Jerome Gambit: Winning Without the "Best"

If the "best" line of play - according to computer analysis - takes too much time to figure out, or is too messy to follow easily, or if it is not as clear as a "good" line of play; then perhaps there are reasons to avoid the "best", especially if you can win without it. 

The following game is a good example.

Wall, Bill - Guest14935422
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qe7

8.O-O 

Bill has also played 8.Bf4, and castled Queenside, in Wall,B - Guest433702, PlayChess.com 2017 (1-0, 22). 

8...Nf6 

An improvement over 8...c5 9.Qd5+ Qe610.Qxc5 Ne7 11.f4 d6 12.fxe5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016. 

9.Nc3 d6

Or:

9...Nc6 as in Wall,B-Bojovic,D, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 23); or 

9...c6 as in Wall,B-Guest2327120, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 20) 

10.Bg5 

Thematic.

Last year, Bill tried another thematic line: 10.f4 Nc6 11.Qc4+ Be6 12.Qd3 Rhf8 13.f5 Bd7 14.Bg5 Kg8 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bh6 Rf7 18.Rf3 Ne5 19.Rg3+ Kh8 20.Qb3 Qe8 21.c4 Bc6 22.Qc2 Qe7 23.b4 b6 24.a4 a5 25.b5 Bb7 26.Rf1 Rg8 27.Rxg8+ Kxg8 28.Rf4 Kh8 29.Qe2 Qe8 30.Qh5 Qg8 31.Qh4 Rg7 32.Qxf6 Nd7 33.Bxg7+ Qxg7 34.Qd8+ Nf8 35.Qb8 c6 36.Qxd6 cxb5 37.cxb5 h5 38.Qxb6 Qe5 39.Qh6+ Nh7 40.f6 Bxe4 41.Qg7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest2010250/, PlayChess.com, 2018. 

10...Rf8 

White continues to play "normal" Jerome Gambit moves.

Black continues with his piece-for-pawn advantage.

11.Nd5 Nc6 12.Qd2 

White offers a pawn to be able to break up Black's Kingside, and to open a door to complications.

12...Qxe4 

Stockfish 10 says Black is still better after this move, but it must be thinking about its silicon siblings. The human being handling the defense is showing his skepticism about White's attack, and fairly well drools at the prospect of simultaneously grabbing a pawn, unpinning the Knight from his Queen, and threatening the enemy Knight on d5. What could possibly go wrong?

13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Rae1 Qd4 

Black offers to swap Queens, which would take much energy out of the position, even at the cost of a pawn, e.g. 15.Qxd4 Nxd4 16.Re7+ Kg6 17.Rxc7 Ne6. However, the move is a mistake.

I suspect that Bill looked at the following line, later suggested by Stockfish 10, and then rejected it as somewhat fishy... Or, more suited for correspondence play.

"Best" was the wild 15.Re7+!?. Black's King has to dodge with 15...Kg6, when 16.Nf4+!? forces the defender to give up his Queen, eventually winding up with a Knight, Bishop and Rook for a Queen and a pawn - but with a difficult position after 16...Qxf4 17.Qxf4 Nxe7 18.Qe4+ Kf7 19.Qxh7+ Ke8. After some Queen dancing by White - 20.Re1 Rf7 21.Qg8+ Rf8 22.Qg6+ Rf7 - Black is tied up, and 23.h4!? shows White's winning path.

Analysis Diagram






But - why bother? That kind of calculation takes time, and, instead, White can simply continue to put pressure on the enemy King.

Let Black do all the figuring out.

15.Qh6 Bf5

Of course not 15...Qxd5 16.Qxh7#.

16.Nxc7 Rac8 

Indeed, what to do about White's threat to win the exchange?

There was also 16...Bxc2, but after 17.Re3 Rg8 18.Nxa8 Rxa8, Black has a Bishop and Knight for a Rook, but White remains with the initiative.

17.Ne6 

More thinking to do! White threatens to win the exchange, again, and Black should let him, with 17...Qg4 18.Nxf8 Rxf8. 

17...Bxe6 18.Qxh7+ Ke8 19.Rxe6+ Kd8 20.Qxb7 

20...Qb6

Black finally cracks. In offering to exchange Queens to reduce the pressure on his King, he unprotects the vulnerable d-pawn. 

21.Rxd6+ Ke8 22.Qd7 checkmate