Jerome Gambit Coverage Recovered

While most modern chess masters, justifiably, have nothing to do with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), years ago International Master Gary Lane had a bemused affection for the offbeat opening, and discussed it in his "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com, and in his book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008).

Lane's book is still available, but his two "Opening Lanes" columns - "A Game of Shadows" and "Trash or Treasure?" with Jerome Gambit content are no longer freely accessible in they way they used to be (i.e. direct link via ChessCafe.com), which means that the links supplied previously by this blog (e.g. in "International Master Gary Lane" and "Opening Lanes") no longer work.

ChessCafe is currently maintained by ChessEdu.org, which requires a $25 (or more) "tax deductible donation" in order to access their "thousands of PDFs and hundreds of Ebooks" (including "Opening Lanes") available to members.

However, through the wizardry of the archiving Wayback Machine website, you can still feast (gratis) upon IM Lane's Jerome Gambit creativity: "A Game of Shadows" and "Trash or Treasure?". (These links have also been updated in the Wikipedia article on "Giuoco Piano, Jerome Gambit".)

OG Jerome Gambit Gemeinde Member, Pete Banks

Pete Banks.

If you have followed this blog for a long time, you know that he is a member in good standing of the modern Jerome Gambit Gemeinde. You have seen many of his games here - online and over-the-board - under his own name (an example) or his online "blackburne" handle. You may even have read about him in International Master Gary Lane's "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com, or in IM Lane's book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008).

Yes, he still finds time to play the occasional Jerome Gambit.

Welcome back to the blog, Pete.

(By the way, I will make a number of references in my notes to "The Database", which is my collection of almost 60,000 Jerome Gambit and Jerome-related games. The vast majority of the games were played online by club level players, making statistics representative of their/our level of play.)

pb-hal - HEIGRO
Chess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 

Pete has never been a fan of  playing 7.Qd5+ - the nudge - first. Maybe after this game he will give it a whirl.

7...d6 8.Qe3 Nf6 

Compare this position with the one that comes about after 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 where Black's King currently blocks his Rook's access to e8.

Consulting The Database, the position in the diagram has been reached 403 time, with White scoring 49%. (Pete's own record is 17 games with this position, scoring 53%.) That always has to be compared with similar statistics after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+: 14,456 games with White scoring 46%. The implication is that White is on the right track, according to Jerome Gambit praxis.

9.d4 

This move shows up in 73 games in The Database; Pete has played it 5 times previously. It is thematic, but rather risky - an odd thing to say in a Jerome Gambit game. Still, instead of "open" play, Stockfish 10 recommends a transition to "close" play, with 9.f3 (appearing only 4 times in The Database, scoring 50%) d5 10.d3.

9...Nxe4 

This is the thing: Because the White King and Queen are on the open file, Black can snatch the e-pawn. As is the case in Jerome Gambit practice, however, out of the 73 times that this position has been reached, per The Database, Black found this move only 4 times.

Knowing the "best" move in the Jerome Gambit often confers a significant advantage, and having a "mind map" of how play usually unfolds increases this. (I wonder if Pete remembers that 9...Nxe4 was played against him by Sir Osis of the Liver in the Jerome Gambit tournament at ChessWorld.com, a full ten years ago. Probably.)

10.Qb3+ 

No doubt Pete was thinking Nice move, there, but I'm the one playing the Jerome Gambit, and it takes more than one nice move to stop me.

10...d5 11.O-O c6 12.Nc3 Re8 13.Nxe4 Rxe4 14.Qf3+ 

This is funny: one of the larger "errors" of the Jerome is "too many Queen moves". Pete's psychological punch yields immediate results, as Black relaxes too soon.

14...Bf5

As my boss used to say, "Really? Really??"

Precisely the blunder that I have been expecting.

15.Qxf5+ Kg8 16.Bg5 Qf8 

Black refuses to try to add more chaos to the position with 16...Qb6, threatening 17...Qxb2 (and possibly a later ...Qxd4), even though it would lead to a relatively balanced "unbalanced" game.

On the other hand, White is quite willing to be "distracted" from his attack and go into an endgame a pawn up, with little risk.

