Polgar 4719

These h3/h6 puzzles are tough! In the book, it showed this as black to play and win, but white can draw!!  White’s saving grace, a check that threatens to put the king and queen on the same file.  In this example we’ll see the perpetual anchor!  Perpetual anchoring is a technique that stronger players use to guarantee the draw and/or muscle small to moderate advantages from stronger players!  In the end, the game is so level that black’s 12 best move choices still leave it as an equal game. 1…¥c8xh3 2.g2xh3 [ If white had been playing more than 200 points down or needed the win, they would have to go in for this inferior continuation or accept the draw.  Be prepared the stronger player would find this line very tempting since castling to opposite sides is always fertile grounds for complications!! 2.¢g1–h1?! ¥h3-g4 3.£d1–b3 0–0–0 4.¥c4xf7 ¦h8-f8 5.¤d2-f3-+] 2…£e5-g3+ 3.¢g1–h1 £g3xh3+ 4.¢h1–g1

There’s the perpetual anchor again! A perpetual anchor is a place that a player can reach in a game where they know the worse that can happen is a draw!  This was what I meant when I said combinational psychology.  If you are playing against someone lower rated or you must play for a win, these are the types of positions that you must avoid.  4…¤f6-g4 5.¤d2-f3 £h3-g3+ 6.¢g1–h1 ¥a7xf2

 This is where the text left off saying black wins. Here, the f1 rook and the bishops combine for some pretty creative defense! 7.¥c4xf7+!! This rolls black into a forced repeating variation. By that I mean that all responses allow the same combo or better. 7…¢e8-f8 [7…¢e8-e7 8.¥c1–g5+ ¢e7-f8 (8…¢e7-d7 9.¥f7-e6+ Now it is black that is in perpetual check!! 9…¢d7xe6 (9…¢d7-e8?? 10.¥e6xg4 £g3xg4 11.¦f1xf2 ¦h8-f8 12.e4-e5 £g4-h5+ 13.¥g5-h4+-) 10.£d1–d5+ ¢e6-d7 11.£d5-f5+=) 9.¥g5-f4 £g3xf4 10.¥f7-h5 ¤g4-f6 11.¦f1xf2 ¤f6xh5 12.£d1–d5 g7-g6 13.£d5xb7 ¦a8-e8 14.¦a1–f1 ¤h5-g3+ 15.¢h1–g1 ¢f8-g8 16.¤f3-d4 £f4-g5 17.¦f1–e1! Diagram

 　17…¤g3-e2+ 18.¢g1–f1 ¤e2-f4 19.£b7xc7 £g5-h6 20.¤d4-e2 £h6-h3+ 21.¢f1–g1= Black must settle for perpetual check!] 8.¥c1–f4 £g3xf4 9.¥f7-h5 ¤g4-f6 10.¦f1xf2 ¤f6xh5 11.£d1–d5 g7-g6 12.£d5xb7 ¦a8-e8 13.¦a1–f1 ¤h5-g3+ 14.¢h1–g1 ¢f8-g8 15.¤f3-d4 £f4-g5 16.¦f1–e1= With no end in sight! Blacks 12 best moves from this position are all equal!! ½–½

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