Death of a Variation

DREWBEAR 63's only loss to date in the ongoing Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld came with the White pieces against his primary rival, Daves111, under unclear circumstances.

DREWBEAR 63 - Daves111
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+

Outrageous, even by Jerome Gambit standards. On the surface, White hopes to exchange his Knight for Black's Bishop at c5 – but the game quickly becomes too chaotic for that.

I was astonished to find 254 games with this move in the updated New Year's Database. White scored 21%, which seems fortunate for the first player, to me.

The earliest examples that I have of the line are a quartet of losses by TlFoZl in play at FICS in 1999, but I am sure the idea has been tried previously. (It is fun to report that when Carlos Azcarate won the 2008 Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit Tournament at ChessWorld, with 19 wins and 5 losses, he did so with the "help" of the 5.Ng5 variation, scoring 1 win and 4 losses.)

What was DREWBEAR 63 thinking? Did he expect to bamboozle his opponent at the outset?

Perhaps he simply mis-played the move. In three other games in the current tournament DREWBEAR 63 played the "Wright attack" (named after the game Wright - Hunn, Arkansas, USA, 1874, scoring 37% in the New Year's Database) with 5.d4 exd4 6.Ng5+ and scored 3 wins.

5...Qxg5 6.d4

The "point" of the variation. Sadly, White's best, instead, was 6.0-0, with one pawn as compensation for two pieces sacrificed.

6...Qxg2 7.Rf1 Qxe4+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Kxe2 Nxd4+ 10.Kd1 d6 11.f3 Bh3

White resigned.

This game bears no resemblance to the rest of DREWBEAR 63's play in the tournament!

Upcoming ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament!?

Word is that Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") may be organizing another ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament!

There has been plenty of coverage of previous tournaments on this blog – see "Jerome Gambit Tournaments," "Rail2Rail Nails It," "Overrated!" "Carlos Azcarate Wins Tourney," "Sole Survivor" and "Prized Players" for a taste – and if this new tournament should take off, it will be closely watched here as well.

Stay tuned for details, or check things out at the ChessWorld site.

A Side Line to Watch

When my opponent unleashed his 7th move in our Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, the only surprise came later, when I realized that it was the first time the move had been played against me.

It's a side line that all who play the Jerome should be ready for.


perrypawnpusher - ScudRocket
blitz 2 11, FICS, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

National Master Brian Wall discussed this kind of move, when made by a lower-rated player, in one of his games. I figured my opponent (my strength) was thinking

Only a patzer would try an attack like this! I can disrupt his crazy attack, swap Queens, and then easily wallop someone I could probably give a knight to, not just a pawn...

8.Kxf2 Qf6+

Alternately: 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qh6 10.Qxh8 Qg5 11.Qxh7+ Ke6 12.Qxg8+ Ke5 13.d4+ Kxe4 14.Re1+ Qe3+ 15.Rxe3+ Kxd4 16.c3+ Kc5 17.Qxg6 d6 18.Qe8 a5 19.b4+ axb4 20.cxb4+ Kxb4 21.Re4+ Kc5 22.Be3+ Kd5 23.Nc3# checkmate, annicks - Ribosome, Dos Hermanas Internet, 2002;
8...Nf6 9.d3 (9.Qf4 g5 10.Qf3 g4 11.Qf4 d5 12.e5 Rf8 13.exf6 Kg6 14.Ke1 Qxf6 15.Qxf6+ Rxf6 16.d3 Bd7 17.Nc3 Re8+ 18.Kd1 d4 19.Ne4 Rf5 20.h3 gxh3 21.Rxh3 Rf1+ 22.Ke2 Bxh3 23.Kxf1 Bf5 24.Ng5 c5 25.b3 Black resigned, instantcrow - KingEfraim, ChessWorld.net 2005) 9...Re8 10.Qf4 d6 11.Rf1 Kg7 12.Qh6+ Kg8 13.h3 Bd7 14.Bg5 Re5 15.Kg1 Ng4 16.Bxd8 Nxh6 17.Bxc7 Rc8 18.Bxd6 Rg5 19.Bf4 Rgc5 20.Bxh6 Rxc2 21.Nc3 Black resigned, guest232 - BoardChairman, Internet Chess Club 2002

