Jerome Gambit: Endgame Maze

 

I got a chuckle out of the following endgame position from a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game. I do not know the time control, but I suspect that it was blitz.

scwymstr - divegeester

RedHotPawn.com, 2022

Black has retained his extra piece. 

Stockfish 15 says he has a checkmate in 20 moves. Of course, a computer would say that.

45.Kf6 

White's best practical chance is for his King to go after the pawns.

What should Black do?

My first thought was the crude 45...Bxh5, since 46.gxh5 would unblock the g-pawn and let it run toward the Queening square with 46...g4.

No, 45...Bxh5 should be met by 46.Kg7!, and although Black gets to gobble up the enemy pawns first, after 46...Bxg4 47.Kxh6 White will be able to eliminate the enemy pawns as well, leading to a draw.

45...Bd7 

Black's plan is to attack the pawns another way. Indeed, after

46.Kg6 Bxg4 47.Kxh6 Bh3

the game was drawn, as White can grab the g-pawn and Black's Bishop has time to position itself on the b1-h7 diagonal to intercept the White pawn, e.g. 48.Kxg5 Bf1 49.h6 Bd3.

Fair enough.

However, both  players probably figured out after the game - when the clock was no longer ticking - that Black could win if he did not play 45...Bd7, but instead hustled his King over to the pawns 

45...Kd2 46.Kg7 Ke3 47.Kxh6 Kf4 

Just in time! 

48.Kg7 

To the strains of Supertramp, "Take the long way home" 

48...Bc6 

Careful! 48...Kxg4 would lose to 49.h6 because the Bishop can not intercept the pawn, so White wins. And 48...Bxh5 should only lead to a draw after 49.gxh5 g4 50.h6 g3 51.h7 g2 52.h8/Q g1/Q.

Instead, the Bishop heads for the critical b1-h7 diagonal.

Now 49.h6 Be4 50.h7 Bxh7 51.Kxh7 Kxg4 is a clear win for Black, as would be 49.Kf6 Kxg4 followed by either capturing the White pawn or 50.Be4.  

Once again we see that the endgame is important, even in wild attacking games like those featuring the Jerome Gambit.