With five games left in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, the leaders have been decided, but battles still rage up and down the finish line.
AsceticKingK9 has taken first place with 27 points out of 28 games, mckenna215 has taken second with 23.5 points out of 28 games, and braken has taken third with 19.5 points out of 28 games.
However, with a recent win Rikiki00 has lept to a tie with Knight32 for fourth place with 18.5 points, and with one game still in play he could, with another win, move into a tie for third.
Down the ladder, Luke Warm is holding onto eleventh place with 8 points, but, with a final win, pixifrufru could leap over him to 9 points out of 28 games. Both could be bypassed by Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate, who has 7.5 points with two games to complete.
Even martind1991, holding down last place with 2 points out of 23 games, can vault over his nearest rival, klonka59, if he finishes strongly.
A baker's dozen games (about 6% of the total) remain to be completed in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament.
While AsceticKingK9 has taken first place, and a number of other finishing positions have been determined, martind1991 still can place anywhere from 8th to 15th place, depending how his games finish up.
For the time being, at least, Haroldlee123 has pulled off the two top upsets, beating players rated 411 and 329 points above him.
The standings of the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
AsceticKingK9 25/26
mckenna215 23.5/28
braken 19.5/28
Knight32 18.5/28
Rikiki00 17.5/26
shm19cs 15.5/27
blackburne 15/28
Magni 12/26
Haroldlee123 11/27
DREWBEAR 63 11/28
pixifrufru 8/27
Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate 7.5/26
Luke Warm 6/26
klonka59 4/24
martind1991 1/15
As the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament continues to wind down, with no further resolution of the top finishers (beyond AsceticKingK9 in first place, followed by mckenna215) since last report, I thought I'd flash back to the recent Chess.com "Kentucky Opening" (also known as the Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) tournament and present the players, their scores, and their order of finish.
GazzaT (2468) 7-0-1
Topper76 (1474) 5-2-1
tapirus (2089) 3-3-2
Yigor (1665) 3-5-0
mrdenetop (1983) 0-8-0
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, The Wizard of Draws
The Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament that is finishing up at ChessWorld is showing the emergence of new faces –AsceticKingK9 and mckenna215, for example, taking first and second place – to stand alogside Jerome Gambit Gemeinde veterans like blackburne and DREWBEAR63.
It will be worth studying the games of the top two finishers to see what they have added to Jerome Gambit theory (for both Black and White). I hope to have all of the Thematic Tournament games added to The Database by New Year's Day, 2012.
In the meantime, take a look at a rather unusual "Modern Delayed-Classical Jerome Gambit" between New and Old Guard.
AsceticKingK9 - DREWBEAR 63
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.0-0 h5
This is, among many things, a reminder to White that the second player can respond to the Gambit in many ways and still retain a theoretical advantage. DREWBEAR63 has played this move at least twice before.
6.Nxe5+
The most direct response. Also seen have been:
6.c3 d5 7.d3 Bg4 8.Nbd2 h4 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Ng5+ Ke7 11.Qxg4 Nf6 12.Qh3 Raf8 13.c4 Qd4 14.Nb3 Qd6 15.Bd2 Nh5 16.Rae1 Ng3 17.hxg3 hxg3 18.Nh7 gxf2+ 19.Kh1 fxe1Q 20.Rxe1 Qg6 21.Bg5+ Ke8 22.Qc8+ Kf7 23.Rf1+ Kg8 24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 25.Qxf8+ Kxh7 26.Qf2 Qh5+ 27.Bh4 Kg8 28.g3 g5 29.Qf5 gxh4 30.Qe6+ Qf7 31.Qg4+ Kf8 32.gxh4 Qf1+ 33.Qg1 Rxh4 checkmate, Crusader Rabbit - DREWBEAR 63, JGTourney4 ChessWorld 2009; and
6.d4 exd4 7.Ng5+ Kf8 8.Bf4 Bd6 9.e5 Nxe5 10.Qxd4 Qf6 11.Nc3 c5 12.Qe4 Rb8 13.Nd5 Qg6 14.Qxg6 Nxg6 15.Bxd6+ N6e7 16.Bxb8 Nxd5 17.Bd6+ Ke8 18.Rae1+ Nde7 19.Re5 Rh6 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21.Rfe1 Re6 22.Nxe6 dxe6 23.Rxh5 Kf7 24.Rxc5 b6 25.Rc7 a6 26.Rd1 Kf6 27.Rd8 Kf7 28.Rdxc8 Kf6 29.Rf8+ Black resigned, TWODOGS - DREWBEAR 63, JGTourney5 ChessWorld 2010.
