an attacking mark on the king's side.”
Ha! Nepomniachtchi presented an attacking mark with his move 17...h7-h6, a target for White. To deal with this, there is a clear recipe that we have already seen in various contexts: the pawn break.
And so it came about that Vincent Keymer didn't think for much more than a minute before playing the best move: 18.g3-g4! With a plan to for a break against the mark with g4-g5 on the next move, it's easy for a world-class grandmaster to play. Nepomniachtchi defended himself with 18…Nd7-f6, which attacks the white rook but doesn't improve the black position.
After 19.Te4-f4, the quality sacrifice Nf4xf6 is threatened, and the blow g4-g5 is still in the air. Black can't parry everything. Keymer won the game without any problems.
Let's hear from Max Euwe again. For an attack to be successful, the attacker must
- deploy as many pieces as possible for immediate intervention and
- open as many lines and diagonals as possible.
Vincent Keymer has done both in exemplary fashion: massing pieces in front of the black king, forcing Black to create a weakness in the form of an attacking mark, and then using a pawn break against the mark to open lines and diagonals against the black king. The game would grace any of the many Euwe books on chess strategy, which are well worth reading.
