Friday, August 30, 2024

Jerome Gambit: What Happened?



My reaction to the following game was What happened?

After 9 moves, Black was better. Five more moves, and he resigned.

If the defender relaxes too early against the Jerome Gambit, quite often something happens.

Wall, Bill - Twister

sparkchess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5


An earlier game between these two players included the "nudge" 7.Qd5+. White won in 22 moves.

7...d6 8.Qd5+ 

Bill likes to "put the question to the Bishop" in a different way - Does it want to come to e6 to block the check, leaving the b-pawn unprotected?

He has scored an impressive 14 - 0 - 1 with 8.Qd5+

8...Be6 9.Qxb7

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

9...N8e7 


We have reached another annoying position for Black. 

Stockfish 16.1 assesses Black to be almost 1 3/4 pawns better.

White has three pawns and a safer King for his sacrificed piece.

How to proceed?

10.O-O Re8 

Fine, but the computer has already evaluated things as =. Bill suggests, instead, 10...Qd7. Stockfish 16.1 likes 10...Nf4 or 10...d5

11.f4 Kg8

Bill gives this move a ?, but it is Stockfish 16.1's first choice, and leads to an even game (thirty ply). Yet it allows White's pawn a fork.

12.f5 

12...Bc8

Bill rightly gives this move ?? 

The other day I was telling my grandson about my experience slipping on a banana peel. Perhaps there was a peel on the d7 square.

13.Qxa8 Ne5 14.Qxa7 Black resigned




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