6...Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
Giving back a piece directly with 7...Bxd4 was simpler and more likely to help Black keep his advantage. Instead, White is allowed to continue winning tempi.
8.dxe5 Bxe5
9.Qd5+ Kf6 10.f4 Kg6 11.fxe5 Qe7
White has open lines against the enemy King, and Black's Queen cannot provide enough protection.
12.Nc3 c6 13.Qd3 Nh6 14.Qg3+
White's position has grown strong enough that he could also offer a piece with 14.Nd5, because of 14...cxd5 15.exd5+ Nf5 16.Qxf5 checkmate.
14...Kh7
Castling-by-hand does not help at this point.
15.Bxh6 Kxh6 16.Rf5 Qe8 17.Qg5+ Kh7 18.Raf1 d5 19.Rf7 Black resigned
As in many Jerome Gambit victories for White, Black's Queenside tells the story, even as his Kingside awaits the checkmate.
Having recently taken a look at the Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit in AsceticKing9 - blackburne, ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, 2011, I figured that I was ready when my opponent sprung it on me. At least, as it turns out, I was more ready than he was.
perrypawnpusher - Carville
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
Blackburne's Defense, returning a Rook. See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Be6
Instead, it is critical to trap the White Queen with 9...Nf6.
Other Bishop moves seen in this position are 9...Bh3 as in Fritz 8-RevvedUp, 2 12 2006 (1-0, 18) and 9...Bg4 as in perrypawnpusher - MrScrumps, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 11).
10.Qc3
Getting the Queen out of danger, even at the cost of a pawn. A little better was 10.d3, for example 10...Rf8 11.Qc3 Nf6 12.Nd2 Kg8 13.Nf3
Previously seen: 10.d4 Rf8 11.Bh6 (11.Bg5 Bxd4 12.Qxd4 Qxg5 13.f4) 11...Qxh6 12.dxc5 Nf6 13.Qxf8+ Qxf8 14.Nc3 Bc4 15.Rfe1 Ng4 16.cxd6 Qxd6 17.f3 Qxh2 checkmate, Permanence - footsoldier, FICS, 2008.
10...Qxe4 11.d3 Qg4 12.Nd2 Rf8 13.Ne4 Bd5 14.h3 Qf5 15.Nxc5 dxc5
I am up a pawn and the exchange, and if I can continue to develop my pieces (even though now 16.Qxc5 is playable), that should mean something.
16.Be3 b6 17.Rae1 Ne7 18.d4
Intending to open the position for my pieces.
After the game, Houdini pointed out Black's vulnerability on the dark squares could be attacked, starting with 18.Bh6, since protecting against mate at g6 with 18...Rg8 allows White to keep the initiative 19.Re5 Qd7 20.Bg5!? Nc6 21.Rxd5!? Qxd5 22.Qf6+ Ke8 23.c4 Qd6 24.Re1+ Kd7 25.Qf7+ Kc8 26.Qxg8+ with clear advantage.
analysis diagram
18...c4 19.Qd2 Kg8
Black has completed castling-by-hand, but trouble is ahead.
20.Bh6 Rf7 21.Re5 Qh5
An oversight, but 21...Qd7, retreating the Queen and protecting the Bishop, would allow White to highlight the awkward position of Black's Knight with 22.Rfe1. White will then triple on the e-file with 23.Qe3, and Black can neither protect nor move the poor piece (because of the threat of mate).
22.Rxh5 Black resigned
There is an old caution that If you strike the King, you must kill him. Anything less than a terminal blow will allow the monarch to strike back...
Two weeks ago I reported that the player leading the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9, had suffered his first and only loss, on time; and that in his remaining two games, he was past the time limit, so his opponent could claim wins there, too.
A look at the ChessWorld site today indicates that AsceticKingK9 is back at the board and playing, again, giving the possibility of him finishing the tournament with 27 points in 28 games.
Second place has already been wrapped up by mckenna215, with 23.5 points in 28 games.
Rikiki00 continues to creep forward in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 17.5 points in 25 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken with 18.5 points out of 27 games.
Little has changed at the top of the standings in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, where almost 90% of the games have been completed.
AsceticKingK9 remains the un-catchable winner with 25 points out of 28 games.
He is followed by mckenna215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games.
Rikiki00 has snagged a point in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 16.5 points in 24 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken with 18.5 points out of 27 games.
As the 2011 edition of the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament comes to a close, it seems fitting that the first full game looked at in any depth be one between the tournament's top-rated & top-finishing player, and the current top over-the-board Jerome Gambiteer.
The game quickly becomes as sharp and as theoretical as any modern opening line.
