Starting with yesterday's post, we have been looking at recent (and not-so-recent) games by Philidor1792 against what can generally be called The Annoying Defense to the Jerome Gambit.
The games (those in the notes are as important as the main line) continue from the diagram.
13...Kxe7
Developing a piece while recapturing seems reasonable, although it would not seem to be the case if one reasoned by results alone. If you play the games over, you will see that White simply out-plays his opponent (the final refuge of the Jerome Gambiteer): 13...Nxe7 14.c3 Bh3 (14...Bb6 15.d4 Ke8 16.Be3 Nc6 17.Nd2 Ne5 18.Kd1 Ng4 19.Ke2 Be6 20.Bf4 Kd7 21.Raf1 Raf8 22.h3 Nf6 23.Kd3 Kc8 24.Re1 Nh5 25.Be5 Rf7 26.Rhf1 Nf6 27.g4 Nd7 28.Bg3 Rxf1 29.Rxf1 a6 30.Nc4 Ba7 31.b3 h5 32.Ne3 hxg4 33.hxg4 Bb6 34.Rf3 Nf6 35.g5 Nh5 36.Be5 Kd7 37.Nf5 Rf8 38.c4 Bxf5 39.exf5 c6 40.Ke4 Rf7 41.Rh3 c5 42.Rxh5 cxd4 43.Bxd4 Bxd4 44.Kxd4 Rxf5 45.Ke4 Ke6 46.b4 Re5+ 47.Kd4 b6 48.Rh8 Rxg5 49.Rb8 Rg4+ 50.Kc3 Rg3+ 51.Kd4 Rg4+ 52.Kc3 Rg3+ 53.Kb2 b5 54.Rb6+ Ke5 55.cxb5 axb5 56.Rxb5+ Kd4 57.Rc5 g5 58.a4 g4 59.a5 Rg2+ 60.Kb3 Rg3+ 61.Ka4 Rg1 62.Kb5 g3 63.a6 Ra1 64.Rg5 Ra3 65.Kb6 Black resigned, Philidor1792 - NN, Casual game, 2012) 15.d4 Bb6 16.Kd1 c5 17.d5 Ng6 18.Na3 (18.Re1 Rhe8 19.Nd2 Ne5 20.Kc2 c4 21.b3 cxb3+ 22.axb3 Bf2 23.Re2 Bb6 24.c4 Bg4 25.Re1 Kg6 26.b4 Bf2 27.Bb2 Bxe1 28.Rxe1 a6 29.Bxe5 Rxe5 30.Kd3 a5 31.bxa5 Rxa5 32.Kd4 Re7 33.Nb3 Ra2 34.h4 Ra3 35.Re3 b6 36.Nd2 Rxe3 37.Kxe3 Ra7 38.e5 Kf5 39.Kd4 Ra3 40.Ne4 Be2 41.Nd6+ Kg4 42.e6 Rxg3 43.Nc8 Rd3+ 44.Ke5 Re3+ 45.Kd4 Rd3+ 46.Ke5 b5 47.cxb5 Bf3 48.Nb6 h6 49.Kd6 Kxh4 50.e7 Re3 51.Nc4 Re1 52.Ne5 Bh5 53.b6 g5 54.b7 Rb1 55.Kc7 Kg3 56.b8Q Rxb8 57.Kxb8 Be8 58.d6 g4 59.d7 Bxd7 60.Nxd7 h5 61.e8Q h4 62.Qe3+ Kh2 63.Ne5 g3 64.Nf3+ Kh3 65.Qg1 Kg4 66.Nxh4 Kxh4 67.Kc7 Kh3 68.Kd6 g2 69.Ke5 Kg3 70.Ke4 Kh3 71.Kf3 Kh4 72.Qxg2 Kh5 73.Kf4 Kh6 74.Kf5 Kh7 75.Kf6 Kh6 76.Qh3 checkmate, Philidor1792 - NN, friendly match, 5-minutes blitz 2012) 18...Bg2 19.Re1 Bc7 (19...Rhe8 20.Nc4 Rad8 21.Bg5 Rd7 22.Nd2 c4 23.Kc2 Ne5 24.Re2 Bh3 25.Be3 Bxe3 26.Rxe3 Ng4 27.Ree1 Nf6 28.Nxc4 Nxe4 29.Rad1 Bf5 30.Kc1 b5 31.Ne3 Bg6 32.Ng2 Red8 33.Nf4 Nf6 34.Re5 Ng4 35.Re2 Nf6 36.Re5 Re7 37.Rxe7+ Kxe7 38.a4 a6 39.Nxg6+ hxg6 40.Re1+ Kf7 41.Re6 Rxd5 42.Rxa6 bxa4 43.Rxa4 Rh5 44.h4 Rf5 45.Kd1 Rf3 46.g4 g5 47.hxg5 Nh7 48.Rc4 Nxg5 49.b4 Ne6 50.b5 Ke7 51.Ke2 Rf8 52.Ke3 Rb8 53.Rb4 Kd6 54.Kd3 Kc5 55.Rc4+ Kd5 56.Rb4 Kc5 57.Rc4+ Kd5 58.Rb4 draw, Philidor1792 - NN, friendly match, 5-minutes blitz, 2012) 20.Nc4 Rae8 21.Nd2 Ne5 22.Re2 Bh3 23.Kc2 c4 24.b3 b5 25.a4 a6 26.axb5 axb5 27.Ra7 Re7 28.bxc4 bxc4 29.Ba3 Rd7 30.Rxc7 Rxc7 31.Bd6 Re7 32.Rf2+ Ke8 33.Bxe5 Rxe5 34.Nxc4 Re7 35.Kd3 Bc8 36.Ra2 Rc7 37.Ra8 Kd7 38.Nb6+ Kd8 39.d6 Rc6 40.d7 Kc7 41.dxc8Q+ Black resigned, Philidor1792 - NN, friendly match, 5-minutes blitz, 2012.