17.Qxf8+ Rxf8 18.Rae1 Rfe8 19.Rxe4 Rxe4 20.Be3 Ne7 21.Re1 Nf5 

It is always interesting to observe a Bashi-Bazouk attack turn into a quiet endgame with advantage. A cool drink after an active workout.

22.c3 b6 23.Kf1 Nxe3+ 24.Rxe3 Rxe3 25.fxe3 a5

There is not much more to say. The game plays out until White's extra pawn prevails.

26.a4 b5 27.axb5 cxb5 28.Ke2 Kf7 29.Kd3 Ke6 30.e4 dxe4+ 31.Kxe4 g6 32.g4 Kd6 33.h4 b4 34.cxb4 axb4 35.b3 Ke6 36.d5+ Kd6 37.g5 Kc5 38.Ke5 Black resigned

White's King will escort the d-pawn to the 8th rank.

Jerome Gambit Secrets #6

It is not often that an International Master makes a recommendation in the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.

Yet, that is what this post is all about.

Let's take a look at a line of play mentioned in a blog post on this site, 9 years ago, "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

You might think from the title of the blog post that the IM is a little bit late to the party - who hasn't refuted the Jerome Gambit?

Actually, IM Gary Lane has been supportive of the Jerome, covering it - with whimsey - in his The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008) and a couple of times in 2012 in his "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com. (I do not think that the Chess Cafe site currently works.)

Let's see some of what he has to say.

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6

I have called this the "annoying defense" (because it is) or the "silicon defense" (because of the affinity computer chess programs have for it). It was first seen in D'Aumiller - A.P., 1878 and figured in six of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's games against S.A. Charles in their unfinished 1881 correspondence match.

Lane:

I think this is the best way to defend: allowing one of the extra pieces to be taken, and in return obtaining a solid position with extra material.

8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3

Lane, again:

This is the right time for White to offer a draw, but if the offer is declined you should remember that it is frowned upon to cry at the board.

Funny guy - but wait! I finished up that blog post with

I was pleased to see that 9.Nc3 was not in my Jerome Gambit database – but if that is the move IM Lane sees as best for White, I will add it to my repertoire!

So - whatever happened to 9.Nc3  ?

A quick look at The Database (and then, this blog) shows that later in 2009, the Scacchi64.com website held a computer vs computer Jerome Gambit tournament. Comet B48 played the move 9.Nc3 four times, winning twice and losing twice.

Also, Steve Wall played 9.Nc3 once in 2013, while his brother, Bill, played it once in 2015 and once in 2017 - all told, with a win, a draw, and a loss.

A handful of computers and a couple of brothers - that's almost keeping 9.Nc3 a "secret". Here's one of Bill's games, so you can decide what you think for yourself - it's long and complicated, and a Jerome Gambit loss for Bill is pretty rare, so afterwards you might decide you want to keep the line a secret, after all.
  
Wall, Bill - Guest446794, PlayChess.com, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.Na4 Qd4 12.Nxc5 Qxc5 13.d3 Bg4 14.Be3 Qb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Rhd8 17.Kc3 Be6 18.h3 b6 19.a4 Rf8 20.a5 Nh5 21.Rhf1 Ng3 22.Rfe1 Kd6 23.b4 Bd7 24.Kb3 Nh5 25.c4 Nf4 26.Ra2 g5 27.Kc3 Rg8 28.d4 exd4+ 29.Bxd4 c5 30.bxc5+ bxc5 31.Be3 Kc6 32.Rd2 Rae8 33.Bxc5 Bxh3 34.Bxa7 Bxg2 35.e5 h5 36.Rd6+ Kb7 37.Rd7+ Kc6 38.Rd6+ Kc7 39.Rh6 Rh8 40.Rf6 Kd7 41.Rd1+ Kc8 42.Rb1 Rh7 43.Rb8+ Kd7 44.Rd6+ Ke7 45.Rb2 Rc8 46.Rbd2 Rf7 47.Be3 Bf1 48.c5 Rf5 49.Rd7+ Kf8 50.Rf2 Bb5 51.Rh7 Be8 52.Kd4 Ne6+ 53.Kc4 Rxf2 54.Bxf2 Nc7 55.e6 Nxe6 56.a6 Ra8 57.a7 Nd8 58.Be3 Kg8 59.Rh6 g4 60.Bd4 Kf8 61.Rh8+ Ke7 62.Rh7+ Bf7+ 63.Kb5 Ne6 64.Be5 Rxa7 65.c6 Ra2 66.b6 Rc2 White resigned

