Good things come to those who... work!

When Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Welton Vaz started the following game, I doubt that he realized the gigantic struggle that lay ahead of him. I'm pretty sure that his opponent figured that a win was only a matter of time – it was, but for White.

Ghandybh  - mentalbreak
Chess.com, 2010

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

White's typical "Jerome treatment" is to play a temporizing move like 0-0 or Nc3 now, hoping for ...Bf8-c5, allowing the signature Bxf7+. 

4.Bxf7+

Wow.

This reminds me of Veijoasquerosos of Mexico, who played over 1,100 games at RedHotPawn.com, and who played Bxf7+ (or ...Bxf2+) as early and as often as possible: see "King of Bxf7+".  

I've played the move myself, although accidentally: perrypawnpusher - marapr, blitz FICS, 2007 (1-0, 27).

A look at the updated New Year's Database shows 904 games with this position, with White scoring 39%.

One of the top users of 4.Bxf7+ here is GFcrafty (a weakened version of Crafty, the free, open-source computer chess program developed by Dr. Robert M. Hyatt) at FICS.

Perhaps the most important of those games, however, is Gandybh - sqerl, Chess.com, 2009 which shows that Welton has played the line before, and is ready to face his opponent.

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

Rybka, in its "blunder check" mode (5 minutes per move), suggested 6.d4 Nc6 7.Nc3 d6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.h3 Be7 10.d5 Nb8 11.Be3 Re8 12.Re1 as better. The line looks like no fun at all. Maybe when the "Jerome pawns" get rolling...

analysis diagram







6...Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8

White has his work cut out for him.

8.d3 Nf6 9.Qf5 Ne7 10.Qf4 Nc6 11.0-0 Nd4 12.Qe5+ Ne6 13.Be3 Qe7

14.Nc3 d6 15.Qb5+ c6 16.Qb4 c5

It looks like Welton's play has begun to annoy his opponent who would probably prefer "16.Resigns."

Good.

17.Qb5+ Bd7 18.Qxb7 Rc8 19.Qxa7

White now has 4 pawns for his 2 sacrificed pieces. That's not enough, but it's more than he had a few moves ago. Also, Black's King is stuck in the center, and at least for now his King's Rook is buried in the garage.

19...Ng4 20.Nd5 Qd8 21.h3 Nxe3 22.fxe3 Be7 23.Nxe7 Qxe7

Black has made progress in one area – when ahead in material, exchange pieces – but he still has an opponent fighting back.

24.Qb7 Rf8 25.Rxf8+ Qxf8 26.Rf1 Qe7 27.a3

Here's a clue: White believes that his "Jerome pawns" will one day be able to take on Black's two extra pieces in the endgame.

27...Rc7 28.Qb8+ Qd8 29.Qb6 Rc6 30.Qxd8+ Kxd8 31.Rf7

31...Ke8 32.Rf1 Rb6 33.b3 Ra6 34.a4 Ng5 35.h4 Nf7

Black has been teasing and provoking the pawns. No harm done. So far.

36.Kf2 Ne5 37.Ke2 d5

To open a path to swing the Rook over – but, a pawn is a pawn.

38.exd5 Rf6

39.d4

Hesitating. It was okay to exchange the Rooks.

39...cxd4 40.exd4 Bg4+ 41.Ke1 Rxf1+ 42.Kxf1 Nd7

Now the fun really begins.

White's plan is pretty clear: have his King escort the five connected past pawns forward, until one or more of them Queens.

Black has to counter this. Ideally, if he can hold up the pawns with his King and only one piece, then he can use (or sacrifice) the other to create a winning passed pawn on the other side of the board.

43.Ke1 Ke7 44.Kd2 Kd6 45.c4 Bf5

46.Kc3 Nf6 47.b4

47...Ne4+ 48.Kb3 Nd2+ 49.Kc3 Ne4+ 50.Kb3

White is willing to repeat the position and accept the draw.

50...Bd7

Black can't bring himself to "lose" the half-point.

