FoxyChess › Tactics › Kingside Attack
Kingside Attack
Puzzles where the win comes from attacking a king that has castled on the kingside, using sacrifices, open files and pieces swinging over.
How to spot it
When your opponent has castled kingside, count the pieces you can bring to h7, g7 and f7. Rooks lifted to the third rank, a bishop on the b1–h7 diagonal, a knight on g5 and the queen on the h-file: with three or four attackers against a bare king, sacrifices start to work.
A worked example
The rook lift. 1.Qxh7+! Kxh7 2.Rh3+ Kg8 3.Rh8#. The rook on e3 swings to the h-file behind the queen sacrifice, the pawn on f5 stops the king running to g6, and the bishop on b2 guards g7.
Why it works
The castled king is safe only while its pawn shield and its defenders stay put. Once the defenders are exchanged or lured away, the pieces that could attack h7 and g7 outnumber the pieces that can protect them.
How to defend against it
Keep a knight on f6 (or f3) and don't move the pawns in front of your king without a reason. Exchange your opponent's most dangerous attacking piece, and meet a wing attack with play in the centre.
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