Showing posts with label Alekhine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alekhine. Show all posts

Monday, October 7, 2019

A GM Faces the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)

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How many players of grandmaster strength have faced the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)?

I can think of Joseph Henry Blackburne, author of the notorious 1884 dismantling of the opening.


(Please, let's not revisit the "urban legend" that Alekhine lost to the Jerome. Thank you.)


Of course, if we step outside the main lines and include the Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (otherwise known as the Noa Gambit, or the Monck Gambit- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ - then we can add , Charousek, Euwe, Lasker, Marco, Marshall, Tarrasch, Teichmann, and Zukertort, for starters.


For today, let's not go there, either.


Still, I have just learned of a Jerome Gambit, played at bullet speed, online, against a grandmaster.


Let me share some recent exchanges of email with the legendary Australian "Cliff Hardy", player of the white pieces. There will be some move references, but do not let them distract you - I will be presenting the game, with annotations, in due time.

Hi Rick! 
Sorry to inundate you with another game but, after playing the Jerome Gambit for years, I finally got my first chance to play a Jerome Gambit against a GM! It was GM Yasser Quesada Perez, from Cuba.  
Unfortunately, I didn't win ðŸ˜­... 
Because GM Quesada Perez is quite new to Lichess - our game was only his 15th bullet game on the site - his bullet rating on Lichess is comparatively low for his standard of chess (his standard FIDE rating is much higher at 2572) and so I expect it will soon probably go a lot higher than it was at the time of this game.
Of course, I replied quickly
Hi, Cliff, 
Very glad to receive your game against Quesada Perez! 
Certainly provides one answer to the question "How would a GM respond to the Jerome Gambit??" 
Of course, it still leaves unanswered things like "How can you play such a coherent game with 1 second a move thinking time?" 
I have been going over the game, and will try to treat it with both a sense of respect and wonder when I post it on my blog - with you, your opponent, and my good pal, Stockfish 10, playing way over my head, it's a bit of a challenge to make sense of, and then share with readers. But, that's the whole point, I guess. 
[Black's 9th move] gave me a chuckle. It's a novelty, according to The Database, although your game later could transpose into a couple of online games from 2017. I can imagine the GM thinking: The only thing wrong with my position is that White may think he has an attack; so, let's exchange queens, and the rest will work itself out. No need for concrete analysis, especially in a bullet game.
Chances are, similar thinking produced [Black's 6th move]. It would be scary think a GM actually had a refutation to the Jerome Gambit in his repertoire. Most likely he thought (or just reacted) he'd settle for something reasonable, and figure the rest out later. I have seen that kind of thinking in numerous defenses to the Jerome - but the players were not super strong, and the "figuring" was much less effective.Stockfish 10 raises it's eyebrows only at [Black's 17th move], and its recommended followup for White is complicated and not at all clear to me, at least at this point - reaching =/+ in some lines, which has got to be the same as "=" in a bullet game (unless I'm playing, when it would be "-++" )
Nice game. Good to see you taking it to "the man". I mean - why not? I would do the same - although the comment was never truer than, for me, "After 1.e4, White's game is in its final throes". 
Thanks for sharing. 
I hope to learn more, and it'll show up in the blog. 
Rick
And Cliff came back with
Hi Rick! 
I was initially afraid you might not want to see the game, as it was a loss where I never really even got a great position, but I was quite excited to finally get a chance to play a GM with the Jerome. I was also quite glad I didn't botch it by just hanging a queen on move 8 or so ðŸ˜‰. 
Yes, I think he made it all up because he seemed to spend a bit more time on the first few moves. Now that Lichess shows move times, I can see that he took a "whopping" 2.0 seconds to play [his 6th move] 😉 , so it was one of his slowest moves in the game ðŸ˜‰. He spent even longer on [his 9th move]  (2.9 seconds on that move) so I guess he was trying to work out some sort of defence that would work best for him, like you said. Unfortunately, I tried to move too quickly and played [my 10th move] there - although who knows, technically [an alternate 10th move] is not that much better a move anyway... 
Yes, I noticed with the analysis that the computer didn't like [Black's 17th move] - but that was way over my head too! ðŸ˜‰ It was good fun to try against the GM and I will try to remember to throw in [the alternate 10th move] next time [his 9th move] is played. 
Also, it shows how there are so many GM's in the world - there's always some you've never heard of - or, at least, I'd never heard of this guy before this game! 
Bye
Me


[To be continued...] 

