Hurry! (You first...)

The standard advice when your opponent is low on time is to take your time and play good moves. Good moves will cause your opponent more problems, and cause him to take even more time, or force him into making bad moves.

The temptation is great, however, to blitz an opponent who is short on time. I think that this is what happened in the following game, when Black should have spent a bit more time on his own moves instead of trying to hurry me and mine.

perrypawnpusher - HGBoone
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

I had forgotten at the time of this game, but HGBoone and I had played twice previously, both games being Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambits: perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 27) and perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 46)

4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qf6

10.Nc3

I played 10.0-0 previously, in  perrypawnpusher - TJPOT, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48) and perrypawnpusher - LeiCar, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 25). 10.d4 was an option of about equal strength.

10...b6

Instead, the more prudent 10...c6 was my opponent's choice in perrypawnpusher - pitrisko, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 28).

11.Nd5 Qd8 12.0-0

White could grab a pawn, instead, and have a roughly equal game after 12.Qc3, e.g. 12...Kd7 13.Qxg7+ N8e7 14.d4 Bb7 15.Nf6+ Kc8.

The text move is okay, but it shows the shallowness of my planning.

12...Bb7 13.f4 N8e7 14.f5 Ne5

15.d4

This is the standard Knight-kick, but 15.f6 was probably better.

15...Ng4 16.Qe2 h5

Black has aggressive intentions, or else he would have played 16...Nf6.

17.Nf4 a5 18.Ne6 Qd7 19.Nxg7+ Kd8 20.Nxh5

Knocking the prop out from under the advanced enemy Knight.

My time was getting short, and I noticed that a few times my opponent replied almost instantly. His next move was too quick.

20...Nf6

Bad. I had expected the straight forward 20...Rxh5 21.Qxg4.

21.Nxf6 Qc8 22.Qg4 Ba6

At long last my opponent gets to play a move that he had planned for when my Queen and Rook were on the same diagonal.

23.Re1

Stronger was 23.Qg7, now or on the next move.

23...Rf8 24.e5 Nxf5 25.Bg5 Ne7 26.Qxc8+

I think this surprised my opponent, the idea that I would swap Queens in the middle of an attack; but I figured that the Bishop pin was enough to win. I did not want to waste too much time figuring out better alternatives that also won.

26...Rxc8

The rest of the game is just the playing out of White's advantage.

27.Nd5 Re8 28.exd6 cxd6 29.Bxe7+ Rxe7 30.Nxe7 Rxc2

31.Nf5 Bb7 32.Ne3 Rxb2 33.Reb1 Re2 34.Re1 Rd2 35.d5 Rd3

Black is down a Rook. Winning the d-pawn will only un-complicate the game further for White by removing the minor pieces.

36.Rab1 Kc7 37.Kf2 Rd2+ 38.Re2 Rd4 39.Rc2+ Kb8 40.Rxb6 Rf4+ 41.Kg3 Re4 42.Kf3 Rb4 43.Rb2 Rxb6 44.Rxb6 Ka7 45.Rxd6

45...a4 46.Ke4 a3 47.Ke5 Ka8 48.Rd8+ Ka7 49.d6 Bc6 50.d7 Kb7 51.Kd6 Bb5 52.Rh8 Bxd7 53.Kxd7

53...Kb6 54.Rh5 Kb7 55.Nc4 Kb8 56.Rb5+ Ka7 57.Kc7 Ka6 58.Nxa3 Ka7 59.Ra5 checkmate

Deus ex Chess Clock

When I play through Jerome Gambit games by Bill Wall or Philidor 1792, I imagine a hero emerging, unscathed, from the center of whirling, churning chaos...

When I play the Jerome Gambit, though, it is a lot more like riding in a car that is careening out of control, heading for a cliff - and, if I am lucky, I can jump out in time...

Something like the following game.

perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ 

My opponent has faced this opening a few times earlier, and may not have been impressed:

6.0-0 Rf8 7.Nd5 Kg8 8.d3 h6 9.Nh4 Nxd5 10.Nf5 Nde7 11.Nxh6+ gxh6 12.Bxh6 Rf6 13.Bg5 Rg6 14.Qh5 Qf8 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Qxe5 Bd6 17.Qb5 Qh6 18.h3 b6 19.Rae1 Qg5 20.g3 Qxb5 White resigned, maharishi - OudeKwakkelaar, FICS, 2006; and
6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.d3 d6 8.0-0 Rf8 9.Nd5 Nxd5 10.exd5 Nd4 11.c3 Nf5 12.Nxh7 Rh8 13.Qh5+ Ke7 14.Bg5+ Kd7 15.Bxd8 Rxd8 16.Qf7+ Black resigned, BurtForFun - OudeKwakkelaar, FICS, 2012.

6...Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4

This is a slight improvement over our earlier game, which continued with 7...d6, in perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (½-½ , 62).

