BSJG: Choices, Choices, Choices

The following game shows many choices, some taken, some not - some successful, some not.

It has a real Jerome-ish feel to it.

maestro_rabbittry01 - Florence_Madarang

2 5 bullet, training Arena, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

According to Wikipedia:

The first known mention of this line 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#].

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

Stockfish 17.1 (at 34 ply), sees the position as about 1 pawn better for Black. 

The Database has 25 games by maestro_rabbittry01 with this line. He scores 64%.

The earliest game with this line in The Database is Nater, Carl - Rogers, Ian, Begonia op 09th, Ballarat, 1975 (0-1, 46 ).

Years ago, in the post "A GM Faces the BSJG: Not Quite (Part 4)" I had written

Regarding the early Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game that we have been looking at ("A GM Faces the BSJG: Not Quite, Parts 1, 2 and 3"), Nater, Carl - Rogers, Ian, Begonia op 09th, Ballarat, 1975 (0-1, 46 ), I was able to contact GM Rogers, who, in turn, was able to contact Mr. Nater.

Not surprisingly, GM Rogers said that he was shocked to see his 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 met by 4.Bxf7+!?. At first, he expected simply be able to refute the move, as he not had it played against him previously - and actually had not even seen it mentioned before. He settled himself down and outplayed his opponent, for the full point.

"I gave up 3...Nd4 soon after that game for multiple reasons, not least that it was a bad move!" was GM Rogers' assessment.

Mr. Nater, rather than claiming to be one of the world's foremost experts on playing the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit over-the-board, modestly reported that "my openings at my prime [around ’75 probably] may have dived as deep as 4/5 moves before descending into chaos ... nowadays worse still." Not surprisingly, he did not have access to game score sheets from 45 years ago, so he could not say if he had repeated (or was repeating) his moment of chess opening inspiration.

"But there doesn't seem to be too much wrong with 4.Bxf7, more wrong with 3...Nd4" was his assessment.

4...Kxf7 

From Black's perspective, the computer evaluates 4...Kxf7 as about two pawns better than 4...Ke7, just in case you were wondering.

This is reflected in The Database, where 4...Kxf7, with 7,155 games scores  56% for White; while 4...Ke7, with 919 games, scores 71% for White.

5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

6.Qh5+ g6 

Not 6...Ke7 7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc5 9.Qd5+ Kb4 10.a3+ Ka4 11.Qa5 checkmate

7.Nxg6

The Database has 1,820 games with this move, with White scoring 60%.

The computer is more skeptical, evaluating the position about a pawn better for Black.

7...Nxc2+ 

It would be a lot to expect Black to be familiar with the post "BSJG: From Defeat to Full Point" and the much earlier "Warning: a1 & h8", which argue that giving up the Rook first with 7...hxg6 was the better choice, i.e. 8.Qxh8 Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 when Black would be better, according to Stockfish 17.1. 

maestro_rabbittry01 had actually faced 7...hxg6 ten days before the current game, with play continuing  8.Qxh8 Qg5? 9.O-O (better 9.Qxd4) 9...Nf3+ (better 9...Ne2+ 10.Kh1 Kf7) 10.Kh1 Nh4 11.g3 Nf3 12.d4 (maybe 12.Kg2) 12...Qg4 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Bxd2 Ne7 15.Bh6 Qf3+ 16.Kg1 d6 17.Bxf8 Qxf8 18.Qh4 g5 19.Qxg5 Bh3 $6 20.Qh5+ Kd8 21.Qxh3 Nc6 22.c3 Ke7 23.f4 Qf6 24.e5 Qg7 25.Rae1 Rh8 26.exd6+ Kxd6 27.Qg2 Ne7 28.f5 Nd5 29.Re6+ Kd7 30.Qxd5+ Black resigned, maestro_rabbittry01 - mcdhardal, lichess.org, 2023 

Later on, he saw 7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Qe7? (better 8...Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 [9...Qe7 10.d4 Ng4 11.Qh5+ Kd8 12.Qxg4 Nxd4 13.Na3 d5 14.Qf4 dxe4 15.Nf7+ Ke8 16.Ne5 Nf5 17.O-O Be6 18.Qxe4 Rd8 19.Nb5 Bd5 20.Qe1 Bxg2 21.Nxc7+ Qxc7 22.Nc6+ Be7 23.Nxd8 Qxd8 24.Kxg2 Qd5+ 25.f3 Black resigned, maestro_rabbittry01 - ako_ang_mahina_dito, lichess.org, 2023] 10.O-O Bxh8 11.d4 d6 12.Qg3 Qe7 [12...Nxe4] 13.e5 [Qd3] Ng8 [13...Nxd4] 14.Qxg8+ Kd7 15.Qxh8 b5 16.Nc3 Bb7 17.Qf6 Qe8 18.Nxb5 Qh5 19.exd6 cxd6 20.Be3 [20.Re1] Rf8 21.Qxf8? [21.Qh6] Nxf8 22.c4 Qg4 [22...Bxg2] 23.g3? [23.f3] 23...Qh3 [instead, 23...Bf3 mates] 24.f3 Ng6 25.d5 h5 26.Nxa7?! h4 27.Nc6? [27.Rf2] 27...hxg3 28.hxg3 Qxg3+ 29.Kh1 Nh4 30.Rf2 Qh3+ 31.Rh2? [31.Kg1] 31...Qxf3+ 32.Kg1 Qg3+ 33.Kf1 Qxh2 White resigned, maestro_rabbittry01 - MarcAndreBullirseTCU, lichess.org, 2023) ) 9.Nxe7 Black resigned, maestro_rabbittry01 - Olamygoodfriend, lichess.org, 2024) 

Are you still with me? The game is now even.

8.Kd1 

The Database has 223 games with this position. Black scores 32%.

Time for Black to grab the draw.

8...Nxa1 

Quite likely, the 2-minute time control affected this choice. Instead, there was 8...hxg6 9.Qxg6+ Ke7 10.Qg5+ Ke8 [10...Nf6 is interesting, but after 11.e5 Kf7 12.Kxc2 White will still get his material back, and the game looks even] 11.Qg6+ draw 

9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.d4 

Or 10.Qf7+ Black resigned, maestro_rabbittry01 - mcdhardal, lichess.org, 2023 

There is also 10.Qe5#. 

White sees another way.

10...Qe8 11.Bg5+ Nf6 12.Bxf6+ Black resigned