Against the Semi-Italian

I've been having second thoughts about the accuracy of my strategy against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) cousin: Jerome-ized play against the Semi-Italian Opening, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 (my choice) Bc5 5.Bxf7+.

Recently, I've collected 138 games which suggest the brute-force method of "no waiting": 4.Bxf7+, anyhow. At first glance, however, that seems a bit blunt to me, even if it's perfectly playable in lightning chess.

So I was happy to receive the following game, from Welton Vaz, (see "Xadrez, Ficção Cientifíca e Paz").


Ghandy - devgru
blitz FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6


4.c3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+

Just like with the Jerome Gambit proper, there has developed a "modern" treatment of the Jerome-ized Semi-Italian opening, one which does not include 6.Nxe5+. Several games in the current Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at Chessworld have developed that theme:

6.d3 Nf6 ( 6...d6 7.0-0 Bg4 8.a4 Nf6 9.b4 Bxb4 10.cxb4 a6 11.Bd2 b5 12.a5 Bh5 13.Bc3 Rf8 14.Nbd2 Ne7 15.Qb3+ Kg6 16.d4 exd4 17.Bxd4 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Kh7 19.Qh3 Ng6 20.g3 c5 21.bxc5 dxc5 22.Be3 c4 23.Qg2 Qe7 24.f3 Rad8 25.Qf2 Ng4 26.Qe1 h5 27.fxg4 hxg4 28.Rxf8 Rxf8 29.Bd4 Rd8 30.Qe3 b4 31.Nxc4 Qe6 32.Nb6 b3 33.Rb1 Ne7 34.Rxb3 Nc6 35.Bb2 Rd1+ 36.Kg2 Qf7 37.Qf4 Qxb3 38.Qf5+ g6 39.Qf2 Nxa5 40.Nd5 Qd3 41.Qf7+ Kh6 42.Qg7+ Kh5 43.Nf4+ Kg5 44.Bf6 checkmate, Piratepaul - calchess10, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009) 7.0-0 d6 (7...Rf8 8.Kh1 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.b4 Bd6 11.g3 b6 12.Nh4 Kg8 13.Nd2 Nxc3 14.Qb3+ Rf7 15.Qxc3 Nd4 16.Ne4 Bb7 17.Be3 c5 18.bxc5 bxc5 19.Rab1 Bxe4+ 20.dxe4 g5 21.Nf5 Nxf5 22.exf5 Rxf5 23.Rb7 Bc7 24.Qxc5 Qd3 25.Kg1 Qd6 26.Qxc7 Qxc7 27.Rxc7 a5 28.a3 Rf7 29.Rc5 e4 30.Re5 Rd7 31.Rxe4 Rad8 32.Bb6 Ra8 33.Ra4 Ra6 34.Be3 Kf7 35.Rb1 Rd5 36.Kg2 Ke6 37.Rb7 h5 38.Re4+ Kf6 39.Rb6+ Rxb6 40.Bxb6 Rb5 41.Bd8+ Kf5 42.Ra4 g4 43.Bxa5 Kg5 44.Bb4 h4 45.Be7+ Black resigned, Piratepaul - Black Puma, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009) 8.a4 a6 9.b4 Ba7 10.Qb3+ Be6 11.c4 Nd4 12.Qd1 Rf8 13.Nc3 Kg8 14.Kh1 Bg4 15.Be3 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Rg1 Nxf3 18.Rg2 Qh4 19.Ne2 Rf7 20.Bxa7 Rxa7 21.b5 Ra8 22.a5 Raf8 23.Qb3 Nd2 24.Qc2 Rxf2 25.Qxd2 Rxg2 26.Rg1 Rxh2 checkmate, Piratepaul - blackburne, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009;

