One Step Ahead

I remember that in the first years that I played chess, I would occasionally checkmate an opponent, only to hear him say, "It's a good thing that you did, because I was going to checkmate you the next move," as if that were going to come as a surprise to me - like the many bogus chess games on TV or in the movies that end with one player announcing "Check" only to have the other one surprise him completely with "Check and mate".

In the following game, Black has a similar "consolation."


Wall,B - Josti 
Playchess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

The Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit.

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3 

As Bill notes, not 9.Qxc7? Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 d6 

9...d6 10.Nc3 Ne7 11.0-0 Be6 12.d3 Kf7

Black prepares to castle-by-hand, holding the advantage. It is up to White to provide enough mischief to make a game of it.

13.Bg5 Qg6 14.Nb5 Bb6 15.Kh1 Rhf8 16.c4 

16...Nc6 17.c5 dxc5 18.Nxc7 Bxc7 19.Qxc7+ Kg8 20.Qxb7 

20...Nd4?! 

Bill suggests 20...Nb4 21.Bd2 Nxd3 as better.

21.f4 h6 22.Bh4 Qg4?! 

Black sees the opportunity of either grabbing a pawn or turning White's Bishop into a large pawn. There was more heat in 22...Rfb8 23.Qc7 Rxb2. 

23.Bg3 Ne2 24.Rf3 

It looks for all the world like Black is attacking - and he is. Now, however, he overlooks a critical line.

24...Nxg3+??

Instead, Houdini 3 shows the road to advantage for Black, but it is a surprisingly rocky one, and a Jerome Gambit player might not be at all unhappy with the resulting position for White: 24...Rfb8 25.Qc7 Rxb2 26.f5 Rxa2 27.Rxa2 Nxg3+ 28.hxg3 Bxa2 29.Qb7 Re8 30.Qxa7 Bf7 31.Qxc5 Rb8 32.Qc2 Qg5 33.Kh2 Ra8. 

25.Rxg3 Qxf4 

Threatening mate with 26...Qf1+ 27. Rxf1 Rxf1 mate, but...

26.Qxg7 checkmate

("I was winning," an opponent once told me in one of my games; and I agreed, "You were, right up until the point where you resigned."

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws