Another Odd Thing

Sacrifice unsoundly, fall behind in development, send the Queen out to hunt pawns...

Doesn't sound like much of a recipe for victory, does it? Oddly, that kind of describes the way that I played the following game. Wins with White in the Jerome Gambit are often odd things.

perrypawnpusher - Solaar
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

The Database has 82 games with this position. White scores 70%. This is my 29th time here, scoring 81%.

10.0-0 Qe7 11.Nc3

The alternative is 11.d3, although transpositions are likely. 

11...Be6

Looking for trouble.

Rybka 3 suggests 11...Kf7, while 11...Rf8 was seen in perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31); 11...Ne5 was seen in perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 50); and 11...Kd7 was seen in perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22).

12.f4 Kd7

Odd, perhaps planning to castle-by-hand on the Queenside; but returning the piece, intentionally or otherwise.

Better was 12...Bc4 as in QuadCoreBR - Alecs, FICS, 2008: 13.d3 Ba6 14.b4 b6 15.b5 Bb7 16.f5 Ne5 17.d4 Neg4 18.Qg3 h5 19.h3 Nh6 20.e5 Ne4 21.Nxe4 Bxe4 22.Bg5 Qd7 23.e6 Qxb5 24.Bxh6 gxh6 25.a4 Qe2 26.Rf2 Qc4 27.Qg7 Black resigned.

13.f5 Bxf5

Slightly better was 13...Bc4 14.d3 Ne5 15.dxc4 Nxc4 16.Qd4 Ne5, when Black would be down a pawn, but he would have pressure and play against the backward White pawn on e4.

14.Rxf5

Was Solaar expecting me to play 14.exf5? If so, after 14...Qxe3+ 15.dxe3 Ne5 14.e4 the game would have reached the position mentioned in the note to Black's 13th move, only with Queens off the board and it being Black's move. White would still have an edge.

14...Rae8 15.d3 Kc8

The difficulty for Black here is that even though he is better developed and White's center is under pressure, there is time for White's Queen to go pawn-hunting.

16.Qxa7 Rhf8 17.Bg5

Also possible was 17.Qa8+ Kd7 18.Qxb7 but I decided to save that for later,

17...Qe6 18.Bxf6 Rxf6 19.Rxf6 Qxf6 20.Rf1 Qe5

21.Qa8+

After the game Rybka 3 pointed out the more ferocious 21.Rf5 Qe6 22.Rb5 Kd7 23.Rxb7 Rc8 24.Nb5. I was content to be a few pawns up and head toward the endgame.

21...Kd7 22.Qxb7 Nf4 23.Qb5+ Qxb5 24.Nxb5 Rf8 25.Nc3 c6 26.g3 Ne6 27.Rxf8 Nxf8

28.Kf2 Ne6 29.Ke3 c5 30.Ne2 g5 31.c3 Kc6 32.d4 c4

A slip that ends the game quickly, rather than slowly.

33.d5+ Black resigned