I recently updated The Database with games from the Free Internet Chess Server, through the end of 2019. The 62,000 games therin represent the largest collection of Jerome Gambit and Jerome-ish openings that I know of. In addition, because 90+% of the games come from online club play (wins, losses and draws), they are pretty representative of the practical outcome of certain moves or lines. Players can consult their favorite computer (Stockfish, Komodo, Houdini, Crafty, etc.) to get an "objective" assessment of play, and then they can dip into The Database and see how well the lines have fared in play. There are 15,036 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, the main line Jerome Gambit. There are 2,715 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. There are 207 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ and 160 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, both variants of the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
There are 148 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.Bxf7+, the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. There are 6,388 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+, The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. There are 2,470 games with the declination 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5. There are 17,582 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+, the Abrahams Jerome Gambit. That leaves about 17,500 miscellaneous games that are Jerome-related, primarily through an early Bxf7+. They are there both to give players ideas about the opening - an for entertainment purposes.
The following game goes mildly along its way, featuring an arcane transposition from a "modern" Jerome Gambit to a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. Then, suddenly, the game lurches into deadly waters. And out, again. Of course, Bill Wall is playing the Jerome. Wall, Bill - Guest1507051 PlayChess.com, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d3 Bill plays a "modern" variation of the Jerome Gambit - one without 5.Nxe5. He decides that sacrificing one piece is enough - for now. 5...h6
Black wants to keep a White piece out of g5. The move is playable, but probably not best. Bill has faced the stronger 5...Nf6 three times: Wall,B - Richard123, Chess.com, 2010(1-0, 10); Wall,B - Hovo,D, Chess.com, 2010(1-0, 23); and Wall,B - Bandera,M, Chess.com, 2010(1-0, 28). The move in the game, 5...h6, creates a transposition to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit - in this case, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 - and White decides to capture on e5, after all. 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6
Quite a shot! Without d2-d3 for White, and ...h7-h6 for Black, as in the current game, this move leads to a complicated and deadly (for White) variation - see "Repairing A Variation" Part 1, 2, 3 and 4for a more complete assessment. I recall getting an email from my friend, "Mad Dog", about a Jerome Gambit correspondence game that he figured he was winning, as he had just won his opponent's Queen - alas, it was a Queen sacrifice, and he was ultimately thrashed. What difference do the "extra" moves make in this case? 11.Kd1 Qd8 Uh, er, never mind. The real test of the line goes something like this: 11...Ne7!? 12.e5+ (White must force the issue) Kc6 13.Qe4+ d5 (the only move to keep Black in the game) 14.exd6+ Nd5 15.gxh4 (there goes the Black Queen, White's only chance) Bg4 16.h3 (in the original line, "Mad Dog" tried Qa4; in a series of games against the computer program Crafty in 2012, Philidor1792 tried d4, and Crafty tried f5; all to no avail) Bh5 17.c4!? (The White Queen does not have to retreat, as she is protected in this line) Ng5+ (best) 18.Kc2 Nxe4 19.cxd5+ Kxd5 20.dxe4+ Kxd621.Nc3 and the game is balanced, as Black's two Bishops counter White's extra, doubled pawn.
