He still has to work hard for the full point, succeed in a tricky endgame, and dodge time trouble in the process, but the game is a battle well worth playing over.
Morin, Louis - Weston, Paul
Quebec Open, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
Often Black adopts this defense on-the-fly, because it makes sense: he saves one piece and lets the other one go, as he will still be a piece ahead. In addition, he keeps his King on the 7th rank, the better to allow him to develop his Rook to f8 or e8.
Sometimes, however, the Knight on g6 is part of a long term plan - and, in this game, the King moves to and stays in the center. That is an interesting contrast to Louis's earlier Jerome Gambit.
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
A standard setup in the 6...Ng6 variation.
Recently I wrote on this blog about Sheldrick, Kevin - Bhat, Vishal
Australian Open, 2017 (1-0, 20)
This position is as old - fittingly - as Charlick - Mann, correspondence, Australia, 1881 (1-0, 72). The Database has 163 games with the position, with White scoring 70%. Mind you, beside this one, only one other game (by Guido de Bouver of Flanders, Belgium) is an over-the-board encounter.Of course, we can now add Louis' over-the-board game.
According to The Database, he has had this position in over 50 games.
How do you win with the Jerome Gambit? Experience, experience, experience.
10.O-O Ng4
Interesting. This could be a naive harassment of the White Queen, or the start of tactical operations on the Kingside.
11.Qg3 h5
Wow. Weston is following Bhat's line of play from the Australian Open! (He could also be following perrypawnpusher - Riversider, blitz, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 18] - but, come on, seriously?!)
12.d4!?
An improvement - consciously or unconsciously - over "Cliff Hardy's" risky 12.h3?!.
12...h4
Consistent, although 12...Qh4!? would have forced 13.Qxh4 Nxh4 taking the Queens off of the board. However, Black is more interested in developing his attacking chances than snuffing out White's.
13.Qd3 h3 14.g3 Ne7
15.f3 Nf6 16.c4 c6 17.d5
Or 17.Nc3.
17...cxd5 18.cxd5 Bd7 19.Nc3 Qb6+
Black continues operations with his King in the center.
20.Rf2 a6 21.Be3 Qb4 22.a3 Qb3
An observer who walked by the board at this point would have a hard time realizing that the position came from an opening in which White sacrificed two pieces.
Stockfish 9 now recommends 23.Bf4 Qb6 24.Be3 Qb3 25.Bf4 Qb6, etc. with a draw by repetition of position.
The Jerome Gambit has, again, delivered a "playable middlegame".
[to be continued]
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