Jerome Gambit: Mission Accomplished (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - MoMalek11

3 days / move, "Giuoco Piano Game" tournament 

Chess.com, 2022

I have lost track of the number of times that I have complained that an opponent was being mean to my Queen... 

(I just checked: the most recent was a little over a week ago, in "Jerome Gambit: An Extra Move Always Helps").

Anyhow, I had been in this exact position before, in perrypawnpusher - Feestt, 6 10 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19). The game continued with the reasonable 12.Qg3, with a small edge to Black. When I shared the game in the post "Always Learning" I wrote

I had dismissed 12.Qb3+ too early, expecting that it would be well-met by 12...Be6, but Rybka showed that this was a shallow fear: White then has the return 13.Qg3, threatening the fork at f5, and after 13...Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4 White has an even game after 15.f5 Bd7 16.Rf4 Nxf5 17.h3 Nf6 18.exf5. 

Lesson: It's not good enough to play a bad opening, you have to play a bad opening well.

So, I had a tool in my Jerome Gambit tool box, and I was finally able to use it, after more than a dozen years. (Mission accomplished) 

12.Qb3+ Be6 13.Qg3 

Grabbing the b-pawn with 13.Qxb7 would have been very dangerous after 13...Qh4.

13...Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4 

My opponent had little to complain about. The Queens are off the board, his development is better, and his King is relatively safe.

On the other hand, the game is even - and from an "objective" point of view, I had made significant progress from being a couple of pieces down, not long ago. My plan was to show that the enemy Knights were at risk.

15.f5 Bd7 16.Rf4 h5 

The Knights are in trouble. Stockfish 15 suggests immediately giving one back with 16...Nxf5 17.exf5 Rhe8 with about an even game.

17.h3 

The computer is still in a generous mood, suggesting that Black now play 17...Nxg2, when 18.Kxg2 Nf6 19.d3 would leave White a pawn up.

Instead, Black sends his Knight on a typical Jerome Gambit ride.

17...Ne5 18.d4 Nc4 

19.Rxh4 

I didn't think of it at the time, but I could have played 19.b3 first, with the idea that 19...Nb6 could be followed by 20.Rxh4. Actually, since Black is going to lose the Knight at h4 anyhow, he could respond with 19...Nxg2 first, and then, after 20.Kxg2, play 20...Nb6.

In any event, my homework had paid off, and my two pawns advantage - despite my lag in development and the awkward placement of my Rook - meant that I was better.

19...Rag8 

Black has attacking designs on the Kingside. Possibly better was 19...d5, hiting the "Jerome pawns" in the center.

20.Bg5 

I was afraid of a possible ...g7-g5, and thought I would physically prevent the move. This costs the b-pawn, which turns out to be no big deal, but 20.b3 would still have been better.

20...Nxb2 21.Nc3 Rb8 

[to be continued]