14.c3
Or 14.d3 Bh3 15.Bg5+ Kd7 16.Kd2 Rf8 17.Bf4 h6 18.Na3 g5 19.Be5 Rh7 20.Nb5 Bb6 21.a4 c6 22.Nd6 Rf2+ 23.Kc3 Kd8 24.Nc4 Ne7 25.Nxb6 axb6 26.Bd4 Rf3 27.Bxb6+ Kd7 28.a5 Rhf7 29.a6 bxa6 30.Bc5 Black lost on time, Philidor1792 - NN, friendly match, 5-minutes blitz, 2012.
14...Bh3
Or 14...Bb6 15.d4 Nf6 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bxf6+ gxf6 18.Nd2 Be6 19.Rf1 Rae8 20.b3 Rhg8 21.Nc4 Rg4 22.Rf4 Rxf4 23.gxf4 Bxc4 24.bxc4 c5 25.Rd1 Kf7 26.e5 Ba5 27.Rd3 cxd4 White resigned, Philidor1792 - NN, friendly match, without time control, 2012.
[to be continued]
I am sure that everyone who plays the Jerome Gambit has a particular defense that is the biggest pain to play against. For chessfriend Philidor1792, my guess is the 7...d6 defense (so far unnamed, but a great candidate is "The Annoying Defense") is the one.
Philidor1792 has sent another batch of games, and since a good percentage of them are against "The Annoying Defense" I thought I would aggregate them, and a few others, and show them all.
Philidor1792 - NN
friendly match, 5-minutes blitz, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6
Black casually gives back a piece and his uncastled King (annoyingly) remains relatively safe.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Ke7 10.Qg3 Kf7 11.Qxe5
Here Black has several alternatives:
11...Qd6 12.Qh5+ Ke7 13.Qg5+ Kd7 14.Qxg7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Qi,H, Chess.com, 2011;
11...b6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qf3+ Nf6 14.d3 Bg4 15.Qf4 Bd6 16.Qf2 Be5 17.h3 Qd6 18.0-0 Bd4 19.Be3 Bxb2 20.hxg4 Bxa1 21.g5 Ke7 22.Bf4 Qe6 23.gxf6+ Bxf6 24.e5 Bg7 25.Nc3 Raf8 26.Qd4 Qc6 27.Bg5+ Ke6 28.Bf6 Bxf6 29.exf6 Kf7 30.Ne4 h6 31.Rf3 Rd8 32.Qe3 Rde8 33.c3 Qe6 34.Qf4 Qe5 35.Qh4 c5 36.Qh3 Qd5 37.Qg3 Rd8 38.Qf4 Rh7 39.Qc7+ Qd7 40.Qg3 g5 41.Qf2 Kg8 42.Rh3 Qe6 43.Qe2 Qf7 44.a4 Qg6 45.Qa2+ Kh8 46.a5 g4 47.Re3 Rhd7 48.axb6 axb6 49.Qb1 Rb7 50.Re1 Qh5 51.Rf1 Qf7 52.Qc1 Kh7 53.Rf4 Qg6 54.Qf1 Ra7 55.Qe2 g3 56.Rf1 Kh8 57.c4 Kg8 58.Qe3 Kh7 59.Qf3 Rf7 Draw, Wall,B - Redom,T, Chess.com, 2010;
11...Bd4 12.Rf1+ Nf6 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.Qg5 h6 15.Qf4 Qe7 16.d3 Bg4 17.Nd2 Rf8 18.h3 Bh5 19.c3 g5 20.Qg3 Be5 21.Qe3 Bf4 22.Rxf4 gxf4 23.Qxa7 Qg7 24.Qf2 Nd7 25.d4 Kh7 26.e5 Rhg8 27.Kf1 Qg6 28.Kg1 f3 29.g3 Qxg3+ 30.Qxg3 Rxg3+ 31.Kf2 Rg2+ 32.Kf1 Bg6 White resigned, Fritz 5.32 - Junior 7, The Jeroen Experience, 2003.
