Visit From An Old Friend

Black's tactical oversight on move 12 is like a visit from an old friend. (As the Beatles sang, "I get by with a little help from my friends.") It is an interesting variation on the old "optical illusion" which has garnered me a few points.

perrypawnpusher - johnEjohnE
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 a6 

Okay, no Jerome Gambit - yet. Patience.

4.O-O 

Here Bill Wall jumped the gun with 4.Bxf7+ and earned a quick victory in Wall,B - GuestDLNJ, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 11). 

A Scotch variation was seen with 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qh5+ Black resigned, Melenos - Rocangus, FICS, 2010. 

4... Nf6 

Stubborn. After 4... Bc5 I played 5. Bxf7+ in perrypawnpusher - Tlslevens, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28). 

5. Nc3

I could have played 5.Ng5, as in the Two Knights Defense,  5...d5 6.exd5 Na5 7.d3 etc., but I was still angling for a Jerome Gambit.

5... Bc5 6. Bxf7+ 

At last. A Delayed Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Nf3+ 

A bright idea, similar to the move by AirmanLeonidas, when he had advanced h7-h7 instead of this game's a7-a6.

The equally interesting 8... Qe7 was seen in Wall,B - Pawndering, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 16). 

9. gxf3 

Writing about my game against AirmanLeonidas, I commented about the pawn capture vs the Queen capture

Going with the "Jerome pawns," but not the best. After the game Rybka suggested: 9.Qxf3, since if 9...Bxd4 White can regain the pawn with 10.Nb5 Be5 11.Qb3+ d5 12.f4 Bd6 13.Nxd6+ Qxd6 14.e5 Qb6+ 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.exf6 gxf6 when Black may have a small edge if he can use his open lines.

However, in the current game, the helpful 10.Nb5 is not playable, due to Black's pawn on a6.

Still, a long-time Jerome Gambiteer once went with the Queen capture: 9.Qxf3 Bxd4 10.Nd5 c6 11.Nxf6 Qxf6 12.Qb3+ Qe6 13.c4 Re8 14.Be3 Qxe4 15.c5+ Re6 16.Rae1 Ke7 17.Bxd4 Qxd4 18.Rxe6+ dxe6 19.Qc2 g6 20.b4 Black forfeited on time, jfhumphrey - spince, FICS, 2013.

9...Bb4 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 d6 12.Qd3

Black misunderstands the reason for this move, and overlooks my response. It's blitz. It happens.

12...Rf8 13.Qc4+ Be6 14.Qxb4 Bh3 

Black's pressure on White's King does not compensate for being behind two pawns, with the smaller center. He appears to have been shaken by falling for the cheap tactic.

15.Rfe1 Kg8 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Qe8 18.exf6 Qf7

Here Black forfeited by disconnection.

After 19.fxg7 Qxg7+ 20.Bg3 White would clearly be better.

Too Smart (Not Smart Enough) For My Own Good

Sometimes when I am playing the Jerome Gambit I think I should take Nike's advice and "Just Do It!"... Over-thinking something has its problems. In the following game, by the time I figured out what I was supposed to remember, the game had wandered off.

perrypawnpusher - catmandu
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nf3+

A sharp and realatively unknown idea - this game is only the 10th example in The Database. It seemed familiar to me, though - and it actually was. I had responded with 8.gxf3 four years ago in perrypawnpusher - wertu, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 20).

8.Qxf3

During the game against catmandu, however, I thought I remembered perrypawnpusher - AirmanLeonidas, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18), where, in my annotations, I had suggested that capturing with the Queen was better.

This was not entirely correct: against AirmanLeonidas I was playing the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit - with 0-0 and ...h6 added to the current position - so that certain lines were playable then, but not now.

8...Bxd4

At this point I realized that 9.e5 would not work (it hadn't worked in stretto - NoWar, FICS, 2007 [0-1, 28] or yorgos - ANDGREG, FICS, 2009 [0-1, 51] either, I learned later); and that the idea starting with 9.Nb5 followed by 10.Qb3+, as in my game against AirmanLeonidas, would stumble upon the fact that my King in this game was still on the e-file.

I could have made more of a game of it with 9.Ne2 Be5 10.Qd3 c6 11.f4 Bc7 but of course Black would still be better.

Without any particular idea in mind, I just started "making moves". 

9.Bg5 Rf8 10.0-0

After the game Houdini suggested the move complicated (hence, giving me more chances) 10.Ne2 Bxb2 11.Qb3+ Kg6 12.h4 h6 13.Nf4+ Kh7 14.Qxb2 Qe8 15.0-0-0 Qxe4 16.g3 Qc4 17.Bxf6 Rxf6 with Black still for choice. 

