Walking Through A Junkyard

Giving "Jerome Gambit odds" can feel like a walk through a junkyard. You pass wreck after wreck and your only hope is that you will find something to get you out of there.

perrypawnpusher - Jantra
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6

8.Qf5+

The computer-recommended follow-up is 8.Qh3+ Ke7 9.Qc3 d6 10.d4 Bxd4 11.Qxd4 Nf6 12.Nc3 although this leads to a position that is almost identical to a position from the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit: Black's King is on e7 instead of f7, and it is his move instead of White's.

Amusingly, at this point, until about a depth of 12 moves, Fritz8 recommends the next two moves for Black to be ...Re8 and ...Kf7, which would be identical to the Semi-Italian Four Knight's Jerome Gambit, except that the recommended move for White in the interim is Bf4, not f2-f4.

8...Kd6 9.d4

Moving the pawn directly seems better than preparing for it, as in prettyhip1 - cubs0_0, GameKnot.com, 2007: 9.Rd1 Ne7 10.Qh5 g6 11.Qh3 Bd4 12.Qa3+ Bc5 13.b4 Bd4 14.c3 Bxf2+ 15.Kxf2 Rf8+ 16.Ke3 White resigned.

9...Bxd4

The right idea. Problems came with

9...Qf6 10.dxe5+ Qxe5 11.Rd1+ (11.Bf4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - joejox, blitz, FICS, 2009) 11...Bd4 12.Qf8+ Ke6 13.Qe8+ Kf6 14.Qf8+ Ke6 15.Qe8+ Kf6 Game drawn by mutual agreement, perrypawnpusher - Joyus, blitz, FICS, 2007; and

9...Ne7 10.Qxe5+ Kc6 11.Qxc5 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - GabrielH, blitz, FICS, 2010 & perrypawnpusher - StockholmMoskva, blitz, FICS, 2010.

10.Rd1 c5

Black did better with 10...Ke7 11.Rxd4 d6 after which only an endgame swindle saved me in perrypawnpusher - richardachatz, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 71). Although the text is still good for the second player, richardachatz' King move "abandoning" the Bishop on d4 is also to be considered.

11.c3 Ne7

This is okay, but again 11...Ke7 could be considered.

12.Qh3

I was surprised, but also amused, to be a dozen moves into this offbeat line (rightly or wrongly) and still be in "book". It is sometimes very helpful to review and analyze games for this blog! 

This Queen retreat is comparable with the others that I had played previously:

12.Qh5 Qe8 (12...Kc7 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Qxe5+ d6 15.Qxd4 Nc6 16.Qxg7+ Bd7 17.Bf4 Rg8 18.Qxh6 Qe7 19.Bxd6+ Qxd6 20.Qxd6+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Lakritzl, blitz, FICS, 2009) 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Rxd4+ Kc7 15.Qxe5+ Kd8 16.Nc3 Nc6 17.Qxe8+ Rxe8 18.Rd6 b6 19.Bf4 Bb7 20.Rad1 Re7 21.e5 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 Rxe5 23.Rxd7+ Ke8 24.Rxb7 Rd8 25.Rxd8+ Kxd8 26.Kf1 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - tuffmom, FICS, 2010;

12.Qf4 Qf8 13.cxd4 Qxf4 14.Bxf4 cxd4 15.Rxd4+ Kc5 16.Bxe5 Nc6 17.Rd5+ Kb6 18.Na3 Nxe5 19.Rxe5 d6 20.Re7 Bg4 21.f3 Bh5 22.Rc1 Rhe8 23.Rcc7 Rxe7 24.Rxe7 Rc8 25.Rxg7 Rc1+ 26.Kf2 Ra1 27.Rh7 Rxa2 28.Kg3 a5 29.Rxh6 Bf7 30.Rxd6+ Kc5 31.Rd2 b5 32.Kf2 b4 33.Nb1 Ra1 34.Rc2+ Kd4 35.Rd2+ Kc5 36.Rc2+ Kd4 37.Nd2 Kd3 38.Rc7 Kxd2 39.Rxf7 Kc2 40.e5 b3 41.e6 Kxb2 42.e7 Kc1 43.e8Q Ra2+ 44.Kg3 b2 45.Rc7+ Kb1 46.Qe1 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - Xasquete, blitz, FICS, 2010.

12...Kc7

The text is an improvement on 12...Qb6 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Qa3+ Ke6 15.f4 N5c6 16.f5+ Kf7 17.Nd2 Re8 18.Nc4 Qc7 19.Nd6+ Kf8 20.Nxe8 Kxe8 21.Qf3 Ne5 22.Qg3 Kf8 23.Bf4 d6 24.Rac1 Qa5 25.f6 N7g6 26.Bxe5 Qxe5 27.Qxg6 Be6 28.Qxg7+ Ke8 29.Qe7 checkmate, joev6225 - liverpool, GameKnot.com, 2006.

13.cxd4 cxd4

Black is still better, despite his shaky King, because of his extra piece.

Leading only to equality was 13...d6, although things quickly deteriorated: 14.Qc3 Nd7 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Bf4 b6 17.b4 Kc6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - tuffmom, blitz, FICS, 2010

14.Rxd4 N7c6 15.Qc3 Qf6

16.f4

Thematic, but wrong, as it should lose the exchange. I should have retreated the Rook first.

16...Nf7

My opponent missed 16...Nf3+ 17.Qxf3 Qxd4+ trading his Knight for my Rook. I think he was getting tired of all the attention that I was paying to his King.

17.e5 Qe7 18.b4 d6

Deciding to return the gambitted piece at precisely the point where his King might have begun to feel relief with 18...Kb8.

19.b5 dxe5 20.fxe5

20...Nfxe5

An unfortunate slip. After the game Rybka gave 20...Rd8 21.bxc6 Rxd4 22.Qxd4 Qd8 23.Qc3 bxc6 24.Nd2 Be6 25.Bb2 Qd5 26.Nb3 Rb8 27.Rc1 Rb6 and White is only a bit better (King safety)

analysis diagram





21.bxc6 Nxc6 22.Bf4+ Kb6 23.Qb3+ Ka6 24.Ra4+ Na5 25.Qc4+ b5 26.Qc6 checkmate

How odd that three Rooks, a Bishop and a Knight look on, uninvolved...