Barely Legal

Denied the chance for a Jerome Gambit, and facing a foe with a strategy that had been successful against me in past games, I found a way to update an old chess strategem of my own.

perrypawnpusher - koek
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6

Sigh. No Jerome Gambit today: a Philidor Defense by transposition, or maybe a Hungarian Defense.

4.0-0 Bg4

Planning to gang up on my pinned Knight at f3 and cause a breakup of the pawn wall in front of my King.

5.Nc3

Going along with Black's plan.

Last year Koek and I played one game that continued 5.d4 White resigned; and another that continued 5.h3 Bh5 6.d3 Nd4 White resigned.

5...Nd4

I've been having a hard time finding games that follow this move order, but I did discover Hansen, S. - Briz, P., Denmark, 1974, that now continued 6.d3 Nxf3+ 7.gxf3 Bh3, showing the Kingside damage that I was trying to avert.

Now for something completely different.

6.Nxe5

Ah, yes, the idea from Legal de Kermeur - St. Brie, Paris 1750: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

6...Bxd1

Black needed to play 6...dxe5, but who could resist a "free" Queen?

7.Bxf7+ Ke7 8.Nd5 checkmate