In this final tale (for the time being) of the "large centre" in the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, we see Филидор1792 take on a computer program (a version of Crafty) and battle it successfully, right down to the very end...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4
The "big centre."
8...Neg4 9.e5 Bb4 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxh2 12.Kxh2 Nd5
Black has had to give up his wandering Knight, but he remains a piece ahead.
Those who play the Jerome Gambit, however, can see the building blocks of possible future success: an army of pawns to oppose the Knight, Black's uneasy King, and the attacking possibilities for White's Queen and Rooks.
13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qh6 Qg8 15.f5 Ke8 16.f6 Qf7 17.Qg7 Rf8
The "Jerome pawn" chain looks like so much fun, even White's Queen has joined in. But it would be too dangerous for Black to exchange Her Majesty off.
18.c4 Nb6 19.c5 Nc4 20.Rf3 Rg8 21.Bh6 d5
If White were playing a human opponent, I would have written something like It came as something of a surprise that Black could not now play 21...Rxg7 without disadvantage. (I suppose that something "over the horizon" could be a "surprise" to a computer.)
22.exd6 Rxg7 23.Re1+ Kd8 24.fxg7 Bf5 25.Re7 Qxe7 26.g8Q+ Kd7
Филидор1792 is trading tactical blow for tactical blow with Crafty.
His next move, however, allows the computer a chance to draw, while the complicated piece sacrifice (or exchange?) that would come after 27.Qxc4 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 would show his advantage, i.e. 28...Qxh6 29.Qf7+ Kc6 30.Qxc7+ Kd5 31.Qxb7+, but only if he continues to resist capturing the Rook, as 31...Kxd4 32.Qxa8 would allow 32...Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Qh6+ 34.Rh3 Bxh3 and capturing the Black Bishop would allow a perpetual.
The trick for White would be to leave the enemy Rook alone and focus on the enemy King and the remaining "Jerome pawns" with 32.Qb2+.
27.Qxa8 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 Qxd4+ 29.Rf2 Qxc5
This seems greedy to me. Black should be happy to continue checking and score the draw.
30.dxc7 Kxc7 31.Qh8 Kb6 32.c3 Ka6 33.Bg7 Qe7 34.Bd4 Na5 35.Qg8 Be6 36.Qb8 Nc6 37.Qg3 Bc4 38.Rf6 Qe4 39.a3 b6 40.Rf4 Qe2 41.Qh4 Qd2
The game has continued like an epic sword fight in a Douglas Fairbanks movie.
Black's extra pawn may or may not be enough compensation for the lost exchange, and the presence of opposite-colored Bishops makes the position even murkier.
Now White sees a chance to win a pawn and rid the board of the pesky prelates, but he is done in by a Crafty zwischenzug.
42.Bxb6
So that after 42...axb6 43.Rxc4 eases White's task a bit.
Black's response, however, distracts White's Queen, and the tactic fails.
42...g5 43.Qxg5 Kxb6 White resigned
It has to be discouraging to drop a piece for a pawn after all that hard work, and I do not know how much "time" was a factor in the game at this point, but I wonder how "easy" Crafty would have found it to make progress with two pieces vs a Rook and a pawn.
Certainly Black's Bishop can help hold his h-pawn, and the nearness of his King, Knight and Bishop to White's Queenside pawns make White's defense more difficult.
Still, after, say, 44.Qh4 Bd3 45.Qf2+ Qxf2+ 46.Kxf2, it would have been interesting to see this very enjoyable game continue...
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