In my post "On the Other Hand..." the other day, I mentioned Abby Marshall's "The Openings Explained" column at ChessCafe, where she recently took on "The Two Knights Defense, Center Fork Trick" (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5)

I also alluded to Yury V. Bukayev's analysis as well, which I sent to Abby.

Ms. Marshall had selected and added my email to the bottom of her column as "pertinent response."

Rick Kennedy from the USA – Abby, I never miss your column at ChessCafe, and love the hard work you put into each one. Here's an interesting Fork Trick resource. Please keep up the great work.

On the Other Hand...

When I wander over to the ChessCafe website, I like to read the monthly column by Abby Marshall (USCF Candidate Master, currently rated 2192) "The Openings Explained". She's a hard worker, she's not afraid of playing gambits (the King's Gambit is her specialty) – and she used to be from my home town.

This week's topic is "The Two Knights Defense, Center Fork Trick" [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5], something that has been discussed on this blog a number of times before (like when you play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 looking for a Jerome, and your opponent plays 3...Nf6; can your 4.Nc3 get him to cough up 4...Bc5, so you can play 5.Bxf7+ ?). For just a sample of posts, try "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 3)" and "Further Explorations (Part 1 and Part 2)"

Don't forget to review Yury V. Bukayev's analysis as well, which I will be sending to Abby.

Further Explorations (Part 2)

Tim Sawyer's "Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit" game (See "Further Explorations Part 1")  on his "Playing Chess Openings" website comes with an introduction


In a recent Internet Chess Club game, my opponent "jeromed" chose to play a form of Jerome Gambit. Here White gets the piece back. In that way it is more Queen's Gambit than King's Gambit, but it has an aggressive feel. Bill Wall lists it as a "Noa Gambit, Four Knights", but it is so Jerome-ish that I am borrowing that name, especially in view of my opponent's ICC handle. 


The game:


jeromed - Sawyer, 
blitz 3 0, Internet Chess Club, 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 

Even after Black side-stepped the Giuoco Piano into the Two Knights Defense, White is looking to play an Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit with 4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+.


It is interesting to give Tim Harding's additional perspective on White's move, from his "Kibitzer" column "Open Games Revisited: The Two Knights" at ChessCafe.com, as he sees more than the "fork trick"


4.Nc3 can also be met by 4...Nxe4; this is possible because if 5.Nxe4 d5 forks knight and bishop and so regains the sacrificed material. However, if White is not a beginner then he has probably played 4.Nc3 with the intention of offering the tricky Boden-Kieseritsky Gambit, 4...Nxe4 5.0-0 Nxc3 6. dxc3, when natural moves don’t work for Black... The gambit should be unsound, but the second player must be very careful in the early stages.


4...Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ 


Tim notes
The Jerome Gambit idea. Usually White plays 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Bd3 dxe4 (6...Nb4!= Kaufman) 7.Bxe4 Bd6= (7...Ne7!? is an interesting alternative. 


5...Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Ng3!? Bd6 8.d3 Rf8 

9.Bg5


Tim, sympathetically: 
White can quickly castle kingside: 9.0-0 Kg8 10.h3 h6 11.c4 Fighting for e4 for the Ng3. 11...Be6 12.cxd5 Bxd5 13.Ne4 Nd4 14.Nxd4 exd4 15.Qg4 with a playable game for White, although it seems Black a little stands better.


9...Qe8 10.Qd2 Kg8 11.0-0-0 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Rxf3 14.Rhg1 Qf7 15.Nh1 Kh8 16.c3 d4 17.c4 Rf8 

18.Bh4? e4 19.dxe4? Bf4 White resigned

(Okay, so I grabbed the "Cheszilla" graphic from a the Cafe Press website, after all. Still worth checking them out.)