6.d4 Bd6 ( 6...exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ ( 7...Bb6 8.Ne5+ Nxe5 9.dxe5 Qe7 10.Qf3+ Ke8 11.0-0 Qxe5 12.Bf4 Qxb2 13.Nc3 Kd8 14.Nb5 Qxb5 15.Rab1 Qa5 16.Rbc1 d6 17.g3 Bh3 18.Rfd1 Kd7 19.e5 h5 20.Qxb7 Nh6 21.Rd5 Qxa2 22.Be3 Bxe3 23.Qxc7+ Ke8 24.Qc6+ Kf7 25.Qc2 Rac8 26.e6+ Ke7 27.Qb1 Qxf2+ 28.Kh1 Qg2 checkmate, yorkypuddn - braken, Chessworld, 2008) 8.Nfd2 Nxd4 9.0-0 d6 10.a3 Ba5 11.b4 Bb6 12.Nc4 Nc6 13.Nc3 Bd4 14.Qf3+ Qf6 15.Qxf6+ Nxf6 16.Kh1 Bxc3 17.Ra2 Be5 18.f4 Bd4 19.b5 Ne7 20.Bb2 Bxb2 21.Rxb2 Nxe4 22.Rb4 Nc5 23.f5 Nd5 24.Rb2 Rf8 25.g4 Nf6 26.h4 Nxg4 27.Rg1 h5 28.Rbg2 Bxf5 29.Nd2 g6 30.Re2 Kg7 31.Kg2 Bd3 32.Re7+ Rf7 33.Rge1 Bxb5 34.Nf3 Bc6 35.Rxf7+ Kxf7 36.Kg3 Bxf3 37.Rf1 Ne5 38.Rxf3+ Nxf3 39.Kxf3 Re8 40.Kf4 Kf6 41.Kg3 Kf5 42.Kf3 Re4 43.Kf2 Kf4 44.a4 Rxa4 White resigned, TWODOGS - Piratepaul, JG2 Chessworld, 2008) 7.d5 ( 7.dxe5 Be7 8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.b4 a6 10.e6 dxe6 11.Qh5+ Kf8 12.c4 Bxb4+ 13.Bd2 Bxd2+ 14.Nbxd2 Qf6 15.0-0 Nge7 16.Qc5 Kg8 17.e5 Qf5 18.Nd4 Qxe5 19.Qxe5 Nxe5 20.f4 Nf7 21.Rae1 g6 22.Nxe6 Bxe6 23.Rxe6 Kf8 24.Rfe1 Re8 25.Ne4 Nc6 26.Rxg6 h5 27.Kf2 Rh6 28.Rg3 h4 29.Rg4 Nd6 30.Nxd6 Rxe1 31.Kxe1 cxd6 32.h3 Kf7 33.Ke2 Kf6 34.Rg5 Na7 35.Kf3 b5 36.cxb5 Nxb5 37.Kg4 Rh7 38.a4 Nc7 39.f5 Rg7 40.Rxg7 Kxg7 41.Kxh4 Kf6 42.g4 Ke5 43.Kg3 Nd5 44.h4 Nf6 45.h5 Nxh5+ 46.gxh5 Kxf5 47.Kh4 a5 48.h6 Kg6 49.Kg4 Black resigned, pawn_starr - astandenuk, Gameknot, 2006) 7...Nce7 8.c4 Ng6 9.a3 Nf6 10.Nbd2 Nf4 11.0-0 Qe7 12.Nb3 Nxe4 13.Bxf4 exf4 14.Re1 Re8 15.Nbd2 Qf6 16.Nxe4 Qg6 17.Nh4 Qh7 18.Nf6 gxf6 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Rxe8+ Bf8 21.Ng6 Kg7 22.Nxf8 Qd3 23.Re7+ Black resigned, TWODOGS - eddie43, JG2 Chessworld, 2008;

6.a4 Nf6 7.d3 Ng4 8.0-0 d6 9.h3 Nf6 10.b4 Nxb4 11.cxb4 Bd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.f4 Re8 14.f5 Ng8 15.Qg4 Nf6 16.Qf3 Kg8 17.Ra2 a5 18.b5 c6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Rb2 Ba6 21.Re1 c5 22.Rbe2 Rb8 23.Nd2 d5 24.e5 Nh7 25.Qg3 Qc7 26.Nf1 c4 27.f6 g5 28.Nh2 Nxf6 29.Ng4 Nxg4 30.hxg4 cxd3 31.Rd2 Re6 32.Bb2 Rxb2 33.Rxb2 Rc6 34.Qf2 Rc1 35.Rd2 Rc2 36.e6 Rc1 37.e7 Qxe7 38.Rxc1 Bc4 39.Qxd4 Qb4 40.Rb2 d2 41.Qxd2 Qc5+ 42.Kh1 Qd6 43.Rxc4 Qf6 44.Rc8+ Kf7 45.Rb7+ Black resigned, Haroldlee123 - TWODOGS, JGTourney4, Chessworld, 2009;

