My Drawn Simultaneous Exhibition Games Against GM Sergey Zagrebelny, GM Viktor Komliakov At 'The Chess Square 2026'

 

My Drawn Simultaneous Exhibition Games Against

GM Sergey Zagrebelny, GM Viktor Komliakov

At 'The Chess Square 2026'

 

(by Yury V. Bukayev)

 

Dear readers, now I'd like to inform you briefly about my two recent Giuoco Piano drawn games against famous Grandmasters in their simultaneous exhibitions in Moscow. The official reports on these events are here: 

https://moscowchess.org/news/19366 

https://moscowchess.org/news/19388

 

Thus, here is the first of these games.

 

GM Sergey N. Zagrebelny  - Yury V. Bukayev

 17-board simultaneous exhibition, Moscow, 2026,

June 27 ('The Chess Square 2026')

 

 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Qc2 c6 15. Nf3 Qf6 16. Qc5 Bf5 17. Ne5 Nd7 18. Nxd7 Bxd7 19. Rad1 Bg4 20. Rd4 b6 21. Qd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 c5 23. Re7 h5 Draw

 

 

And here is the second of these games.

 

 

GM Viktor I. Komliakov - Yury V. Bukayev

  12-board simultaneous exhibition, Moscow, 2026,

   July 05 ('The Chess Square 2026')

 

 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 Nb6 11. Ne4 Be7 12. Bb3 Bg6 13. Bc2 f5

14. Neg5 Qd6 15. Nh4 Be8 16. d4 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 e4 Draw

 

 

We can see interesting gambits in both cases: it were White's pawn sacrifices in the first game (11.Re1, 16.Qc5 etc.), Black's pawn sacrifice in the second game (9...Bh5 etc.), White's "two Knights against Rook+pawn" sacrifice (16.d4) in the second game (16...h6 17.Nxf5 Rxf5 18.Bxf5 hxg5). It isn't wonderful to meet a sacrifice in a Giuoco Piano game. And I think, the role of psychology in maestro Sergey Zagrebelny's and in maestro Viktor Komliakov's sacrifices was little. 

 

 

Finally, let me show you some photos from these simultaneous exhibitions.

 

There is a moment after my move 16...Bf5 against GM Sergey Zagrebelny:

 

There is a moment after his move 19. Rad1:

 

There is our final position:

 

There is a protocol of my game against Grandmaster Viktor Komliakov (Komlyakov) with his signature in it:

 

 

And here are else photos of his simultaneous exhibition (I have finished my game already, and the photographer shows moments after it):

 

 

Jerome Gambit: Chessgames.com Opening of the Day

 

Chessgames.com's Opening of the Day is the Kentucky Opening, aka the Jerome Gambit.

Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: "This Gambit Should Not Work"

 

A YouTube video jem, titled "This gambit should not work 💀":

Jerome Gambit Opening Trap #chess #chessgame #chessopenings

What can I say? Sometimes it does.

Jerome Gambit: Making It All Look Normal

I enjoy the games of International Master Michael Basman, who often start out in an unusual manner, and continued so throughout the game. His latest work was titled U Cannot Be Serious.

By contrast, it is not a surprise when someone plays the Jerome Gambit, making it look, well, normal.

The following game is a good example.

Tom - NN

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ 

The good old "nudge".

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qf6 

It is probably stronger to put the Knight on f6.

On the other hand, if Black were to move his Queen, it might go to h4.

In either event, White still has some work to do to catch up.

10.O-O Bd7 

The computer is generally skeptical when it comes to the Jerome, but that does not stop it from recommending 10...Nf4 11.d3 g5  against it here.

Instead, Black takes a calmer route.

11.Nc3 c6 

To keep the enemy Knight out of d5, where it would attack the Queen.

12.d4 Qe7 13.f4 Nf6 

The "Jerome pawns" take the field. If only Black's King could now castle to safety...

14.e5 

Or 14.f5, also sowing confusion in the enemy ranks. 

14...Ng4 15.Qg3 Rf8 

16.h3 

Kicking the Knight.

Stockfish 17.1 gives a long series of moves, ending up with about an equal game: 16.Ne4 dxe5 17.dxe5 Qh4 18.Qxh4 Nxh4 19.Nd6+ Ke7 20.h3 Nh6 21.f5 Rxf5 22.Nxf5+ N4xf5 23.Bg5+ Ke8 24.g4 Nd4 25.Bxh6 gxh6 26.Rf6.

I am pretty sure that I would kick the Knight, too. 

16...Nh6 17.Bd2 Nf5 

A hard choice: move the Bishop a second time, with 17...Bf5, or chase White's Queen to a more effective square, with the text. 

18.Qd3 d5 

19.g4 Nh6 20.f5 Nh4 21.Bxh6 gxh6 22.f6 

22...Qf7 23.e6 

A slip, but this is a blitz game. (Backing up the pawn, first, with 23.Rae1 was consistent.)

23...Bxe6 24.Rae1 Kd7 25.Ne2 Qg6 

Exchanging Queen now would help the defense, so White declines.

26.Qg3 Qg5 27.Nf4 

27...Bf7 

Black retreats his Bishop and blockades the enemy passed pawn.

What could go wrong?

He still had a route to a draw (by repetition) with 27...Rxf6 28.Nxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxe6 Kxe6 30.Qe1+ Kd7 31.Rf7+ Kd6 32.Qb4+ Ke6 33.Qxb7 Qe3+ 34.Kh2 Qe2+ 35.Kg3 Qe1+ 36.Kh2 Qe2+ 37.Kg3 Qe1+. 

28.Re7+ Kd8 29.Ne6+ Bxe6 30.Qc7 checkmate

Attack on an uncastled King, leading to checkmate. Seems pretty normal to me.

Jerome Gambit: Chesnesia World

 

A short YouTube video at Chessnesia World gets the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) just right, with a board titled "Disrespectful Chess Opening?" and the comment "Genius or Suicide? The Craziest Chess Gambit! #Chess #JeromeGambit #ChessTraps"

For every defender who faces the Jerome Gambit and laughs, there is probably one who takes umbrage that the attacker would ever dare be that disrespectful.

In my games, I have taken advantage of both responses.

Some more on Prince Andre Dadian of Mingrelia and Greco

                                                                  

Sarah's Chess Journal has additional information on Prince Andre of Mingrelia - for starters, see a post here "The Mingrelia Defence: The Jerome Gambit Contravened" as well as the more recent "The Mingrelia Defence Returns (Parts 1 & 2)".

Should you wish a defense to side-step the Jerome Gambit, you are welcome to try the Prince's 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6, or even the thematically-related Greco defense, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6.

 

Jerome Gambit: Not Yet

                                                          

Today, I dropped in, again, to the very informal chess club that meets at a local library every-other-week - with hopes to play a Jerome Gambit.

At one point I noticed that all 4 games being played had a White pawn at d4, a White Knight at c3, and, eventually, a White pawn on e3. Must be a thing.

I had the Black pieces in my game, playing some kind of triangle defense (pawns at e6, d5, and c6) and pretty soon my opponent's pieces were charging toward my castled King like it was giving away free beer.

Fortunately for me, we had castled on opposite sides of the board, and my Queen vigorously pursued and checked his King until a position was reached for a third time, and I claimed a draw.

As he was down the exchange at the time, my opponent was puzzled that I would split the point when I my position was "better". I showed him a few attacking moves that he could make that would have swept my King off the board, and back into the box...

Ah, well, maybe next time.