Jerome Gambit: Grandpa Gambit (Part 2)

 

                                 [continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - GrandpaGambitBot

Chess.com, 2023

Continuing the grandpa (that's me) vs Grandpa (a Chess.com bot) chess game. 

13.Qe3+

Much more interesting was 13.Qg5+ (strongest) Ke8 14.O-O!?, which I hadn't even considered. Black should probably then exchange Queens (blunting White's Kingside pawn majority), and after 14...Qxg5 15.fxg5 his position wouldn't look that bad - although the computer still assesses the position as 4 pawns better for White.

13...Kf8 14.Nc3 Qe8 15.d4 Nf6 16.O-O Qxe3+ 17. Bxe3 Kf7 

Black's pawns are still a mess, although White's d- and f-pawns are doing his "bad" Bishop no favors, either.

What should my plan have been?

Certainly d4-d5 comes to mind (now, not then) to give the Bishop more breathing room. Occupying the e-file, while drawish (Rooks can be exchanged) is another possibility. Trading off White's "bad" Bishop for the "good" (better) Knight as also possible.

Sadly, what follows, instead, is a mish mash of partial ideas.

18.Nb5 d5 19.Rae1 b6 20.Nd6+ Ke6 21.Nxc8 

Trading off the "good" Knight for a "bad" Bishop because I can meet the next move with c2-c3, further blocking in my own Bishop...

21...Raxc8 22.c3 Ke7 23.Bf2+ Kf7 24.Bh4 Rhe8 

Perhaps Black calculated a draw after Rooks were off the board.

In any event, it was time to give up the "minor exchange" - trade my "bad" Bishop for his "good" Knight.

25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.g3 

Protecting my f-pawn and limiting his h-pawn. After the game, Stockfish 16 had a mind-numbing suggestion that indicated a balanced game: 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Kf2 f5 28.a4 Kf6 29.g3 Re7 30.Kf3 Re4 31.Rh1 Re8 32.Ra1 Rh8 33.Kg2 Re8 34.Kf1 Rb8 35.Kf2 Re8 36.Re1 Re4 37.Kf1 Kg6 38.Ra1 Re8 39.Rd1 Kf6 40.Re1 Re4 41.Rxe4 dxe4

26...Kg6 27.Kf2 Kf5 28.Kf3 

Black's King cannot invade the Kingside. A few ideas for him: put his Rooks on g8 and h8 and advance his h-pawn; or put the Rooks on b8 and c8 and pursue a "minority attack" with his pawns; or park a Rook on e6 or e4 and double Rooks on the e-file - but which square he chooses makes a difference.

White should think about h2-h3 and g3-g4. 

                                                           [to be continued]