Beyond Gloom and Doom

Imagination and sheer force of will help the Jerome Gambiteer take a "bad" or "lost" position and make something out of it. In the following game, White finds himself in deep trouble (definition: playing White in the Jerome Gambit); and focusing only on his subsequent loss would blind observers to the actual chances that he created for himself.  

HauntedKnight - Makaroni
blitz, FICS, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4

This line has advantages and disadvantages over 6.Qh5+, and, at one time, was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference.

4...Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4

At first glance it looks like Black is in a panic, throwing pieces around and leaving some en prise. As I pointed out in "Gloom and Doom", however, this is a strong counter-attack for Black.

8.dxe5

Previous experience (including a couple of earlier games by HauntedKnight) has not been encouraging for White (8.0-0 seems "best"):

8.0-0 Nc6 9.cxb4 (9.Qf3+ Qf6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qd5+ Qe6 12.Qxe6+ dxe6 13.cxb4 Nxd4 14.Na3 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Nf6 16.Re1 Nxc1 17.Raxc1 c6 18.Nc4 Rd8 19.e5 Nd5 20.Nd6+ Ke7 21.Re4 a5 22.b5 cxb5 23.Rh4 h5 24.Nxb5 Nb4 25.Nd6 Bd7 26.Nxb7 Rdc8 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.h3 Rc2 29.Nxa5 Rxb2 30.a3 Nd3 31.f4 Ne1 32.Nc4 Rxg2 33.Nb6 Rc2 34.Nd5+ exd5 35.f5 Nf3 White resigned, Gamin - JumpNMustangII, FICS, 2001) 9...Qxe4 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Nc3 Qf5 12.b5 (12.Qb3+ d5 13.Nb5 Ne8 14.Nc3 Be6 15.b5 Ne7 16.Rae1 Nd6 17.Qb4 Rhc8 18.Re2 Ng6 19.Rfe1 Nh4 20.f3 Kg8 21.Bf2 Nxg2 22.Kxg2 Rf8 23.Bg3 Qxf3+ 24.Kg1 Nf5 25.Rxe6 Nxg3 26.hxg3 Qxg3+ 27.Kh1 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 h6 29.R6e2 Qg3+ 30.Rg2 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Rf1 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Rh7+ Kxh7 34.Qe7+ Qxe7 35.Kg2 Qf7 36.Kh2 Qf3 37.Nxd5 Rh1 checkmate, Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 12...Nb4 13.Rc1 c6 14.a3 Nbd5 15.Qb3 Re8 16.Rce1 b6 17.h3 Bb7 18.g4 Qf3 19.g5 Ne4 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Qd3 Nxg5 White resigned, RevvedUp - Crafty 19.19, blitz 2 12, 2006;

8.cxb4 Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 (9.Be3 Qxg2 10.Rf1 Nf3+ 11.Ke2 d5 12.Nc3 Bg4 13.Qb3 Nxd4+ White resigned, jfhumphrey - hvutrong, FICS, 2010) 9...Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Nc6 11.Rd1 Nxb4 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Re1 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Rxe1+ 15.Kxe1 d5 16.Be3 Bf5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3 Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 White resigned, Teterow - geneve, FICS, 2011;


8.Qe2 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 Nc6 10.g3 Qe7 11.Qc4+ d5 12.Qxd5+ Be6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qf3+ Kg7 15.d5 Ne5 16.Qd1 Bg4 17.Qd4 Nf6 18.Bg5 Nf3+ White resigned, Maza - aqeel, FICS, 2003.

8...Qxe4+ 9.Be3

HauntedKnight has a very creative idea: let Black choke on captured material while White castles Queenside and uses open lines for his pieces.

An earlier 9.Kf1, which might be "objectively" stronger, did not fix things in HauntedKnight - hellg, FICS, 2010.

9...Qxg2 10.Rf1 Be7 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qe2 Ke8

13.Nd2 Qxh2 14.0-0-0 Qxe5

15.Rfe1 Kd8 16.Qc4 Qg7

Black prepares for trouble.