6.Qb3+ Ke7 ( 6...Kf8 7.0-0 Nf6 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Be7 10.Nh4 d5 11.Ng6+ Kf7 12.Nxh8+ Qxh8 13.exd5 Ne5 14.d6+ Kf8 15.dxe7+ Kxe7 16.dxe5 Nh5 17.Qb4+ Kf7 18.Re1 Kg8 19.Qc4+ Kh7 20.e6 Qe8 21.Nc3 b6 22.Nd5 Bxe6 23.Qxc7 Rc8 24.Qxa7 Qd8 25.Bxh6 Bxd5 26.Re5 Black forfeited on time, majorminor - Entangle, FICS, 2004) 7.0-0 Nf6 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.Be3 d6 11.Nbd2 Qe8 12.Rfe1 Kd8 13.e5 dxe5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Bxb6 Nxf3+ 16.Nxf3 Qc6 17.Rad1+ Bd7 18.Ne5 Qxb6 19.Nf7+ Kc8 20.Qd3 Rd8 21.Nxd8 Kxd8 22.Qa3 c5 23.Qe3 Kc7 24.Qe5+ Kd8 25.Rxd7+ Nxd7 26.Qe8+ Kc7 27.Qxa8 Nb8 28.Re8 Qxb2 29.Qxb8+ Kb6 30.Re6+ Ka5 31.Qxa7+ Kb4 in progress, Crusader Rabbit - metalwarrior1969, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009;

6.b4 Bb6 7.a4 ( 7.b5 Nce7 8.Nxe5+ Ke8 ( 8...Ke6 9.d4 d5 10.exd5+ Qxd5 11.Qg4+ Kd6 12.Ba3+ Bc5 13.0-0 Bxa3 14.Nxa3 Bxg4 15.Nxg4 Nf6 16.c4 Qg5 17.c5+ Ke6 18.Rae1+ Kf7 19.Ne5+ Kg8 20.Nf3 Qd5 21.Rxe7 Kh7 22.Rxc7 b6 23.Nc2 bxc5 24.Rxc5 Qxa2 25.Nb4 Qb3 26.Nd5 Nd7 27.Nf6+ gxf6 28.Rc7 Rhd8 29.Re1 Qxb5 30.Re7+ Kg6 31.Nh4+ Kh5 32.Rc5+ Nxc5 33.dxc5 Qb1+ White resigned, majorminor - gamay, FICS, 2007) 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 Nf6 11.Qe5 Bxf2+ 12.Kd1 Ng4 13.Qxh8+ Kf7 Black resigned, majorminor - Fugly, FICS, 2007) 7...a6 8.a5 Ba7 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Bb2 Re8 11.Qb3+ d5 12.d4 exd4 13.cxd4 Rxe4 14.Ne5+ Nxe5 15.dxe5 Rxe5 16.Bxe5 Be6 17.Nc3 d4 18.Qd1 dxc3 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Ra3 c2 22.Rf3 Qb2 23.Qg6 Bb3 White forfeited on time, majorminor - boepke, FICS 2004

6.0-0 d6 7.b4 Bb6 8.d4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Ne5 10.Qh5+ Kf8 11.f4 Nd3 12.f5 Nf6 13.Qf3 Ne5 14.Qe2 c5 15.Ne6+ Bxe6 16.fxe6 cxb4+ 17.Kh1 bxc3 18.Nxc3 Qe7 19.Nd5 Qxe6 20.Nxf6 gxf6 21.Ba3 Rg8 22.Rad1 Rd8 23.Qh5 Ng4 24.h3 Rg5 25.Qxg5 hxg5 26.hxg4 Qxe4 27.Rxf6+ Ke7 28.Rff1 Qxg4 29.Rde1+ Kd7 30.Rf7+ Kc8 31.Rc1+ Kb8 32.Rf6 Qh4 checkmate, majorminor - arkascha, FICS 2005

6...Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6


8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 Ne7 Black is surprised, and makes a poor response.

