Nearly Blackburned!

The best-known Jerome Gambit game is Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, when the British master started with a two-Rook sacrifice and ended with a Queen sac to produce a beautiful mate. Alas, "The Black Death" was defending against the Jerome Gambit, or this blog would be much less obscure today.

In the following game, my opponent played what seemed to me to be a weak move. It turns out, it lost a Rook. Then, much to my delight, it lost another Rook. I was not looking ahead, but when I did, suddenly, my opponent was threatening checkmate...

perrypawnpusher  - badhorsey
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

The same defense as in yesterday's game against a different opponent.

6.Nxc6 bxc6

Capturing with the d-pawn is recommended as a preventative against 7.d4.

7.d4 Be7 8.f4

With no ready targets available, this looks like another case of "too many pawns, too soon." This time, I luck out.

8...Bh4+

Aiming for "tricky", but 8...d5 was probably better. In either case, Black still has an edge.

9.g3 Qe8

Offering to return the piece in exchange for busting up my position, 10.gxh4 Qxe4+ 11.Kf2 Qf5 (or 11...Qe7 threatening ...Qxh4).

badhorsey may not know the intricacies of the Jerome Gambit, but he surely came to play!

10.Nc3 Be7 11.0-0 Bb4 12.Qf3 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Ba6

Having made half of his moves with his dark-squared Bishop, Black finds that it is now gone; so he uses his light-squared Bishop.

The psychology is pretty good, and Houdini and Fritz both still give Black the edge.

14.Ba3+ d6 15.Rfe1 Nh6

The Knight needed to go to e7 to protect the pawn at c6.

16.e5 Qg6

This really is not a good move, objectively (Houdini went wild after the game) but I have to think that my opponent saw what was coming and told himself "What the heck, why not give it a try!"

17.Qxc6 Qxc2

Baiting the hook.

18.Qxa8+

Taking the bait.

18...Kf7 19.Qxh8

Going for more.

19...Ng4

Here we go! Rooks? We don't need no stinkin' Rooks... Black threatens mate.

"Double Rook sacrifice?" or "Double Rook blunder?" At the time, I was not at all sure. In fact, I had the terrible feeling that I had fallen into a devious trap and was about to be seriously embarassed!

20.e6+

Yes, this has to be the move.

20...Kf6

The task for White was more complex after 20...Kg6.

Again, the key move 21.f5+ is easy to find, but the followup to cover the f-file is essential: 21...Qxf5 22.Qe8+ Kh6 23.Qf7. Black can then return to his earlier configuration with 23...Qc2, but that gives White time to get in 24.Bc1+ which allows him to force exchanges, i.e. 25...g5 26.Bxg5+ Kxg5 27.h4+ Kh6 28.Qf4+ Kg7 29.Qxg4+ Qg6 30.Qxg6+ Kxg6 and now the extra two Rooks do matter.

All of this is relatively easy, after the game is over. 

21.Qf8+

White has to keep checking the enemy King, and some ideas were coming to mind, here, but I missed the simpler 21.Qd8+ Kg6 22.Qg5 checkmate.

21...Kg6 22.f5+

The key, again. Exchanging Queens at f5 would douse Black's attack.

22...Kh6 23.Bc1+

Joining the attack just in time.

Now 23...Qxc1 would put off the mate of Black's King for a few more moves, but I think badhorsey still was hoping for the tempo he needed to say "checkmate!" first.

23...Kh5 24.Qf7+ g6 25.Qxh7+ Nh6 26.Qxg6 checkmate

Whew!

Quite a game, badhorsey!