17.Bd4 Nf6 18.Ne4 h6

 

White is down a piece and two pawns, but his Rooks are knocking on Black's front door, While Black's are still in the garage.

19.Bxf6

Rybka suggests preparing for a breakthrough with 19.Be5, as in 19...d6 20.Nxd6 cxd6 21.Rxd6+ Bxd6 22.Qd4 Qd7 23.Bxd6 Rf8 24.Be7+ Ke8 25.Bxf8+ Kf7 26.Re7+ Qxe7 27.Bxe7 Kxe7

analysis diagram





Both Rybka and Houdini see White as having almost equalized in this unbalanced position.

With the text, White clears the lines for his Rooks, but Black's defensive resources prove sufficient to hold off the attack.

19...Bxf6 20.Nxf6 Qxf6 21.f4

21...d6 22.Re4 Bf5 23.Red4 Qe6 24.Qb4 Qxa2 25.Qxb7

White's Queen has finally broken through, but so has Black's.

25...Qb1+ 26.Kd2 Qc2+ 27.Ke3 Re8+ 28.Kf3 Qe2+ 29.Kg3 Re3+ 30.Kh4 Qf2 checkmate

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the King of Draws

How Long?

I think I have shared before that one chessfriend of mine said he enjoys playing chess at a local bar and he has found that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a perfect opening to play there, as, win or lose, the game is usually over quickly...

The other day I was wondering about the other end of the time spectrum: how long can a Jerome Gambit game last, especially a blitz game? I consulted The Database, and found some interesting answers.

MAILMANUK - Buckeyeski, blitz, FICS, 2002

After149 moves, this game was drawn by the "50 move rule" (although it could have been drawn, for the same reason, over 35 moves earlier)



HIARCS 11.1 UCI - Rybka 2.3.1 32-bit, 2008

Here, the two silicon monsters battled for 147 moves. 





DOCTOERDETROIT - jpiza, blitz, FICS, 2009

Here, consistent with our topic, on move 145, Black lost on time.



War

As the 2011 edition of the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament comes to a close, it seems fitting that the first full game looked at in any depth be one between the tournament's top-rated & top-finishing player, and the current top over-the-board Jerome Gambiteer.

The game quickly becomes as sharp and as theoretical as any modern opening line.

AsceticKingK9 - blackburne
ChessWorld, JG6 tournament, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

The Blackburne Defense, harking back to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"

Not surprisingly, the modern "blackburne" has played this sacrificial line as well. See "blackburne as Blackburne with black".

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0

An alternative, but still complicated, line of play (see "Update: Blackburne Defense") is preferred by Houdini (who prefers White): 9.d4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Bxd4 11.0-0 Ng4 12.Nf3 Qxf2+ 13.Rxf2 Bxh8 14.Ne5+ Kg8 15.Nxg4 Bxg4 16.c3 Bg7 17.Be3 Re8 18.Re1 Rxe4 19.Rf4 Rxf4 20.Bxf4 Kf7 where Black has the two Bishops and a pawn for the exchange. 

9...Nf6 10.Qd8 Bh3

Having sacrificed one Rook, Black now offers the other.

Not quite as strong is 10...Bb6 as with 11.e5 White frees his Queen: 11...dxe5 12.Qd3 e4 13.Qc3 Nd5 14.Qg3 Qf6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.dxc3 Be6 17.a4 Rc8 18.Re1 Bf5 19.a5 Bc5 20.Bg5 Qc6 21.Be3 Bd6 22.Bf4 Bxf4 23.Qxf4 h5 24.h3 Qf6 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Be6 27.Rxe4 g5 28.Qg3 Bd5 29.Re5 Be6 30.Rae1 Re8 31.Qd3 Kg7 32.Rxe6 Rxe6 33.Qd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Foo,N, Palm Bay, FL, 2010.

11.Qxc7+

Of course, 11.Qxa8? would have led quickly to mate after 11...Qg4.

