Art of Attack in Chess Book Club C1 Part 1 The Attack Against the Uncastled King

Chapter 1: The Attack Against The Uncastled King. Part 1

(in this chapter,VV teaches mainly through game examples)


Mate against the uncastled king is often seen in amateur playing against a stronger player who has failed to castle at the right time. The initial position of the king before it castles contains two main weaknesses. One is that it is exposed if the e-file is opened up; the second is that the square f7 in Black' position (f2 is the corresponding weak point for White) is vulnerable, since it is covered by the king alone.



The Attack Along The e-File



Conditions for an e-file attack is 1) the opponent's king should be on that file, and that for some reason it is impossible or difficult for it to move away. If all the adjacent squares are occupied by the king's own pieces or controlled by the opponent's, its escape is absolutely impossible. If the player is simply being prevented from castling but other squares are not covered, the movement of the king is only relatively restricted . It can move at the cost of losing the right to castle. Castling can also be thwarted indirectly if the king has to guard one of the pieces which is protecting it.



The second condition for an attack of this kind depends on the attacker's situation 2)the e-file is open or can be opened by the attacker . The attacker needs to have a major piece (rook or queen) on the e-file . It is often necessary to strengthen pressure on the e-file, doubling rooks or by attacking one of his opponent's pieces which is on the file and protecting the king. The opponent tends to have a chain of defense and the attack is carried out against the central unit of the chain (that is the piece protection the king)


If this piece is on the square directly in front of the king (e7 or e2) the attacker may be able to mate by capturing it with his queen (or rook), i.e. by making the square into the focal point. An attack on the e-file tends to occur most frequently at an early stage of the game.

The following games are the examples for attacking on the e-file. (the f7 attacks to follow in another installment)

Pins to the King and a Mating Focal-Point play a big part in the following game.

Meesen Muller pg15

Sometime the problem to be solved is how to open the e file as in the Chigorin Burns Game

Chigorin and Burn



Vienna Gambit


A Famous Steinitz Game