Sunday, October 20, 2024



Not all Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games end quickly - either by a crashing attack by White, or a devastating counter-attack by Black. 

The following interesting four end-of-the-game positions are from blitz games that lasted over 100 moves. 


donkeykong8991 - NarekO31, blitz, 2022

This position looks like a routine checkmate, but getting there was illuminating.

At move 60, there was a draw offer made by White, which accurately assessed the King + Rook vs King + Rook position. Black declined, perhaps due to the clock - they were playing 3 2 blitz.

Unfortunately, at move 91 there was a losing error by Black, who, still, at move 97 offered a draw in a King + Rook vs King endgame. 

White checkmated at move 119.



ryuugu-rena - tqd0306, blitz, 2022

This 10-minute game was drawn in 113 moves.  Fair enough, but the players had reached the Bishop vs Pawn situation at move 61, and Black could have captured the pawn on move 61. It is not clear if the 50-move was invoked.



krickold - maia1, blitz, 2023

This rowdy 119 move draw was accomplished through stalemate in a 3 2 blitz game. 

From the United States Chess Federation website on the topic of stalemate

Although the concept of stalemate had long been recognized as a different result to checkmate, there was no universally accepted rule on its significance before the 19th century. Through different regions and times, the stalemate rule evolved through one of the following: 1) stalemate was an illegal position, 2) stalemate was a win -- or half-win -- for the player delivering the position, 3) stalemate was a loss for the player delivering the position, or 4) stalemate was a draw.  

In his book The Famous Game of Chesse-Play in 1614, Arthur Saul wrote a chapter titled "The diversity of Mates, and which are worthy of praise, or disspraise," and the section was pertinent to both his attitude and the influence on the stalemate rule... 

He concludes by saying that players who give stalemate "purchase unto themselves such shame, which will not after be put away without much blushing."  

(Readers may have noted that White has all of his pieces, which means at the very least he must have promoted a pawn to another light square Bishop. In fact, he also promoted a pawn to a dark square Bishop, another pawn to a Knight, and a third pawn to a Queen. White was having fun against the maia1 computer program  )



DrMarlonsky - djh2075, blitz, 2022

In this 113 move 5 2 blitz game, White gave up his last piece on move 91. After all, who knows how to checkmate with Knight and Bishop these days, especially with the clock ticking? Apparently, djh2075.