Tournament Update: A Pleasant Surprise

As I noted yesterday, I have started my first 5 games in the Italian Opening tournament at Chess.com. Since 3 games have been with the Black pieces, there was no chance for a Jerome Gambit (at least by me, although I played 3...Bc5 each time, offering my opponents the opportunity) in those. In one game with the White pieces, my opponent opted for 3...Nf6 and against my try to transpose to the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit with 4.Nc3 he elected to use the "fork trick" 4...Nxe4; while in the other I was met with the interesting 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bd6!?.


Still, this is a 25-player tournament, broken into 5 5-player groups, so that is a lot of Italian Opening play. I checked out the other games that have started, and was delighted to find one transpose into a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit: perfectly reasonable, as the player of the White pieces has a rating 500+ points higher than his opponent. The gambiteer is up a Rook and three pawns now, and I will be pleased to present the game upon its conclusion.

Tournament Update

I have started my first 4 games in the Italian Opening tournament at Chess.com, mentioned earlier. Since 3 games were with the Black pieces, there was no chance for a Jerome Gambit (at least by me, although I played 3...Bc5 each time, offering my opponents the opportunity) there. In the one game with the White pieces, I tried for an Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, but my opponent opted to use the "fork trick" (lucky for me I have Yury Bukayev's analysis to help me find my way, there). 


This reminds me of a story from the San Antonio tournament 40 years ago, as reported in Bent Larsen and David Levy's San Antonio, 1972 : Church's Fried Chicken, Inc. First International Chess Tournament. American master Ken Smith played his Smith–Morra Gambit (1.e4. c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3) against Grandmasters Larry Evans, Donald Byrne and Henrique Mecking, and lost each time. When Mario Campos Lopez faced Smith, though, he played the French Defence instead of the Sicilian, causing Larsen to comment in the tournament book "stronger is 1...c5 which wins a pawn."


I am going to have to start annotating 3...Nf6 in my games with "stronger is 3...Bc5, which wins two pieces"!


So far, I have won one game in the tournament, and in the rematch with my opponent I will have the White pieces, so I am hoping... (Oh, no, he just played 3...Nf6).

Stepping up the Heat

Sad to say, it is not a good time to be the online computer program Boris at sparkchess.com, at least as far as the Jerome Gambit goes. No sooner had Bill Wall handed the silicon monster its head, as it were, he decided to see if he could improve on Dave Black's recent thrashing of the program – and, remember, Dave disassembled it and delivered mate in 18 moves.


Wall,B - Boris
sparkchess.com 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 g5

In the computer world, as well as in the human chess world, it is dangerous to become too predictable. Readers saw this defense in "Boris Isn't So Hot," and you can be sure that Bill Wall saw it, too.


8.fxe5 Kxe5 9.Rf1


Deviating from 9.c3 of Black,D - Boris, sparkchess.com, 2012, (1-0, 18).


9...Be7

An improvement over 9...d5 from GuestCRJQ - Despistado, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26). Still, White is better, thanks to Black's exposed King.


10.d4+ Kxd4 


In order to avoid checkmate, Boris needed to play 10...Kd6, which was where he placed his King against Dave Black, when checked in that game by 10.d4+.


11.Be3+ Kxe3 12.Qf3+ Kd4 13.Qc3+ Kxe4 14.Qd3+ Ke5 15.Rf5+ Ke6 16.Qd5 checkmate

Other Online Computer Foes?

The email continues this week, with an interesting game, and an over-arching question, from Bill Wall. Can readers help identify other online computer foes?


Rick,

After reading your latest blog on Boris at sparkchess, I decided to play a Jerome Gambit against it as well.
Here is my effort.  Do you happen to know other links that one may be able to play a Jerome against a computer online?
I can't get any of the engines at FICS to play a Jerome.

Bill


Wall, Bill - Boris
sparkchess.com, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.O-O Ke8 6.Nxe5 Nf6

According to The Database, this is a Theoretical Novelty. It is likely that after 5.0-0 Boris was out of it's "book" and was thinking on its own. The play continues to have a quirky feel for both sides.

7.Nd3

This is an interesting move, as if Bill knows how Boris will respond. That reminds me of the query, if a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a noise? only in this case it would go, if Boris is a computer, and doesn't really "think", is it possible for Bill to read its mind?

7...d6 8.Nxc5 dxc5 9.Nc3 Kf7 10.d3 Kg8 

Typical Jerome Gambit play: White has his central "Jerome pawns" ready to roll, while Black has "castled-by-hand".

11.Bg5

Again, this is an interesting move, as if Bill knew that he could get Boris to over expand on the kingside. Of course, pressure on f6, including the use of the White Rook on the f-file, is thematic in the Jerome Gambit, too.

11...h6 12.Bh4 g5 13.Bg3 Be6 14.f4 gxf4 15.Bxf4 

15...Qd4+ 16.Kh1 Rc8 17.Qd2 h5 18.Ne2 Qxb2 

Not a good time for the computer to turn greedy.

19.Rab1 Qa3

It was time to surrender some material with 19...Nxe4. Now Boris is in deep trouble.