11...Qh4+ 12.g3 Qe7 13.Qxe7+
The Queen exchange has been Philidor1792's choice, but, years ago, a computer had a different idea: 13.Rf1+ Kg6 14.Qxe7 Nxe7 15.c3 Bh3 16.Rf4 Bd6 17.Rh4 Bd7 18.d4 Rae8 19.e5 Nd5 20.a3 Be7 21.Re4 Bf5 22.Re2 Bd3 23.Rg2 Rhf8 24.Bf4 c5 25.Nd2 Kh5 26.Rc1 Nxf4 27.gxf4 Rxf4 28.Kd1 Rg4 29.Rxg4 Kxg4 30.b4 Rf8 31.bxc5 Rf2 32.h3+ Kxh3 33.Rb1 Bxb1 34.Nxb1 Rf1+ 35.Kc2 Rxb1 36.Kxb1 h5 37.d5 Bxc5 38.d6 Kg4 39.Kc2 h4 40.Kd3 h3 41.Kc4 b6 42.d7 Be7 White resigned, Colossus - Rybka v1.0 Beta.w32, USA, 2006
[to be continued]
Another Bill Wall game, a win with the Jerome Gambit, which leaves observers fuming, "He can't do that, can he?"
Wall,B - Guest2900292
Playchess.com, 19.11.2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qf5+
A different kind of "nudge" than the usual 7.Qd5+. The reason will be apparent in a couple of moves.
7...Qf6 8.Qxc5 d6
or 8...Nf4, Wall, Bill - Tony7, Playchess.com, 2011 (1-0, 48);
or 8...c6, Wall, B - Smith, R., Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23);
or 8...N8e7 Wall, B - Doantaung, Chess.com 2010 (1-0, 18)
9.Qxc7+ N8e7
10.0-0 Be6 11.Nc3 Rac8 12.Qxd6
Not only is White attacking with his Queen, he's gobbling pawns. He can't do that, can he?
12...Qe5 13.Qa3 Rhf8 14.Qxa7 Bc4 15.d3 Be6 16.f4 Qc5+
That's one way to stop White's Queen.
17.Qxc5 Rxc5 18.f5 Nxf5 19.exf5 Rxf5 20.Rxf5+ Bxf5
The smoke has cleared, and White is up three pawns.
21.Be3 Ne5 22.Rf1 Kg8 23.Bc5 Rf7 24.Re1 Black resigned
I cannot tell if my opponent in the following game was so dismissive of the Jerome Gambit that he hardly spent any thought at all on his moves (see "Not Worth One's Full Attention"), or if he was so overwhelmed by it that he could not. Either way, the end came quickly.
(You could check out our earlier game, which showed what kind of creativity we could conjure up when we put both our minds to it.)
perrypawnpusher - wertu
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 Qe7 10.0-0
10.Nc3 and 10.d4 are alternatives, although they all may transpose.
10...Be6 11.f4 Kd7
Cold-bloodedly returning a piece. Probably 11...Bc4 12.d3 Ba6 13.Nd2 Nf6 14.Nf3, which led to an equal game, was better.
12.f5 Bc4
Again, curous. With 12...Bxf5 13.exf5 Qxe3+ 14.dxe3 Ne5 Black could have minimized White's edge.