10...Kg8

Black has castled-by-hand, and compensation for White's piece sacrifice is insufficient.

11.Nd5 Nxd5 

One last oversight.

12.Qb3 Qxg5 White resigned

Next time, instead of trying to do all that remembering, I'll just focus on playing the game.

Fight Back!

In the following game my opponent was not intimidated by the Jerome Gambit - in fact, he fought back ferociously. The game was a bit of a street brawl for a while, but, in the end, the "Jerome pawns" saved the day for me.

perrypawnpusher  - truxtrux
blitz, FICS, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Game.

6.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Nf3+ 

9.gxf3

When I played my move, I kept thinking that I ought to be able to play 9.Qxf3, but I wasn't sure why. Later, I looked the move up, and, sure enough, it had done well for me (if 9...Bxd4 then 10.Nb5) in AlonzoJerome - HenryV, blitz, ICC, 2011 (1-0, 33) and perrypawnpusher - TijsH, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 37).

9...Bb6

A bit stronger is 9...Bb4, althought I did okay against it in perrypawnpusher - AirmanLeonidas, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18).

10.f4

After the game Houdini preferred 10.e5 Nh7 11.d5 Re8 12.f4 Kg8, with Black a bit better (King has castled-by-hand, has a piece for two pawns).

10...d5 11.e5 Bh3 

There is no question what is on Black's mind.

12.Re1

After the game, Houdini showed a preference for 12.exf6 Bxf1 13.fxg7 Rg8 14.Qh5+ (I had not thought of this in my calculations; it prevents ...Qh4) Kxg7 15.Kxf1 Bxd4, still with an edge for Black. 

12...Ng4 13.Qf3 Qh4 14.Be3

A bit better is 14.Qxd5+ first. For this reason, Black should play ...c6.

14...Nxe3 15.fxe3 g5 

Too brash, but very understandable: Black intends to wipe my King off of the board.

16.f5

Taking the pawn (with discovered check) was stronger, but I was shaking in my boots and wanted the position as closed as possible.

16...g4 17.Qf4 

Instead, 17.Qxd5+ Kf8 18.Qe4 likely would give White the slightly better game, due to the imposing "Jerome pawns". 

17...Rhg8 18.e6+ Kf6  

This gives White too much help. After 18...Kf8 19.Nxd5 I would have had only a small advantage.

19.Qe5+ Kg5 20.Qf4+ 

Nerves, and an eye on the clock. Instead, 20.Nxd5 Raf8 21.f6+ Kg6 22.e7 Rxf6 23.e8Q+ Rxe8 24.Qxe8+ and White benefits from the curious situation of Black's King and Queen, e.g. 25...Kg7 26.Qe7+ Kg6 27.Nf4+ as Houdini later pointed out.

20...Kh5 21.Ne2 g3 22.Nxg3+ Rxg3+ 23.hxg3 Qxf4 24.gxf4 Rg8+ 

Black has two Bishops (and the initiative) for for a Rook and 3 pawns, but probably 24...Bxf5 was the way to go.

25.Kh2

Wrong way, this only draws. Instead, 25.Kf2 Bxf5 26.e7 Re8 27.Rg1 Be4 28.Rg7 looks like the way to advantage for White.

Both of us were looking at our clocks now, however.

25...Kh4

This gave me the time to infiltrate my Rook into Black's position, and the game shifted permanently. 

After 25...Bxf5 26.Rg1 Re8 27.Rg3 Rxe6 28.Rh1 Be4 29.Rhg1 Bf5 30.Kg2 Be4+ 31.Kf2 Kh4 32.Rg4+ Kh5 33.R4g3 Houdini could not find a way for White to make progress. 

26.Rg1 Rxg1 27.Rxg1 Bxf5 28.e7 Bd7 29.Rg8

29...c6 30.e8Q Bxe8 31.Rxe8 

White is up only the exchange and a pawn, but Black has too many weaknesses, and the rest of the game, albeit, played short of time, is not hard to understand.

31...c5 32.c3 cxd4 33.cxd4 Bc7 34.Re7 Bd6 35.Rxb7 h5 36.Rxa7 Kg4 37.Rd7 Bb8 38.Rxd5 h4 39.a4 h3 40.a5 Kf3 41.Kxh3 Kxe3 42.a6 Kxf4 43.Ra5 Ke4 44.a7 Bxa7 45.Rxa7 Kxd4

46.Rb7 Kc5 47.Kg3 Kc6 48.Rb3 Kc5 49.Rf3 Kc4 50.Kf2 Kd4 51.Ke2 Ke4 52.Rh3 Kd4 53.Kd2 Kc4 54.b3+ Kb4 55.Kc2 Ka5 56.Rh4 Kb5 57.Kc3 Kc5 58.b4+ Kb5 59.Rh5+ Ka4 60.Kc4 

Yes, 60.Ra5 would have been checkmate.