51.a5 Nd2+ 52.Kc3 Ne4 53.Kb3 Nf2

Again Black wavers – and then decides "no draw". His problem is that now White's game gains momentum.

54.a6 Kc7 55.b5 Kb6

Rybka suggested instead : 55...Ne4 56.Kb4 Nd6 57.a7 Kb7 58.b6 Nc8 59.c5 Nxa7 60.bxa7 Kxa7 when it looks like Black's King and Bishop may be able to hold up White's central pawns (and draw) after all.

analysis diagram






56.c5+ Ka7 57.c6 Bc8

Black's Knight is sadly out of play. 

58.d6 Ne4 59.d7 Nd6

60.d8Q Nxb5 61.Qxc8 Nd6 62.Qd7+ Nb7 63.Qxb7 checkmate

Very nice work. As they say, nobody ever won a game by resigning...

Blackburned! #2

My heart pounds when I start a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game.

It's always a gamble – the Jerome Gamble, Gary Gifford calls it – how much of the many refutations does my opponent know?

Can he get to me before I can get to him??

perrypawnpusher - LtPoultry
blitz 10 0, FICS, 1020

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

Our story begins...

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

This can lead to the dreaded Whistler Defense, or the much misunderstood Blackburne Defense. Quo vadis?

7.Qxe5 d6

Blackburne! Sac that Rook! Trap that Queen! Mate that King!

8.Qxh8

Falling for the Blackburne bait.

8...Qh4

Yes!

9.O-O

Telegraphing where the King will be, when Black wants to attack.

I've always been a bit uneasy about the "refutation of the refutation" 9.d4.

9...Qxe4

Uh oh... This doesn't look right.

Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 continued 9...Nf6, trapping the White Queen, before a series of sacrifices finished White off 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate.

Of course, I would have veered off with 10.Qd8.

10.Qxh7+

Letting my Queen escape immediately.

Instead, AlgozBR - khuizen, blitz FICS, 2009 continued: 10.d3 Qe5 11.Qxh7+ Qg7 12.Qh4 Be6 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Ne4 Bb6 15.Be3 Qxb2 16.Qh7+ Qg7 17.Ng5+ Black resigned

10...Kf8 11.Nc3

A bit better was 11.d3, as in obviously - dmyze, GameKnot.com, 2004: Qf5 12.Qxc7 Nf6 13.d4 Be6 14.dxc5 Bc4 15.Bh6+ Ke8 16.Re1+ Ne4 17.Nc3 Qxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qf7 19.Rxe4+ Be6 20.Qxd6 Black resigned.

11...Qxc2 12.Qh4  Black resigned

White's Queen is not trapped, Black's King is at risk, and White is ahead the exchange and a couple of pawns. 

It was not completely necessary to resign here. DREWBEAR 63 - blackburne, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 continued a few more moves, for example – after 12.d3 instead of 12.Qh4 – without changing the outcome: 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rfe1+ Kd8 15.Qxg8+ Kd7 16.Qe8 checkmate

Blackburned! #1

He came. He saw. He conquered.

That was J.H. Blackburne in 1885 – see "Flaws (Part I)" and "Flaws (Part II)" – and the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Ever since, the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde has seen the Blackburne Defense – or parts of it, at least.

perrypawnpusher - Saveurking
blitz FICS, 2010

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

The good old Jerome Gambit. "Sound as a cracked bell," as Geoff Chandler has written.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

7.Qxe5

Now 7...Qe7, Whistler's Defense, is very strong, but not well known, while 7...d6, Blackburne's Defense, is not as strong, but much better known. Sort of.

Actually, I frequently run into opponents who play 6...g6 quickly and confidently... and then go into a long think.

7...Qf6

For the record, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 continued: 7...d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate.

Fantastic!

My opponent in this game, however, lets me take a two-pawn lead.

