Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Modern Classic





The most interesting game so far in the ongoing "Play the Jerome Gambit Quad" at Chess.com took place between the two top-rated players Bill Wall and ubluk.



ubluk (1884) - billwall (2488)
Play the Jerome Gambit Quad
Chess.com, 2012

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


4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4


6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.Qb3 Qh4


Black wastes no time in his counter-attack.

10.Nc3 Ng4 11.g3 Qh5 12.Nd5 N8f6 13.f3 Nxh2 14.Bf4 Nxf3+


Rybka 3, running in blunder check mode with 5 minutes per move, had only two suggestions in this game. The first was here: 14...Qxf3 15.Rxh2 Qxe4+ 16.Ne3 Bg4 returning a piece for two pawns, and an advantage for Black in a complicated position.

15.Kf2 Nxe4+ 16.Kg2 Qf5


Here the silicon beast in its post mortem preferred 16...Qf7. White is now able to conjure up all sorts of trouble along the f-file.

17.Raf1 Be6 18.Bxd6+ Ke8 19.Nxc7+ Kd7 20.Nxe6 Ned2


21.Nxg7 Nh4+ 22.Kh2 Nxf1+ 23.Kg1


Black is a Rook ahead, but his uneasy King gives White drawing chances.

23...Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Nd4+ 25.Nxf5 Nxb3 26.axb3 Rac8 27.Rxf1 Rxc2+

Leading to an ending where Black's Rook plus pawn probably balances Whites' Bishop and Knight.

28.Ke3 Rxb2 29.b4 Rg8 30.Kf4 b6 31.Rd1 Ke6 32.Re1+ Kd5 33.g4 Rg6 34.Bf8 draw


A modern Jerome Gambit classic.

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