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Jerome Gambit: Worst vs Best (Part 4)

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So far: no confirmation of a Steinitz loss to the Jerome Gambit; very likely a win by Lasker against the Jerome, but the game is unfindable - and, what about Alekhine facing the Jerome Gambit?

I turned to my trusty Big Database, did a position search with a White pawn on e4, a Black King on e8, and a White Bishop on f7. This turned up a number of games, only one of which comes near to what we are looking for.

Alekhine, Alexander
NN2 - Alekhine, Alezander, Kislovodsk, 1907

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Ne5 6.Bxf7+ Nxf7 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qxd4 Nf6 11.Nc3 h6 12.Nb5 Nxe4 13.Bxh6 Rxh6 14.Qxe4 Qg5 15.Qc4+ Be6 16.Qxc7+ Kg8 17.Qxd6 Bc4 18.Nc7 Rd8 19.Ne6 Qa5+ 20.
b4 Rxd6 21.bxa5 Rxe6+ White resigned

Alas, this is an example of  the Sarratt Attack or the Vitzthum Attackwhich has a lot of action going on at f7, and whichI have looked into in this blog as a possible precursor or inspriation to the Jerome Gambit.

Of course, The Database does have a couple dozen Jerome Gambit games by "AAlekhine", but those are from 2007 and 2008, by an online player playing in Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments at ChessWorld.net

Saturday, November 17, 2018

No Way A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit! (Part 1)

Readers of this blog have seen a lot of creative and historical coverage of the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, and related openings, such as the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+In addition, there have been explorations of "proto-Jerome Gambits" - earlier lines of play that might have inspired Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to create his opening. 

One such Jerome Gambit "relative" was showcased in "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1 & 2)", highlighting the game Albin,A - Schlechter,C, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament Vienna, 1914. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, which easily could have been a transposition from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6, a "modern" (no 5.Nxe5+) Jerome Gambit.

White's 4th move was anticipated at least by James Mason, who, in the August 1895 British Chess Magazine, gave a game “played recently by correspondence between Brandfort and Bloemfontein, South Africa” which went 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qe2 d6. Mason suggested the move 4…Nf6, because “there would be plenty of time to play the Pawn - perhaps two squares instead of one. For, as the Cape Times remarks, if White adopts the ‘Jerome Gambit’ 5.Bxf7+ Black replies 5…Kxf7 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4 with advantage.”

The Salvio Gambit (see"The Salvio Gambit??" and "The Salvio Gambit?? [more]"), from analysis from the early 1600s, is related: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 and now 3.Qe2 Nf6/Nc6 4.Bxf7+.

It is probably timely to reiterate that I refer to 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ as the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" (see "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" Part 1 & Part 2), not because Alonzo Wheeler Jerome ever played the line, nor Abrahams, as far as I know, but because it was referred to as the Jerome Gambit in The Chess Mind (1951) and The Pan Book of Chess (1965), by Gerald Abrahams.

It is hard to overlook another possible precursor: the game Hamppe - Meitner, Vienna Club, 1872, which begins a little bit like a reversed Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+ and is covered in "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Endnote)".

Another opening with themes akin to the Jerome - with an initial Knight sacrifice at f7 - which may have caught Alonzo Jerome's eye - is the Sarratt Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 usually followed by 5...Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7. Similar (although I occasionally mix them up) is the Vitzthum Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 followed by 6.Qh5. A good review can be found in the post "Capt. Evans Faces the Sarratt Attack".

Then, of course, there was the rumor that culminated in the post, here,"A GM plays the Jerome Gambit??", followed by "Here, have a Bishop..." and "Here, have another...".

That was topped by the rumor that Alexander Alekhine had defended against the Jerome Gambit - see "The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 1 & Part 2)"; and then, sadly "Much Ado About... Nothing".


Oh, oh, oh... Can we get back to the time when a modern, 2700+-rated Grandmaster didn't play the Jerome Gambit??


[to be continued]

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

What does Alpha Zero's win over Stockfish mean for chess?

