Trying My Hand at ICC (Part 3)

My last game at ICC ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper... by my opponent. We played a line where "Nothing Happened", which shows up in The Database 60 times, and in which Black scores 31% .

AlonzoJerome - adroit
blitz 5 5, ICC, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ 

6...g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

Giving back the piece to break the attack, but going into a pawn-down Queenless middle game.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.Nc3 d6

Black's best "chance" now is that I'll let him escape into a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame, like I allowed BEEB.

11.d3 Bd7 12.Bg5 Ng4+ 13.Ke2 h6 14.Rhf1+ Kg7 15.Bf4 g5 16.Bg3 h5 17.h3 h4 18.Be1 Ne5 19.d4 Ng6

Nothing "exciting" has happened since the last diagram: I have grabbed some space in the center and my opponent has advanced on the Kingside. I can afford to play "deliberately" as long as I don't overlook the details. A pawn is a pawn, after all.

20.Bd2 g4 21.hxg4 Bxg4+ 22.Kd3 Rhf8 23.Nd5

More exact was 23.Nb5, with the same threat to the pawn at c7, but prohibiting ...c7-c6.

23...c6 24.Ne3

A little more could have been squeezed out of the position with 24.Nf4.

24...Bd7

Time was getting short for my opponent, but I am sure that neither of us saw the line recommended by Rybka 3, which keeps a tiny edge for White: 24...Nf4+ 25.Kc3 Ne2+ 26.Kb4 a5+ 27.Kb3 Bd7 28.Rxf8 Rxf8 29.Bxa5 Re8 30.Re1 Nxd4+ 31.Kc4 c5 32.Bc3 Kg6 33.Bxd4 Rxe4 34.c3 cxd4 35.cxd4 Bc6 36.b3 b5+.

analysis diagram







25.Nf5+

More "business as usual," attacking the pawn at e6 and "suggesting" that Black exchange his Bishop for my Knight. Any kind of a win would be a long way off, as it would be after the stronger 25.Bb4.

Black resigned.

Perhaps he believed that I could continue to grind him down.

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