analysis diagram In the current game, Black is temporarily up a couple of pieces, but that situation does not last. 12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Qxc5+ d6 14.Qf2 Bg4
Black cannot save his Knight, and so falls behind by a pawn or two. 15.h3 Nd4+ Better was 15...Nh2+ 16.hxg4 Nxg4. 16.hxg4 c5
17.g5 Kd7 18.Be3 Qb6 19.Kc1 Ne7
The game remains complicated, but White is clearly better. 20.gxh6 gxh6 21.Nd2 Raf8 22.Nc4 Qc6 23.Bxd4 cxd4 24.Qxd4 Kc8
Things begin to slip away. 25.Nxd6+ Kc7 26.Nc4 b6 27.Qe5+ Kd8 28.Qb8+ Nc8 29.Ne5 Qc7 30.Qxc7+ Kxc7 31.Ng6 Black resigned
I have struggled to appreciate the Human + Computer vs Computer Jerome Gambit games that Bill Wall has sent me, and this has slowed my presentation of some of them. (For an over-all look, see "Jerome Gambit: Centaurs".) I suppose that I had expected a series of one-sided crushes, revealing brutal new Jerome Gambit refutations and uncovering scintillating dynamic defenses. It didn't turn out that way - at times the game looks like a positional dance. Let's take a look. Wall/Stockfish - Crafty centaur match, 2018 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Okay, we all should be expecting a win for White - Stockfish is a higher-rated computer program than Crafty, and it is partnered with Bill, who is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the Jerome Gambit. 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Bill played two games with White with Critter as his partner, two with Houdini, two with Rybka, and two wth Stockfish. Each time, he played one 6.Qh5+ game and one 6.d4 game. (6.Qh5+ scored 2 - 4 - 2, while 6.d4 scored 2 - 5 - 1.) 6...Ke6 7.f4 Qf6
Interesting: Black avoids 7...d6, which I have called the annoying or silicon defense, because it annoyingly drains much of the dynamism out of the position, and because it has been a primary choice of computer programs. The Database has 208 games with 7...d6, with White winning 54% of the time. Instead, it has 133 games with 7...Qf6, with White winning 56% of the time. 8.Rf1 g6 Even computers like to kick the enemy Queen, but 8...d6, working toward development, is probably a little bit better. 9.Qh3+ Ke710.fxe5 Qxe5
White has to be careful here (he cannot castle, Black threatens the pawn at e4) and probably should not go into this line without some preparation. That is one suggestion that 6...Qf6 might have been a "book" move inserted by a knowledgeable human. 11.Qf3 Nf6 12.Nc3 c6
The computers tut-tut at this move, which keeps White's Knight off of d5 and prepares ...d7-d5, preferring the more complicated 12...Bd4. They still give Black the advantage after the text. 13.Ne2 Wow. This move has a tactical justification that comes from silicon thinking. Of course, now, 13...Qxe4? would blunder a piece to 14.Qxf6+. It takes a bit more work, however, to see that 13...Nxe4 is met by 14.d4 Bxd4 15.Bf4!?, when 15...Qa4+ 16.c3 d5 17.Nxd4 allows White to recover his sacrificed piece, with a roughly equal game. "Equal", as in mutually complicated; not "drawn". Instead, a decade ago a couple of computers fought it out after the solid 13.d3 - 13...Bb4 14.Bd2 d6 15.d4 Qe6 16.O-O-O Ng4 17.d5 Qg8 18.Qg3 Ke8 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Nb5 cxb5 21.Bxb4 Ne5 22.Rxd6 Nc4 23.Qg5 Nxd6 24.Qe5+ Qe6 25.Qxh8+ Kd7 26.Rd1 h5 27.Rxd6+ Qxd6 28.Bxd6 Kxd6 29.Qd8+ Black resigned, Fritz 8 - Fritz 5.32, D1N5TWD1, 2008. 13...Rf8 14.d4 I (sort of) warned you about this move (and the next) in the previous post. 14...Bxd4 15.Bf4 Qc5