At the end of a reasonable online discussion at Quora about "What does Alpha Zero's win over Stockfish mean for chess?" I found the following post - I don't quite know what Mr. Gordon is saying, but I love his last sentence...

Ray Gordon
It ushers in a golden age where Alekhine-style positional sacrifices are not as refuted as we had once thought, and that the horizon effect is alive and well for Stockfish at least. I think it's a golden age of chess where even a beginner gets an instant reality check about their ability, unlike the past, where someone who "beat their friends" thought they were international strength. With shorter time controls, the execution of existing theory will replace the creation of new theory. AlphaZero has also shown there is an entire level of sacrifice above what anyone has ever conceived, and that it's actually sound. Would love to see what it does with the Jerome Gambit.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Faster Than A Speeding Neuron


I can understand that playing the Jerome Gambit, or one of its variants, can give a player an edge in a fast tempo game where the defender has little time to analyze (or even recall) lines. Still, the following internet game, played at 0 seconds with a 1 second increment per move is very fast, and the result is sudden and surprising.

tomi36 - SanChess2005
01, lichess.org, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+ 



The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 5.Nxd4 Kxf7 6.Qf3+ Nf6 7.Qh5+ 



Here Black forfeited on time.

I am reminded of the statement of World Champion Alexander Alekhine
The fact that a player is very short of time is, to my mind, as little to be considered an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime.
This game, however, presents more as the players trading (alcoholic) shots until one falls over.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Hey! Wait! Oh, Never Mind...




I've probably spent way too much time fussing about a comment by Fat Lady at redhotpawn.com, referring to a chess game where Alexander Alekhine reportedly defended against a Jerome Gambit - see "Much Ado About... Nothing" - no doubt it is as much an "urban legend" as the CIA killing Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley being in a witness protection program.

The other day I ran into a simultaneous exhibition game by Alekhine, however, and I wondered: could Fat Lady have been thinking about a "reversed" Jerome?? Here we go again...

Alexander Alekhine - Alfred Berman

New York 1 of 26, 1924

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 




This is reminiscent of an offshoot of the "Blanel Gambit" in the Vienna or Bishop Opening, only reversed. For reference:
Max Kuerschner - Siegbert Tarrasch
Nuremberg, 1889 
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Qf3+ (6.Qh5+ Kg8 7.Qe2 h6 8.Ng3 Nc6 9.d3 Nd4 10.Qd1 Bc5 11.Be3 Kh7 12.c3 Re8 13.h3 Qh4 14.N1e2 Nxe2 15.Qxe2 d4 16.Bd2 Bd7 17.Ne4 Bf8 18.0-0-0 Re6 19.Kb1 Ra6 20.Bc1 Be6 21.a3 b5 22.f3 Rb8 23.g4 Qd8 24.g5 Qd5 25.Kc2 dxc3 26.Nxc3 Qb3+ 27.Kd2 b4 28.axb4 Bxb4 29.Qxe5 Ra2 30.gxh6 Rxb2+ 31.Bxb2 Qxb2+ 32.Ke3 Bxc3 33.Qe4+ g6 34.Qxe6 Bd4+ 35.Kf4 Rf8+ 36.Kg5 Qg2+ 37.Qg4 Rf5+ White resigned, Max Kuerschner - Siegbert Tarrasch, Nurnberg, 18896...Kg8 7.Ne2 (7.Ng5 Qd7 8.Ne2 h6 9.Nh3 Bc5 10.Nc3 c6 11.Qe2 Qe7 12.d3 Kh7 13.Na4 Bd6 14.Bd2 Qh4 15.Nc3 Rf8 16.Ng1 Bg4 17.Qe3 Nd7 18.Qg3 Qxg3 19.hxg3 Rae8 20.f3 e4 21.dxe4 Bxg3+ 22.Kd1 dxe4 23.Nxe4 Rxe4 24.Nh3 Bxf3+ 25.gxf3 Rh4 26.Ke2 Be5 27.f4 Bc7 28.Rag1 Nf6 29.Be1 Rh5 30.Bc3 Re8+ 31.Kf1 Rf5 32.Rg2 Bxf4 33.Rf2 Nd5 34.Bd4 Ref8 35.c4 Be3 36.Bxe3 Nxe3+ 37.Ke2 Rxf2+ 38.Nxf2 Nxc4 39.Rc1 Ne5 40.Rc3 g5 41.Re3 Rxf2+ White resigned, Jacques Mieses - Richard Teichmann, match, London, 18957...Be6 8.N4g3 (8.Qb3 Nc6 9.N4g3 Rb8 10.c3 Qf6 11.0-0 h5 12.Re1 h4 13.Nf1 h3 14.Neg3 hxg2 15.Kxg2 Bc5 16.d4 Rf8 17.Qc2 Qf3+ 18.Kg1 Bh3 19.Ne3 exd4 20.cxd4 Nxd4 21.Qd2 Qxg3+ 22.fxg3 Nf3+ 23.Kh1 Nxd2 24.Bxd2 Rf2 25.Rad1 Rh5 26.Bc1 c6 27.Kg1 Rg2+ 28.Kh1 Rf2 29.Kg1 Rg2+ 30.Kh1 Rf2 31.Kg1 Rf3 32.Kh1 Rf2 33.Kg1 Rf4 34.Kh1 Rf2 35.Kg1 Rg2+ 36.Kh1 Rf2 37.Kg1 Rg2+ 38.Kh1 Rf2 39.Kg1 Rf3 40.Kh1 Rf2 41.Kg1 Rhf5 42.a3 Rg2+ 43.Kh1 Rff2 44.Nf1 Rg1+ 45.Kxg1 Rxf1 checkmate, James Mason - Georg Marco, Leipzig GER, 18948...Nc6 9.a3 Qd7 10.h3 Bc5 11.0-0 h5 12.Nh1 Rf8 13.Qg3 h4 14.Qh2 e4 15.d3 Bd6 16.Bf4 Rxf4 17.Nxf4 g5 White resigned.

