Jerome Gambit: It's A Bear (Part 3)

                                                         

[continued from the previous post]

Here is the finish to my game with Bear Bot at Chess.com.

perrypawnpusher - The Bear Bot

Chess.com, 20216

Surely I can beat the bot...

37...Kd4 38.Rc8 Bc5 39.g4 

Another pawn joins in the fun!

Uh, 39.Rxc5 Kxc5 40.e7 was enough. 

39...Kxc4+ 40.Kg2 Kd4 41.g5 

See the second note to move 39.

41...Kxd5 42.Rxc5+ 

Finally.

42...Kd6 

Catch the passer!

43.Re5 

A distraction?

43...Kxe5 

Yes!

44.e7 Kf5 45.e8=Q Kxg5 

All that is left is for me to avoid stalemate.

46.Qf8 b5 47.Kf3 a5 48.Ke4 Kg6 49.Kd5 Kh5 50.Qg8 Kh6 51.Ke5 b4 52.Kf5 Kh5 53.Qg5 checkmate

As Samuel Johnson (who did not play chess) never said "Sir, the Jerome Gambit. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

Jerome Gambit: It's A Bear (Part 2)

 

                                                    

[continued from the previous post]

As mentioned, I had gotten some attention from the Bear Bot at Chess.com, so I decided to follow through there.

perrypawnpusher - The Bear Bot

Chess.com, 20216

20.O-O 

I flinched. 

I looked at the danger that my opponent's King was in, and began to worry about my King.

Readers who excel in attack will find 20.Rd7+ Kh6 21.Qh3+ Kg5 (or 21...Qh5 22.Rd6+ Kg7 23.Qxh5 winning Black's Queen;  or 21...Kg6 22.Qg4+ Kh6 23.Qh4+ Kg6 24.f4 Rcf8 25.Qg4+ Kh6 26.fxe5 Bf2+ 27.Ke2 Rhg8 28.Qh3+ Kg5 29.Qxh7 b6 30.Rg7+ Rxg7 31.Qxg7+ Kh4 32.Qh6+ Kg4 33.h3+ Kg3 34.Qg5#) 22.f4+ Qxf4 23.Rd5+ Kf6 24.Rf5+ Qxf5 25.Qxf5+ Ke7 26.Qe5+ Kd7 27.Qg7+ Kc6 28.Rf1 Rhf8 29.Rxf8 Rxf8 30.Qxf8 Kd7 31.Qf7+ Kc8 32.Qe8+ Bd8 33.Nb5 b6 34.Qc6+ Kb8 35.Nd6 Bh4+ 36.Ke2 b5 37.Qb7 checkmate

20...Rc7 21.Qg3+ 

As I related 16 years ago, in Blackburned! #1

My first chess book was Reuben Fine's Chess the Easy Way – available in paperback these days, used, for under $5.00 [currently, about $10.00; also at the Internet Archive] – and it gave me the idea (rightly or wrongly) that much of chess can be boiled down to: win a pawn, exchange everything else, win the K + P vs K endgame...  

My 21st move in this game is not bad, it is merely uninspired and lazy.

It should have been possible to find 21.Qg4+ Kf8 22.Rd8+ Kf7 23.Rd5 Qg7 24.Qf4+ Ke8 25.Rfd1 Qe7 26.Rd8+ Qxd8 27.Rxd8+ Kxd8 28.Qf6+ Kd7 29.Qxh8 when White has a Queen and 4 pawns for a Rook.

21...Qxg3 22.hxg3 

The game is no longer quick, it is more of a grind.

22...Rxc3 

Interesting and dynamic, breaking up White's Queenside pawns. At this point, Black has to come up with something.

23.bxc3 Rc8 24.Rd3 Ba5 25.f4 Rc4 26.e5 h5 

27.Rd7+ 

The right idea, attacking the enemy King, not worrying about losing a doubled pawn.

27...Kh6 28.Rfd1 h4 

29.R1d6+ 

This should checkmate in 8.

29...Kh5 30.Rh7+

This is fine, although 30.Rg7 mates faster.

30...Kg4 31.Rxh4+ 

See the above note

31...Kxg3 32.Rh8 Kxf4 33.e6 

Okay, if checkmate is too hard, maybe promote a pawn?

33...Bc7 34.Rd4+ 

See the note to move 21.

34...Rxd4 35.cxd4 Bd6 36.c4 Ke3 37.d5 

All this pawn stuff is funny - but it is the Jerome Gambit.

Instead, 37.e7 Bxe7 38.Re8 Kxd4 39.Rxe7.

[to be continued]