Jerome Gambit: Tactical Magic

The following game features a creative Queen sacrifice - not to break down the walls of the enemy's fortress, but to gain a tempo. It is quite a thing to watch, and finish of the game is equally entertaining.

Tactical magic.

Wall, Bill - Anonymous

internet, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6 8.Nd2 Ne7 9.O-O Re8 10.Qc3 N7c6 

11.f4 Ng6 12.e5 Qf5 13.Qb3+ 

White wishes to interrupt Black's plan to castle-by-hand.

13...Kf8 14.Nf3 d6 15.Ng5 Nh8 16.h3 h6 

Skirmishes on the Kingside do not change the balance. Black is still better, with a piece for a pawn.

17.Bd2 Nd4 18.Qd5 Ne6 19.Ne4 Nf7 

Black's pieces shuffle themselves, the better to protect their King.

Once again, as White, Bill has slowly managed to bring about an exchange of roles. Black should be attacking.

20.g4 Qh7 21.f5 c6

It is interesting that Stockfish 13 suggests the return of the sacrificed material, with 21...Neg5 22.e6 Nxe6 23.fxe6 Bxe6. Things can then get tactically messy if White goes for one more pawn, i.e. 24.Qxb7 Rab8 25.Qc6 Bxg4 26.Qxc7 Bf5 27.Ng3 Qg6 28.Kh2 Be6 29.Ne2 Rbc8 30.Nf4 Rxc7 31.Nxg6+ Kg8 32.c3 Kh7 33.Nf4 Bc4 34.Rf2 Ng5 and Black would still have an edge.

22.Qc4 

Stockfish 13, which frequently sees White as worse in any Jerome Gambit - and, therefore, often suggests long lines ending in a draw by repetition - of course preferred 22.Qa5 Neg5 23.Nxd6 Nxd6 24.exd6 b6 25.Qc3 Bd7 26.Rae1 Ne4 27.Qd3 Nf6 28.Re7 Rxe7 29.dxe7+ Kxe7 30.Bc3 Kf8 31.Qd6+ Kg8 32.Re1 Re8 33.Rxe8+ Bxe8 34.Qd8 Kf7 35.Qc7+ Kg8 36.Qb8 etc. Cute.

When you get to the end of this game, I hope you appreciate the fact that White was played by a human. Especially since Black now believes he has caught White in a blunder.

22...d5 

Forking Queen and Knight.

23.fxe6 

Wonderful! White has a draw in hand, and more if Black becomes too excited.

23...dxc4 24.Bb4+ Re7 

If the King moves instead, White has a checkmate in 10 moves.

25.Rxf7+ Kg8 

Because 25...Ke8 will result in checkmate.

26.Nf6+ gxf6 

Again, forced to avoid a short checkmate.

27.Bxe7 

White is down a Queen for a Rook. Can he keep things going?

27...Qxf7  

I think that this move was deeply thought out - just not deeply enough. Black imagines reducing the position to an ending of Bishops-of-opposite-colors (despite the Rooks being on the board) where he can take refuge in a draw.

He has the right idea, with best play the game is drawn, but he would have been closer to that goal with 27...Qe4, when his King would be trapped in a sort of "windmill" that would have produced a repetion of position: 28.Rf8+ Kh7 29.Rf7+ Kg6 30.Rxf6+ Kh7 (not 30...Kg5, as 31.Raf1 will produce situations where Black will lose his Queen to a discovered check) 31.Rf7+, etc.

28.exf7+ Kxf7 29.Bxf6 Be6 

30.Rf1 Kg6 31.Be7 Bd5 32.Rf6+ Kg7 33.Rd6 Re8 34.Bf6+ Kg8 

35.Rd7

This move should have given Black pause. The "correct" way to pursue a draw is 35.Rd8, exchanging Rooks.

 35...Rb8 36.Kf2 

The King will lend an extra hand.

36...Bf7 37.Ke3 c5 38.Ke4 Kf8 39.Kf5 a5 40.e6 Bg8 41.Rd8+ 

Instead of celebrating here, Black resigned.

The sad truth is that even after 41...Rxd8 42.Bxd8, White's King is well-placed to capture the pawn on h6, and that will leave him with too many pawns for the opposite color Bishop ending.

But White had no intention  of entering that line, planning 41...Rxd8 42.e7+! when checkmate arrives quickly after the promotion, 42...Kf7 43.exd8/Q. 

Very, very nice.