This 3-minute blitz game between Indian national team player Nihal Sarin and Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş on Chess.com is a great example of how a kingside attack is built. Playing Black, Yağız does not castle; instead he opens the h-file with his h-pawn and rook. A queen sacrifice and a quiet pawn move then finish the game with mate. Afterwards even his opponent called it "Amazing!"
Below you can play through the whole game with a summary of the video commentary, and then try to solve the three critical positions where the exclamation-mark moves were played.
Annotated Game
Click on the moves, use the buttons under the board or the arrow keys on your keyboard to step through the game. The board is shown from the side of Yağız, who has the black pieces.
Critical Positions
The three moves that received an exclamation mark in the video. In each position it is Black to move. Think first, then open the answer or use the forward button under the board to see the move that was played.
Critical Position 1 – move 6, Black to play
Show answer
6...Be6! The automatic move is Nf6, but Black develops the bishop first and attacks the c4 pawn. Once White defends with d3, Qc8 follows and the queen-and-bishop battery is in place. Next come Bh3 to trade off the g2 bishop and an attack on the kingside with the h-pawn. Pushing h5 straight away would have allowed the solid reply h4, which is why the bishop and queen take up their posts first.
Critical Position 2 – move 17, Black to play
Show answer
17...Qxg2+!! A queen sacrifice! 18.Kxg2 Rh2+. If the king goes "upstairs" with 19.Kf3, then Rxf2+, the king takes the knight on g4, Ne5+, Rh2+ and mate with Bh6. In the game the king went "downstairs" to g1; Black brought the d8-rook to the h-file as well, doubled his rooks and kept tightening the net.
Critical Position 3 – move 22, Black to play
Show answer
22...f5! A quiet move that forces mate in 3. Black threatens mate in two ways: Nd4 mate and Rxf2 mate. White played Be3 to free the f4 square for his king, but Ne5+ and Bh6 delivered mate. There is also a mate in 4 starting with Nd4+ (the king takes the knight on g4, f5+, Kg5 and another quiet move, Rh6), but it is harder to find.
Lessons from the Game
- Move order: First Be6 to put pressure on c4, then Qc8 to form the battery. Had h5 been pushed before the attack was prepared, White could have stopped it with h4.
- Opening a file with the h-pawn: Bh3 targeted the defensive bishop on g2, the h-pawn advanced to h4 and White could not meet it; the opening of the h-file became inevitable.
- The advantage of not castling: In closed positions it is sometimes better not to castle. With the rook still on h8 it joined the attack directly, and queenside castling arrived just in time to bring the second rook into play.
- Ignoring counterplay: White sacrificed a pawn with b4. Taking on b4 would have given White a winning attack; Black minded his own business and continued the attack with Ng4.
- Queen sacrifice and calculation: Before a sacrifice like Qxg2+, every square the king can go to ("downstairs" and "upstairs") must be calculated to the end. Sacrificing everything except the pieces needed for mate can be called a "perfect combination".
- The quiet move in a mating net: Giving check is not always the fastest way. A quiet move like f5! created two mating threats at once.
Video Commentary
Source: game analysis originally published on Satranç Okulu Market (in Turkish).