9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.d3
Or: 10.Nc3 b6 11.d3 d6 12.Rf1 Rf8 13.Kg1 Kg7 14.Bg5 Nd7 15.Nd5 Rxf1+ 16.Rxf1 c6 17.Nc7 Rb8 18.Ne6+ Kg8 19.Bh6 Ba6 20.Kf2 Nc5 21.Nxc5 bxc5 22.Ke3 Re8 23.b3 d5 24.Rf4 Bc8 25.Kd2 dxe4 26.Rxe4 Rxe4 27.dxe4 Kf7 28.h3 Kf6 29.Ke3 g5 30.g4 Kg6 31.Bf8 h5 32.Bxc5 a6 Black resigned, blackburne - Bullit52, Chessworld.net 2007.

White is up a solid pawn – and remember, a few moves ago, he was down two pieces.

10...d6

10...d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Rf1 Ke8 13.Bh6 Nf6 14.Bg7 Ng4+ 15.Kg1 Rg8 16.Re1+ Kf7 17.Bd4 Rd8 18.Rf1+ Bf5 19.h3 Rxd4 20.hxg4 Rxg4 21.Nc3 c6 22.Rae1 b5 23.Ne4 Kg7 24.Nd6 Rg5 25.Nxf5+ gxf5 26.Re6 Rg6 27.Re5 Rf8 28.Re7+ Kh8 29.Rxa7 f4 30.Rf3 h5 31.Re7 Rfg8 32.Re2 Rg4 33.Kh2 R8g5 34.c4 Kg7 35.b3 Kf6 36.Re4 Rxg2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Rxg3 Rxg3+ 39.Kh2 Rxd3 40.Rxf4+ Kg5 41.Rf2 Kg4 42.Rg2+ Kf4 43.cxb5 cxb5 44.Kg1 b4 45.Rf2+ Rf3 46.Kg2 Rxf2+ 47.Kxf2 Ke4 48.Ke2 Kd4 49.Kd2 h4 50.Ke2 Kc3 White resigned, mediax - Carlos Azcarate, ChessWorld.net, 2008

11.Rf1 Kg7 12.Bg5

This is still known territory: 12.Kg1 Bd7 13.Nc3 c6 (13...Rhf8 14.h3 (14.Bg5 Nh5 15.Nd5 Rac8 16.Rxf8 Kxf8 17.Rf1+ Kg7 18.Bf6+ Nxf6 19.Nxf6 Bc6 20.Ng4 h5 21.Ne3 Re8 22.Rf4 d5 23.Nxd5 Black resigned, blackburne03 - bobby-pisher, Internet Chess Club, 2003) 14...Nh5 15.Be3 a6 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nb6 Rxf1+ 18.Rxf1 Rd8 19.Bg5 Black resigned, Moller - Pedersen, www.eskak.dk 2008) 14.Bh6+ Kxh6 15.Rxf6 Rhf8 16.Raf1 Rxf6 17.Rxf6 d5 18.Rd6 Black forfeited, guest1824 - guest1255, Internet Chess Club, 2002

12...Ng4+ 13.Kg1 Be6

Both Kings have castled-by-hand, and Black is slightly ahead in development – but not a pawn's worth. Maybe he planned to out-play me here, but it didn't work out that way.

14.h3 Nf6



A mistake: 14...h6 was necessary.
15.Bxf6+ Kh6 16.Bxh8 Rxh8

A Rook is a Rook.

17.Nc3 Rg8 18.Rf6 Bd7 19.Rf7 Rd8 20.Raf1 g5 21.R1f6+ Kh5 22.g4+
I had mate worked out, but 22.Rxh7# was faster.
22...Kh4 23.Rxh7+ Kg3 24.Ne2 checkmate

A Closer Look (Part IV)

Until improvements come along in the "modern" lines of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I'm going to stick with the classical 5.Nxe5+, even it it's a "fish-y" move -- at least it's a fish with attitude.


Here are some more games from the recently completed Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at ChessWorld (see "A Closer Look (Part I)", "A Closer Look (Part II)" and "A Closer Look (Part III)").

First, a couple of quickies:

braken - queen st, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Be7 8.dxe5 b6 9.Qf3+ Ke8 10.0-0 g5 11.Rd1 Bb7 12.e6 d6 13.Qf7

mediax - willitfw, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.c3 Nd3+ 8.Ke2 Nf4+ White resigned

Ouch.