20.Be5 Nxe4 21.dxe4 Nxe5 22.Qg5+ Kh7 23.Rf6 Qc1+ 24.Rxc1 Bg4 25.Rh6 checkmate

By the way, if you Google "play chess against the computer online" you will find plenty of online sites with computer programs to try the Jerome Gambit against... 

In the Email

This past week was a good one for receiving Jerome Gambit games in the email. First Argentina, then the United Kingdom, and now from the United States, thanks to Bill Wall.

Rick,

Here is my latest game, a Four Knights Jerome Gambit, played at 15 minutes per game.  He got his queen and king pinned on move 23.  He gave up another pawn after 12...Rf8, trying to makle a discovered attack on my queen.  After 18...Rf5, I had to watch out for Rg5.  After 20.Rae1, he can't play 20...Qxa2 due to Qxg7 mate.

Bill


Wall,B - DarkKnight
15 0, Playchess.com 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

5...Kxf7 6.Qe2 


A line Bill has had success with.


6...h6 


Likewise 6...Rf8 7.Qc4+ as in Wall,B - Roberts,C, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 17); Wall,B - Hamilton,E, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22); and  Wall,B - NFNZ, FICS,  2011 (1-0,15).


More in sync with the position is 6...d5 as in Wall,B - Samvazpr, Chess.com, 2010 (0-1, 25). 


7.Qc4+ d5 8.Qxc5 dxe4 9.Nxe5+ Nxe5 10.Qxe5 Re8 11.Qf4 Kg8 

12.0-0 Rf8 13.Nxe4 Bd7 14.d3 Bc6 

15.Nxf6+ Rxf6 16.Qg3 Qd7 17.Bd2 Raf8 18.Bc3 Rf5 

19.h4 Qf7 20.Rae1 g5 21.h5 Kh7 22.Bb4 Rg8 23.Re7 Black resigned

Help-mate

I was wandering through The Database when I ran across the following amusing game. It finishes like a "help-mate", which is probably not too surprising for a Jerome Gambit played at a lightning time control...


JKELSEY - raol 
lightning, FICS, 2001


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kf8


The Jerome Gambit Declined, a rare choice.


5.Bb3 Ke7


An extravagance that Black can ill afford; but the Jerome can leave a defender dizzy.


6.d3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Re8 8.Bxf6+ gxf6 9.Nh4 Kd6 10.Nf5 checkmate

Boris Isn't So Hot...

From the email bag, a note and a game from Dave Black, who has graced these pages before...

Hi Rick,

I came across a site with a online chess program so I thought I would give it a bash with the Jerome.

http://www.sparkchess.com/

The program has 3 levels available to play for free named Cody, Claire and Boris. Boris's blurb states "Get ready for a challenge. Boris will do his best to beat you, play if you're an advanced player." 

I will let you judge just how advanced Boris is.  ;)

Dave Black - Boris
sparkchess.com, 2012
(notes by Rick)


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 g5

To go from a won game to a worse (if not lost) one so quickly, deserves recognition,  but this defense has been played before.


8.fxe5 Kxe5


Chess software these days is not supposed to be so materialistic, but, in Boris' defense, its position was already critical.


Black's simplest continuation was 8...Nf6, and, after 9.exf6 Qxf6 he can play on, a pawn down.


Otherwise, he had the thematic 8...d5, although after 9.d4 his position requires much thought: 9...Be7 (there is no time for 9...Bxd4, and the pawn at g5 needs defending) 10.0-0 (with mate threats) Kd7 11.Qf7 and Black is so tied up, if he does not want to immediately return a piece with ...Nh6 then he has to try something tortured like 11...Kc6, when 12.Nc3 b6 13.exd5+ Kb7 14.Qg7 is just one possible unfortunate outcome.


9. c3


Previously GuestCRJQ - Despistado, FICS, 2009, continued 9.Rf1 d5 10.d4+ Bxd4 11.Bxg5 Kd6 12.Bxd8 Be6 13.Qh4 Bxb2 14.Qg3+ Kd7 15.Qxc7+ Ke8 16.Qxb7 Rxd8 17.Qxb2 d4 18.Qb5+ Bd7 19.Qe5+ Be6 20.Qxh8 d3 21.Qg7 Ne7 22.Rf8+ Kd7 23.Rxd8+ Kxd8 24.cxd3 h5 25.Nc3 Ke8 26.Rb1 Black resigned


Analagously, 9.d4+ was also playable.


9...Be7 10.d4+ 


Going for the jugular with 10.Qf7 was stronger, but, like I indicated above, the position is complicated. What is relevant is that Dave has a "feel" for it, while Boris does not.


10...Kd6 

11.O-O Kc6 12.Na3 Kb6


Black should have tried "castling" with 12...b6 and 13...Kb7.


13.Qf7 

13...Bxa3


Opening the b-file for White's Rook can hardly be a good idea.


14.bxa3 h6 15.Rb1+ Ka5 16.Qd5+ c5 17.Qxc5+ Ka6 18.Qb5 checkmate