8.Qxd4 Qe7 9.0-0 

This is a little bit better than 9.f4 as in perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 27); but 9.Bg5, which I played next move, is probably best. 

9...Re8 10.Bg5 Qd6 

The prudent 10...Kg8 was seen in perrypawnpusher - BigKalamar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 49).

11.Qe3

I just knew that after the game Houdini was going to scold me for not playing 11.Qxd6 and it did, suggesting 11...cxd6 12.Nb5 and Black has an edge, which he keeps, of course, after 12...Rg8 13.f4 Nc4 14.b3 Nd2 15.Nxd6+ Ke6 16.Rfe1 Kxd6 17.Rad1 h6 18.Rxd2+ Ke7 19.Bh4 g5 20.fxg5 hxg5 21.Bg3 b6. 

Now my game is headed for a cliff...


11...Neg4 12.Qh3 h6 13.Bh4 Qc5 14.Qd3 Qh5

Black would have done better with 14...d6, but Houdini still says that White has very little for his sacrificed piece. 

15.Bg3 d6 16.f4 

Here, however, Black forfeited on time.


Once again, White is saved by the Jerome Gambit's "secret weapon".

Not Quite A Work of Art

The following game is a sloppy effort by both players, showing that playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) at club level – and in a blitz game, at that – is only one of many factors that go into deciding who wins a contest.


perrypawnpusher - HGBoone
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5

The Italian Four Knights Game.

5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6

A typical set-up: White has the two central "Jerome pawns" and Black has the extra piece.

9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd3 Re8

11.0-0 a6 12.Bd2 b6

A slip that both White and Black overlook for a move.

13.Rae1 a5 14.Qc4+

14...Kf8 15.Qxc6 Ba6 16.Rf2 Ng4

For a change, a Black Knight goes to this square to harass a Rook, not a Queen.

17.Rf3 Rb8 18.Nd5 Bb7 19.Qxc7 Qxc7 20.Nxc7 Rxe4 21.Rxe4 Bxe4

White is slightly better – which means little in a club game. I worked to consolidate my position.

22.Rg3 Nf6 23.c3 Rc8 24.Ne6+ Kf7 25.Nd4 d5 26.Nf3 h5

27.Ne5+ Kg8 28.Be3 b5 29.Bd4 h4 30.Rf3

This was a mouse-slip, losing the exchange.

My strongest "play" at this point was to move my pieces frantically and hope for some sloppy over-confidence by my opponent...

30...Bxf3 31.Nxf3 Nh5 32.Nxh4 Nxf4 33.Kf2

Better was 33.Nf4

33...Nd3+ 34.Ke2 Nxb2 35.Nf5 g6

Thinking only about the pawn that has been attacked twice.

36.Ne7+ Kf7 37.Nxc8 Nc4 38.Nb6 Ke6 39.Nxc4 dxc4

40.Bb6 a4 41.a3 Kd5 42.Ke3 b4 43.cxb4 c3 44.Kd3 Kc6 45.Be3 Kb5 46.Kxc3 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Those Jerome Pawns, Again (Part 1)

My latest Jerome gambit game started out in a rather organized fashion. It was only when things got messy that I was able to wrestle a better position from the hands of a prepared and well-motivated opponent. 

The passive Rook sacrifice at the end of the game allowed the "Jerome pawns" to shine, again.

perrypawnpusher - ManWithABigPlan

2d/move, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. 

The line always makes me feel uneasy, although I generally do pretty well - The Database has 65 games with White scoring 75% - this is not as good as my results with the main line Jerome Gambit - 81% - or the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit - 88%.

5.Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 

Black has a piece for a pawn. He is well-placed to castle-by-hand.

White has the typical Jerome strategems: he can castle either Kingside or Queenside, he can play Bc1-g5 with pressure on f6, he can advance his pawn f2-f4.

The text move is probably the strongest response.

I have also seen

8...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, 6 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 27), perrypawnpusher - BigKalamar, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 49), and perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar, 2 10 blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 16); and

8...Re8 in perrypawnpusher - hklett, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 20), perrypawnpusher - KaZC, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2 - 1/2, 61),  perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36),  perrypawnpusher - JoseSoza, Italian Game Tournament, Chess.com, 2012 (0-1, 34), and perrypawnpusher - spince, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2014 (0-1, 41), 

9.O-O 

After the game, Stockfish 13 showed a slight preference for 9.Bf4 and 9.Bg5. I never considered the first move - although I now see that the early Jerome Gambit enthusiast yorgos played it 10 times, scoring 50%, a dozen years ago. I have played the second move once, in perrypawnpusher - wuolong, Chess.com, 2013 (1-0, 16). 

9... Re8 10.Bg5 c5 

Striking out at the Queen like this always seems anti-positional to me, leaving a hole at d5, but it has been successful in a number of past games.

I have also faced

10...Kg8 transposing to perrypawnpusher - hklett, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 20) above, and 

10...Be6, in  perrypawnpusher - andrewLLL, Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020 (1-0, 39). 

