The Pawn on h6

The game, move by move

A Grünfeld, and both centres

1. 1. d4 Queen’s pawn
2. 1… Nf6 The knight out
3. 2. c4 The second pawn
4. 2… c6 c6, solid
5. 3. Nc3 Developing
6. 3… g6 g6 — the fianchetto
7. 4. e4 The big centre
8. 4… d5 d5, striking at it
9. 5. e5 e5, past the knight
10. 5… Ne4 The knight to e4
11. 6. Bd3 The bishop to d3
12. 6… Nxc3 The knights come off
13. 7. bxc3 Recaptured
14. 7… Bg7 The bishop out
15. 8. Ne2 The knight to e2
16. 8… O-O Black castles
17. 9. cxd5 The centre traded
18. 9… cxd5 Recaptured

The h-pawn walks

1. 10. h4 h4 — the pawn starts walking White has not castled and is not going to. The rook’s pawn goes up the board on move ten with the king still in the middle.
2. 10… Be6 The bishop to e6
3. 11. h5 h5, the second step
4. 11… Qc8 The queen to c8
5. 12. Bd2 The bishop to d2
6. 12… Bf5 The bishop to f5, offering the trade
7. 13. Qb1 The queen steps to b1 Behind her own bishop, so that the trade on f5 happens on White’s terms and the g-pawn has to recapture.
8. 13… Nc6 Developing at last
9. 14. Bxf5 The bishops come off
10. 14… Qxf5 Recaptured with the queen
11. 15. Qxf5 And the queens Fifteen moves in, and there are no queens on the board. Everything after this is a middlegame with a mate at the end of it.
12. 15… gxf5 The pawn has to take back gxf5 — and the pawns in front of Black’s king are now on f5, f7 and h7, with a gap where the g-pawn was.

Queens off, and the pawn stops

1. 16. h6 h6 — and it stops there The pawn reaches the sixth rank and does not move again for the rest of the game. It covers g7, which is the square the black king needs at the end.
2. 16… Bxe5 The bishop takes e5
3. 17. dxe5 Recaptured
4. 17… Nxe5 And the knight takes
5. 18. Nd4 The knight to d4
6. 18… e6 e6, blocking
7. 19. Ke2 Ke2 — the king comes out With no queens on the board this is not a risk; it is the plan. The king walks to d3 and joins in.
8. 19… Nc4 The knight to c4
9. 20. Rae1 The rook to e1
10. 20… Kh8 Kh8
11. 21. Bg5 The bishop to g5
12. 21… f6 f6, hitting it
13. 22. Nxe6 The knight takes e6 Leaving the bishop to be taken. What White gets is the exchange and the black king with no pawn cover at all.
14. 22… fxg5 The bishop taken
15. 23. Nxf8 The knight takes the rook
16. 23… Rxf8 Recaptured

Two rooks on the sixth

1. 24. Kd3 Kd3 — the king is a piece On the third rank, in the middle, entirely safe, and doing more work than either rook.
2. 24… Nd6 The knight to d6
3. 25. f3 f3, quietly
4. 25… Kg8 The king comes back to g8
5. 26. Re7 The rook to the seventh
6. 26… Rf7 The rook defends on f7
7. 27. Rhe1 The second rook to e1
8. 27… Kf8 Kf8
9. 28. R7e6 The rook steps back to e6 Onto the sixth rank beside the pawn on h6. From here it cannot be challenged and it cuts the position in half.
10. 28… Rd7 The rook to d7
11. 29. Rf6+ Check, from f6
12. 29… Kg8 Kg8 — the last square
13. 30. Ree6 The second rook to e6 Both rooks on the sixth rank, side by side, with the pawn on h6 covering g7. Black has one move and it is not enough.
14. 30… Nf7 The knight comes back to f7
15. 31. Re8# Checkmate, on e8 The rook drops onto the back rank. It covers h8 and f8; the pawn on h6, which arrived there fifteen moves ago, covers g7; and h7 and f7 are Black’s own pawn and knight.