Equally disastrous was the related 11.g3 Qxe4 12.Qxc7+ Kf8 White resigned, Siggus - toe, FICS, 2007.

11...Kf8

The proper retreat square, not 11...Kg8 12.Qxb7 Qg4 (12...Re8 13.d4 d5 14.gxh3 Qxh3 15.Qb3 Qg4+ 16.Qg3 Qxe4 17.dxc5 Black resigned, Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006) 13.Qb3+ and White won, Chandler,G - Dimitrov,T, 5 minute special game, 2004.

12.Qxb7

The critical position.

White is ahead the exchange and four pawns, and threatens to grab a Rook – with check. Still, he should realize that he is on the defensive.

Black's pieces are very active, but the best he can do now is to force White to sue for peace with checks and repetitions.

12...Re8

Instead, 12...Qg4, threatening mate, seems essential.

White's only viable response is to grab the Rook, and then check like crazy, for example, 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ (14.e5 d5 and Black will mate) 14...Kf8 15.Qa8+ draws by repetition. 

13.gxh3 Qxh3

Black probably figured that with mating threats like ...Nf6-g4 and drawing threats like ...Qh3-g4+-f3+ he would be okay.

White does not give him a chance, however.

14.e5 Rxe5 15.Qg2

Dumping cold water on the attack. When White gets his pieces developed, his extra Rook will tell.

15...Qf5 16.d3 Re2 17.Bh6+ Kf7 18.Nd2 Rxd2 19.Bxd2 Ke6 20.Qb7 Ng4 21.Rae1+ Kf6 22.Qe7 checkmate

Got A Match?

It was not long after I began looking into the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) that I noticed one chess match kept turning up in the databases: in 1993, between the human Micah Fischer-Kirshner and the chess-playing program KnightStalker, an early version of Fritz. As luck would have it, I was able to interview Micah about his experience for this blog.

The Jerome Gambit seemed a natural for matches, especially ones involving computers. Jeroen_61 of the Netherlands ran one with Hiarcs, Junior 7, Shredder Paderdorn (6.02) and Fritz 7.

I tried a few myself, notably a Fritz8 vs Fritz5 encounter and a Delphi vs Wealk Delphi contest. Each attempt had its shortcomings. (Perhaps you read about them here.)

The mysterious "perfesser" played an introductory 4-game match with the Talking LCD Chess Gadget. Like the Jerome Gambit itself, it was good for some chuckles.

Topping all efforts so far, "RevvedUp" and his trusted companions Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8 explored the Jerome Gambit in a 30-game encounter. It was simply war.

And then there is that as yet untold tale of two expert-to-master-level American players who played a Jerome Gambit match 5 years ago, but the games remain hidden from public view, pending the players' release of a monograph on the opening...

Perhaps that will show up on this blog one of these days.






























http://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/2008/11/jerome-gambit-and-perfesser-part-i.html


iv

LPDO Revisited

In "My House! My House! My Kingdom for a House!" I mentioned Grandmaster John Nunn's acronym, LPDO, as a reminder that "Loose Pieces Drop Off". In the following game, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member HauntedKnight takes that notion into account when planning his play, and it helps him grab a "loose" Knight. Black's resignation, only a pawn down, might be a bit early, but it is easily understood.

HauntedKnight - OneNoTrump
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+

Computers tend to like this move, for their own computer-ish reasons. For examples, see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)" for RevvedUp's 2008 tag-team match against Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, where this move showed up, played by Crafty. It also appears in Jeroen's earlier 2003 Jerome Gambit computer tournament in the game Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9.

If the computers are given enough time they often find the recommended 6...Qh4!? as well.

Has OneNoTrump examined the Jerome Gambit with a computer, or is this a knee-jerk reaction (my Bishop is attacked, move it and attack White)?

7.c3 Bxc3+

A clue: this looks like a human decision. The 75 games that have this move in The Database all have a person playing Black.