Next, Black plays a 6th move TN/TL which seems to confuse White, who has an even game afterwards, but whose game goes quickly downhill nonetheless:

braken - delboy138, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Nd3+ 7.Qxd3 Be7 8.d5 d6 9.Bf4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Rf8 11.Nf3 Kg8 12.Ng5 Nh5 13.Nxh7 Nxf4 14.Qg3 Kxh7 15.h4 Nh5 16.Qh2 Bf6 17.0-0-0 Be5 18.g3 c5 19.f4 Nxf4 20.h5 Bg4 21.gxf4 Bxf4+ White resigned


Here, the tournament winner returns material in a manner that gives White a small but solid plus -- but then hangs on until the Rooks and pawns endgame, where he outplays his opponent.

mediax - Carlos Azcarate, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.d3 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Rf1 Ke8 13.Bh6 Nf6 14.Bg7 Ng4+ 15.Kg1 Rg8 16.Re1+ Kf7 17.Bd4 Rd8 18.Rf1+ Bf5 19.h3 Rxd4 20.hxg4 Rxg4 21.Nc3 c6 22.Rae1 b5 23.Ne4 Kg7 24.Nd6 Rg5 25.Nxf5+ gxf5 26.Re6 Rg6 27.Re5 Rf8 28.Re7+ Kh8 29.Rxa7 f4 30.Rf3 h5 31.Re7 Rfg8 32.Re2 Rg4 33.Kh2 R8g5 34.c4 Kg7 35.b3 Kf6 36.Re4 Rxg2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Rxg3 Rxg3+ 39.Kh2 Rxd3 40.Rxf4+ Kg5 41.Rf2 Kg4 42.Rg2+ Kf4 43.cxb5 cxb5 44.Kg1 b4 45.Rf2+ Rf3 46.Kg2 Rxf2+ 47.Kxf2 Ke4 48.Ke2 Kd4 49.Kd2 h4 50.Ke2 Kc3 White resigned

Next White, the main champion of the "classical Jerome Gambit" in this tournament, comes out of the opening with the advantage and builds on it -- until his unfortunate 23rd move gives the game away.

mediax - queen st, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3 Qg5 9.0-0 Nf6 10.d4 Qg6 11.dxc5 Nxe4 12.Qf3+ Bf5 13.cxd6 Nxd6 14.h3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Be6 16.Qc3 c6 17.Bf4 Ne4 18.Qf3 Rad8 19.Bc7+ Bf5 20.Bxd8 Rxd8 21.Qb3+ Kf8 22.f3 Ng3 23.Rf2 Rd1+ 24.Kh2 Rh1checkmate

Finally, a rock-em, sock'em battle.

mediax - braken, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qe3 Nf6 9.d4 Re8 10.f3 Bf5 11.0-0 Nh5 12.Qb3+ Be6 13.d5 Bc8 14.Nc3 Kg8 15.h3 Nhf4 16.Bxf4 Nxf4 17.Rf2 Bxh3 18.gxh3 Nxh3+ 19.Kf1 Nxf2 20.Kxf2 Qh4+ 21.Ke3 Rf8 22.Ne2 Qh3 23.Ng1 Qh1 24.Qc4 Rxf3+ 25.Nxf3 Qxa1 26.Qxc7 Qxb2 27.Qxd6 Qb6+ 28.Qxb6 axb6 29.Ng5 Rxa2 30.c4 Ra5 31.Kd4 b5 32.cxb5 Rxb5 33.Ne6 Rb6 34.Kc5 Rxe6 35.dxe6 Kf8 36.Kd6 Ke8 37.e5 h5 White resigned


graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

A Closer Look (Part II)

The recently completed Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) thematic tournament at ChessWorld – won by Carlos Azcarate – has many interesting and enjoyable games to play over (see "A Closer Look (Part I)").

A number of players followed up 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 in the "modern Jerome Gambit" fashion with 5.c3 (for a discussion of this move, see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XII").


