Lesson
White to move. Main line: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e4 exd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qd2 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Bd3 Ng4 10. Nge2 Qh4 11. Ng3 Nge5 12. O-O f5 13. f3 Bh6 14. Qd1 f4 15. Nge2 g5 16. Nd5 g4 17. g3 fxg3 18. hxg3 Qh3 19. f4 Be6 20. Bc2 Rf7 21. Kf2 Qh2+ 22. Ke3 Bxd5 23. cxd5 Nb4 24. Rh1 Rxf4 25. Rxh2 Rf3+ 26. Kd4 Bg7 27. a4 c5+ 28. dxc6 bxc6 29. Bd3 Nexd3+ 30. Kc4 d5+ 31. exd5 cxd5+ 32. Kb5 Rb8+ 33. Ka5 Nc6+
Black’s kingside pawns advance with ...f5, ...f4, ...g5 and ...g4 while White’s king has few defenders. The pressure on h2 and the dark squares forces White’s king to begin a dangerous walk.
The centerpiece is 24...Rxf4! 25.Rxh2 Rf3+. Black has surrendered the queen but gains rooks, bishops, knights and forcing checks around the exposed king. Every white attempt to consolidate creates a new line for the attack.
The final checks ...c5+, ...d5+, ...cxd5+ and ...Rb8+ drive the king from d4 to a5. This game is best studied as a network of forcing moves: the queen’s material value is irrelevant when the king cannot escape coordinated pieces.