13.d3 Bxd3 14.cxd3 Ne5 15.d4 Ng4
The eternal lure of attacking the Queen.
16.Qf3 N8f6 17.Nc3 h5 18.Bg5
This is an oversight of its own, as Black now has 18...Nxh2 19.Kxh2 Ng5+ 20.Kg1 Qxg5, picking up a pawn.
After the game Rybka showed how White could complicate things, but it is not a line that I would have thought of over-the-board: 18...Nxh2 19.Qd3 Nxf1 20.e5 dxe5 21.dxe5+ Kc8 22.exf6 gxf6 23.Bf4 Rd8 24.Qxf1 Qc5+ 25.Kh2 Rd4 26.Re1 Qxf5 27.Re8+ Kd7 28.Rxa8 Rxf4 29.Qe1 Qe5 30.Qxe5 fxe5 31.Rxa7 Kc6 when Black has only a pawn for his piece.
18...Rae8 19.Rae1 c6
He still had 19...Nxh2.
20.h3
Finally.
20...Nh6
21.Kh1
Cautious, not wanting to allow the Queen check at c5, but it was possible to survive the move: 21.e5 dxe5 22.dxe5 Qc5+ 23.Be3 and after 23...Qxe5 White has 24.Bxh6 Qxe1 25.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 26.Kf2 Re7 27.Be3 when he has a Queen and a Bishop against Black's two Rooks.
21...Qf7 22.e5 Nd5
Over- or under-thinking the move.
23.e6+ Rxe6 24.fxe6+ Qxe6 25.Rxe6 Black resigned
Scoring 95%+ with the Jerome Gambit, Bill Wall can afford to think of a draw as "losing a half-point". In the following game, his opponent clearly has had enough excitement wandering through the fog of war and goes for the repetition of position, splitting the point.
An honorable draw against Mr. Wall. An honorable draw against Jerome's "Double Gambit".
Little did Black realize that by doing so, he was losing another half point.
Wall,B - Guest2627909
Playchess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d4
One of the "modern" Jerome Gambit lines, instead of the classical 5.Nxe5. For a couple of earlier posts regarding 5.d4, see here and here.
5...Bxd4 6.c3 Bb6
Avoiding 6...Bc5 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 from Wall,B - Guest1366999, Playchess.com, 2011 (1-0, 38)
7.Qb3+ Kf8 8.Bg5 Qe8 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Nbd2 d6
11.a4 Qe6 12.Qc2 h6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nc4 Be6 15.Qe2 a6 16.Nxb6 cxb6
17.Rfd1 Rd8 18.Qe3 Bg4 19.Qxb6 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qxf3
21.Qxb7 Ne7 22.Re1 Nf5? 23.Qb6
23...Qg4+ 24.Kh1 Qf3+ 25.Kg1 Qg4+ 26.Kh1 Qf3+ Draw
This is all well and good, but what if on move 24 (or 26) Black had played 24...Nh4!? instead of suing for peace? Could he really afford to offer a double-Rook sacrifice?? (Did he have the time or the energy or the confidence to look for such a saving line of play?)
White's only choice would be to take one Rook with 25.Qxd8+, but after 25...Kf7 the threat of checkmate keeps him from taking the second Rook. He can try 26.Qc7+, as all but one reply allows him to constantly check as well, but 26...Ke8 is strong. There can follow 27.Qc6+ Kf8 28.Qxd6+ Kg8 and White has pretty much run out of options. He will have to go for 29.Qd8+ Kh7 30.Qxh4 and after 30...Qxh4 Black would clearly be winning.
This all seems to indicate that White should have tried 24.Kf1 instead of putting his King in the corner, although after 24...Qh3+ Black can either pursue repeated checks and a draw with 25.Ke2 Qg4+, etc. or return a piece with 25...Ke7 26.exf5 although the resulting position is likely to be eventually drawn, as well.
My guess, though, is that Guest2627909 was happy with his draw, and might even have felt fortunate to have obtained it.
(I remember a last round game in a long-ago tournament where I had a better endgame against a higher-rated opponent. He suddenly offered a draw, pointing out that I would then be well-placed enough to collect some prize money. We shook, I took a half-dozen steps toward the Tournament Director, and then stopped... By winning the game, I suddenly realized, I would have collected even more prize money. The draw allowed my opponent to cash in, too, while a loss would have left him with nothing.)
