Rattling Around in My Brain (Not the Jerome)

The game drumme - rajasthan, blitz, FICS, 2023 (1-0, 28) has been rattling around in my brain, lately. 

I took a look at it for this blog about a year and a half ago, in "Out-Weird the Jerome Gambit", a post aptly titled, as the game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nb4?

There are 29 games in The Database, with White scoring 90% - certainly not a nightmare for the first player, especially because there are 2 short games (4 & 14 moves) that appear to be wins for Black on time or forfeiture, as they end with a position where White is clearly better.

A check at the massive online lichess.org database shows 40,598 games with those first 3 moves, with White scoring 73 1/2%.

Why, then, the jumbled thoughts?

In an early (2008) post about a similar line, "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit," I noted that, according to Wikipedia

The first known mention of this line [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4] was by Steinitz, who noted it in 1895 in the Addenda to his Modern Chess Instructor, Part II. The earliest game with the opening on chessgames.com is Dunlop - Hicks, New Zealand Championship 1911 [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.O-O Nxf3+ 5.Qxf3 Qf6 6.Qg3 Bc5 7.Nc3 c6 8.Kh1 b5 9.Bb3 d6 10.f4 h5 11.d3 Be6 12.f5 h4 13.Qg4 Bxb3 14.Bg5 h6 15.Qxh4 O-O-O 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.axb3 Nxf5 18.Qxh8 Ng3+ 19.hxg3 Rxh8#].

The game Muehlock - Kostic, Cologne, 1912 also came to mind, another example of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3 checkmate.

Note that the Black Knight went to d4 in the Shilling Gambit games, not b4. Also, that Black answers the pawn grab, 4.Nxe5, with the sharp 4...Qg5.

Which finally brings us to today's game.

Bjarne_V - ale198333

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nb4 

I don't have a name for this idea, but according to The Database, the earliest game there saw Kvram play this move.

4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7?

White's Knight is hanging, the enemy Queen is threatening both it and the g-pawn - it's a 1-minute game - go ahead and fork two major pieces.

With enough time (and Tylenol) White might have found the better, but still messy, 5.Bxf7+ Kd8 6.Nf3 Nxc2+ (trickier than the alternative, 6...Qxg2) 7.Kf1 (or 7.Qxc2 Qxg2 8.Rg1 Qxf3) 7...Qb5+ 8.d3 Nxa1 9.Nc3 Qa5 10.Bd2 d6 11.Qxa1 when White would have a pawn for the exchange, and Stockfish 16.1 would assess (27 ply) the first player as about 1 3/4 pawn better.

5...Qxg2 6.Rf1 d5 7.Nxh8 

7...Bh3 

Pressure on the Rook, but getting ahead of himself. Better was 7...dxc4 with advantage. 

8.Qh5+

Hoping to make the Knight trapped at h8 useful. It was time - if there were time - to settle things down a bit with 8.Be2, when White would be better. 

8...g6 

After 8...Kd7 9.Be2, the computer assesses Black - a Rook down - as clearly better!? 

9.Qe5+ Be7 

Here, Stockfish recommends some expected moves, eventually leading to a draw by repetion, i.e. 10.Be2 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Nc3 dxe4 13.Nd5 Bg4 14.Nxc7+ Kd7 15.Qb5+ Kxc7 16.Qc4+ drawing.

Wow.

10.Qc3

To prevent the Knight fork, but giving up the Bishop, which protects the Rook, which guards the King...

10...dxc4 11.Qxc4 Nxc2+ 12.Qxc2 Qxf1 checkmate