Sleeping in the Gutter or Getting Away?

                                     

He who captures the Queen's Knight pawn sleeps in the gutter.

                            -- a stern warning against pawn-grabbing

He who grabs the pawn, and spirits away, lives to fight another day.

                            -- a lesson from Bill Wall's Jerome Gambit games

Wall, Bill - Florjan

internet, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Qxb7

I know that grabbing the b-pawn can be dangerous for White, but Bill always makes it seem playable.

9...N8e7 

Or 9...Nf4, as Bill faced in Wall,B - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23); 

Or 9...Ne5 as he faced in Wall,B - Guest249301, PlayChess.com 2013, (1-0, 30); 

Or 9...Nf6 as in Wall,B - Jergens, internet, 2023 (1-0, 23) 

10.f4 

Or 10.O-O as in Wall,B - Guest1352598, PlayChess.com 2021, (1-0, 21) 

10...Nxf4 11.Rf1 

Or 11.O-O as in Wall,B - Gilex, internet, 2022 (1-0, 21) 

11...Neg6 12.g3 Rf8 13.d3 Kg8 14.Bxf4 Nxf4 15.Rxf4 Rxf4 16.gxf4 

White is up 2 pawns, but his King is vulnerable to attack - vulnerable, that is, if attacked.

16...Rb8 

The White Queen gathers more attention, instead of 16...Qh4+.

17.Qxa7 Rxb2 18.Kd1 d5 

Often ...d5 helps Black's game, but not in this particular instance. Instead, 18...g6 would guard against some counterplay. 

19.f5 Bf7 20.Kc1 Rb8 21.Nd2 dxe4 22.Nxe4 h6 

White's King has found safety, and he is better.

23.Rb1 Ra8 24.Qg1 Rxa2 25.f6 g5

The difference between this move and the safer 25...g6 is immediately apparent. 

26.Nxg5 hxg5 27.Qxg5+ Kf8 28.Qh6+ Ke8 29.Rb8 

Nice.

29...Qxb8 30.Qh8+ Kd7 31.Qxb8 Black resigned

White's Queen can out-play the enemy Rook and Bishop in helping the pawns advance.