Piratepaul - drewbear, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bxd4 9.Qb3+ d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.0-0 h6 12.Ne4 b6 13.Nbd2 Kh7 14.Nf3 Be6 15.Qc2 g6 16.Qxc6 Bf5 17.Ng3 Bd3 White lost on time;

delboy138 - Carlos Azcarate, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.Qb3+ Ke8 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.d3 d6 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Ng4 12.Qd5 Qxg5 13.Qxc6+ Bd7 14.Qxa8+ Ke7 15.Qxh8 Qxe3+ 16.Kh1 Nf2+ 17.Rxf2 Qe1+ White resigned

casker - delboy138, www.chessworld.ne 2008: 5...Nf6 6.0-0 Rf8 7.Qb3+ d5 8.d3 Kg8 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nbd2 Kh8 11.Ne4 Bd6 12.Qxd5 Bf5 13.Neg5 Bg6 14.Nh4 Be7 15.Nxg6+ hxg6 16.Nf7+ Rxf7 17.Qxf7 Qd6 18.Be3 Rf8 19.Qc4 Qf6 20.Rae1 b6 21.h4 Bd6 22.Qxc6 Qxh4 23.g3 Qg4 24.Qh1+ Kg8 25.f3 Qe6 26.b3 Qd5 27.f4 Qxd3 28.fxe5 Bxe5 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qh8+ Ke7 31.Bg5+ Kd7 32.Qd8+ Black resigned;


queen st - drewbear, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Qf6 6.0-0 h5 7.b4 Bb6 8.c4 Nxb4 9.Qb3 a5 10.c5+ Kg6 11.cxb6 cxb6 12.a3 Nc6 13.Bb2 d6 14.d3 Ra6 15.Bc1 Be6 16.Qd1 Bg4 17.h3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qxf3 19.gxf3 Nd4 20.Nd2 Kh7 21.Kh1 Ne7 22.Nc4 Nxf3 23.Nxd6 Ng6 24.Kg2 Ngh4+ 25.Kg3 b5 26.Nxb7 Rg6+ White resigned;


casker - braken, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.d3 Rf8 7.Qb3+ d5 8.Ng5+ Kg8 9.0-0 Kh8 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Nxe4 12.Nf7+ Rxf7 13.Rxf7 Be6 14.Rf1 Nc5 15.Qd1 Qg5 16.Qf3 Nxd3 17.g3 Nxb2 18.Na3 e4 19.Qf2 Nd3 20.Qe2 Nce5 21.Nb5 Bh3 22.Rf4 Nxf4 23.exf4 Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Qe7 25.Nd4 Nxh2 26.Kg1 Ng4 27.Qb5 e3 28.Qxd5 e2 29.Ne6 Re8 30.f5 Qg5 31.Qe4 Qe3+ 32.Qxe3 Nxe3 33.Kf2 Nc2 34.Rc1 e1Q+ 35.Rxe1 Nxe1 36.Kxe1 Bxf5 37.Kd1 Bxe6 White resigned

The majority of the games continued after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 with either the "modern" 5.d3 or 5.0-0, or the classical 5.Nxe5, each which requires a separate "closer look".

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

A Closer Look (Part I)

The recently completed Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) thematic tournament at ChessWorld – won by Carlos Azcarate – showed White scoring 65.5 points out of 156 games, for 42%, a figure consistent with that of other recent Jerome Gambit tournaments.

It is a tribute to the fighting nature of the players that there was only 1 draw in the whole tournament -- which amounts to about 6/10th of 1% of the games.

An overwhelming 92% of the games featured the "modern Jerome Gambit" – 5th move alternatives to the traditional 5.Nxe5+.

Three defenders declined the Bishop sacrifice (not recommended!) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ – with 4...Kf8, and two of them "got away with it": 5.Bb3

5.Bc4 Nf6 6.d3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 b6 Black claimed a win on time. 0–1 TJay2465 - yorkypuddn, www.ChessWorld.net 2008;

5.d3 Kxf7 6.c3 Nf6 7.Ng5+ Ke7 8.Qb3 Ng4 9.d4 exd4 10.Qf7+ Kd6 11.Qd5+ Ke7 12.Nf7 Nb4 13.cxb4 Bxb4+ 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Bxb4+ d6 16.Nxd8 Nxd5 17.Bd2 Rxd8 18.exd5 b6 Black claimed a win on time, eddie43 - yorkypuddn, www.ChessWorld.net 2008

5...Nge7 6.Ng5 Nd4 7.Nf7 Qe8 8.Nxh8 d6 9.Bf7 Qb5 10.d3 Qb4+ 11.c3 Qa5 12.b4 Qb5 13.bxc5 dxc5 14.cxd4 Qb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Bxd2 Bg4 17.dxe5 g6 18.Bh6 checkmate, drewbear - yorkypuddn, www.ChessWorld.net 2008

