Although the attack in my most recent Jerome Gambit game was unsound, it succeeded in winning back the sacrificed piece, reaching a drawn 2Rs + Ps vs 2Rs + Ps endgame. Alas, I let up my focus too soon, and my opponent's tactic won a rook, and the game.
perrypawnpusher - spince
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
An earlier game against the same opponent continued 3...Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8, perrypawnpusher - spince, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 23).
4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Re8
9.0-0
Instead, 9.Bg5 followed by 10.0-0-0 was seen in Wall,B - PLMW, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24).
9...Kg8
This is an improvement over 9...Nc6 of perrypawnpusher - DrHilarius, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 27) and 9...Nfg4 of perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22).
10.f4
A bit stronger is 10.Bg5 as in perrypawnpusher - hklett, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 20) and billwall - chiefh1, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 29).
10...Nc6 11.Qd3 d6 12.Bd2 Be6
Or 12...Kh8 as in perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36).
13.f5 Bf7 14.a3 Re5 15.Bf4 Re7 16.Rae1 Ne5 17.Qh3 Qe8 18.Bg5 Rd7 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.g4
This kind of thing always seems to work for Bill Wall.
20...Qf8 21.Kh1 Qg7 22.Rg1 Kf8 23.Qg3 Ke7 24.Nd5+ Kd8 25.Qf4 c6 26.Nc3 Kc7 27.h4 Rg8 28.Re3 Qf8
Black could have played 28...Nxg4, but he had already decided on his defense.
29.Reg3 Qe7 30.g5 fxg5 31.hxg5 d5 32.exd5 Bxd5+ 33.Nxd5+ Rxd5 34.Re3
Instead, c2-c4, either here or the next move, would give White the advantage.
34...Kc8 35.Rge1 Qxg5 36.Qxg5 Rxg5 37.Rxe5 Rd4 38.R1e2
This move is okay, but 38.Re8+ Kc7 39.Re7+ Kb6 40.Rxh7 Rxf5 41.Ree7 would have made the draw clear.
38...Rh5+ 39.Rh2
A blunder, which my opponent quickly spotted. Even was 39.Kg2.
39...Rd1+ 40.Kg2 Rd2+ 41.Kg3 Rdxh2 White resigned
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As I suspected earlier, playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) against an opponent rated 400 points above me (in one of the two Italian Opening tournaments that I am involved in at Chess.com) proved to be a formidable task. I did not make the best of my chances, while my opponent played steadily and pocketed the full point.
Losing the following game leaves me at 4 - 1 in the first tournament, needing a win in my remaining game (I have Black) to move on to the next round. The Jerome Gambit has scored 2-1 for me, with my other tournament wins coming in the endgame with Black.
In the other tournament, I am sitting with 1 win against four losses. One of the incomplete games should be another endgame win with Black. One is a Jerome Gambit that just started (I have White), and, with luck, the last one will be a Jerome as well.
perrypawnpusher (1740) - JoseSoza (2080)
Italian Game tournament, Chess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 9.O-O Re8 10.Bg5
This is possibly a slight improvement over 10.f4 from perrypawnpusher - KaZC, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2-1/2, 61) and perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36).
10...Nc6 11.Qd3 Be6 12.f4 Kg8 13.Rae1 Bf7
14.a3
I was not sure what to do here, so I tried the text, thinking at least it would not hurt me. Black's response gave me something to work with.
14...Qc8 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Qg3+
After the game Rybka suggested a Rook feint on the Kingside to grab a pawn on the Queenside: 16.Re3 Qd7 17.Rh3 Rad8 18.Rff3 Ne7 19.f5 Kh8 20.Qe3 Ng8 21.Qxa7 Qc6 22.Qf2 Qc5. That's a bit above my playing level.
16... Kh8 17.Qh4 Qd8
18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Nd4 21.Qf2 Nf5 22.g4
I was pretty sure that this was not the "best" move (Rybka later recommended 22.Qf3) but I was hoping that Black would retreat and misplace his Knight.
22...Ng7 23.Qd4 Qd7 24. f5 Re8 25.Kf2
The game is slipping away. Rybka cold-bloodedly suggested 25.Rxe8+ Nxe8 26.Qxa7 Qe7 27.Qxb7 Qe2 28.h3 h5 29.Qb4 Qd1+ 30.Kf2 Qxc2+ 31.Ke1 Qd3 32.Qd2 Qg3+ 33.Kd1 Qb3+ 34.Kc1 Qc4+ 35.Kb1 hxg4 36.hxg4 Qxg4 37.Qc2 Qf3 38.Qc6 Ng7 39.a4 when White still has some play.
25...Rxe1 26.Kxe1 Qe7+ 27.Kf2 h5 28.h3 b6
I decided to play on, as long as Black's Rook was misplaced. When that was exchanged, I decided to play on as long as Black's Queen was misplaced. Later, I played on because Black's Knight was misplaced...
