Sunday, March 21, 2010

One... last... trick...

Sometimes when I'm playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) things do not go as I have planned (or hoped).

In those cases, there are still chances that my opponent will fall for a trick or a trap – or just plain fall, for that matter. It is my job to keep things, er, interesting, until something finally goes my way.

perrypawnpusher - BishopChris
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+


4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6


According to the New Year's Database, Black's most popular response to the Queen check (see "Perhaps the best chess advice that I ever read...").

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6


Black is comfortably better.

10.f4 Kf7 11.O-O Re8


It is up to the "Jerome Pawns" to cause mischief before Black gets his King castled-by-hand.

12.Nc3 d5


I've faced this threat of a pawn fork at d4 a couple of times before (see perrypawnpusher - tejeshwar, blitz FICS 2009 and perrypawnpusher - sarBear, blitz FICS, 2009) and am not comfortable with it.

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4


My plan was to use the pawn at d4 to support my e-pawn when it got to e5. It never quite happened that way.

After the game Rybka suggested 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Qxd5 16. d3, leaving White with a ways to go to achieve equality. 

14...Nc4 15.Qh3


One or two free tempos are all that White needs to get things under control, but that doesn't seem likely.

15...dxe4 16.Bg5 Qxd4+ 17.Kh1 Nd2


This complicates things for Black. It was better to tuck his King into safety with 17...Kg8.

18.Bxf6

Confidently pressing the "attack", I produce... a useless move.

18...Kxf6

 19.Qxh7 Nxf1


Down a Rook and a Bishop, I was looking for just about anything to throw at my opponent. All I had left was pretending that everything was under control, that I knew what I was doing...

20.Qg6+ Ke7 21.Rd1


This should not work. But it is annoying. My opponent began to wonder why I didn't recapture the Knight, and decided to put an end to my attacking "threats". 

After the game Rybka gave my best chance, if still losing, as 21.f6+ gxf6 22.Qg7+ Ke6 23.Nb5 Qd7 24.Nxc7+ Ke5 25.Qg6 Qxc7 26.Qxe8+ Kd4 27.c3+ Kc4 28.Rxf1




analysis diagram







21...Qf6


An interesting psychological point. It is as if Black overlooked the fact that Knights can move backward (21... Nd2).

22.Nd5+ Black resigned

The problem is that White has both mate threats and threats to win more material – after capturing Black's Queen.


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