Jerome Gambit: Success Is Just Around the Corner... (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - vityas81

"Play The Italian Game III" tournament, Chess.com, 2023

Sometimes things can be made more complicated by worry.

Here I was worried about the Knight at b4 and its threats to the c2 square. Also, there was the Bishop on e6 that, at any moment, would attack my Queen after a well-timed ...d4.

After the game Stockfish 15.1 tried to reassure me that I could have turned a corner and gotten a bit closer to success with 14.Ng5+, which doesn't immediately do anything, but which controls the enemy Bishop. After 14...Kg8 15.O-O things would have remained balanced. 

14.Bxb4 axb4 15.O-O Rhf8 16.Qd3 Kg8 

Now, if I can only get around that next corner...

17.Nd4 Bd7 18.b3 

This weakening of the a1-h8 diagonal (with the Rook still on it) rightly led to trouble.

I should have tried to get rid of a Bishop with 18.Nb5, although my opponent was in the position to give up a pawn with 18...Be5 19.Qxd5+ Rf7 and still be better. 

18...Be5 19.Nge2 

Making things worse. Necessary was 19.Rad1, even if it led to the loss of the a-pawn. 

19...Qh6 

My opponent momentarily abandoned the win of a piece with 19...c5 for a mate-in-1 threat - which worked.

20.Ng3 c5 21.Ndf5 Bxf5 22.Nxf5 Qxh2 checkmate

Ouch.

Well, Mr. Monck and Mr. Noa, I may have to re-evaluate my relationship with your gambit...