For all of the refutations published, here and elsewhere, the Jerome Gambit can still lead a defender into a lost and lonely place, where his King can find danger, and sometimes an ignominious and untimely death.
perrypawnpusher - ibnoe
FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6
This move, which surrenders another piece (7...d6, the Blackburne Defense, is preferrable, and 7...Qe7, the Whistler Defense, is best) is as old as a game from a match between Mexican Champion Andres Clemente Vazquez and American William Harrington, Mexico 1876.
Either Black is unfamiliar with the Jerome Gambit (Quick! Block the Queen's check with a pawn! Yikes! Now my Rook is attacked by the Queen! Block the attack with my Knight!) or he believes that he can calm the opening by returning material, hoping to hold on in a pawn-down position.
8.Qxc5 Nxe4
In the notes to my game perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic, Chessworld.net, 2008 I suggested 8...Nxe4. The earliest example of that move in The Database is Toromic - Achele, FICS, 2001 (0-1, 32).
9.Qd5+ Kf6
My game perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 continued 9...Kg7. In my notes (see "Sometimes a platypus has to do what a platypus has to do...") I suggested "After 10.Qxe4 Re8 11.Qe3 d5 12.0-0 Rxe3 13.dxe3 Bf5 White has Rook, a Knight and a pawn for his Queen. I think simply being a pawn up, with the text [10.0-0], is better." The same goes for 9...Kf6 10.Qxe4 in the current game.
10.0-0
Prudent, getting the King off of the dangerous file (10.Qxe4? Re8), but after the game Fritz 8 suggested the straight forward 10.d3, which simply wins the Knight, as it cannot move or Bg5+ would win Black's Queen.
10...Re8 11.d3 c6
Black would like to chase away the annoying Queen before retreating his endangered Knight (11...Nd6 won't do because of 12.Bg5+). His best chance, found by Rybka after the game, shows how dangerous the position actually is: 11...Re5 12.Qb3! Nd6 13.Qc3 (pinning the Rook) Ke6 14.Bf4 Rf5 15.Re1+ Kf7 16.Bh6! Rf6 17.Bg5. During the game I was looking at 11...Re5 12.Qd4, immediately pinning the Rook, but 12...c5, while still good for White, would have led to messy positions.
12.Qd4+ Kf5
Black does not "believe" in the attack, and wants at least a pawn back for the piece. Instead, he allows the Rook to be pinned after all.
13.dxe4+ Rxe4
14.Qd3 d5 15.f3 Ke5 16.fxe4 Black resigned
Wall,B - Guest1443273
playchess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
I have referred to this as a "calming variation" in the "Nothing Happened" post a couple of years ago. Although it is similar in a way to the "anti-Bill Wall gambit," I don't think that Bill has seen this particular move in any of his games, but remember - he has The Database, and there are 70 examples there.
8.Kxf2 Qh4+ 9.Kf1 TN 9...Qf6+ 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6
The wild, madcap attack from the Jerome Gambit has been cancelled. Black, however, is simply a pawn down, and he is still a long way from the possible drawing chances of a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.
11.Nc3 c6 12.e5 Nh5 13.Ne4 Ke6 14.Ng5+ Ke7 15.d4 Rf8+ 16.Ke1 h6 17.Ne4 g5
Not only does White's Knight eye d6 and f6, we can see the foreboding (for Black) situation of the light-squared Bishop on c8 blocking the Rook at a8, a common behind-in-development feature in "reduced" Jerome Gambits.
18.Bd2 b6 19.Bb4+ c5 20.Nxc5!? bxc5 21.Bxc5+ Ke8 22.Bxf8 Kxf8
White has three pawns and a Rook against a Knight and Bishop. The pesky "Jerome pawns" quickly go to work.
23.h4 g4 24.Rf1+ Kg7 25.c4 Ba6 26.b3 Rd8 27.d5 Re8 28.e6
At first glance this looks like White is simply tossing a pawn, but he has a different idea.
28...dxe6 29.d6 Rd8 30.Rd1 Ng3 31.Rf4 h5 32.c5 Nf5?
Black needed to get the Bishop on the defensive a4-e8 diagonal with 32...Bb5.
33.Ra4 Bb7?
Allowing a nice finish.
34.Rxa7 Rd7 35.Rxb7! Rxb7 36.c6 Black resigned
