Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (12)

Searching for improvements in play against the ...Ng6 defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), the computer grabs a pawn – and has to struggle mightily not to fall to a crushing counter-attack.
Crafty 19.19 - RevvedUp
blitz 2 12, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+Ng6


7.Qxc5 Nf6 8.0-0


Crafty 19.19 prefers safeguarding the King over protecting the King's pawn, as 8...Nxe4 could be met with 9.Qd5+
8...d6 9.Qe3 Rf8


Likewise, RevvedUp castles his King by hand.

The alternative Rook placement on the e-file has been seen: 9...Re8 10.d3 ( 10.Nc3 d5 11.d3 d4 12.Qf3 dxc3 13.bxc3 Ne5 14.Qg3 g6 15.Bg5 Kg7 16.Qh4 Rf8 17.f4 Nf7 18.e5 Nxg5 19.exf6+ Kg8 20.fxg5 Bf5 21.Rfe1 Rf7 22.Re5 Qd6 23.Qd4 Qa6 24.Rae1 Qxa2 25.c4 Qxc2 26.Re8+ Rf8 27.f7+ Kxf7 28.R1e7+ Kg8 29.Qg7 checkmate, blackburne - Sir Osis of the Liver, www.chessworld.net 2008) 10...Ng4 ( 10...d5 11.f3 Bd7 12.Qf2 Kg8 13.Bg5 Bb5 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Nc3 Bc6 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxb2 18.Nxc7 Rec8 19.Nxa8 Rxc2 20.Qg3 Qd4+ 21.Kh1 Qxd3 22.Qb8+ Nf8 23.Qxb7 Qg6 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Rg1 Qc6 26.Rab1 Rc3 27.Qf7 Qxa8 28.Rb7 Ra3 29.Qxg7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher -MoonCat, FICS, 2007) 11.Qe2 Qh4 12.h3 N4e5 13.f4 Nd7 14.Nc3 c6 15.f5 Nge5 6.d4 Nf6 17.dxe5 Black resigned, Schlenker - Sfrd, from Randspringer

The thematic 9...d5 was also possible.

Now Crafty 19.19 goes pawn-hunting, allowing RevvedUp to unleash a powrful attack.

10.Qb3+ Be6 11.Qxb7 Kg8 12.Nc3 Ng4 13.h3 Nxf2 14.Rxf2 Rxf2 15.Kxf2 Qh4+ 16.Kg1 Rf8 17.Nd1

As I've mentioned (see "Jerome Gambit: Don't open that door!") sometimes when I play over a Jerome Gambit game, I secretly root for Black... Here RevvedUp is pounding his adversary (who is rated over 1,000 points higher than he is).
17...Bxh3

It was not obvious at blitz speed that Black had a mate-in-9 here: 17...Nf4 18.Qa6 Qg3 19.Ne3 Nxh3+ 20.Kh1 Qe1+ 21.Nf1 Rxf1+ 22.Qxf1 Qxf1+ 23.Kh2 Nf4 24.Kg3 g5 25.d4 Qxg2 checkmate. He still has the better game after the text, though.
18.Qb3+ Be6

A humorous echo of move 10! However, after the safer 18...Kh8 the computer cannot escape mate.

19.Qxe6+ Kh8 20.d3 Qe1+
21.Kh2 Qxd1

Good enough for the win, but 21...Rf1 instead was crushing.

22.Qd5 h6 23.Qe6 Rf1


Tough guy! Why not sac a piece?

24.Qxg6 Rh1+ 25.Kg3 Qe1+ 26.Kg4




26...Rh4+
Arrrgh! How unfortunate: 26...Qf2, hemming in the enemy King and threatening the pawn at g2 was the move that still won.
But this is blitz, and such things happen.
Crafty 19.19's King can escape – into enemy teritory – and RevvedUp is done for.

27.Kf5 Qf1+ 28.Ke6 Qf8 29.Kd7 Rh1 30.Kxc7 Qe7+ 31.Kc6 Rf1 32.Bg5 Qf8 33.Rxf1 Qxf1 34.Be3 Black resigns