Computers realize, of course, that Black must return a piece, and suggest something like 7...Ng6/c6 8.cxb4 to mess up White's pawns a bit; or they let White choose which piece he wants by playing 7...Qh4. 

8.bxc3

Bolstering White's center, but 8.Nxc3 was probably a bit better: development and all that.

8...Nc4 9.Qh5+ g6

Reflex. 

Better was 9...Kf8 and Black keeps his edge, even against 10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5, because he has 11...b6 12.Qb4 Qe7 when after 13.0-0 the Knight escapes with 13...Nf7. 

10.Qd5+ Black resigned

The loose piece at c4 will drop.

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (3)

One problem with a refuted opening like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that it is refuted... That means that there are lines that Black can play that lead to equality – or more. In some of those lines White can complicate things and hope to take advantage of the confusion. In other lines it is not so easy for White to "find something".

Luke Warm - Daves111
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament,
ChessWorld, 2010

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5

This defense, a favorite of computer chess programs, gives back a piece to drain the dynamism out of the position.

In the gruelling "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down" matches between human RevvedUp (a pseudonym) and Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, the flesh-and-blood player twice scored draws with Black from this position against opponents rated 1,000 points higher than him. 

The updated New Year's Database shows that White has tried 9.b4, 9.c3, 9.d3, 9.d4, 9.Nc3, 9.Rf1, 9.Qe2, 9.Qf5+, 9.Qg4+ and 9.Qh3+.

In the current game, Luke Warm decides to try a Queenless middlegame, but he finds nothing but trouble.

9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Qf3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Qg4 12.Qxg4 Bxg4

13.Nc3 Rf8 14.d3 Bh3 15.Bd2 Bg2 16.Ke2 Bf3+ 17.Ke1 Bxh1 18.Ke2 Rf2+ 19.Ke1 Rxh2

20.Nb5+ Kd7 21.b4 Bf2+ 22.Kd1 Bxg3 23.c3 Bf3+ 24.Kc2 Nf6 25.a4 a6 26.Na3 Bf4 27.Rd1 Bxd1+ 28.Kxd1 Rxd2+ 29.Ke1 Black resigned

You don't tug on Superman's cape,

You don't spit into the wind,

You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger,

And you don't mess around with Slim.

                                  -- "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" by Jim Croce

If Bill Wall does you the favor of giving you "Jerome Gambit odds," do yourself a favor and try not to match tactics with him. It can only turn out one way...

billwall - mukak
Chess.com, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.0-0

One of the "modern" Jerome Gambit variations. White decides to offer only one piece, and then see what he can do with what Black eventually gives him.

5...Nf6 6.d3 h6 7.Be3 Be7 8.c4

Locking down the square d5. Often the watchwords of the "modern" variations are: no hurry, no error.

Also seen: 8.Nc3 a6 9.a3 Rf8 10.d4 exd4 11.e5 dxe3 12.exf6 exf2+ 13.Kxf2 Bxf6 14.Kg1 Kg8 15.Qd5+ Kh8 16.Ne4 Bxb2 17.Rae1 d6 18.Qh5 Black resigned, drewbear - Piratepaul, JG4 thematic, Chessworld, 2008.

