Too Smart (Not Smart Enough) For My Own Good

Sometimes when I am playing the Jerome Gambit I think I should take Nike's advice and "Just Do It!"... Over-thinking something has its problems. In the following game, by the time I figured out what I was supposed to remember, the game had wandered off.

perrypawnpusher - catmandu
blitz, FICS, 2014

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

the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nf3+

A sharp and realatively unknown idea - this game is only the 10th example in The Database. It seemed familiar to me, though - and it actually was. I had responded with 8.gxf3 four years ago in perrypawnpusher - wertu, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 20).

8.Qxf3

During the game against catmandu, however, I thought I remembered perrypawnpusher - AirmanLeonidas, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18), where, in my annotations, I had suggested that capturing with the Queen was better.

This was not entirely correct: against AirmanLeonidas I was playing the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit - with 0-0 and ...h6 added to the current position - so that certain lines were playable then, but not now.

8...Bxd4

At this point I realized that 9.e5 would not work (it hadn't worked in stretto - NoWar, FICS, 2007 [0-1, 28] or yorgos - ANDGREG, FICS, 2009 [0-1, 51] either, I learned later); and that the idea starting with 9.Nb5 followed by 10.Qb3+, as in my game against AirmanLeonidas, would stumble upon the fact that my King in this game was still on the e-file.

I could have made more of a game of it with 9.Ne2 Be5 10.Qd3 c6 11.f4 Bc7 but of course Black would still be better.

Without any particular idea in mind, I just started "making moves". 

9.Bg5 Rf8 10.0-0

After the game Houdini suggested the move complicated (hence, giving me more chances) 10.Ne2 Bxb2 11.Qb3+ Kg6 12.h4 h6 13.Nf4+ Kh7 14.Qxb2 Qe8 15.0-0-0 Qxe4 16.g3 Qc4 17.Bxf6 Rxf6 with Black still for choice. 

10...Kg8

Black has castled-by-hand, and compensation for White's piece sacrifice is insufficient.

11.Nd5 Nxd5 

One last oversight.

12.Qb3 Qxg5 White resigned

Next time, instead of trying to do all that remembering, I'll just focus on playing the game.