Skybound Chess
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Attacking the King

How kingside attacks actually work — the Greek gift and other sacrifices on h7, g7 and h6, opening lines with the h-pawn, the rook lift, and bailing out with a perpetual.

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  1. 1The Greek giftStart hereBxh7+! — sacrifice the bishop to drag the king out, then Ng5+ and Qh5 pour in behind it.→
  2. 2Open the h-fileWith your king safe on the other wing, march the h-pawn to h5 and trade it off to hand your rooks the h-file.→
  3. 3The rook liftAn attack needs numbers — swing a rook along the third rank into the assault.→
  4. 4The knight on f5A knight on f5 next to the castled king is a splinter — jam it in and don't trade it lightly.→
  5. 5The sacrifice on g7Rxg7+ or Bxg7 strips away the last pawn in front of the king so the heavy pieces can finish.→
  6. 6The sacrifice on h6Against a fianchetto, Bxh6 tears open the g7 diagonal and the h-file at once.→
  7. 7The exchange sacrificeGive a rook for a knight to wreck the pawns in front of the king or kill its key defender.→
  8. 8Deflect the defenderBefore you strike, look for the one piece guarding the mating square — and blow it up or drag it off.→
  9. 9Count your attackersThe rule of thumb: you need more attackers than the defender has defenders before you sacrifice.→
  10. 10Perpetual checkIf the attack runs out of steam and you're behind, there's still a draw in checking the king forever.→