8.Qxc5 c6 9.Nc3

Other games that started out well for White: 9.0-0 d6 (9...Ne7 10.d3 d6 11.Qe3 Be6 12.f4 Rhf8 13.e5 Qg7 14.exd6 Nf5 15.Qe5 Bd5 16.Nc3 Rae8 17.Qxg7+ Kxg7 18.Nxd5 cxd5 19.Bd2 Nxd6 20.Bc3+ Kg8 21.Rae1 Nf5 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Kf2 a6 24.g3 Ne3 25.Re1 Ng4+ 26.Kg2 Rxe1 27.Bxe1 Ne3+ 28.Kf2 Nxc2 29.Ke2 Kf7 30.Bf2 Ke6 31.a3 Na1 32.d4 Nb3 33.Kd3 b5 34.Be1 Nc1+ 35.Kc2 Ne2 36.Kd3 Ng1 37.Ba5 Nh3 38.Ke3 g5 39.Bd8 gxf4+ 40.gxf4 Ng1 41.Kf2 Nh3+ 42.Kg3 Kf5 43.Kxh3 Ke4 44.Bb6 Kxf4 45.Kh4 Ke4 46.h3 Kf5 47.Kh5 Ke6 White resigned, UNPREDICTABLE - antoon, FICS 2009) 10.Qb4 Ne7 11.Nc3 Re8 12.d3 b6 13.Be3 c5 14.Qb3+ Be6 15.Qa3 a6 16.b4 Nc6 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.Qb2 Rab8 19.Qa3 Nd4 20.Bxd4 Qxd4 21.Ne2 Qb4 22.Qxa6 Rb6 23.c3 Qb2 24.Qa7+ Re7 25.Qa5 Reb7 26.c4 Qxe2 27.Qa8 Qxd3 28.Rfd1 Qc3 29.Rac1 Qe5 30.f3 Rb2 31.a4 Qf6 32.a5 Qg5 33.Rc2 Qe3+ 34.Kh1 Rb8 35.Qa7+ R2b7 36.Qa6 Qb3 37.Rcd2 Qxc4 38.Qxd6 Qb3 39.Qf4+ Kg7 40.e5 Rf7 41.Qh4 c4 42.Rc1 c3 43.Rdc2 Rd8 44.Rxc3 Rd1+ White resigned, Idealist - joffea, FICS, 2000.

9...Nh6

10.0-0 b6 11.Qe3 Ng4 12.Qg3 d6

This looks like an invitation for me to put my "Jerome pawns" into motion.

13.h3 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4 15.b3 Na5

16.Be3

Protecting the pawn at d4, but it is interesting to note that this was not necessary: if White played 16.Bg5 instead, and Black responded 16...Qxd4, 17.Qf4+ would have won a piece (17...Bf5 18.exf5) or allowed a sacrificial attack, say 17...Ke6 18.Nd5.

analysis diagram







Some day I would like to find this kind of move during a game, not after it. If 18...cxd5 19.exd5+ Qxd5 White's position is crushing afte 20.Rad1 and 21.Rfe1.

16...h5

Saveurking is not going to give up easily.

17.f4 h4 18.Qf3 Bb7

19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Qxf3 21.Rxf3+ Ke6

My opponent was happy to exchange Queens, but there is more to this position than just attacking the King: I still have two extra pawns, one of them passed; plus better development and open lines.

22.Rf6+ Ke7 23.Raf1 Raf8 24.Rxf8 Rxf8 25.Rxf8 Kxf8

Again, piece exchanges have snuffed out any danger to Black's King, but this is not all that is going on.

My first chess book was Reuben Fine's Chess the Easy Way – available in paperback these days, used, for under $5.00 – and it gave me the idea (rightly or wrongly) that much of chess can be boiled down to: win a pawn, exchange everything else, win the K + P vs K endgame...  

I have missed a lot of exciting chess by following this imagined "guideline," and I have been "bought off" with material too many times to mention; but I am almost always ready to cooperate with my opponents' wishes to "simplify" the position and stifle my attack – if it brings me closer to that fabled winning K + P endgame.

26.Bg5 c5

This move hastens the end. Black could try 26...Bc8 instead, with the idea of pulling his Knight back to b7 and then putting it back into the game via d8 and e6.