5.Kxf2 Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6 


Or 6...Qf6+ 7.Kg1 Ng4 (7...Ng6 8.Bc4 c6 9.h3 d6 10.Kh2 Be6 11.Rf1 Qd8 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Qg4 Qe7 14.Bg5 Nf6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.d5 Kd7 17.Rad1 Rhg8 18.dxe6+ Qxe6 19.Rxf6 Qxg4 20.Rfxd6+ Kc7 21.hxg4 Ne5 22.Kh3 Rg7 23.Rf6 Nxg4 24.Rf4 Rag8 25.Rd2 Ne3 26.g4 Nxg4 27.Rg2 Ne3 28.Rxg7+ Rxg7 29.Rf2 Kd6 30.Re2 Nc4 31.b3 Ne5 32.Nd1 Kc5 33.Ne3 Nf3 34.Rg2 Rxg2 35.Kxg2 Ng5 36.e5 Kd4 37.Ng4 h5 38.Nf6 Kxe5 39.Nxh5 Kd4 40.c4 Kc3 41.Kg3 Kb2 42.Kf4 Ne6+ 43.Ke5 Nc5 44.Kd6 Na6 45.b4 Nxb4 46.Kc7 b6 47.Kb7 Nxa2 48.Kxa7 b5 49.cxb5 cxb5 50.Kb6 b4 51.Nf4 draw, Jose Raul Capablanca - S Rakowitz, Manhattan CC, New York, 1922) 8.Qd2 Ne7 9.h3 Nh6 10.Qf2 Qg6 11.Nb5 0-0 12.Nxc7 Rb8 13.Nb5 f5 14.e5 d5 15.exd6 Nd5 16.Bc4 Be6 17.Nc7 Nxc7 18.dxc7 Rbc8 19.Bxe6+ Qxe6 20.Bf4 Nf7 21.Kh2 Qb6 22.Rhe1 g5 23.Be5 Nxe5 24.Rxe5 Qxc7 25.c3 g4 26.hxg4 fxg4 27.Qh4 Kh8 28.Kg1 Qb6 29.Rae1 Qxb2 30.Re7 Qc2 31.R1e4 Qc1+ 32.Kh2 h6 33.Re3 Rc6 34.Qxg4 Rg8 35.Re8 Black resigned, Louis Paulsen - Adolf Anderssen, Baden-Baden 1870; or 