It was okay, instead, to take the e-pawn with 15...Qxe4 16.Qxe4+ Nxe4 17.Nxd4, as after 17...g5!? the game would resolve itself into a pawn-plus Queenless middlegame favoring Black with 18.Be3 Rxf1+ 19.Kxf1 d5. Interestingly enough, 17...d5 (instead of 17...g5!?) would have led to a human game where White ground down his opponent: 18.O-O-O Bg4 19.Rde1 Kd7 20.h3 Bf5 21.Bh6 Rf7 22.Nf3 Re8 23.g4 b6 24.gxf5 Rxf5 25.Nd2 Ng3 26.Rxe8 Kxe8 27.Rxf5 Nxf5 28.Bf4 h5 29.Nf3 Ke7 30.Ne5 Kf6 31.Nxc6 g5 32.Bc7 g4 33.hxg4 hxg4 34.Nxa7 g3 35.Nb5 Kg5 36.Bxb6 Kg4 37.a4 g2 38.Bg1 Kg339.a5 Nh4 40.Nd4 Kf4 41.a6 Nf3 42.Nxf3 Black resigned,Vlastous 2344 - Daboa 1799, Chessmaniac.com, 2016. Black is still for choice, but this is how computer games go - a small slip here, a slight goof there... it all adds up. 16.O-O-O Be5 17.b4
Again: Wow. Black is close to stabilizing his position with ...d7-d6, so White has to do something. 17...Qb5 This doesn't work. The other (stronger) computers suggest 17...Bxf4+ 18.Qxf4 Qxb4, when 19.Qe5+ Kd8 accents Black's uneasy King and unfinished development. Stockfish 9 then likes 20.Nf4, while Komodo 9 prefers 20.Nd4, both leading to a balanced game, or the slightest edge to Black. A decade ago, a computer vs computer game saw this continuation: 20.Rxf6 Re8 21.Re6 Rxe6 22.Qxe6 Qf8 23.Qe5 Qe7 24.Qd4 b6 25.e5 Bb7 26.Nc3 c5 27.Qg4 Bc6 28.Qf4 h5 29.Nd5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Rc8 31.Qa4 Rc7 32.Qe4 Rc6 33.Qa4 Qe6 34.c4 Rc7 35.Qd1 a6 36.Qe2 Rc6 37.g3 b5 38.h4 bxc4 39.Qxc4 Qf7 40.Qb3 Kc7 41.Qd3 Kc8 42.Rd6 Rxd6 43.Qxd6 Qf1+ 44.Kd2 Qg2+ 45.Kc1 Qc6 46.Qd2 Kc7 47.Qa5+ Kb7 48.Qd2 Qe6 49.Qb2+ Kc6 50.Qg2+ Kb5 51.Qb7+ Ka5 52.Qc7+ Kb4 53.Qb7+ Kc3 54.Qb2+ Kd3 55.Qc2+ Kd4 56.Qb2+ Kd5 57.a3 Qg4 58.Qb7+ Kxe5 59.Qc7+ d6 60.Qe7+ Kd5 61.Qb7+ Ke6 62.Qb3+ Ke5 63.Qb2+ Qd4 64.Qe2+ Kd5 65.Qg2+ Qe4 66.Qd2+ Ke5 67.Qb2+ Kf5 68.Qb8 Qd3 69.Qc8+ Ke5 70.a4 Qc4+ 71.Kd2 Qxa4 72.Qc7 Qd4+ 73.Ke2 Qe4+ 74.Kf2 Qd3 75.Qe7+ Kd5 76.Qe8 Qf5+ 77.Kg1 Kd4 78.Qb8 Ke3 79.Qb3+ Qd3 80.Qf7 Kd2 81.Qa2+ Ke1 82.Qa5+ Qd2 83.Qa1+ Qd1 84.Qc3+ Ke2+ 85.Kh2 Qd4 86.Qa3 Qf2+ White resigned, Fritz 8-Fritz 5.32/D1N5TWD1 2008 18.Nd4 Bxd4 Have to get rid of that annoying Knight, but the exchange opens up dark squares in Black's position. White is now a bit better. 19.Rxd4
19...Kd8 Black's two problems are related: uneasy King and under-development. In the game he works to move the King to a safer place. He should have chosen, instead, 19...d5, unblocking the Bishop that blocks the Rook - a standard defense ailment in the Jerome Gambit.Then, after 20.Bg5 Bg4 21.Bxf6+ Kf7!?22.Qf4 Kg8, White will probably be able to untangle his pieces, with an edge. The problem is that White has a powerful response to the text move. 20.Bd6
Remember when the doctor told you "Okay, this is going to hurt a bit"? 20...Qg5+ What else? 21.Kb1 Re8 White now has a forced checkmate in 17 (!), but it is hard to find any acceptible alternative for Black. Perhaps you are used to seeing computers display their brutal tactical skills, and this game is a good example of how many "positional" games are underlaid by tactical themes. 22.h4 Qxh4 23.e5 Black resigned
Simply brutal. The more you look, the more painful it becomes for Black.
