Curiouser and Curiouser...

My Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) intrusions into various Four Knights Games (see "I am not Bill Wall...", "Bloodied but Unbowed", and "The Adventure Continues") have all had a level of strangeness about them. The following game is no exception.


perrypawnpusher - wertu
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5

The Italian Four Knights Game, via the Two Knights Defense.

5.Bxf7+

I might as well give it a try here. It should come as a shock in a very quiet opening.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

7...Nf3+

I like this move. It's not the strongest one – 7...Bxd4 and 7...Bd6 are stronger – but the text shows that my opponent is thinking and has an interesting plan for  his defense.

I found 7...Nf3+ in 5 games in the New Year's Database. Black scored 80%, in part because in 3 of those games White chose to capture the Knight with 8.Qxf3, scoring 0-3.

8.gxf3 Bb4 9.Bg5

A more solid idea was played by yorgos (who has 517 games in the New Year's Database, scoring 50%) who liked 9.Bd2, preserving the integrety of his Queenside pawns and allowing White to castle long later: 9...Re8 10.e5 Ng8 11.Nd5 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 d6 13.Qf4+ Ke6 14.Nc3 Kd7 15.0-0-0 b6 16.e6+ Rxe6 17.Qg4 Kc6 18.d5+ Kb7 19.dxe6 Qe7 20.Qe4+ Kb8 21.Nb5 Bb7 22.Qe3 a6 23.Nd4 Ka7 24.Nf5 Qe8 25.e7 Bc8 26.Nxg7 Black resigned, yorgos - fogmay, FICS, 2009;

That was a more successful plan than the one he executed a few weeks later: 9.e5 Nd5 10.Rg1 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3+ 12.Ke2 Bxa1 13.c3 Bxc3 14.Qb3+ d5 15.Qxc3 Be6 16.f4 Qh4 17.Qxc7+ Qe7 18.Qc3 Rac8 19.Qg3 Rc2+ 20.Bd2 g6 21.h4 Bf5 22.Qe3 Qe6 23.Qb3 Qa6+ 24.Kf3 Qd3+ 25.Qxd3 Bxd3 26.Ke3 Be4 27.Bb4 Rxa2 28.Rb1 Rc8 29.Rg1 Rcc2 30.Re1 a5 31.Bd6 b5 32.e6+ Kxe6 33.Be5 b4 34.f3 Rc3 checkmate, yorgos - pmackinney, FICS, 2009.

9...h6 10.Bh4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 g5 12.Bg3

There are a lot of "Jerome pawns" gathered together, but wertu plans to fix them in place.

12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.h4

My plan was to let my King hang out on the second rank, behind the pawn wall, while opening up the Kingside for my Bishop and an attack.

14...Nb6 15.hxg5

Not surprisingly, Rybka sees this as premature, and recommends 15.Qd3.

15...Qxg5

Recapturing with the pawn was stronger. Black plans to have his Queen infiltrate White's position, which is a risky adventure.

In either case, though, Black is still better (despite White's three "connected passed pawns").

16.Bh4 Qg2 17.Ke2

17...Ke6

Blockading the advanced pawn, but, instead, the Queen needed to retreat with 17...Qg6.

18.Qd2

Planning to swing the Rook at a1 over to g1 to win the Queen.

Readers with a tactical eye will see that the other Rook would do just as well, now: 18.Rg1 Qh3 19.Rg7 Qxh4 (what else?) 20.Qd3 Qg5 21.Rxg5 hxg5 22.Qg6+, etc.

18...Rf8

The kind of knee-jerk response that can happen in blitz – Black attacks White's f3 pawn twice and can answer 19.Qe3 with 19...Nc4. 

Instead, Black could stay in the game with the remarkable 18...Bd7, as after 19.Rag1 he has 19...Bb5+ when 20.c4 is forced – but good.

analysis diagram





After 20...Nxc4 21.Rxg2 Nxd2+ 22.Kxd2 Rag8 23.Rg3 White is better.

After 20...Bxc4+ 21.Ke3, Black continues with the fun 21...Bf1, threatening to fork White's King and Queen. White's response, 22.Qb4 is sufficient, but only if he realizes that with 22...Kf5 Black is planning checkmate!

analysis diagram





After 23.Rxg2 Nc4+ White gives up his Queen with 24.Qxc4+ and is a pawn up, with Black's Bishop hanging after 24...dxc4 25.Rg7.

analysis diagram






Wow.

Back to the game.

19.Qxh6+ Kd7 20.Qxf8 Black resigned