The Fundamental Principle of Attacking

If you want to successfully besiege your opponent’s king, you need to have a greater amount of force involved in the action. That means more pieces, and more impactful pieces; you can’t expect much from one piece on its own.

In the first example, Black’s king remains in the centre – they will regret that momentarily! – and the only piece that might help guard it is the black queen. White’s rook is on a strong post, but it needs some help. White would also like to act fast, before Black has time for …Be7 and …O-O or …Kf8.

Quickly you can see that White’s queen can surge forward, 1. Qa4+!, and Black is helpless. Blocking with the queen merely extends the game a move, so 1. …Kd8 2. Qd7#.

When you spell it out, of course a queen and a rook will beat a pretty lonely king. The second example, below, is less obvious. Give it a thought, if you like.

Currently, White has a queen and a rook lined up on the g-file, against which Black has a queen (and a king) supporting g7. How can White increase their influence in that corner of the board? The correct move is 27. Bh4!, and Black actually has no way to stop Bf6, which will be a devastating blow.

You may have considered making space for the second rook, but 27. Ke2? Nc4 puts a lot of pressure on b2, and White doesn’t want to allow …Rxb2 with check. The game went 27. Bh4! Nc4 28. Bf6! to arrive at the following position.

There is huge pressure on g7, and 28. …Rg8 walks right into 29. Qxh6#. Taking the bishop gets mated too: 28. …gxf6 29. Qxh6+ Qh7 30. Qxf6+! Qg7 31. Qxg7#.

Tactics are obviously a big part of any demolition, and if you follow the simple rule of attacking, they will be there for you to find and finish your games in style.