I am not Bill Wall...

The other day I was hanging around the FICS web site, trying to get in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game or two, or come up with something related to the Jerome Gambit, at any rate.

I wasn't having any luck.

Rats! I thought. If only I were Bill Wall. He gets to sac his King Bishop against almost anything!

Of course, I had my thinking all backward. It took me a few moves to straighten it out.

perrypawnpusher - Alquinte
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6

I was hoping for 4...Bc5, so I could play the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit with 5.Bxf7+.

5.Nc3 Bc5

Here we have the Italian Four Knights Game, where White has added 0-0 and Black has added ...h7-h6.

6.Bxf7+

Here we go! Fortune favors the bold.

I've never played (or even studied) this move, but I figured it had to be an improvement over the sac in the regular Italian Four Knights. (I was wrong: I found out later that in 42 games in the New Year's Database, White scored only 27%!)

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4

Okay, what do we have here? A surprised opponent, and one or two pawns for the sacrificed piece (after I recapture). An uneasy enemy King that I have to attack quickly.

8...Nc6

This helps a bit. Stronger and more straight-forward was 8...Bxd4.

9.dxc5 d6 10.cxd6 Qxd6

11.Qf3

After the game Rybka recommended exchanging Queens and going into the endgame, with Black better. I thought I'd take my chances in the middle game.

11...Nd4 12.Qd3 Bg4

13.f3 Bh5 14.Be3 Nc6 15.Qc4+

15...Kf8

A slip that we both missed at first.

Insisting on exchanging Queens with 15...Qe6  was fine, for example 16.Qb5 b6 17.Rad1 Rhd8 and Black can be pleased with his small advantage – especially since White's "Jerome pawns" aren't going anywhere.

16.Rad1 Qe7

Ouch. Ouch.

Luckily, I had a second chance to wake up.

17.Bc5

17...Qxc5+ 18.Qxc5+ Kf7 19.Nd5 Nd7 20.Qe3 Nb4

This would lose a piece, but I didn't want to be distracted.

21.Qf4+

Leading to mate, although Black could have held out a little bit longer.

21...Kg8 22.Ne7+ Black resigned

This was not a game that "proved" that the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit was "sound" – only that it was fun to play, and at least once, worth the risk.