11Qd2 Kg8 12.f4 Nf7 

Black removes his Knight from attack by the pawn, protects the d-pawn and attacks the Bishop at g5. It is hard to find another move that does that much work.

Now I was ready to complete my development, and was not afraid of a possible ...Nxg5, as that would open up the f-file for my Rook and place an annoying pawn at g5.

[to be continued]

A Long Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit

The following game shows White surviving his unsound opening, moving gradually to an even position; later, taking advantage of Black's tactical slips to obtain an advantage; later, still, mis-playing his advantageous middlegame into a better endgame; and, further, almost frittering that endgame advantage away... before winning. 


perrypawnpusher - strobane
blitz, FICS, 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qf6 10.Nc3 

Or 10.d3 as in Wall,B - G3LC, Playchess.com, 2011 (1-0, 22); or 
10.0-0 as in perrypawnpusher TJPOT, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48) and perrypawnpusher - LeiCar, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 25); or
10.d4 as in guest2199 - guest401, ICC, 2004 (1-0, 87) and mrjoker - Igor77, ICC, 2008 (1-0, 70). 


10...N8e7 


Also played: 10...c6 in perrypawnpusher - pitrisko, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 28); and 10...b6 in perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, blitz, FICS 2011 (1-0, 59).


This is familiar territory, so the moves are coming relatively quickly, which is useful in blitz. 


11.0-0 Rf8 12.d4 Kf7 

Black castles-by-hand. The game is sliding toward roughly equal. 


13.f4 Kg8 14.f5 Nh8 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Qb6 

A reasonable, even scientific idea: exchange Queens to blunt any possible White attack; and consider returning a piece for the "Jerome pawns" with an even game.


17.g4 Qxe3+ 18.Bxe3 Bd7 19.Bc5 Rae8 20.f6


After the game,  Rybka 3 preferred 20.e6, but at the time that looked too static for me.


20...gxf6 21.exf6 Bxg4 

I am guessing that this was just a blitz oversight. 


22.fxe7 Rf5 23.Rxf5 Bxf5 24.Rf1 Bg6 

Okay, the advanced "Jerome pawn" has become quite powerful. Take a few moments to plan out White's winning plan.


25.Rf8+ Kg7 26.Bd4+ Kh6 27.Rxe8 


IF you saw 27.Nd5, headed to c7 or f6 to harass the Black Rook and fight for the e8 square, good for you. 


27...Bxe8 28.Bxh8 Kg6

A piece ahead, I was happy with my game, but I never really developed a "winning strategy" from this point, so the game soon turns into an oddly psychological wander.


29.Bd4 Kf7 30.Bxa7 Kxe7 31.Nd5+ Kd6 32.Nf6 Bg6 33.Be3 Bxc2 34.Kf2 c6 35.Kf3 Ke5 36.Ng4+ Kf5 37.Nf2 Bb1 38.a3 Ba2 39.Nd3 Bd5+ 40.Kf2 h5 

Ideas for White? Now 41.Bb6 would put a nice cramp on Black's position.


41.Nc5 


I had decided that the only thing that I could do with my extra piece would be to exchange it for two pawns. That would leave me in a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame, and I would have to use my knowledge, skill and experience there to make something of the drawish situation.


That would be a pretty sad outcome for what seems to be a "won" game.


Black's next move introduces another possibility: White can work to advance his a-pawn and create a passer. I overlooked that possibility totally.


41...b5 42.Kg3 Kg6 43.Kh4 Bf3 44.Nd7 Kf5 45.Nb8 Kg6 46.Na6 Kf5 47.Nb4 Kg6 48.Bd2 Kf5 49.Nxc6 Bxc6 50.Kxh5 Bg2 

Here is a rather annoying thought for White: even if he were able to create a passed a-pawn with b2-b3 and a3-a4 (something that Black can prevent by either covering b3 or getting his Bishop to d1 in a timely fashion) leaving himself with two Rook-pawn passers, Black could afford to sacrifice his Bishop for the h-pawn, as this would leave White with a drawn RP + Bishop of the wrong color endgame!


51.h4 Bf3+ 52.Kh6 Ke5 53.Kg6 Be4+ 54.Kg5 Kd5 55.h5 Kc4

A very surprising slip after 30 decent moves of defense. Black's King and Bishop were doing a good job of defending against White's hopes to advance his h-pawn. Now the monarch goes too far away, to attack pawns that are easily defended.


56.h6 Kb3 57.Bc3 Bh7 58.Kf6 Be4 59.Kg7 Bd3 60.h7 Bxh7 61.Kxh7 

61...Kc4 62.Kg6 Kd5 63.Kf5 Kc4 64.Ke4 Kc5 65.Bb4+ Kb6 66.Kd4 Kc6 67.b3 Kb6 68.Kd5 Black resigned