🌊 Opposite castling: the avalanche

With castling on opposite wings, the game is a race: you launch pawns at his king and he at yours. Here the advancing pawns don't weaken your castle — on the contrary, they're your assault army.

The rules of the race: count tempi, not material. Each move must advance your attack or slow his. The “hooks” (advanced enemy pawns, like h6 or a6) are your targets: your pawn crashes into them and opens the file.

When the opponent blocks the assault with a piece, don't respect it too much: exchange sacrifices (rook for knight or bishop) that keep the avalanche rolling are often the shortest path.

Rule of thumb: if you open a file against his king before he opens one against yours, the race is won.