AsceticKingK9 - blackburne
ChessWorld, JG6 tournament, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
The Blackburne Defense, harking back to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"
Not surprisingly, the modern "blackburne" has played this sacrificial line as well. See "blackburne as Blackburne with black".
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0
An alternative, but still complicated, line of play (see "Update: Blackburne Defense") is preferred by Houdini (who prefers White): 9.d4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Bxd4 11.0-0 Ng4 12.Nf3 Qxf2+ 13.Rxf2 Bxh8 14.Ne5+ Kg8 15.Nxg4 Bxg4 16.c3 Bg7 17.Be3 Re8 18.Re1 Rxe4 19.Rf4 Rxf4 20.Bxf4 Kf7 where Black has the two Bishops and a pawn for the exchange.
9...Nf6 10.Qd8 Bh3
Having sacrificed one Rook, Black now offers the other.
Not quite as strong is 10...Bb6 as with 11.e5 White frees his Queen: 11...dxe5 12.Qd3 e4 13.Qc3 Nd5 14.Qg3 Qf6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.dxc3 Be6 17.a4 Rc8 18.Re1 Bf5 19.a5 Bc5 20.Bg5 Qc6 21.Be3 Bd6 22.Bf4 Bxf4 23.Qxf4 h5 24.h3 Qf6 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Be6 27.Rxe4 g5 28.Qg3 Bd5 29.Re5 Be6 30.Rae1 Re8 31.Qd3 Kg7 32.Rxe6 Rxe6 33.Qd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Foo,N, Palm Bay, FL, 2010.
11.Qxc7+
Of course, 11.Qxa8? would have led quickly to mate after 11...Qg4.
Equally disastrous was the related 11.g3 Qxe4 12.Qxc7+ Kf8 White resigned, Siggus - toe, FICS, 2007.
11...Kf8
The proper retreat square, not 11...Kg8 12.Qxb7 Qg4 (12...Re8 13.d4 d5 14.gxh3 Qxh3 15.Qb3 Qg4+ 16.Qg3 Qxe4 17.dxc5 Black resigned, Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006) 13.Qb3+ and White won, Chandler,G - Dimitrov,T, 5 minute special game, 2004.
12.Qxb7
The critical position.
White is ahead the exchange and four pawns, and threatens to grab a Rook – with check. Still, he should realize that he is on the defensive.
Black's pieces are very active, but the best he can do now is to force White to sue for peace with checks and repetitions.
12...Re8
Instead, 12...Qg4, threatening mate, seems essential.
White's only viable response is to grab the Rook, and then check like crazy, for example, 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ (14.e5 d5 and Black will mate) 14...Kf8 15.Qa8+ draws by repetition.
13.gxh3 Qxh3
Black probably figured that with mating threats like ...Nf6-g4 and drawing threats like ...Qh3-g4+-f3+ he would be okay.
White does not give him a chance, however.
14.e5 Rxe5 15.Qg2
Dumping cold water on the attack. When White gets his pieces developed, his extra Rook will tell.
15...Qf5 16.d3 Re2 17.Bh6+ Kf7 18.Nd2 Rxd2 19.Bxd2 Ke6 20.Qb7 Ng4 21.Rae1+ Kf6 22.Qe7 checkmate
Elvis has left the building.
After rocketing to the top of the chart with a score of 25 points in 25 games in the Chess World Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9 has lost his first game – on time – to Haroldlee123. His remaining two games, against martind1991, are over the time limit as well, but have not yet been claimed.
Not that it matters. 25 points is enough to win the tournament. (Oddly enough, early on I predicted that the winner would score 24 points. AsceticKingK9 exceeded that number, but 24 would have been enough to put him ahead of the second place finisher. Lucky guess!?)
Second place has been wrapped up by mckenna215, with a score of 23.5 out of 28 games.
Third, fourth and fifth places remain a tangle. Knight32 has 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has the same score, with one game remaining. Rikiki00 has 15.5 points in 23 games.
It should be pointed out that Haroldlee123, currently in 10th place with 8 points out of 22 games, nonetheless now has upset wins over both AsceticKingK9 and mckenna215.
It is clear now that AsceticKingK9 will take top honors in the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament.
The 15-player, double round robin contest, is over 80% complete, and AsceticKingK9 leads with 25 points out of 25 games (with three games left to complete).
Second place has been sewed up by mckenna 215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games. His 84% score is impressive, as well.
Third through fifth places are still undecided. Knight32 has completed his run, with 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has 18.5 points out of 27 games, so, with one final win, he could pass Knight32. However, Rikiki00 has 15.5 points out of 23 games, and could bypass both Knight32 and Braken with enough wins of his own.
