Gloom and Doom

Although I have occasionally been accused of having the demeanor of Mr. Rogers on muscle relaxants, I do have times when I am serious, or even downright gloomy – take the "Update: 8...Qf6" post, for example.

Here is another cautionary tale.

Teterow - geneve
lightning, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4

This move, rather than 6.Qh5+, was originally Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference.

6...Bb4+

This is an odd move, but it reflects an inconvenient fact, that Black has many ways of dealing with the Jerome Gambit, including choosing which piece(s) he wants to return – and in what way.

The move deserves a look, if only because it has been played by dismissive humans ("sure, why not?") and calculating computers.

7.c3 Qh4

How's that for a kick in the head? Just when you were saying to yourself, "Well, at least he didn't play 6...Qh4!?"

By the way, as long as I am mentioning 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf6+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4, it is necessary to correct and update some of what I wrote in "A Pie-in-the-Face Variation" about a year and a half ago.

Today The Database contains 167 games with the 6.d4 Qh4 line. That's 26 games less than I thought that I had in November 2009, but perhaps that is a result of subsequently cleaning up my databases.

Also, 50 of the current games – about 30% of the 6.d4 Qh4 line – are now human-vs-human encounters, as opposed to only 8 (4%) in the original post. White's scoring has dropped from 50% to 29% amongst humans, which is in the right direction, but it is the ridiculously high 74% for all of the games in The Database. (Again, that is the impact of computer-vs-computer games largely selected by the source for White wins.)

8.cxb4

The dynamics of the current position are very similar to that of the position without 6...Bb4+ 7.c3. What that means is that White's best move here after 7...Qh4 has to be 8.0-0. Rybka 3, given 5 minutes per move in "blunder check" mode, further suggested 8...Nc6 9.cxb4 Qxe4 10.b5 Nce7 11.Re1 Qf5 12.Re3 Qxb5 13.Nc3 Qb6 14.Qh5+ Qg6 15.Qc5 b6 16.Qxc7 Qc6 17.Qe5 d6 18.Qg5 h6 when Black has an edge (about 3/4 of a pawn).

analysis diagram







I am not convinced that this is the best path for Black to take, however.

If I were playing the defense, after 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4 8.0-0. I would prefer the as-yet-unplayed 8...Ng4, answering 9.h3 with 9...Be7. Perhaps Rybka downgrades this line a bit because White can exchange Queens with 10.Qxg4.

Anyhow, the text move is very dangerous and Black takes charge.

8...Qxe4+ 9.Qe2

A bit better is 9.Kf1, covering the g2 pawn, but after 9...Qd3+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+ 11.Kxe2 Nc6 Black is clearly better in an uncomplicated game. As it it, the game transposes into this line.

9...Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Nc6

11.Rd1 Nxb4 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Re1 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Rxe1+ 15.Kxe1 d5

16.Be3 Bf5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3

A final slip. 

18...Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 Black resigned

Looks like there is more work to be done on the 6...Bb4+ variation. With wins in The Database by Jerome Gambit Gemeinde members Darrenshome, HauntedKnight, jfhumphrey, stretto, Teterow, yorgos and, of course, Bill Wall – there is plenty of hope.