Jerome Gambit: Escaping the Mania (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - LarryFitzgeraldBot

Chess.com, 2023

At this point it was clear that I was better in my battle against the bot (although little credit can be given to the Jerome Gambit) but my imprecise moves reduced that edge.

22.Re5 Rec8

This move put more pressure on the c-file, and my forward c-pawn at that. Fortunately, I had counterplay.

23.Rhe1 g5 

Stockfish 16 recommends, instead, 23...Re8, although White can meet that with the odd 24.Bf8!? - one way to get rid of the drawish Bishops-of-opposite-colors. Still, after  24...Rxf8 25.Rxe6 Rd8 Black might have enough piece activity - and White, enough pawn weaknesses - that the defender might be able to hold.

The text move, instead, blunders away a piece. I am not sure what the LarryFitzgerald bot was calculating. It could be an example of what I have labelled "artificial ignorance".

24.Rxe6 gxf4 25.Re7+ Kf6 26.Rxc7 Rxc7 27.Bd6 

27...Rg7 

This should have been a game-ending blunder, but I missed it.

28.Bxf4 

This was the reason I played 27.Bd6, so I continued as planned - overlooking the skewer 28.Be5+ winning the exchange. 

28...h5 

Consistent, instead, would have been 28...Rxg2. 

29.g3 

Of course, 29.Be5+ etc. 

29...Re7 30.Rxe7 Kxe7 

We were playing without a clock, which would have been my opponent's only chance.

31.Bb8 a6 32.Ba7 b5 33.Kb3 Kf7 34.Kb4 Kg7

Perhaps the bot cannot resign. Likewise, it cannot suffer, as the rest of the play is uncomfortable, at best. 

35.Ka5 b4 36.cxb4 Kf7 37.Kxa6 Ke6 38.b5 h4 39.gxh4 Ke5 40.b6 Kf5 41.b7 Kg4 42.Bf2 Kf5 43.b8=Q 

43...Ke6 44.Qb5 Kf6 45.h5 Kg7 46.Qc6 Kh8 47.Qd7 Kg8 48.c4 

An example of "no think" chess. There were faster checkmates earlier, but this is what I was aiming for.

48...Kf8 49.c5 Kg8 50.c6 Kf8 51.c7 Kg8 52.c8=Q checkmate