60...Ka3 61.b5 Ka4 62.b6 Ka3 63.b7 Kb2 64.b8Q+ Kc1 65.Rh2

At this point my opponent had more than 3 minutes on his clock, but he elected to forfeits on time.

Hats off to truxtrux for a fighting game!

Totally Psyched Out

"I don't believe in psychology," Bobby Fischer supposedly said. "I believe in strong moves."

Then, again, Bobby probably never played the Jerome Gambit. If he had, he would have known the power of psychology (causing surprise, confusion, doubt and fear in the opponent) to make up for shortcomings, in an otherwise busted chess opening.

In the following game my opponent totally out-psychs me, though,and then adds some strong moves, too, for a well-deserved (for him) and painful (for me) victory.

perrypawnpusher  - Olito
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6

With 4...a6 the game would transpose to perrypawnpusher - angelosgoulianos, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 40).

The whole Rook-pawns idea should not have been unsettling to me, but the fact that my opponent was playing his moves quickly sort of cued the ominous violin music to start playing in the background... See "If I write all this and someone reads it...".

5.Nc3 a6 6.a3

Temporizing. Last year I had tried a similar time-wasting idea, d2-d3-d4, in perrypawnpusher - tschup, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18).

Of course, there certainly was nothing wrong with 6.d4 and a small advantage. I was still hoping for a Jerome Gambit-style game.

6...Bc5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Nxe5+ Nxe5 9.d4 Nf3+

This hit me like a ton of bricks.

Not just the move – I had seen it in my game against AirmanLeonidas – but the ideas behind it.

My game with Olito was taking place later on in the same day that I had posted my ICC game against HenryV . In the notes to HenryV I had pointed out that White could capture the Black Knight on f3 with his Queen, because if Black retaliated with with ...Bxd4, White had a neat maneuver starting with Nc3-b5.

Of course, my opponent had just prevented Nc3-b5 with his a-pawn move.

Apparently, Olito was familiar with my blog post and had planned accordingly. Panic ran screaming down the hallways of my brain – which is reason #253 as to why I will never be a good chess player...

For the record, the text move is better than 9...Qe7 as in perrypawnpusher - cinamon, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).

10.Qxf3

I decided to go along with a modification of my original plan, anyhow.

Next time I will take a look at 10.gxf3, breaking up my Kingside pawns, but giving me a chance to scatter Black's pieces after 10...Ba7 11.e5 Nh7. Both Rybka 3 and Fritz 8 then suggest marching White's d-pawn to d6:  12.d5 Qh4 13.d6 c6 14.Qd3 Qh5 15.f4 when the "Jerome pawns" could still cause some grief.

10...Bxd4 11.Ne2 Be5 12.Qb3+

I was playing quickly, too, but more with a sense of desperation: I didn't like being out-prepared in my own, favorite opening!

Now Black has 12...d5 when 13.f4 Bd6 14.e5 forks two pieces, but there is escape with either 14...Bc5+ or 14...Re8.

12...Kg6

A mistake, or more psychological warfare?

13.f4 Bd6 14.f5+

Going after the King! To punish it! To checkmate it!

Yes, I had kind of lost my head by this point.

Sticking with the obvious, instead, would have given White at lease an even game, and perhaps a small edge: 14.e5 (the fork) Bc5+ (one piece escapes) 15.Be3 Ne4 (the other piece escapes) 16.Bxc5 Nxc5 17.Qc4 (chasing off the defender) d6 18.b4 Na4 19.e6 Qf6 20.f5+ Kh7 21.Qxc7

analysis diagram






But, back to the real world.

14...Kh7

15.Bf4 Bc5+ 16.Kh1 Nxe4

White is mostly just a piece down now. Still, I thought it was worth taking a swipe at the enemy King.

17.Qf3 d5 18.g4 Qh4 19.Ng3 Nxg3+ 20.Bxg3 Qg5 21.h4

White has, as my Dad would say, "a whole lot of nothing", but Jerome Gambiteers have gotten out of worse messes than this one.

21...Qf6 22.Qxd5 Bd6 23.Bxd6 Qxh4+

Somewhere out there, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") is saying "I told you so!" I've seen Pete hang on and survive some pretty desperate positions – the Jerome Gambit is complicated for Black, as well as White.

24.Bh2 Qxg4

25.Rg1

After the game, Rybka 3 liked White's position enough to suggest: 25.Rf4 Qh5 26.Rg1 Rg8 27.Rg2 Re8 28.Rg1 Rg8 29.Rg2 Re8 30.Rg1 Rg8 31.Rg2 Re8 32.Rg1 Rg8 33.Rg2 Re8 34.Rg1 Rg8 35.Rg2 Re8 36.Rg1 Rg8 37.Rg2 Re8 38.Rg1 Rg8 39.Rg2 Re8 40.Rg1– that's right, White repeats the position and Black goes along with him: a draw.