Recently Bill Wall sent me 16 of his Jerome Gambit games that were Human + Computer vs Computer encounters. Such teamwork is sometimes referred to as advanced chess, or cyborg chess, or centaur chess. Over the years, I have posted games from Human vs Computer matches (including the legendary 1993 Fisher-Kirshner - Knight Stalker battles, and the rolling 2006 RevvedUp - Fritz 8 - Crafty 19.19 - Hiarcs 8 - Shredder 8 - Yace Paderborn mayhem) as well as many Computer vs Computer games, but I think this is the first centaur chess I have presented. The results are interesting - even if it is difficult to assign the relative impact that the human had on the play. Also, the time controls, which affect the strength of computer programs, are not known. Over all, White scored 4 - 9 - 3 (34%), which would be unimpressive for a normal opening under normal circumstances, but which seems - as with all Jerome Gambit matches - a bit "high" for a many-times-refuted opening. A little more insight is available by breaking the games down into 4-game matches. Crafty vs Stockfish + Wall, for example, yielded 2 wins for Black when played by the team; and, likewise, 2 wins for White when played by the team. With all due respect to Dr. Robert Hyatt's computer engine, it appears it could have been simply outplayed by its stronger computer opponent. Who played what color did not seem to matter. On the other hand, the Komodo 5 vs Rybka + Wall match, which ended with a score of 2 - 2 - 0, was composed of 4 wins by Black. Neither engine, it appears, was able to ovecome the "handicap" of playing the Jerome Gambit. The Hiarcs 9 vs Critter + Wall match seemed a reflection of the comparative strengths of the computer programs, as Hiarcs 9 lost 2 games as White, and could only manage a draw as Black. Interesting, also, was the Fritz 12 vs Houdini + Wall match. The team was 1 - 0 - 1 as White, and 1 - 0 - 1 as Black, suggesting that Houdini was the brighter computer program. Looking at a couple of lines of play, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 scored 2 - 5 - 1, while 6.Qh5+ scored 2 - 4 - 2, not much of a difference. I will be sharing some of the games, taking a look at what "theoretical" enlightenment they bring.
Sometimes I run into a line in the Jerome Gambit that I don't (yet) know what to do with. A good (bad) example is in the following game. I have alluded to Black's 7th move in several posts (see here and here for examples). Here are the games from The Database where the move appears. Maybe readers have some ideas. chessmanjeff - sergbond blitz, FICS, 2013 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
I have posted here about computer vs computer Jerome Gambit games, and about human vs computer Jerome Gambit games (see "Ionman vs the Bots"). The other day I ran into some games in The Database where a computer - GriffySr at FICS - was playing White. What??? I suddenly had visions of Steffen Jakob's Crafty clone Brause and his own creation Hossa - both set up to play the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5!?). How cool would it be to have an engine playing the Jerome Gambit!? It turns out, GriffySr is not that engine, but it was fun to look at its games, anyway! GriffySr - asmsk standard, FICS, 2002 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5