Knock-Down Drag-Out Battle

The "Play the Jerome Gambit Quad" at Chess.com is evolving into two two-player races. Bill Wall and ubluk (whose first game was mentioned by IM Gary Lane in his recent "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com) are contesting for first and second places while DeDrijver and bfcase are battling for third and fourth places. In an earlier game, we saw the latter win, but in the following contest (another win for White) DeDrijver evens things up with his opponent.

DeDrijver (1438) - bfcace (1486)
Play The Jerome Gambit Quad
Chess.com, 2012

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

4...Kxf7 5.c3

White goes for a "modern" Jerome Gambit variation, bypassing 5.Nxe5+.

5...Nf6 6.Ng5+ Kf8 7.d3 d5 8.exd5 Qxd5 9.f3 Bg4

Black offers to return a piece to rip open White's fortress. Rybka says "take the piece" but Rybka isn't human...

10.c4 Qd4 11.Qe2 Re8 12.fxg4 e4 13.Be3 Qe5

Black eases up on the presssure, whereas after 13...exd3 14.Bxd4 Rxe2+ 15.Kd1 Bxd4  he would have had a crushing position.

14.Bxc5+ Qxc5 15.dxe4

White returns the favor: he should have recaptured with the Knight, 15.Nxe4. In such crazy positions, it can be hard to find your bearings. 

15...Nd4 16.Qd3 Qa5+

More complications. It was okay to grab a piece with 16...Qxg5 and try to hold on.

17.Nc3 Qe5 18.Nd5 Nxg4

The knight at g5 is leading a charmed life! Black could have kept the game even with 18...Qxg5. But White's play lets him regain the balance.

19.Rf1+ Kg8 20.Nf3 Nxf3+ 21.Rxf3 Nxh2

22.Rf5

An illusion: the piece is not protected.

22...Qd6

Thinking, perhaps, about consolidating his position. However, the Rook imprisoned at h8 plays no part, and it begins to look like Black is a piece down. Worse, White has a nice shot.

23.Rd1 c6 24.Nf6+ Qxf6 25.Rxf6 gxf6

26.Qg3+ Kf7 27.Qxh2 Rxe4+ 28.Kf1 Rxc4 29.Rd7+ Ke8 30.Rxb7 Rc1+ 31.Ke2 Rc2+ 32.Kd3 Black resigned

Unorthodox International Master

If you are looking for an International Master who writes regularly on unorthodox chess openings, including some rather strange and arguably unsound ones, you could hardly do better than to check out IM Gary Lane's monthly "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com.

This month, like last month and the month before (and at least a couple of times before that), IM Lane has something to say about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), among other openings. He manages to be serious enough to give the opening a fair shake, without dissolving into either giggles or epithets.

Check it out!

Looking Forward

I look forward to International Master Gary Lane's upcoming (March 7) "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com, with building excitement, as I recently mentioned.

I have answered his call for some Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games by sending some classics and a couple of modern examples.

It will be fun to see what other readers have contributed, as well.

Jerome Gambit and "Opening Lanes"

As Michael Goeller pointed out in his comment to the recent post "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service", International Master Gary Lane has again (see here and here) taken a look at the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), an opening that he admits he has "a soft spot for", in his "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com.

As Gary has mentioned me by name, and asked for some games, I will be sending him a few. Be sure to watch for next month's edition of "Opening Lanes"!

Of course, readers who have interesting Jerome Gambit games are encouraged as well to send them to garylane@chesscafe.com

Chessville.com is Back!

My Home-Away-from-Home on the Internet has been, for many years, Chessville.com.

(By comparison, this blog has always been much more of a "man cave".)

Although Chessville has been inactive for almost a year, new material began showing up last week, under the editorship of Ken Surratt, brother of the previous Chessville guru, David Surratt.

I visit Chessbase and Chess History daily, and ChessCafe weekly. How nice to add Chessville back into the rotation!

Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 4)

Still another way for the Jerome Gambiteer to face the Two Knights Defense (see "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense Part 1", "Part 2" and "Part 3"), besides playing the main lines, opting for 4.Qe2 or playing for a transition to the Italian Four Knights Game with 4.Nc3 is 4.0-0.

So we have 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.0-0, which has more going for it than is generally realized.

International Master Tim Harding, writing in his "Kibitzer" column at ChessCafe, noted 

4 0-0 is not a move you will see played by experienced players; it is simply not direct enough.

International Master Jan Pinski, in Italian Game and Evans Gambit, was even more dismissive

4.0-0 is completely toothless, and Black can do as he pleases.

Perhaps the second player will be so lulled by the move that he will play 4...Bc5, when 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 transforms the game into a "modern" Jerome Gambit variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 Nf6)? In this line, the updated New Year's Database has 548 games. White scores 39%.

What if, after 4.0-0, Black plays 4...Nxe4? Probably White can get an even game with 5.d3, but the move he should really look at is 5.Nc3!?, offering the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit – a strategy that has worked well for me. The same idea should occur after 4.Nc3 (from yesterday's post) Nxe4 5.0-0.

The Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit is not well-known at the club level. In addition, it gives White a line to play against the Petroff Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3).

The one "downside" I would say that the B-KG has is that it is so much fun, some players might give up the Jerome Gambit and start playing it!

Here are a few B-KG resources to get started:

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitz145.pdf
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/lane38.pdf
http://www.mjae.com/boden-kieseritzky.html
http://jeanpaul.garnier.free.fr/htm/A2Ten.htm

Tim Harding, PhD

Readers are probably familiar with Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess Tim Harding, who in July, 2009, received his PhD in History. His doctoral thesis was on correspondence chess in Britain and Ireland during the period 1824-1914.

Harding has been a contributor to the ChessCafe for 15 years, writing his monthly column "The Kibitzer". He has written quite a number of good chess books, with a focus on chess openings (orthodox and unorthodox), chess improvement, and correspondence chess. Harding has also published academic articles on chess history.

Later this year McFarland & Company, Inc. will publish his Correspondence Chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824-1987.

The UltraCorr3 CD, compiled by Harding, is the resource for chessplayers who want the best (largest, cleanest) correspondence game database. The CD not only includes over one million games; it also includes PDF files of Chess Mail, an international correspondence chess magazine that Harding published for 10 years; of Winning at Correspondence Chess; and of  64 Great Chess Games.

What of Dr. Harding and the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)? In a recent email to me he wrote "There are no games with this unsound gambit in my book," but he shocked me by including a file of Jerome Gambit correspondence chess games from his database, four of which I had never seen before, one by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome himself. (Looks like I need to upgrade from my MegaCorr CD – the precursor to UltraCorr!)

Over the next few weeks I'll share these "new" games, fitting them in with other historical information.

The Mysterious kingmaple

In yesterday's post (see "King of the Hill") I mentioned that the player kingmaple had 619 entries in the updated 18,000 game New Year's Database of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+), and Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/4.Nc3/4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) games – and yet he had not been mentioned previously in any post on this blog.

A closer examination of kingmaple's games shows why: he plays a variation of the Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qd5+) which can arise, after a fashion, from a "modern" form of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 exd4 6.c3 dxc3 7.Qd5+).

(Of course, Black and White have alternative ways of playing in both the Scotch Gambit and the Jerome Gambit that would not lead to this position.)

In my researching, kingmaple's efforts got scooped up with the other Jerome Gambit and Jerome-ish games.

Readers who find this position interesting and who would like to follow in kingmaple's footsteps can start by checking out two "Kibitzer" columns on the Scotch Gambit (1, 2) by ICCF Senior IM Tim Harding in the Archives at ChessCafe.

Alekhine - Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925

When International Master Gary Lane wrote about the Marshall Defense to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6) in his March 2010 column at Chess Cafe, I decided to send him an English language version of the article that I had written on the defense, as highlighted in the game Alekhine - Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925, that was published in Kaissiber #27.

The article is now available in the "Skittles Room" at Chess Cafe. 

