It's hard to know...

It's hard to know what progress, if any, the following game shows for my recent play. Several times when things were getting interesting, the bottom dropped out of my opponent's play...

Of course, it was nothing like our first game.


perrypawnpusher - VGxdys
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6

8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 N8e7

11.f4

I have had similar positions coming out of the regular Jerome Gambit line (i.e. no ...h6, not yet 0-0) and it is clear that White benefits here from the Semi-Italian move order.

11...Qd7

A bit puzzling: I really don't know what this move was about. Black can't afford to throw tempi about. Instead, perrypawnpusher - apinheiro, blitz, FICS, 2011, continued 11...Rf8 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4 14.Qg3 Rg8 (1-0, 25)

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4

14.Qe2

Grabbing a tempo by attacking the Knight, while staying on the e-file with the enemy King (and off the d-file with the enemy Queen). After the game Rybka expressed a preference for 14.Qg3.

14...b5 15.b3

Another kick at the Knight, while preparing to put my Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal (a plan that I subsequently dropped).

An alternate idea was to undermine Black's Knight with 15.a4. It looks like after the consistent liquidation 15...d5 16.axb5 Nd6 17.Nc3 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 Qd5 20.Qxd5 Nxd5 21.c4 Nf6 
White's 3 pawns balance out Black's Knight.

analysis diagram









15... Ba6

A strange oversight. Retreating the Knight to b6 was the move.

16.bxc4 bxc4 17.Nc3 Rf8

The nice thing for Black about the Jerome Gambit is that he can often drop a piece, and still have a tolerable game.

Here, White is better (up a pawn, more center control, safer King) but the game is far from over. My plan was to break through with e4-e5, but only after I had made sure that I could do so safely and with proper development.

18.Ba3

Linking my Rooks and targetting e7 and f8.

18...Kd8 19. g4 Nc6 20. Rad1

20...g5 21.e5 Nxd4

Again, incomprehensible.

22.Rxd4 h5

A spirited notion: how about some counterplay on the h-file?

23.h3

This was an I-don't-want-to-think-about-it-right-now move. Too bad I missed 23.Bxd6.

23...hxg4

24...Qh7

Planning to back the Queen up with ...Rh8 if he gets a chance.

He doesn't.

25.exd6 Kc8

If, instead, 25...c5, one of the few moves that does not lead directly to checkmate, I had 26.Qe7+, ending all counterplay and winning the exchange as well with 26...Qxe7 27.dxe7+ Kxe7 28.Bxc5+

Now it all tumbles to an end.

26.d7+ Kb8 27.d8=Q+ Rxd8 28.Rxd8+ Kb7 29.Qe4+ c6 30.Rxa8 Kxa8 31.Qxc6+ Bb7 32.Qe8+ Black resigned