An interesting alternative: 9...Nd3+ 10.Ke2 Nxc1+ 11.Rxc1 Qg5 12.Qxc5+ Qxc5 13.dxc5+ Kxc5 14.b4+ Kb6 15.a4 a5 16.bxa5+ Rxa5 17.Na3 Ka6 18.Nb5 c6 19.c4 Ne7 20.Rcb1 cxb5 21.axb5+ Kb6 22.c5+ Kxc5 23.Rxa5 b6 24.Ra8 Rf8 25.f3 d5 26.exd5 Kxd5 27.Rb8 Rf6 28.Kf2 Bf5 29.Rc1 Ng6 30.Rb7 Nf4 31.Rd1+ Kc4 32.Rxg7 Bd3 33.g3 Bc2 34.Rc7+ Kxb5 35.Rxc2 Ne6 36.Rd6 Kb4 37.Rb2+ Black resigned, kaboes - musix, Gameknot, 2007

10.dxc5+


This move leads to a winning advantage for White, but next time I am sure that Ghandy will take the simpler 10.Qxe5+ Kc6 11.Qxc5#.

10...Kxc5 11.Qxe5+ Kc6
White is up a pawn, but, more importantly, Black's King is not safe.

12.Be3 d6 13.Qd4 Bg4 14.Qa4+ b5 15.Qa6+ Kd7 16.Qxb5+ c6 17.Qd3

Black has some open lines (that he has purchased with his pawns) which he can place his Rooks on, but they are not adequate compensation.

17...d5 18.f3 Bh5 19.Na3 Kc7 20.Qa6 dxe4 21.Rd1 Qb8 22.Nc4


White's position is so overwhelming, he even had Bf4 on this move or the next. Instead, he captures more of Black's army, and that works just fine.
22...exf3 23.Qa5+ Kc8 24.Nd6+ Kd7 25.Nf7+ Ke8 26.Nxh8 fxg2 27.Qxh5+


Now Black has some hope of hanging on a bit longer with 27...g6, but decides instead to end it all quickly.

27...Kf8 28.Qf7 checkmate

Quickies

Here are a few more games from the current Chessworld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament – don't blink or they'll be over before you know it.

stampyshortlegs - GladtoMateYou

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.d4 TN 7...Bxd4 8.c3 Bc5 9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.f4 Qe7 11.fxe5+ Qxe5 [ 11...Kc6 12.b4 d6 -+ ] 12.Bf4 Black resigned

GladtoMateYou - Haroldlee123

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Qf6 6.Qc4+ TN 6...Ke8 7.Qxc5 d6 +/= 8.Qa3 Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Qxf3 11.Rg1 Nd4 12.Rg3 Qh1+ White resigned

Luke Warm - stampyshortlegs

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d3 Rf8 7.Bg5 Kg8 8.h4 TN 8...d6 9.Qd2 Bg4 10.Nd5 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Nd4 12.Rg1 [ 12.0-0-0 -+ ] 12...Nxf3+ 13.Ke2 Nxd2 14.Bxd2 Nxd5 15.exd5 Qxh4 16.Be3 Bxe3 White resigned

TWODOGS - Crusader Rabbit

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 Bxd4 6.0-0 TN 6...Ke8 7.Ng5 Bxb2 8.Qf3 Qf6 9.Bxb2 Qxg5 10.Na3 Nh6 11.Nc4 Rf8 12.Qc3 Nd4 13.Bc1 Qxc1 14.Qxd4 Qg5 15.Qc5 Kd8 [ 15...Rf4 -+ ] 16.Qxf8 checkmate

Speechless

I really didn't know what to say about the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, so I turned it over to my computer. The analysis is by Rybka 3, inside the Fritz program; so the comments come from Fritz 8. I made the diagrams, though.

Warning: the machine is rather cold-hearted in its evaluations.

Crusader Rabbit - blackburne
JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
[Rybka 3 Human 32-bit (600s)]
C50: Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo


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


4...Kxf7 5.0-0 Nf6

6.c3 Rf8 7.d4 exd4 8.Qb3+?

Better was: 8.e5!? Nd5 9.b4 -/+

8...Ke8

8...d5 might be the shorter path: 9.Bg5 Bb6 10.Nbd2 -+

9.Re1

9.e5 Ng4 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 -+ ( 11...Nxe7?! 12.Re1 -/+; 11...Kxe7?! 12.cxd4 Rf5 13.Qd5 =/+)

9...d6

9...Qe7 10.h3 -+

10.cxd4

Better was: 10.Bg5 -+

10...Bb6??

