Jerome Gambit: Entering the Maze (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - DaniyarManat

"Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2020

11.Qxc5+

I figured that DaniyarManat knew what he was doing. Time to play my "surprise".

In 2008, in the 10.Kd1 line, fehim had captured this Bishop in an online blitz game against vshamis on FICS and lost on time in 26 moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ 10.Kd1 Ne7 11.Qxc5+ Kxc5 12.gxh4 d5 13.e5 Bg4 14.d4+ Nxd4+ 15.Kd2 Nf3+ 16.Ke3 d4+ 17.Kf2 Nxh4 18.Nd2 Raf8 19.Kg3 h5 20.Kxh4 Nf5+ 21.Kg5 Rh6 22.h3 Be2 23.Ne4+ Kd5 24.Nf2 Re8 (The clock was affecting Black as well) 25.Re1 (Missing his chance, as 25.Kxf5 would give White the advantage) Ree6 (Another slip) 26.c4+ (26.Kxf5) Bxc4 White forfeited on time.

That was all I could find for 11.Qxc5+: The Database had only that one example, and none in the 10.Kf1 line.

11...Kxc5 12.gxh4 d5 

13.d3 Bh3+ 

Black's Knight and Bishop proceeded to drive me to distraction.

14.Kf2 Nxh4 15.Kg3 Bg2 16. Rg1 Neg6 

Now it's 3 minor pieces against my King and Rook.

17.f5 Ne5 

Planning the fork on f3. In hindsight, I was doing fairly well, now, but I was hardy aware of it at the time.

18.Kxh4 Nf3+ 19.Kg3 Nxg1 

A strange position: my minor pieces are undeveloped, while my opponent's are - developed to my side of the board.

I had hopes that my "Jerome pawns" - all of them - would keep the enemy pieces trapped "behind enemy lines" until I could round them up.

20.Be3+ 

A key move.

20...Kd6 

I had figured out the cute line 20...d4 21.Bxg1 Bf1 22.Nc3, uncovering the Rook's attack on the enemy Bishop while covering the d2 square to the Bishop could not escape there. 

21.Bxg1 

The consistent followup, but after the game Stockfish 11 preferred  the other capture, 21.Kxg2. It then looked at 21...dxe4 22.dxe4 Ke5 23.Nd2 Ne2 24.c3 Nf4+ 25.Kf3 Nh5 and although the Knight had escaped and White would have a pawn for the exchange, it saw White as almost 2 1/2 pawns better.

21...Bf1 

This time Stockfish preferred giving up the Bishop with 21...dxe4 22.Kxg2 exd3 23.cxd3 Raf8 24.d4 Rxf5 seeing the position as only slightly better for White. I am not so sure: Black has a Rook and a pawn for the two pieces, plus the Kingside pawn majority, and the possibility that White's d-pawn is weak.

22.Nc3 

Here we have a position similar to the note after Black's 20th move, although now White could answer 22...d4 with 23.Ng5+ and 24.Nxd4. 

22...dxe4 23.Nxe4+ Kd7 24.Rxf1 

The invaders had been repelled. I had a couple of pieces and an extra pawn against his extra Rook. If you had told me that my advantage here was more than two pieces - as Stockfish 11 argued, in the post mortem - I would have laughed.

I felt lucky to have gotten this far.

[to be continued]