dsarkar wrote:
(4) After white having played g4, her king has become more exposed, and some restrictions apply to her moves, which were not applicable with her g pawn on g2. Similarly, some tactics are available to black, previously not available with white's g2-pawn intact.
So could she play g3 Kg2 instead and then the regular b5 axb6 Rxb6 Rxb6 Rxb6 Qa2
_valentin_,
(1) h6 is very urgently needed to counteract g4 coming next move, or we lose.
b5 was the diversion that could postpone white's immediate g4 threat, and mobilise our pieces. But analysis revealed it too risky.
(2) after 35.g4 next move, 35...b5 is the only move left for us (partial zugzwang). We have no other moves left to avoid immediate loss. After h6, our chances are only better - after h6 the game has not been magically transformed (from a losing to a drawing game).
35...Kf8 after 35.g4 proves to be just short of being adequate:
35... Kf8 36. h4 Qd7 37. g5 hxg5 38. hxg5 Rxc4 39. Qxc4 Bd8 (39... Bxg5 40.
Qd5) 40.g6
(3) After black having played ...h6, black's backrank threat is gone, and there are some variations that can be played which were previously not possible..
(4) After white having played g4, her king has become more exposed, and some restrictions apply to her moves, which were not applicable with her g pawn on g2. Similarly, some tactics are available to black, previously not available with white's g2-pawn intact.