29.Qe3 Qe5 30.Qxe5 dxe5 31.c4 Ne8 32.b4 Nd6 33.c5
bxc5 34.bxc5 Ne4+ White Resigned
A very solid demonstration by my opponent.
More "muddlegame" blues: White has all the makings of an attack on the enemy King – well, almost all – but his efforts look like someone trying to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle when some of the parts are missing. After such a failure, to win the game based on what seems to be an optical illusion makes things even more bizarre.
perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5
The Italian Four Knights Game.
5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Re8 9.0-0 d6
10.f4
A standard move in this kind of position, but probably 10.Bg5, as in Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22) was stronger.
10...Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8 12.Bd2 Kh8
The King's cautious double-move eliminates the risk of a Queen-check-and-fork at c4, should Black move a piece to b4 to attack Her Majesty. Previously I had seen 12...a6 13.Rae1 Kh8 in perrypawnpusher - KaZC, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 61).
Actually, in my post on the KaZC game, I said I'd try 10.Bg5 "next time", but I forgot to...
13.Nd5
Another "standard move in this kind of position", but with Black's Rook at e8 this should simply lose the e-pawn.
13...Nxd5
A curious example of "playing the player" (or "playing the player's misconceptions") rather than "playing the board." Folie a deux?
14.exd5 Nb4
I don't know what to say. Some people just want to attack my Queen. Now that there is no insidious check-fork (see my comment to Black's 12th move) my opponent goes ahead...
15.Bxb4 a5
White has regained his sacrificed piece and is even a pawn up.
One look at Black's undeveloped Queenside suggests that White should focus an attack on the enemy King, using the a1-h8 diagonal and possibly the g-file as well.
That much, I understood. But I could not put the attack together.
16.Bc3 b6 17.Qd4
This move is adequate, but after the game Houdini suggested the cold-blooded 17.f5 Ba6 18.Qg3 Qd7 19.f6, since 19...Bxf1 is only a temporary material gain for Black, as he quickly has to return the exchange with 20.Rxf1 Re5. After 21.Bxe5 dxe5 22.Qxe5 Qf7 23.fxg7+ Qxg7 Black has turned back the attack, but he is two pawns down without any compensation at all.
The idea of an attack that does not necessarily end up with checkmate, but which is "expensive" for the opponent to defend against, is part of middlegame play (in my games, "muddlegame play") that I'm still trying to understand.
One of the "missing pieces" in my own construction of the attack was the move f4-f5.
17...Re7
Stronger was 17...Qf6, because the text move makes the Rook a target after f4-f5-f6; but I was oblivious to that.
18.Rae1
Solid, but take a look at 18.f5 Rf7 19.f6 Rxf6 20.Qxf6!? gxf6 21.Bxf6+ Qxf6 22.Rxf6 when White has the exchange and a pawn to comfort him for his "failed" attack on the King.
18...Rf7 19.Re3
Planning to transfer the Rook to the g-file, but without the "can opener" f4-f5 the attack will not be sufficient.
19...Bf5
20.Rg3
With the arrival of Black's Bishop, his Kingside is almost secure.
20...Qd7 21.Rff3 Bxc2 22.f5
The pawn finally takes a step, but it turns out now that the Rook sacrifice at g7, which I try a move later, is the key here: 22.Rxg7 Rxg7 23.Rg3 Bg6 24.f5 Re8 25.fxg6 Re5 26.Qd3 Qa4 27.Qf3 Qe8 28.gxh7 Kxh7 29.Rxg7+ Kxg7 30.Bxe5+ dxe5. White is up a pawn in a Queen + pawns endgame; and at our level of play, in blitz, that's probably what they call "3/4 of a point" (i.e. a draw, with a big sigh).
22...Raf8 23.Rxg7
I was thinking "something like this should work", which is a very bad substitute for analysis. I had also lost my patience, which is a very bad substitute for actually playing chess.
It was better to stay the course, as Houdini showed afterward: 23.Rg5 b5 24.Rfg3 Rg8 25.f6 g6 when White is better, but he will probably have to sacrifice the exchange to break through. The win is a long ways off.
23...Rxg7 24.Rg3
The sad fact is that Black has adequate defensive resources, and White will end up with a pawn for a piece.
24...Rff7 25.Rxg7 Rxg7 26.Qf2 Be4 27.Bxg7+ Qxg7 28.f6 Qf7 29.g4 Bxd5
It is hard to believe that this is the same game that I was playing 4 diagrams back. White is simply busted.
30.g5 Bxa2 31.h4 Bb1 32.h5 c5 33.Qf4 Ba2 34.Qxd6 Qxh5
I think the only explanation for this move is that my opponent has been looking at moves for his pieces along the light squares, while he has been assessing my Queen's movements along the dark squares. Kind of an optical illusion.
Well, that, and maybe a shortness of time on the clock.
35.Qf8+ Bg8
Of course.
36.Qg7 checkmate
Well, that was far better than I expected.
(It looks like I need a serious refresher course on attacking the King, starting with Joel Johnson's Formation Attacks.)