27.d5

The pawns will now decide the game.

27...Bc8 28.e6 Nb7 29.Ne4 Ke8 30.Kf2 b5

31.c4 bxc4 32.bxc4 Na5

33.Nd6+ Kf8 34.e7+ Kg7 Black resigned

White will Queen his pawn and deliver mate in a few move moves.

Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...

The other day I was having fun with a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nc4 4.Bxf7+) and looked at a sideline that I had not analyzed before. I felt like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Well, not quite.

perrypawnpusher - JokeritT

blitz 6 12, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

4.Bxf7+

A good look at this line can be found in "Please, don't do that..." and "It's a good thing I read this blog".

4...Kxf7

No Jedi Mind Tricks.

5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6

7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Qxg6+

Taking the pawn is more prudent than taking the Rook: 8.Qxh8 Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa8 10.Qxg8 Qg5, when White's King is in more danger than Black's.

 


analysis diagram






8...Ke7 9. Qg5+ Nf6

I've analyzed this position enough to know that now after 10.Qc5+ d6 11.Qxd4 White has 4 pawns for his piece – and that computers give Black the edge, while humans are okay with the compensation.

But what about the other sharp move in the position? I didn't remember looking at that one. I thought I'd give it a try.

10. e5

Down two pieces, White offers a Rook! 

10... Nxc2+

And Black goes for it – which turns out to be a mistake.

As much fun as this line is, I have to admit that if Black had not been greedy, but played 10... Kf7 instead,  I'd have nothing more to work with than 11.Kd1, and then it looks like Black has good responses in 11...Rg8, 11...Bg7 and 11...Be7.

For example, 10...Kf7 11. Kd1 Rg8 12. Qxf6+ Qxf6 13. exf6 Rxg2 14. d3 d5 15. h3 Kxf6 and White's two Kingside pawns do not make up for the missing piece, especially since Black has the two Bishops.

analysis diagram





More encouraging for White (and thus, misleading) was for Black to decline the Rook offer with 10...Rg8, as in GOH - NightEagle, lightning, FICS, 2009: 10...Rg8 11.exf6+ Ke8 12.Qh5+ Rg6 13.Qxg6 checkmate.

I'm glad that I was not aware of GOH's game at the time I played JokeritT.

11. Kd1

11...Nxa1

Black needed to reconsider his chances and play 11... Ke6. White's best choice would likely then be to let the air out of the position with 12.Kxc2, when 12...Rg8 13.Qxf6+ Qxf6 14.exf6 Rxg2 was a likely followup. 

The position would be similar to the analysis diagram after Black's 10th move, although Black and White would have the same number of pieces, and White can develop his while Black scoops up the loose pawns on the Kingside.  

analysis diagram





In a game that I was unaware of until I was writing this post, I discovered that the alternative 11...Ke8 led to a disastrous outcome for the second player: 12.Qg6+ Ke7 13.Qxf6+ Ke8 14.Qg6+ Ke7 15.Qxc2 d5 16.exd6+ cxd6 17.Qe4+ Kd7 18.Nc3 a6 19.d4 Kc7 20.Bf4 Qf6 21.Nd5+ Black resigned, themuppeteer - risbo, blitz, FICS, 2005

I wish I had seen that game before taking on JokeritT.

12.Qxf6+

This is what I offered the Rook for.

12...Ke8 13.Qg6+ Ke7 14. d4

14...d6 15. Bg5+ Kd7 16. Bxd8 Kxd8

17.Qf6+ Be7

Slightly better was 17...Kd7, although after 18.Qxh8 White would have a Queen and a handful of passed pawns against Black's two Bishops. 

18. Qxh8+Kd7 19. exd6 Bxd6 20. Qg7+ Be7

21. Re1 Kc6 22. Qxe7 Bg4+ 23. f3 Bf5 24. Qc5+ Kd7 25. Qxf5+ Kc6 26. Qc5+ Kd7 27. Re7+ Kc8 28. Qxc7 checkmate

Tah dah!