Of course, my line of play gives up a pawn, and my opponent's generosity (giving back the piece) is all for naught.

25...Qxf5 26.Rad1 c6 27.Qg2 Rg8 28.Rgf1 Qh3 29.Qxh3 Bxh3 30.Rf7 b5 31.Rg1

The idea of active Rooks trying to win a pawn before transitioning into a hopefully-drawable Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame is an attractive one, but it needs to be executed properly. My move overlooks a nice response by Black.

31...Be6 32.Re7 Bd5+ 33.Rg2 Bxg2+ 34.Kxg2 Rad8 35.Be5 Rd2+ White resigned

What a mess...

Hat off to my opponent Olito, who seriously schooled me in this game.

Trying My Hand at ICC (Part 2)

Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

And in my second game at ICC, I was playing his ghost, it appeared. My luck, Charles Dickens' character had died before Alonzo Wheeler Jerome had invented his gambit.

AlonzoJerome  - MarleysGhost
blitz 2 12, ICC,2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Game.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Kf8

 8.Qxe5 Bd6

Without ...h6 for Black and 0-0 for White, I have faced this move against LeiCar and dogofthesouth.

I have also seen 8...Qe7 9.Qf4+ Nf6 10.e5 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - AirmanLeonidas, blitz, FICS, 2010.

9.Qc3

Maybe a little stronger than 9.Qd4 as in perrypawnpusher - LethHansen, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26).

9...Qf6 10.d4 Bf4

Looking to exchange pieces and (eventually) take us to the endgame. That was okay with me, to start.

11.Nd2 Bxd2 12.Bxd2 Qc6 13.Qf3+

Keeping the Queen on the board to keep the chances of attack.

13...Qf6 14.Qe3 d6

White's development, and Black's unsafe King (on the same file as his Queen) give adequate compensation for the sacrifice.

15.f4 Bd7 16.e5 dxe5

A reflex reaction, but it ends the game.

17.fxe5 Black resigned.

Black will have only a Knight and Rook to face White's Queen (and two "Jerome pawns").

Trying My Hand at ICC (Part 1)

After my week of searching at ICC for Jerome Gambit games (starting with "A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit??"), I was successful in discovering only one additional example (see "The Search Continues... With Some Success"), and that one was played by neither Grandmaster Larry Christiansen nor any other Grandmaster.

Finally, I did run across 3 games played by someone whose ICC handle was "AlonzoJerome".

Guess who?

Of course, I played them myself.

Well, that's at least a few games for the next Jerome Gambit explorer to discover.

AlonzoJerome  - HenryV
blitz, ICC, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Game.

6.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Nf3+

I was still pretty nervous at this point, because if I've played any games at ICC, it was quite some time ago, and I was still getting used to the software and sensing the strengths of players...

At this point, though, I gave thanks to AirmanLeonidas, who played this line against me last year. I did not find the best response the first time, but I did the second, and I was ready to remember it this third time.

9.Qxf3 Bb6

Black passes on the d-pawn.

After 9...Bxd4 10.Nb5 White eventually collects the Knight on f6 and has an even game: 10...Be5 (10...Bb6 11.e5) 11.Qb3+ d5 12.f4 Bd6 13.Nxd6+ Qxd6 14.e5 Qb6+ 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.exf6

10.e5 Rf8 11.exf6 Qxf6 12.Qxf6+ Kxf6

I was happy with my pawn advantage in the Queenless middle game, but Black's two Bishops almost offset this.

13.Be3 d6 14.Ne4+ Kg6 15.c3 d5 16.Ng3 Kh7

17.Rae1 a5 18.Bd2 c6 19.Re7 Bg4 20.Rfe1 Bc5

A thoughtless move that I managed to overlook for a move. I guess I wasn't the only nervous player in this game.

21.Rxb7 Rab8

Amaurosis scacchistica. Chess blindness.

22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.dxc5 Rxb2 24.Be3 Rxa2

Black has hopes that his passer will make up for the missing piece.

25.f3 Be6 26.Ne2 a4 27.Bd4 a3 28.Nf4 Bc8

Black should probably have safe-guarded his Kingside with 28...Bf7, i.e. if 29.Re7 Kg8, but then White would chase away the a-pawn's defender with Nf4-d3-b4 and then capture it with Re1-a1.

29.Re7 Ra1+ 30.Kf2 Ra2+ 31.Kg3 Rc2 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Ng6 checkmate