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The Impending Doom Sacrifice by David Rudel
These are generally the only options considered. It’s not hard to see why 8…Kh8 is never worth consideration (9.Qh5+ Kg8 10.Qh7#). Leaving such facile treatments behind, one can find a broad range of setups where the sacrifice gives White an advantage, if not a forced win. Some players only think the sacrifice works in a very limited set of positions, but my research shows otherwise. Most people only consider the sacrifice when White has a pawn on e5 (as in the diagram) or the often satisfactory substitute of a Rook on the e-file that could safely take on e6. Both options effectively make the f6-square off limits. However, there is another option. Instead of a pawn on e5, White can also contemplate the sacrifice if he has a knight there instead. In my latest book, Bxh7+: Master both sides of chess' most useful piece sacrifice in 5 easy lessons and 116 exercises I claim that in practically all games where White has a valid opportunity for the sacrifice with a knight on e5, it is due to one of three ideas. Thus, either attackers or defenders need only consider those three concerns to quickly determine whether the sacrifice is potent in a given position. I’m going to illustrate one of those ideas in this article. It’s not the most frequently occurring situation, but it is the least likely to be given full consideration by an opponent. Correspondence players in particular might find it a useful addition to their kitbags. I call it the Impending Doom Attack. A good example showed up in the World U-10 championship of 2007: Zeynalli, Miradil – Enkhbaatar, Enkhnar, 2007
Before
moving on, I would like to point out that Black (from the 1st diagram
position in this game) would still end up with the short end of the stick
were, for example, his bishop on b7 or e8 and his knight had retreated to d7
instead. Putting the bishop on e8 instead (with the knight retreating to d7)
is also unpleasant for Black. The position of these pieces is generally
irrelevant. Then what is relevant? Good question. Here are the basic criteria to check: (Note the list below assumes Black has a knight he can play to f6, which is a very common occurrence, for this sacrifice is most likely immediately after Black retreats a knight from that square. If Black has no knight able to move to f6 and cover h7 after Qh5, he may well be immediately toast regardless of whether all the below are true.)
If all the above hold, there are two basic attacks White can try; it is rare for Black to be able to stop both. Indeed, I don’t think I found a single game in all my research where the criteria above were satisfied and Black could stop both of the attacks we will discuss here.
Unless
Black can put a queen or bishop on the b1-h7 diagonal immediately, it is
more or less impossible to simply strongpoint h7 and weather the storm. Thus
…g6 is the natural play after Qh4.
The most immediate point of …g6 is that …Nh5, temporarily blocking the h-file, now does not immediately drop the knight. This is a huge deal because White’s knights are currently paralyzing Black’s position, but the second player cannot exchange either knight without losing material since doing so would bring a pawn to bear against the knight on f6, which currently cannot safely move.
In
addition to this major point, …g6 also allows …Kg7 followed by …Rh8, but
this is unlikely to work in practice since White most often will play Qh6
before Black can get …Kg7. Even if …Kg7 hits the board, Nexf7 may well pour
ice-water on Black’s dreams. If Black has a knight on e8 or e6, opening up
g7 can help his defense since White really does not want a knight to
get on f5, where it hits all the squares White’s queen normally makes use of
(h4, h6, and g7).
That is a very good question. 16…Ne7? allows White to use the nasty tactic 17.Ng4!, challenging the only piece stopping Qh7#
After
…g6, White will adopt one of two strategies depending on Black’s defensive
resources. Attacking Option 1: Lightning This attack works quickly if it works at all. White’s basic plan is to play Qh6, then sacrifice a knight with Nxg6, and then wrap things up with Qxg6+. If Black derails this plan by putting a defender on g7 (e.g., a queen on the 7th rank that would protect g7 after Nexg6 fxg6), White will attempt to recoup material with Rf3, Rh3, and g4. Sometimes White needs to play g4 earlier to keep a knight off f5. This plan generally works unless Black can both protect g7 and manage to quickly maneuver a bishop or queen to f8 to oust the queen on h6. Simply defending with …Qe8 or …Be8 (adding support to g6) should fail because they immobilize Black’s rook on f8, allowing an eventual breakthrough on the h-file. We can see this assault in action by continuing the example at the beginning of the article. (Returning to the position after 16.Qh4…)
Attacking Option 2: Thunder This is the slower, rumbling option. White allows Black to block up the h-file with …Nh5. Instead of looking for a quick kill by Qh6, Nxg6, and Qxg6, he will slowly eat up the material Black must sacrifice to stave off pressure down the h-file. White is advised to do this when Black can get protection on g7 and has reasonable chances of getting a queen or bishop to f8. White should avoid this attack if a couple of extra moves would allow Black to manufacture access to the b1-h7 diagonal or get a knight to f5. A good example for illustrating both when this attack is a good one and how it plays out comes from a U-18 girls United Arab Emirates Championship game:
In a serious game, you should take the trouble to think through these attacks to see whether they are compelling in a given situation. However, there is a very good, hauntingly simple, rule of thumb:
Of course, it is quite possible Black is lost even if both the above are true. However, in playing over several scenarios and options, all the viable defensive strategies I found involved having an extra piece already guarding f7 (even if the defense offered had nothing to do with this extra protection). Secondly, without a diagonally moving piece already on the a3-f8 diagonal, Black generally cannot scare White’s queen away from h6 in time.
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