With over 80% of its games completed, the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament continues to be a monstrous battle between its top two competitors.
AsceticKingK9 leads with 24 points out of 24 games. Can he go all the way to 28/28 ?
Mckenna215 is close, with 22.5 points out of 26 games. If he wins his remaining 2 games, he will still need to receive some help from a handful of other players to overtake AsceticKingK9 and take the crown.
It is clear that the player who does not take first place will garner second.
There is an interesting battle shaping up for third place, however, between braken (18.5 points out of 27 games), Knight32 (18.5 points out of 28 games) and Rikiki00 (15.5 points out of 23 games). Braken's last game is against Rikiki00, and the winner would be the odds-on favorite to scramble to the top of the heap.
Draws continue to be almost non-existant, making up less than 2% of the completed games!
AsceticKingK9 is clearly the "top dog" as the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament heats up, with 2/3 if its games completed. The leader has 20 points out of 20 games, which is hard to beat!
Right behind AsceticKingK9 is mckenna215, with 19.5 points out of 22 games.
Players who also have a mathematical chance of overtaking the "King" are Rikiki00, with 10.5 points out of 17 games, and "dark horse" Luke Warm, with 1 point out of 5 games.
Meanwhile, braken, with 17.5 points out of 26 games, holds third place and challenges for second place.
White is scoring 38% over all. The Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) has yet to be successful in 8 games. The "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+) have scored 43%, while the "modern" lines (not 5.Nxe5+) have scored 31%.
With almost 60% of the games in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament completed, it is possible to rule out a half of the players from the list of possible top scorer – but it is not possible to go much further than that. (A player with the score of 0-1 in a 28 game event could finish up 27-1.)
Two players continue to burn up the track: mckenna215, with 18.5 points out of 20 games; and AsceticKingK9, with 17 points out of 17 games. First place may come down to the outcome of the two games they play against each other.
White continues to score 39%.
We have seen an example of mckenna215 grinding out a difficult endgame ("A Not-so-Simple 'Simple Endgame' "). Here is AsceticKingK9, with White, finishing up an opponent who allowed his developmen to lag, fatally.
13.Rxf8+ Kxf8 14.Qf3+ Kg8 15.Rf1 d6 16.Qf8+ Kh7 17.Ngf6+ gxf6 18.Nxf6+ Kg6 19.Qg8 checkmate.
Surely there is more great chess to come!
The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament continues, with all of the players firing off moves and many of the games proving to be exciting, entertaining, and instructional affairs.
To date, over 40% of the games have been completed, with White scoring 39% – an unimpressive figure when compared, say, to the Ruy Lopez, but about as robust a number as has been seen in other thematic tournaments, and a downright hearty one for an opening that has several established refutations.
9 of the 210 games (4%, an astonishingly "high" number as compared to only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database) feature the Jerome Gambit Declined with either 4...Kf8 or 4...Ke7.
63 of the games, a full 30%, are developing along "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+), the highest that I have seen in a thematic tournament.
The remaining 138 games follow "modern" Jerome Gambit lines (not-5.Nxe5+).
The current leaders are mckenna215, with 12.5 points (out of 14 games) and braken, with 11.5 points (out of 17 games).
In a tournament where each player plays 28 games, however, just about anything can happen over the course of the marathon. For example, AsceticKingK9 has 10 points out of 10 games, an impressive 100% score so far. Not far behind is Rikiki00 with 9.5 points out of 12 games.
Neither martind1991 nor Luke Warm have lost (or completed) any games, so their "perfect" scores have not been marred, either.
The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is underway, all 15 competitors and all 210 games!
We are already seeing results (8 completed games so far, 6 wins by White) from AsceticKingK9, mckenna215, Rikiki00, braken, blackburne, DREWBEAR 63, Knight32, Magni, pixifrufru, shm19cs, klonka59, Baron wd von Blanc heart pirate, martind1991, Luke Warm and Haroldlee123.
Many games are in their early stages, others are racing along.
There are a number of examples of the Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) – a relatively rare beast making up only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database – those certainly will expand our understanding of that line.
At least 29% of the games are "classical" Jerome Gambits, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7+ followed by 5.Nxe5+, which is the highest percentage that I have seen in a recent Jerome Gambit thematic tournament. Some "well established" theory is likely to be stood on its head by the time those games are done!
With about 7 out of 10 games following "modern" (non-5.Nxe5+ lines) there will be plenty of practice to round out the theory of this more tempered approach as well.
Next Sunday I will give further information on the progress of the tournament. When all games have developed far enough for me not to influence their play, I will begin presenting some with annotations.
(By the way, I predict that the tournament winner will score 24 out of 28 points.)
