Saturday, May 17, 2014

Tangled

It seems so unfair. Bill Wall's Queen gets to run abound the board, seemingly without consequence. His opponent's Queen, however, winds up tangled up in enemy pieces.

Here's Bill's latest Jerome Gambit, with some of his ideas and some of mine.


Wall,B - Guest7556673

PlayChess.com, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 




4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 




7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+




More frequently seen is 9.Qe3, but Bill likes to be creative.


9...c6


Instead, 9...Qd7 was seen in Wall,B - Guest327668, PlayChess.com 2012 (1-0, 22).


10.Qb3 Qe7


Black also has 10...Nf6 as seen in Wall,B - Zhu,Y, Chess.com, 2011 (1-0, 19). Bill mentions the alternative 10...Qg5 11.g3


11.d3 Be6 12.c4 Nf6 


Black has an extra piece and is better developed. His biggest challenge is to figure out how to further conduct the game.


13.0-0 Kf7


Bill points out Black's blow-up-the-center strategy: 13...d5 14.exd5 cxd5 15.Nc3


14.f4


Threatening 15.f5. Not wanting to let his b-pawn hang, Black fully retreats his light-square Bishop.


14...Bc8 15.f5 Ne5 16.c5+


This looks sharper than 16.d4 Ned7.


16...d5


Bill points out that 16...Ke8 and 16...Kf8 might be a little bit better. 


17.d4 Ned7 18.e5 


Threatening 19.e6. You have to love those "Jerome pawns". 


Black decides to give back the extra piece.


18...Nxe5 19.dxe5 Qxe5 20.Nc3




Bill also mentions the pawn sac 20.Bf4 Qxf5 21.Be3


20...Rb8?!


Bill sees as better: 20...Re8


21.Bf4 


Or 21.Qa4 a6? (Black should retreat with 21...Ra8 22.Bd2) 22.Bf4.


21...Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Ra8 


So far Black is holding things together, but the stress eventually shows.

23.Bd6 Ne8? 24.Rf4 Qe3


Or 24...Qd3 25.Rd1 Qe3 26.Rf3.


25.Re4 Qd3 26.Rd1 Black resigned.




Black must surrender his Queen, as the one escape - 26...Qa6 - allows White to play 27.Nxd5! when Black's only way of avoiding checkmate is 27...Nxd6, which would allow 28.Nc7+, and White will win the enemy Queen after all.

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