Three times White proceeded 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 successfully, with two wins on time (willitfw - TJay2465; Piratepaul - jemasc) and a third one "for real": willitfw - queen st, www.ChessWorld.net 2008 5...exd4 6.Ng5+ Ke7 7.Nf3 d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.Bxf6+ gxf6 10.a3 Be6 11.b4 Bb6 12.c3 dxc3 13.Nxc3 Qg8 14.0-0 Bh3 15.Nh4 Ne5 16.Nd5+ Kf7 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.Qh5+ Ke7 19.Nf5+ Bxf5 20.Qxf5 Qg7 21.f4 Nd3 22.e5 dxe5 23.Qxd3 Rhg8 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.Rae1 Rgd8 26.Qb5 Rd6 27.Rxe5+ Kd8 28.Re8 checkmate

The exotic choices 5.a3 and 5.b3 also scored with the clock, although the latter saw a couple of games through to conclusion:

queen st - Piratepaul,www.ChessWorld.net, 2008: 5.b3 h6 6.Bb2 d6 7.0-0 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Na3 a6 10.d4 exd4 11.g4 Bg6 12.Re1 Nf6 13.Nc4 Rf8 14.Bxd4 Kg8 15.e5 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4 17.Rb1 Bxe5 18.Qe2 Re8 19.Rbd1 Bh2+ 20.Kxh2 Rxe2 21.Rxe2 Kh7 22.f4 Bf7 23.h4 Nxg4+ 24.Kg3 Bh5 25.Re6 Qd7 26.Rde1 Nf6 27.Na5 c5 28.Re7 Qg4+ 29.Kh2 Qxf4+ 30.Kh1 Bf3+ 31.Kg1 Qg3+ White resigned

braken - yorkypuddn, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5.b3 d6 6.Bb2 Nd4 7.c3 Nxf3+ 8.Qxf3+ Nf6 9.d4 exd4 10.cxd4 Bb4+ 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Bg4 14.Qf4 Kg8 15.Qxb4 Nd5 16.Qxb7 Nxc3 17.0-0 Ne2+ 18.Kh1 Rb8 19.Qe4 Qh4 20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.e6 Rxf2 22.Qe5 Rg8 23.e7 Bd7 24.Rad1 Bb5 25.Qxg7+ Rxg7 26.Rd8+ Rf8 27.Rdxf8 checkmate

The in-your-face 5.Ng5+ was championed by tournament winner Carlos Azcarate (see "Carlos Azcarate Topping Ninja Knights T3") to the tune of one win and four losses

Carlos Azcarate - Piratepaul, www.ChessWorld.net 2008: 5...Qxg5 6.d4 Qxg2 7.Rf1 Qxe4+ White resigned;

Carlos Azcarate - eddie43, www.ChessWorld.net 2008: 5...Qxg5 6.d4 Qxg2 7.dxc5 Qxh1+ 8.Ke2 Qxe4+ White resigned;

Carlos Azcarate - casker, www.ChessWorld.net 2008: 5...Qxg5 6.0-0 b6 7.Qf3+ Nf6 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Bxg5 Nxf3+ 10.gxf3 Nh5 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bd2 Rf8 13.Nd5 Bd6 14.c4 Ba6 15.b3 Kg8 16.Kh1 Rxf3 17.Ne3 Bb7 18.Nf5 Bxe4 19.Nxd6 cxd6 20.Kg1 Rf5 21.Rae1 Bb7 22.h4 g5 23.hxg5 hxg5 24.Bb4 Kf7 25.Bxd6 Ke6 26.Rd1 Nf4 27.Kh2 Rh8+ White resigned;