Okay, if you play the Jerome Gambit, someday you will face this move. The "objectively" best response is 4.Nxe5, but that shouldn't be your first choice - and it is not GriffySr's choice, either. 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.d4 Bh6 10.Bxh6 Rxh6 11.Qg5+ Nf6 12.Qg7+ Ke8 13.Qxh6 c6 14.Nd2 d5 15.e5 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Qg6+ Kf8 18.e6 Qxd4 19.Qf7 checkmate Here's another line. GriffySr - ccie standard, FICS, 2008 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
Again, if you are looking for a Giuoco Piano to transform into a Jerome Gambit, the Semi-Italian defense is designed to side-step that. White can temporize with 4.0-0 or 4.Nc3 and hope Black will then play 4...Bc5 - or he can advance in the center. 4.d4 After 4.Nc3 Black added a second bad idea, and was crushed: 4...Na5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.Nd5 checkmate, GriffySr -mackadee, FICS, 2002. 4...exd4 The alternatives are poor, but sometimes played: 4...Nxd4
5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 (6...Kf6 7.Qxd4 Black resigned, GriffySr - ankoay, FICS, 2009) 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.Ng6+
Kf6 9.Qh4+ Kxg6 10.Qxd8 Be7 11.Qxc7 Black resigned, GriffyJr - ManOOwar, FICS, 2003. 4...d6 5.dxe5 Nxe5 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Bxf7+ Ke7 (7...Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Black resigned, GriffySr - JayadiHendro, FICS, 2009) 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 c6 (9...Bb4 10.Bd2 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 Ke7 12.Bxg8 Rxg8 13.Bxe5
c6 14.O-O-O Be6 15.b3 g6 16.Bd6+ Ke8 17.Rhe1 Rg7 18.Kb2 Rd7 19.Bc5 Black forfeited by disconnection, GriffySr - JayadiHendro, FICS, 2009) 10.Be3 Nf6 11.O-O-O+ Kc7 12.f3 Bd7 13.a3 (13.Na4 b6
14.c4 Rd8 15.c5 b5 16.Nc3 Be7 17.Kb1 Rhf8 18.Bb3 a6 19.Rhe1 g5 20.h4 Rg8
21.Bxg8 gxh4 22.Bf7 h5 23.Bg5 Rf8 24.Bxf6 Rxf7 25.Bxe5+ Kc8 26.Kc2 Be6
27.Bd6 Bg5 28.Rd3 Rg7 29.Be5 Rg8 30.Rd6 Bd7 31.b4 Be7 32.Rd2 Bg5 33.f4
Be7 34.f5 Bg5 35.Rf2 Re8 36.Bd6 Bf6 37.e5 Kd8 38.exf6 Rxe1 39.f7 Black resigned, GriffySr - Sirpooba, FICS, 2009) 13...Rd8 14.Kb1 Bd6 15.Bxa7 b6 16.Bxb6+ Kxb6 17.Rxd6 Kc7 18.Rdd1 Be8 19.Rxd8
Kxd8 20.Rd1+ Ke7 21.Bb3 Bf7 22.Bxf7 Kxf7 23.Rd6 Rc8 24.a4 Ke7 25.Rd3 Nh5
26.a5 Nf4 27.Rd2 Ne6 28.Kc1 Nc7 29.Kd1 Rd8 30.Rxd8 Kxd8 31.Ke2 Kd7 32.Ke3 g5 33.Kd3 Kd6 34.Na4 Na6 35.Nb6 Kc7 36.Nc4 Nc5+ 37.Ke3 Nd7 38.a6 Kb8
39.h4 Ka7 40.hxg5 hxg5 41.Nd6 Kxa6 42.Nf7 Kb5 43.Nxg5 Kc4 44.Ne6 Nc5 45.b3+ Kc3 46.Nxc5 Kxc2 47.g4 Kc3 48.Kf2 Kd4 49.Ne6+ Kc3 50.g5 Kxb3 51.g6
Kb4 52.g7 c5 53.Ke2 c4 54.g8=Q c3 55.Qb8+ Kc4 56.Qb1 Black resigned, GriffyJr - ManchesterUtd, FICS, 2009. 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6 Or 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 (6...Ke7 7.Nxc6+ bxc6 8.Bc4 Qf8 9.Be3
Bxe3 10.fxe3 Nf6 11.e5 Ng4 12.Qxg4 d6 13.exd6+ cxd6 14.Qe4+ Kd7 15.Rf1
Qe7 16.Rf7 Black resigned, GriffySr - sanssouci, FICS, 2006) 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Nf6 10.e5 Re8 11.O-O c5 12.Qc4+ d5 13.exd6+
Be6 14.Qxc5 Qd7 15.Nc3 Rac8 16.Qxa7 Ra8 17.Qd4 Rad8 18.Rd1 Bf5 19.Bxh6
Bxc2 20.Rd2 Qe6 21.f3 Rxd6 22.Qxd6, Black resigned, GriffySr - Mpalfi, FICS, 2006. 6...bxc6 7.Bxf7+ Kf8 8.Qf3 Ke7 9.Bf4 Nf6 10.Bg6 Ba6 11.e5 Nd5 12.Bg5+ Nf6 13.Bxf6+ Ke6 14.Qg4+ Kd5 15.Nc3 checkmate
