Thursday, December 31, 2020

Jerome Gambit: Addition and Subtraction, Not Calculus

The following game is a good example of how a player's analysis is compressed in blitz, and how Jerome-like play can often succeed when it is too difficult to find the error of its ways.


NapthaGas - tritter88

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 

The Two Knights Defense.

4.Bxf7+ 


Casually referred to as an "impatient Jerome Gambit", as White does not wait for ...Bc5 in order to sacrifice his Bishop.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

Also seen recently, with another kind of Jerome-ish pawn push: 6.f4 Neg4 7.e5 Nd5 8.Qxg4 d6 9.Qf3 dxe5 10.fxe5+ Kg8 11.O-O h6 12.d4 c5 13.c4 Ne7 14.d5 Nf5 15.e6 Qe7 16.Qxf5 b5 17.Nc3 bxc4 18.Ne4 Bb7 19.d6 Bxe4 20.dxe7 Bxf5 21.exf8=Q+ Rxf8 22.e7 Re8 23.Rxf5 Rxe7 24.Bf4 Kh7 25.Rxc5 Re2 26.Rxc4 Rxb2 27.Rc7 Rhb8 28.Rxa7 Re2 29.Bxb8 Black resigned, antoniopowa - anhsyssajsyhjs, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com 2020

6...Ng6 7.e5 Ng8 8.Qf3+ Ke8 


Black looks like he is back on his heels, but, remember, he has an extra couple of pieces. Still, this is a 3-minute blitz game, so there is time for addition and subtraction, not calculus...

9.h4 d5 10.Bg5 Be7 11.h5 Bxg5 12.hxg6 Qd7 

Stopping the checkmate threat at f7. Still, stronger was 12...Ne7, giving the Rook some breathing room.

13.Rxh7 Black resigned


It looks like Black is going to lose a Rook, and 13...Rxh7 would allow White's pawn to move to the h-file and then promote.

But what about 13...Qf5 ? Then 14.Rxh8 Qxf3 15.gxf3 Be6 might very well hold. White could try 14.Qxf5 Bxf5 15.Rxh8, but 15...Kd7 16.Rh5 Bc1 17.Nd2 Bxg6 18.Rg5 Bxd2+ 19.Kxd2 Ne7 would leave Black with two pieces against a Rook and a couple of extra pawns - a slight disadvantage, but anything can happen in a blitz game...

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