Battle Fatigue (1)

Slam-bang chess battles can be exhausting, especially when they involve off-beat openings like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). Picking a good move, time after time, builds pressure, and sometimes the result is picking a not-so-good move, simply out of battle fatigue. Here is an example.

Black Puma - Crusader Rabbit

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qf6 7.dxc5 Ne7 8.0-0

8...h5

Or 8...d6 9.cxd6 Qxd6 10.Qh5+ N7g6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Qf5+ Bxf5 13.exf5 Ne7 14.Ne4 Qd4 15.Ng5+ Kf6 16.c3 Qg4 17.h3 Qxf5 18.g4 Qd3 19.Be3 h6 20.Bd4 hxg5 21.Rad1 Qxh3 22.Bxe5+ Kxe5 23.f4+ gxf4 24.Rde1+ Kf6 25.Rxf4+ Kg5 26.Rxe7 Qg3+ White resigned, blackburne - Nestor250168, Chessworld 2007

Or 8...Re8 9.Nc3 Kg8 10.f4 Nc4 11.e5 Qf5 12.b3 Na5 13.Bb2 Nac6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Qf7 16.Qd3 Nb4 17.Qc3 a5 18.Rae1 Nd5 19.Qd4 c6 20.f5 Nb4 21.Qe4 Nd5 22.c4 Nc7 23.f6 g6 24.Bc1 Ne6 25.Bh6 Nc7 26.Bg7 Ne6 27.Bh6 Nc7 28.Rd1 Na6 29.Qd4 Nc7 30.Rd3 Ne6 31.Qe4 Nxc5 32.Qd4 Ne6 33.Qh4 g5 34.Bxg5 Nc5 35.Rg3 Rxe5 36.Bf4+ Kh8 37.Bxe5 Ne6 38.Rf5 d5 39.Rg7 Nxg7 40.fxg7+ Black resigned, savage13 - karmmark, Chessworld 2007

9.f4 Ng4 10.e5 Qh4 11.h3 Nf5 12.Qf3 Ng3 13.Re1 Nh1

Black's counter-attack is quite scary. White can hold on, and even drive back the enemy, according to Rybka 3, with 14.Bd2 Ng6 15.Rd1 Nf5 16.Be1 Qe2 17.hxg4, but that's a computer talking, not a human being.

14.Kxh1 Qxe1+ 15.Qf1 Qxf1 checkmate