Here we have another human vs computer game (see "Irrational"), one which turns, curiously, on computer "psychology" and a subtle anti-computer strategy. Again, it is the human who applies brutal tactical force to close out the game. Wall, Bill - Comet B50 engine Palm Bay, FL, 2015 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6
Ah, yes, back to the "annoying" or "silicon" defense. Black will soon be challenged to decide which pawn(s) it wants to protect, and which one(s) it wants to let go. This is something White can take advantage of, if he pushes it. 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Ke7
Ten years ago this position proved uneasy for the computer playing the Jerome Gambit, and it quickly decided to save half a point: 9...Kd6 10.Qd3+ Ke7 11.Qg3 Kd6 12.Qd3+ Ke7 13.Qg3 Kd6 14.Qd3+ drawn, Crafty 19.19 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006. 10.Qg3 Kd6 11.Qd3+ Bd4
Again, here, in the human - computer supermatch played a decade ago, the computer, with the Jerome Gambit, decided to bail out: 11...Ke7 12.Qg3 Ke6 13.Qh3+ Kf7 14.Qh5+ Ke6 15.Qh3+ drawn, Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006). Upon reflection, the g7 pawn is probably more valuable than the e5 pawn, despite the Comet B50's evaluations and calculations, and ...Kd6 is not Black's strongest continuation. Here it will cost a piece. (On the other hand, most computers opening with the Jerome Gambit as White would probably love to offer and receive a draw after four moves!) 12.c3 Qg5 Comet B50 goes for wild tactics. It is interesting to recall two historical games that showed the computer (in this case, an early version of Fritz) solidly surrendering the piece: 12...c5 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.b3 Kc7 (14...Nf6 15.Ba3+ Kc7 16.Qg3 Re8 17.Qxg7+ Kb8 18.d3 Qa5+ 19.b4 Qb6 20.O-O Re6 21.Nd2 Qd8 22.Nc4 Qg8 23.Qxg8 Nxg8 24.Rf5 Ne7 25.Rxe5 Rxe5 26.Nxe5 Ng6 27.Nf3 Nf4 28.b5 Kc7 29.Ne5 Ng6 30.Nxg6 hxg6 31.Bc5 Bd7 32.a4 Re8 33.Bxd4 a6 34.bxa6 bxa6 35.a5 Kd6 36.Bb6 Bc6 37.Ba7 Bb5 38.Rd1 Ke5 39.Kf2 Ra8 40.Bb6 Ba4 41.Ra1 Bc6 42.Ke3 Re8 43.d4+ Kd6 44.e5+ Kd7 45.g3 Rf8 46.Rd1 Ke6 47.Rd3 Rf1 48.Rc3 Rf3+ 49.Kd2 Rxc3 50.Kxc3 Kd5 51.h4 Ke4 52.Kc4 Bb5+ 53.Kc5 Kf3 54.d5 Kxg3 55.e6 Kxh4 56.d6 Kg5 57.d7 Kf5 58.d8=Q Kxe6 59.Qg8+ Kf5 60.Qd5+ Kf6 61.Kd6 Kg7 62.Qxb5 axb5 63.a6 b4 64.a7 g5 65.a8=Q g4 66.Qe4 g3 67.Qxb4 Kf7 68.Qf4+ Kg6 69.Qg4+ Kh6 70.Qg8 Kh5 71.Bd8 Kh6 72.Qg5+ Kh7 73.Bf6 g2 74.Qg7 checkmate, Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Fremont, CA, 1993) 15.Qc4+ Kb8 16.Ba3 Qh4+ 17.Kd1 Qh6 18.Qd5 Bg4+ 19.Ke1 Qh4+ 20.g3 Qg5 21.Bd6+ Kc8 22.Qf7 Bd7 23.Na3 Kd8 24.Rc1 Ne7 25.Rf1 Rc8 26.Rxc8+ Nxc8 27.Nc4 Re8 28.Bb4 Qh6 29.Na5 b6 30.Nc4 Bc6 31.d3 Qc1+ 32.Kf2 Qc2+ 33.Kg1 Qxd3 34.Nd6 Qe3+ 35.Rf2 Nxd6 36.Bxd6 Bd7 37.Kg2 Qxe4+ 38.Kf1 Bh3+ 39.Rg2 Qxg2+ 40.Ke1 Qh1+ 41.Kd2 Qxh2+ 42.Ke1 Qxg3+ 43.Kd2 Qc3+ 44.Ke2 d3+ 45.Kf2 Qb2+ 46.Kg3 Qg2+ 47.Kh4 Qg4 checkmate, Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Fremont, CA, 1993. 13.cxd4 Qxg2 14.dxe5+
14...Kxe5 The King would be relatively safer on e7. 15.Qd5+ Kf6 The Queen is now lost, but otherwise Black loses her and his King: 15...Kf4 16.d4+ Kf3 17.Nd2+ Kg4 18.h3+ Qxh3 19.Rxh3 Kxh3 20.Qh5+ Kg2 21.Qf3+ Kh2 22.Nf1+ Kg1 23.Be3 checkmate.