6...Qh4+ 7.g3 Qf6+ 8.Kg2 Ng6 9.Bc4 Qd8 10.Rf1 f6 11.e5 b5 12.Nxb5 Bb7+ 13.Kg1 d6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Qh5 Qe7 16.Bf4 0-0-0 17.Rae1 Qf8 18.Be6+ Kb8 And White announced mate in three moves, Samuel Rosenthal - Robert, Paris, 1874; or

6...Nc6 7.Be3 d6 8.Be2 Nf6 9.Rf1 0-0 10.Kg1 h6 11.Qe1 Re8 12.Qg3 Kh8 13.Rf2 Qe7 14.Bd3 Ng4 15.Nd5 Qd7 16.Rf4 Nd8 17.Rxg4 Qxg4 18.Nxc7 Qd7 19.Nxa8 b6 20.d5 Bb7 21.Bd4 f6 22.Qg6 Bxa8 23.e5 Kg8 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.exf6 Ne6 26.dxe6 1-0 Black resigned, Jose Raul Capablanca - Hermann Liebenstein, New York, 1913

7.Bc4

Or 7.Kg1 N8e7 8.h4 h6 9.h5 Nf8 10.Bc4 d6 11.Qf3 Be6 12.d5 Bd7 13.Be3 Nh7 14.Qg3 Rg8 15.Rf1 Nf6 16.Qf4 Rf8 17.Bd4 Neg8 18.e5 dxe5 19.Bxe5 Qe7 20.d6, Black resigned, Arthur Skipworth - Charles Edward Ranken, Malvern, ENG, 1871. 

7...d6 8.Rf1 Be6

Or 8...N8e7 9.Kg1 0-0 10.Qh5 c6 11.Bg5 b5 12.Bb3 a5 13.a3 Ra7 14.d5 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 c5 16.a4 c4 17.Ba2 f6 18.Bd2 bxa4 19.Bxc4 Ne5 20.Be2 Bd7 21.Nxa4 Qd4 22.Bc3 Qxe4 23.Bf3 Nxf3 24.Qxf3 Qxc2 25.Nb6 Bb5 26.Rf2 Qg6 27.Re1 Nc8 28.Nxc8 Rxc8 29.Qe3 Qf7 30.Qb6 Ba6 31.Qxd6 a4 32.Rf3 Bb5 33.Re6 Bd7 34.Rexf6 gxf6 35.Rg3+ Kh8 36.Qxf6+ Black resigned, Samuel Rosenthal - Dermenon, Paris, 1874; or

8...Qh4+ 9.Kg1 Nf6 10.g3 Qh3 11.Bg5 Bg4 12.Qd2 0-0-0 13.Rxf6 gxf6 14.Bxf6 Rdg8 15.Bf1 Qh5 16.Bg2 Re8 17.Bxh8 Rxh8 18.Rf1 Ne7 19.Qf4 f5 20.exf5 Bxf5 21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.Qxf5+ Qxf5 23.Rxf5 Nb4 24.c3 Nc6 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Rf7 a5 27.Kf2 Kb7 28.g4 a4 29.Kg3 a3 30.bxa3 Ra8 31.Rxh7 Rxa3 32.g5 Rxc3+ 33.Kf4 Rc4 34.g6 Rxd4+ 35.Kf5 Rd1 36.h4 Re1 37.g7 Black resigned, George Henry Mackenzie - James Glover Grundy, New York, 1880

9.Bd3

Or 9.d5 Bd7 10.Kg1 Ne5 11.Bb3 Ne7 12.Bf4 N7g6 13.Bg3 Qg5 14.Qd4 0-0 15.Ne2 h5 16.Bf4 Nxf4 17.Nxf4 Qh6 18.Rae1 a6 19.h3 Rae8 20.c4 g5 21.Nd3 g4 22.Re3 Nxd3 23.Rxd3 f5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Rc3 Re2 26.Rf2 Rxf2 27.Qxf2 gxh3 28.Qh4 Bg4 29.gxh3 Qf4 30.Qe1 Bf3 31.Rc2 Rf7 32.Qe6 Kh7 33.Rg2 Bxg2 34.Bc2+ Kg7 35.Qg6+ Kf8 White resigned, Louis Paulsen - Simon Winawer, Leipzig GER, 1877; or