Forfeits the advantage. Better was 10...Bxd4, the advantage is on the side of Black, 11.Bg5 h6 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 ( 12...hxg5?! 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.e5 -+) 13.Qa4+ Nc6 -+

11.e5 -/+ dxe5 12.dxe5??

Better was: 12.Nxe5 the rescuing straw 12...Ne7 13.Nc3 =/+

12...Ng4 -+ 13.Bg5

13.Be3 Nxe3 14.fxe3 Bg4 -+

13...Qd7

13...Nd4 seems even better: 14.Bxd8 Nxb3 15.axb3 Bxf2+ 16.Kh1 Bxe1 17.Bxc7 Nf2+ 18.Kg1 Nh3+ 19.Kf1 -+

14.e6

14.Bh4 g5! the final blow 15.e6 -+

14...Qd6 15.e7 Rf7

Better was: 15...Bxf2+ and Black takes home the point 16.Kf1 Bxe1 17.exf8N Kxf8-+ ( 17...Qxf8?! 18.Kxe1 h6 19.Bh4 -/+)

16.Nc3

16.Qxf7+! Kxf7 17.e8Q#

16...Bxf2+

16...Bd7!? 17.Ne4 Bxf2+ 18.Kf1 -+

17.Kh1 Rxf3??

Makes life more difficult. Better was 17...Bxe1 Black had this great chance 18.Nb5 Bg3 19.Nxd6+ Bxd6 -+

18.Qg8+ Rf8 19.exf8Q+

19.Qxf8+ Kd7 20.e8Q#

19...Kd7 20.Qf5+ Black resigned

20.Qf5+ Qe6 21.Qgxe6#; 20.Qe8#

Battle Fatigue (1)

Slam-bang chess battles can be exhausting, especially when they involve off-beat openings like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). Picking a good move, time after time, builds pressure, and sometimes the result is picking a not-so-good move, simply out of battle fatigue. Here is an example.

Black Puma - Crusader Rabbit

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qf6 7.dxc5 Ne7 8.0-0

8...h5

Or 8...d6 9.cxd6 Qxd6 10.Qh5+ N7g6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Qf5+ Bxf5 13.exf5 Ne7 14.Ne4 Qd4 15.Ng5+ Kf6 16.c3 Qg4 17.h3 Qxf5 18.g4 Qd3 19.Be3 h6 20.Bd4 hxg5 21.Rad1 Qxh3 22.Bxe5+ Kxe5 23.f4+ gxf4 24.Rde1+ Kf6 25.Rxf4+ Kg5 26.Rxe7 Qg3+ White resigned, blackburne - Nestor250168, Chessworld 2007

Or 8...Re8 9.Nc3 Kg8 10.f4 Nc4 11.e5 Qf5 12.b3 Na5 13.Bb2 Nac6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Qf7 16.Qd3 Nb4 17.Qc3 a5 18.Rae1 Nd5 19.Qd4 c6 20.f5 Nb4 21.Qe4 Nd5 22.c4 Nc7 23.f6 g6 24.Bc1 Ne6 25.Bh6 Nc7 26.Bg7 Ne6 27.Bh6 Nc7 28.Rd1 Na6 29.Qd4 Nc7 30.Rd3 Ne6 31.Qe4 Nxc5 32.Qd4 Ne6 33.Qh4 g5 34.Bxg5 Nc5 35.Rg3 Rxe5 36.Bf4+ Kh8 37.Bxe5 Ne6 38.Rf5 d5 39.Rg7 Nxg7 40.fxg7+ Black resigned, savage13 - karmmark, Chessworld 2007

9.f4 Ng4 10.e5 Qh4 11.h3 Nf5 12.Qf3 Ng3 13.Re1 Nh1

Black's counter-attack is quite scary. White can hold on, and even drive back the enemy, according to Rybka 3, with 14.Bd2 Ng6 15.Rd1 Nf5 16.Be1 Qe2 17.hxg4, but that's a computer talking, not a human being.

14.Kxh1 Qxe1+ 15.Qf1 Qxf1 checkmate

It's getting interesting...

