White has to stop the h-pawn ? but how?
Bacrot-Kramnik, Paris 2002. White to play.
DK Black has just advanced his rook's pawn, one of my favourite attacking strategies. Why? Because it does not compromise my own king, and the lone pawn can often unlock a defensive position. How should White react to the h-pawn's advance?
RB I do not like White's position here at all. Why are his pieces concentrated on the queenside when Black is so clearly intent on making a direct assault on the kingside? White's last move was Nf3-e1, presumably with the idea of transferring to the queenside via d3, but all it has done is to deplete further the defenders around the king.
My honest thought here? Play the knight back to f3, which will at least deter the h-pawn advance, and then get as many pieces back to the kingside as quickly as possible. If that's too much humble pie to eat, then I suppose 1 h4, again with the idea of halting the enemy h-pawn, though it obviously leaves a gaping hole at g4 and a weak complex of light squares around the king position.
DK The h-pawn has to be stopped, but 1 h4 fatally compromises White's kingside: 1?Bxg3! 2 fxg3 Qxe3+ 3 Kh2 Ng4+ 4 Kh3 Qg1 and mate next move, is the most attractive finish.
1 h3 is also problematic: 1?h4 2 g4 Ne4 3 Nxe4 dxe4 4 Nc2 Bb8, preparing ?Qd6 and White's king is in trouble again.
Ronan's first idea, 1 Nf3, has to be correct: the knight prevents the h-pawn's advance. Seeing the move isn't difficult, but playing the move is. How many of us would have the courage to admit our mistake and return the knight to where it had just come from?
Instead, in the game, White stubbornly continued his plan of undermining Black's centre, but after 1 b5 h4 2 bxc6 hxg3 3 hxg3 Bxc6 4 Nxd5 Qg5 the rook's pawn had done its job perfectly, and the queen was ready to move to the h-file with a deadly attack on the king.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/27/chess-ronan-bennett-daniel-king
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