9.Be2 N8e7 10.Kg1 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Ne4 Nb6 13.Bg5 Qc8 14.Nc5 0-0 15.Bd3 f6 16.Bd2 c6 17.Qe1 Bf7 18.b3 Qg4 19.Qf2 Rab8 20.Rae1 Rfe8 21.Bf5 Qh4 22.g3 Qh5 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.g4 Qh3 25.Nxb7 Nh4 26.Qg3 Qxg3+ 27.hxg3 Nxf5 28.gxf5 Re4 29.c3 h5 30.Rf4 Re2 31.Rf2 Re4 32.Rh2 g5 33.Nd6 Rg4 34.Kf2 h4 35.gxh4 gxh4 36.Nxf7 Kxf7 37.Rg2 Re4 38.Kf3 Re8 39.Rh2 Rh8 40.c4 Nc8 41.Bb4 Rh5 42.Kg4 Rg5+ 43.Kxh4 Rxf5 44.Kg4 Rg5+ 45.Kf4 Rg7 46.Rh5 Nb6 47.Rc5 Rg2 48.Rxc6 Rf2+ 49.Ke3 Rxa2 50.d5 Nd7 51.Rc7 Ke8 52.Bd6 Rb2 53.b4 Nb6 54.Kd3 Rb3+ 55.Kd4 Rh3 56.Kc5 Rc3 57.Kb5 Kd8 58.Rc6 Kd7 59.Bb8 f5 60.Bxa7 Nc8 61.Bc5 Rh3 62.Rf6 Black resigned, Berthold Englisch - Simon Winawer, Paris, 1878; or 

9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Kg1 Nf6 11.Bg5 0-0 12.Qd3 Qd7 13.Bxf6 Rxf6 14.Rxf6 gxf6 15.Rf1 Rf8 16.Qb5 c6 17.Qb3 d5 18.exd5 cxd5 19.Ne2 Kg7 20.c3 e5 21.Ng3 Ne7 22.Nh5+ Kg6 23.Qc2+ e4 24.Qe2 f5 25.g4 h6 26.gxf5+ Rxf5 27.Qg4+ Rg5 28.Rf6+ Kh7 29.Rf7+ Kh8 30.Rf8+ Ng8 31.Qxg5 hxg5 32.Rxg8+ Black resigned, Jose Raul Capablanca - Randolph, New York, 1912



9...Qf6+ 10.Kg1 Qxd4+ 11.Kh1 c6 12.Qe2 Nf6 13.Be3 Qe5



14.h3 h5 15.Bg1 Ke7 16.Bh2 Qg5 17.Rad1 Ne5 18.Bf4 Qg6 19.Qe1 Ne8 20.Ne2

Surprisingly, White misses a chance to play 20.Bxe5 dxe5 21.Nd5!? with an attack.

20...f6 21.Nd4 Rd8 



22.Qb4 Rd7 23.Bxe5 fxe5 24.Nf5+ Bxf5 25.exf5 Qf6 26.Bc4 b5 27.Be6 Rb7 28.c4 c5 29.Qa5 Nc7 



30.Rxd6 

That's more like it. Taking the Rook with 30...Kxd6 allows White's Queen to penetrate the enemy position after 31.Qd2+.

30...Na8

Now Black's position collapses as White's pieces pour in.

31.Rfd1 Nb6 32.Qxb5 Rc7 33.Rd7+ Nxd7 34.Rxd7+ Rxd7 35.Qxd7+ Kf8 36.Qc8+ Ke7 37.Qxc5+ Ke8 38.Qc6+ Kf8 39.Qc8+ Ke7 40.Qxh8 



40...Qg5 41.f6+

Cute. (41.Qa8 was stronger.)

41...Qxf6 42.Qxh5 

Playing to the crowd? More solid was 42.Bd5.

42...Qf1+ 43.Kh2 Qf4+ 44.Kg1 Qc1+ 45.Kf2 Qxb2+ 46.Kg3 Qc3+ 47.Kh2 Kxe6 

48.Qe8+ Kf6 49.Qf8+ Kg6 50.c5 e4 51.Qe8+ Kf5 52.Qf7+ Kg5 53.h4+ Kg4 54.Qg6+ Kf4 55.Qg5 checkmate



Interesting game.