With over half (112 out of 210) of the games in the 15-player, double-round robin Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld completed, White has so far scored a gloomy 33%, lagging behind other Jerome Gambit Tournaments.

DREWBEAR 63 remains the leader, with 16 points out of 26 games completed. He is still followed by Sir Osis of the Liver (12 points out of 17 games completed) and blackburne (10.5 points out of 20 games completed).

eddie43 (9.5 points out of 19 games) and Black Puma (9.5 points out of 20 games) have been surging lately, putting them ahead of Piratepaul (9 points out of 12 games completed) – but not by much.

Players to watch in the long run are those with the best winning percentages: stampyshortlegs (6 points out of 7 games), Piratepaul and TWO DOGS (5 points out of 7 games).

Not to be counted out are players like Haroldlee123 (5.5 points out of 10 games) and metalwarrior1969 (6 points out of 10 games) – and even Crusader Rabbit (1 point out of 5 games) – because they have so many more games to complete, and possibly win.

Defending against the Jerome Gambit...

Defending against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) with Black, players, including Gemeinde members, are happy with the extra piece or two, and wish for the kind of steady game that follows... Almost.

metalwarrior1969 - Crusader Rabbit

JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009

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

4...Kxf7 5.a3

One of the more subtle "modern" Jerome Gambit variations, ones that don't include the classical 5.Nxe5.

5...d6 6.h3 Ke8 7.d3 Be6 8.Nc3 Qd7

One of the ideas behind the "modern" variations is to proceed carefully, not forcing but allowing Black to make the next (hopefully fatal) mistake.

Here Black has been just as careful, developing sensibly and keeping his King out of danger.

9.0-0 Nf6 10.Bg5 Ne7

Black leads in development, his pieces protect his King, and he has an extra piece, to boot, which he uses to "over-protect" the square d5.

11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Nd5

White is flailing against the mists, and all is silent after 12...Nxd5 13.exd5 Bxd5. Black can even look for more (an attack on the King) after 13...Bxh3!? instead.


Instead, the second player relaxes his attention, building his attack in a way that allows a counter.

12...Rg8 13.Kh1 Ng6 14.Nxf6+ Black resigned

The Fog of War (Part 1)

It's a strange thing, but playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can have unusual effects upon those who play it or who play against it. The following game is as good an example as any...


DREWBEAR 63 - Crusader Rabbit
JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

A solid defense as old as 1874, when Alonzo Wheeler Jerome suggested it.

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ An unusual, likely premature, return of material, as in perrypawnpusher - Lindal, FICS 2007.

8.Ke2

Surprising. Perhaps he did not want to play the pawn-up Queenless-middlegame after 8.Kxf2 Qf6+.

8...Qf6

Equally surprising, considering that the Bishop, having done its damage, could retire with 8...Bb6.

9.Qxc7

There was not a lot of excitment in 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.Kxf2 Nxe4+, but it was probably best.

9...Qa6+ 10.d3

10...Bb6

Finally.

11.Rf1+ Nf6 12.Qf4

That's okay: White hopes to win the Knight, anyhow.

12...Bd4 13.c3 Be5

Aha! It is the Bishop, after all!

14.Qxe5 Qe6 15.Qc5+

See what I mean about the impact of the Jerome Gambit. Mind you, each player had several days to consider each move. More helpful would have been 15.Qxe6 dxe6 16.e5, when White has nabbed both the Bishop and Knight.

15...d6 16.Qc7 Bd7 17.h3 Ke7 18.Bg5 Rhf8

19.Nd2 Kf7 20.Nc4 Kg8

21.Nxd6 Nxe4

Oversight or miscalculation? Black's game begins to shudder.

22.dxe4 Rxf1 23.Rxf1 Rf8 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8 25.Qd8+ Be8 26.Nxe8 Qxe8 27.Be7+ Kf7 28.Qxe8+ Kxe8

The exchanges have left White with a won endgame.

29.Ba3 a6 30.b4 Kd7 31.c4 Ke6 32.Kd3 g6 33.Bc1 Kf7 34.a4 Ke6 35.Kd4 b6 36.c5 b5 37.axb5 axb5 38.e5 h5 39.Bh6 Kd7 40.Kd5 Kc7 41.e6 Kd8 42.Kc6 Ke7 43.Kxb5 Black resigned