All's well that ends well

The other day I stopped by the website of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and read about the Eighth U.S. Chess School recently held in Scottsdale, Arizona. There I read about 15 year old Kevin Zhang, rated 2160, who made the remarkable comment

I like playing any endgame that’s completely equal...
I made 2100 without any opening theory at all, just with simple tactical ideas and solid endgames. I would get horrible positions out of the opening and then have to fight back in the middlegame.

That came to mind later in the day when I was playing a game at the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) and reached the following position with White. (It didn't arise from one of my Jerome Gambit games – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.)


Readers will recognize a standard Bishops-of-opposite-colors ending, and realize that White, despite his protected passed pawn, has nothing.

If my opponent hadn't been rated some 150 points above me, I would have offered a draw. It seemed polite to let him do so.

32. Kf3 Bb2 33. a4 Ba3 34. b5 axb5 35. axb5 Kd7

36. f5 c6 37. bxc6+ bxc6 38. Ke4 Bb2

Once White plays e5-e6, Black will be able to establish a dark square blockade with his Bishop and King, and the White pawns will not advance. Likewise, White can establish a light square blockade with his King and Bishop, and the enemy c-pawn will do no damage.

39. Bc4 Ke7 40. Bb3 Kd7 41. Be6+ Ke7 42. Bb3 Kd7

It's evident that neither one of us is getting anywhere. (Even though it was a 2 12 game, time on the clock was not an issue for either of us.)

43. h4 Ke7 44. h5 Kd7 45. Bc4 Ke7 46. Bb3 Kd7

Same old, same old. To show that I had a sense of humor, I decided to break the deadlock by sacrificing a pawn – not that it would change anything.

47. f6 gxf6 48. exf6
After 48...Bxf6 White's King heads for – h1!

Black will be able to exchange his c-pawn for White's Bishop and even win White's remaining pawn, but he will find himself in the even more notorious wrong-colored-Bishop-and-Rook-pawn ending where he will be unable to promote his remaining pawn because he will not be able to chase White's King away from the Queening square!

48...Ke8

My opponent shows that he is a funny guy, too. It turns out that he can draw without even recapturing the pawn!

49. Kf5 Bxf6

However, this is one joke too many.

My opponent would not communicate with me after the game (perhaps he had already started another match) so that I could not learn why he played this move instead of 49...Kf8, which clearly draws.

If I were to guess, I would say that after 49...Bxf6 50.Kxf6 he told himself: now, even if I lose both of my pawns my opponent will still be stuck trying to win that notorious wrong-colored-Bishop-and-Rook-pawn ending...

50. Kxf6 c5 51. Kg6 Kf8 52. Kxh6


Oooops... The Black King cannot get to h8 to hold off the White pawn.

Black resigns.

Driving Distance

"Kennedy Kid" Matt is now in Phoenix, Arizona, doing a physical therapy clincal internship for the Milwaukee Brewers major league baseball team. That puts him a 2-hour drive from Jerome, Arizona. If anything Jerome Gambit-ish occurs in Jerome, Matt will be able to report from on site.

Is it September already?

I enjoy using Internet search engines to find references to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Sometimes a result leads to a site that is interesting enough on its own. Take Bill Vallicella's Maverick Philosopher website.

The Jerome Gambit connection?

Look hard enough and you can find a nascent email "conversation" between Bill Vallicella, Ed Yetman III and Peter Lupu about the possibility of a Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona.

(Is it September already? Okay, I'll place my hopes on October, then. I will offer a prize for the best/worst Jerome Gambit game in the tournament – the adjective may well be worth some philosophical discussion. )

Look some more at the same site, and you can find an interesting read under Philosophy of Chess.

(If that catches your eye, you might be interested in the forthcoming Philosophy Looks at Chess, edited by Benjamin Hale, from the Open Court Publishing Company.)