Then, I realized that Fat Lady said "Alekhine played Ke6 and then held onto both pieces", which doesn't sound like a reversed Jerome Gambit, at all. Bummer.

I don't know, maybe he was mis-remembering the internet contest blackburne - AAlekhine, Chessworld, 2007!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Much Ado About... Nothing


It's true.

As I posted before, "The Jerome Gambit Is Going To Drive Me..." (Part 1 and Part 2).

It has been 2 1/2 months and I have heard nothing further from Fat Lady of the online site TimeForChess (also known as RedHotPawn) about the supposed Alekhine Jerome Gambit game...

I will let Readers know if anything ever turns up, but it looks like for now this game will have to join the pile of Jerome Gambit "urban legends", such as the book All or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit by Chaim Schmendrik

By the way, did you hear the one about Grandmaster Larry Christiansen playing the Jerome Gambit at the Internet Chess Club...?



[August 2014 was the 4th most-visited month in the history of this blog - starting in 2008. All four of those top months are within the last year, too - add May 2014, December 2013, November 2013 - showing increasing interest. To our Readers - many thanks - Rick]

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 2)


After my previous post to this blog, I was surprised to discover that my query at TimeForChess - see "The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 1)" - drew quick responses.

First, my post:
Looking for more information about an old post by fat lady:
08 May '06 16:54I think the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5) is quite playable way beyond 1600.
An opening which is much worse, but still better than the one which started this thread, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7 Kxf7 5.Nxe5. I played through a game of Alekhine's once where an amateur tried this against him. Alekhine tried sucessfully to hang onto both the pieces.
WHO can tell me ANYTHING about the game????
Thanks.
Perrypawnpusher


First response:
I suspect that Fat Lady, who was one of the finest posters ever to grace this forum, might have been misremembering this game of Blackburne's: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3 14.gxh3 Be4#
Data Fly

Second response:
Mr. Fine-poster also seems to have mis-remembered black trying to hold on to any pieces, let alone both of them  
BigDoggProblem


But I was most impressed by a return message from Fat Lady,
Hi Perry,
I will have a think and get back to you. My memory of it is that Alekhine played Ke6 and then held onto both pieces, rather than saccing his rooks as per the Blackburne game from 1880. I've got quite a lot of old chess books and magazines and maybe the Alekhine game came from one of them (I certainly can't find it online anywhere). I feel sure it was Alekhine because he is, and always has been, my favourite player.
Best wishes,


Oh, no, my expectations are soaring again!

Is this going to be "the real thing", or another disappointment??

Stay tuned.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 1)


Occasionally, I like to turn to the internet to search for "Jerome Gambit" or "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+", just to see if something new or old turns up. Mostly, I find links to this blog (of course) but occasionally I find games or analysis or comments that are worth sharing. For a recent example, see "Evergreen?"

Sometimes, however, I find references that drive me to distraction. For example, there was the poster, years ago, who referred to the above series of moves as the "Salvio Gambit"...

And I don't know how many times I have been excited to see someone post that the Jerome Gambit is their "favorite" opening - only to contact that person and learn that he or she has not saved any of their games...

Recently, I encountered an old post by fat lady at the TimeForChess website.


08 May '06An opening which is much worse [than the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5) ], but still better than the one which started this thread, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7 Kxf7 5.Nxe5. I played through a game of Alekhine's once where an amateur tried this against him. Alekhine tried sucessfully to hang onto both the pieces.


Really? 

Alekhine playing 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 - my guess as to what was referred to in the "hang[ing] onto both the pieces" line.

Show me the game!

Give me a reference!

An opponent!

A date!

A location!

Anything...

That would be awesome!

I'm afraid that it's not going to happen, though...

Alekhine??

Anyhow, I've posted on the site's forum, and have emailed fat lady. I'm not holding my breath, though waiting for a response.

I don't expect to learn anything more.

Still... I looked in Alekhine's My Best Games of Chess; The Games of Alekhine by Caparrós and Lahde' and Alexander Alekhine's Chess Games, 1902-1946, by Skinner, Alekhine and Verhoeven - just in case.

Sometimes my devotion to the Jerome Gambit truly drives me to distraction.