Greed Is Not Good

In a simple Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game, Black realizes that just as his counter-attack relies on his opponent's greed for success, his own play crashes when he starts looking for "too much."


Ghandy - marlbo
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. White can safely play 4.Nxd4, 4.c3, 4.d3 or 4.0-0 with advantage. He just has to stay away from the complications that come with the greedy 4.Nxe5.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. At best White should only get an even game out of it, but he gets a game where he is attacking, not Black.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5

Recommended as best is 6.c3 (see "Crime and Punisher", "Read This Blog" and "Scared to Death" for starters), but the text can stir up some trouble, especially if Black is greedy.

6...Nxc2+

Going after the big fat Rook at a1. Instead, 6...Nf6 led to a complicated, but better game for Black.

7.Kf1 Nxa1

This seems simple and consistent enough, but 7...Nf6 or 7...g6 were the right way to go. In blitz, though, it can be tempting to grab material and then sort it all out later.

8.Qf5+ Kd6

Already Black has to avoid 8...Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc5 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.a3+ Kb3 13.Ne3+Ka4 14.Nc3 checkmate. This kind of finish should be familiar to those who have read "Instant Victory" and "Instant Victory Redux".

9.Nf7+ Black resigned

Black is losing his Queen, and after 9...Ke7 10.Nxd8 Nf6 (not 10...Kxd8 11.Qxf8 checkmate) 11.e5 Kxd8 12.exf6 Black has only a Bishop and a Rook in exchange – and the safety of his Knight on a1 is not assured yet, to boot.