Fried Jerome Attack

Not everyone is interested in facing the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ (see, for example "It's a good thing I read this blog"). One way to avoid it is to play Philidor's Defense, 2...d6, instead of allowing the Italian Game with 2...Nc6. Still, one shouldn't provoke too much of an attacking spirit in the heart of the Jerome Gambiteer...


perrypawnpusher - azzaonnet
blitz 5 12 FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nf6
An unusual, but playable, variation of the Philidor.

4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5

With this move Black allows his opponent to play an attack similar to the Fried Liver Attack in the Two Knights Defense: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxe5 6.Nxf7 – only in this case Black has not developed his Queen's Knight.

In one of his Gambit Cartel columns for ChessCafe, "Going Fishing," Tim McGrew (see "A Few Words With...Tim McGrew") points out that the proper move in this line of the Philidor is 5...h6, after which "The similarities to the Elephant [Gambit] line [which he discusses] are striking."

6.Nxf7

Of course. Never mind that the last time I played the Fried Liver Attack was 30 years ago. Or that the move 6.d4, similar to the Lolli Attack in the Two Knights (not to be mistaken for the Wild Muzio Gambit, mind you: see "Wild!", "Wilder!" and "Wildest!") was probably stronger.
6...Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6

Black's King must venture into danger to hold onto the piece: 7...Ke8 8.Qxd5 Qxd5 9.Bxd5, as in perrypawnpusher - xPOGOx, FICS 2009, simply leads to a Queenless middlegame a pawn down.

8.Nc3

An alternative was 8.0-0 c6 9.d4 Qf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.dxe5 Qf5 12.f4 Be6 13.Bd3 Qg4 14.Rf3 g6 15.h3 Qh5 16.Bd2 Kd8 17.c4 Bc5+ 18.Kf1 Ne7 19.b4 Bd4 20.Bc3 Bxc3 21.Nxc3 a6 22.Rd1 Kc7 23.b5 axb5 24.cxb5 Nd7 25.a4 Rhf8 26.Qd2 g5 27.Be4 Nd5 28.Nxd5+ Bxd5 29.Bxd5 Nxe5 30.fxe5 Rfd8 31.Rf7+ Qxf7+ 32.Bxf7 Rxd2 33.Rxd2 Rxa4 34.e6 Black resigned, Eliason - Leow, Berlin 1856.

8...c6 9.d4 exd4

Or 9...b5 10.Bb3 b4 11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.dxe5 Nc6 13.c4 Ne7 14.cxd5+ Nxd5 15.0-0 h5 16.Rd1 Bb7 17.Bg5 Qxg5 18.Bxd5+ Bxd5 19.Qxd5+ Kf5 20.Qxa8 Qe7 21.Qf3+ Kg6 22.Rd6+ Kh7 23.Qf5+ Kg8 24.Rad1 g6 25.Rxg6+ Bg7 26.Rd7 Qf8 27.Rgxg7+ Qxg7 28.Rd8+ Black resigned, abhailey-vkroll, net-chess.com 2007.


10.Qe4+

Rybka 3 turns its nose up at this move, preferring the further piece sacrifice: 10.Bf4 dxc3 11.0-0-0 after which it sees White as having a winning game. Amazing!

10...Kd6

This is not accurate, either: the King should be one step further back.

11.Nxd5

I admit that I was at a bit of a loss for a plan, here. Later Rybka 3 suggested capturing with the other minor piece: 11.Bxd5 Kc7 12.Qxd4 b6 13.Nb5+ Kb7 and White has the advantage.

11...Be6

Wow. Clearly my opponent was seeing something that I wasn't seeing. Later the computer suggested that Black would be better after 11...cxd5 12.Qxd5+ Kc7 13.Bf4+ Bd6 14.Qxd4 Qe7+ 15.Be2 Rd8 16.0-0-0 Nc6.

Now the game ends quickly.

12.Bf4+ Kc5


Or 12...Kd7 13.Nc7, which turns out badly.


13.b4+ Kxc4 14.Qd3+ Kxd5 15.c4 checkmate