Carlos Azcarate - drewbear, www.ChessWorld.net 2008: 5...Kf8 6.Qf3+ Qf6 7.Qxf6+ Nxf6 8.0-0 h6 9.Nf3 Nxe4 10.d3 Nxf2 11.Nh4 Ke8 12.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13.Kxf2 Rf8+ 14.Kg1 Nd4 15.Nc3 Nxc2 16.Nd5 Kd8 17.Rb1 c6 18.Ng6 Rf5 19.Nde7 Rf6 20.Bd2 Nd4 21.b4 d5 22.Re1 Bf5 23.Nxf5 Nxf5 24.Nxe5 g5 25.Nf3 Kc7 26.a4 b5 27.a5 g4 28.Ne5 g3 29.Nf3 Rg8 30.Bc3 Rfg6 31.Ne5 gxh2+ 32.Kh1 Rxg2 33.Nf3 d4 34.Re7+ Nxe7 35.Bxd4 Nf5 36.Be5+ Kb7 37.Bxh2 Ne3 38.Bd6 Rd8 39.Bc5 Rxd3 40.Ne1 Rd1 White resigned;

Carlos Azcarate - queen st, www.ChessWorld.net 2008: 5...Ke8 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.c3 d6 8.0-0 Bg4 9.b4 Bb6 10.Bb2 Qg6 11.d3 Bh3 12.Nh4 Bg4 13.Nxg6 Bxd1 14.Nxh8 Bc2 15.b5 Na5 16.d4 Nc4 17.Ba3 Ba5 18.Bc1 Bxe4 19.Nd2 Bxc3 20.Nxe4 Bxa1 21.Ng5 Nh6 22.Ne6 Kd7 23.Bxh6 gxh6 24.Rxa1 Kxe6 25.a4 Rxh8 26.Rc1 Nb6 27.Rxc7 exd4 28.a5 Na4 29.Kf1 Rb8 30.Rxh7 d3 31.Rxh6+ Kd5 32.Ke1 Nc3 33.Rh5+ Kc4 34.b6 Re8+ 35.Kf1 Re2 36.Rh4+ Kb5 37.Rd4 Rd2 38.g4 Kxa5 39.bxa7 Kb6 40.a8Q Nb5 41.Qd8+ Kc5 42.Qg5+ Kb6 43.Qxd2 Nxd4 44.Qxd3 Nb5 45.h4 Black resigned

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

Carlos Azcarate Wins Tourney

As predicted (see "Carlos Azcarate Topping Ninja Knights T3") Carlos Azcarate took first place in the 13-player, double round robin Ninja Knights T3 (Jerome Gambit) tournament at ChessWorld scoring 79% – 19 wins out of 24 games.

He was followed closely by casker with 18.5 points, braken with 18 points and drewbear with 17.5 points. Next came Piratepaul with and delboy138 each with 16 points, although Piratepaul's score (2-0) in their individual encounters would seem to put him ahead on tie-breaks.

I am hoping to be able to bring you the best and most interesting games played in the tournament over the next few weeks.

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

Carlos Azcarate Topping Ninja Knights T3

With only four games left to complete the 13-player, double round robin, Ninja Knights T3 (Jerome Gambit) tournament at ChessWorld, it appears that Carlos Azcarate will hold onto first place with 19 points out of 24 games, followed closely by casker with 18.5 points, braken with 18 points, drewbear with 17.5 points and Piratepaul with 17 points.

This fighting chess offsets the misfortune at the bottom of the score table, where one player racked up a score of 0 points, losing all of his games by time forfeit, likely due to loss of interest in the tournament. Placing just ahead of him, with 1 point, was another disengaged player who acted quickly to claim a time forfeit from the tail-ender – before losing the rest of his own games on time.


The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is likely to score 42% for White, which is what it has achieved in recent thematics. This statistic must be taken with a grain of salt, however, as a full 60 of the 156 games (38%) in this tournament were decided by the clock.


In the following game White is holding his own against the 6...Kf8 defense, until his unfortunate 23rd move.

mediax - queen st
Ninja Knights T3 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3 Qg5 9.0-0 Nf6 10.d4 Qg6 11.dxc5 Nxe4 12.Qf3+ Bf5 13.cxd6 Nxd6 14.h3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Be6 16.Qc3 c6 17.Bf4 Ne4 18.Qf3 Rad8 19.Bc7+ Bf5 20.Bxd8 Rxd8 21.Qb3+ Kf8 22.f3 Ng3 23.Rf2 Rd1+ 24.Kh2 Rh1 checkmate


The tournament winner uncorked the most surprising opening move of all, not once, but twice, when he followed the routine 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 with 6.Ng5+



While I await detailed analysis, it is possible to point out precedents, the earliest of which in my database is an internet blitz game from a decade ago, lar - babylyub (1/2-1/2, 27).