Jerome Gambit: Blackburne Shilling / Kostic Jerome Gambit (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

IvanRusskih - zzzwww

Europa League 2022 - 2023 

                                      

We continue with a modern Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 

Possibly Black wanted to avoid 6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8, or wasn't interested in the continuing complications, e.g. 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxh1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 although they would leave him a bit better.

For perspective, The Database has over 2,100 games with 6.Qh5+, and Black found the 6...g6 line in 85% of them. Similarly, lichess.org has 77,336 games with the 6.Qh5+ line, and in 84% of the games Black found 6...g6.

The problem with the text is that White now has a forced checkmate with 7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc5 9.Qd5+ Kb4 10.a3+ Ka4 11.Nc3#. 

Bad luck for IvanRusskih.

7.Nc3 

Okay, so zzzwww overlooked the line, too.

7...g6 

Too late, but I do not think that anyone could have conjured up Stockfish 16.1's suggestion: 7...c6 8.Qf7+ Kd6 9.d3 Ne6 10.Qf5 Ke7 11.Nf7 g6 12.Bg5+ Ke8 13.Qe5 Qb6 14.Nd6+ Bxd6 15.Qxh8 Nxg5 16.h4 Ne6 17.Qxg8+ Nf8 18.O-O-O Bf4+ 19.Kb1 d6 20.d4 Qc7 21.Qc4 Qf7 22.d5 Nd7 23.g3 and White is still better, but by not as much.

8.Nd5+ 

8...Ke8 9.Nxg6 

White offers the Knight, after all.

Black, in turn, would rather gain a Rook than surrender one.

9...Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Nxa1 

He might as well.

11.Nxh8 checkmate

Quite nice.

Joseph Henry Blackburne would probably get a chuckle out of this particular ending to his gambit, even if it is Black who has to turn over his King.