8...d6 9.Nc3

Or, in an exhibition of computer play: 9.h3 Rf8 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Qb3 Na5 12.Qa4 c5 13.b4 cxb4 14.Qxb4 Kg8 15.Qa4 b6 16.Rab1 Rc8 17.Rfe1 Rf7 18.Nb5 Bd7 19.Qd1 a6 20.Nc3 Rb8 21.Re2 b5 22.cxb5 axb5 23.Reb2 b4 24.Rxb4 Rxb4 25.Rxb4 Qa8 26.Rb2 Rf8 27.Nb5 Qc8 28.a4 Nc6 29.Bb6 d5 30.Bc7 Be6 31.exd5 Bxd5 32.Nxe5 Nxe5 33.Bxe5 Nd7 34.Rc2 Qd8 35.Bc7 Qe8 36.Qg4 Bc5 37.d4 Nf6 38.Qe2 Bb4 39.Qxe8 Rxe8 40.Be5 Ra8 41.Bxf6 gxf6 42.Nc7 Be4 43.Re2 Rxa4 44.Rxe4 Bd6 45.g3 Bxc7 46.Rg4+ Kh7 47.Kg2 f5 48.Rh4 Bd6 49.Kf3 Ra3+ 50.Ke2 Kg7 51.Rh5 Kg6 52.g4 f4 53.Rd5 f3+ 54.Kd1 Bb4 55.Kc2 Be1 56.Rd6+ Kg7 57.Rd7+ Kf8 58.Kb2 Ra5 59.Rd6 Kg7 60.Rd7+ Kf6 61.Rd6+ Kg5 62.Rd7 Bxf2 63.Kc3 Be1+ 64.Kd3 Ra3+ 65.Ke4 f2 66.Rd5+ Kh4 67.Rh5+ Kg3 68.Rf5 Kg2 69.g5 hxg5 70.Rxg5+ Rg3 71.Rf5 Bd2 72.Rf8 Re3+ 73.Kd5 Rf3 White resigned, Hiarcs 9 - Junior 7, The Jeroen Experience, 2003.

9...Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.g4 Bg6

12.Nh4 Rf8 13.Qb3

13...Nxg4

Uncovering an attack on White's Knight on h4. White has an uncovered attack of his own, although for now Black is okay.

14.c5+ Kf6

Suddenly Black is much worse.

Rybka suggests a roughly equal game after 14...d5 15.exd5 Na5 16.Qa4 Bxh4 17.Qxg4 Qf6 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4.

analysis diagram







15.Nd5+ Kf7 16.Nxe7+ Kxe7 17.Nxg6+ Kd7 18.Nxf8+ Qxf8

19.hxg4

A nice touch: finally capturing the Knight puts White a Rook ahead.

19...Rb8 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.f4 exf4 22.Rxf4 Qd8 23.Rf7+ Kc8 24.Qe6+ Black resigned

It is mate next move.

Cutting It Close

I usually play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) with attacking play in mind, but sometimes I switch to trying to squeeze out a win from a pawn-up game – which surely must frustrate my chess pieces...


perrypawnpusher - jonathankochems
blitz 2 12, FICS, 2010

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

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

A game we played earlier this year continued: 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.Nc3 d6 10.0-0 Kf7 11.d3 Rf8 12.Nd5 Qe5 13.Nxc7 Qxf4 14.Bxf4 Rb8 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bf5 17.Rae1 Bb4 18.Re2 Rbc8 19.a3 Bc5 20.b4 Bd4 21.Bxd6 Rfe8 22.Rfe1 Bc3 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Rxe8 Kxe8 25.Bc5 a6 26.Kf1 Bb2 27.a4 Bd7 28.a5 Ba4 29.c4 Bc2 30.Ke2 Bc3 31.Ke3 Kd7 32.Ke4 Be1 33.f4 Bc3 34.Bd4 Bxb4 35.Bb6 Kd6 36.f5 Bc3 37.g4 Bf6 38.Ke3 Ke5 39.Bc7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - jonathankochems, blitz FICS, 2010

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Be6

10.f4

Playing 10.0-0 was more accurate. I almost never get this right.

10...Bf7

This leads to about an equal game. Black could have stirred up more mischief with 10...Qh4+ 11.g3 Qh3.

Alternatively: 10...N6e7 11.f5:
11.0-0 d5 (11...Nf6 12.f5 Bf7 13.b3 Nc6 14.Bb2 Ke7 15.d4 Re8 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Nd5 18.Qc5+ Kd7 19.e6+ Bxe6 20.fxe6+ Kxe6 21.Nc3 Nxc3 22.Bxc3 Qh4 23.Qf5+ Ke7 24.Rfe1+ Kd6 25.Rad1+ Nd4 26.Bb4+ Kc6 27.Qc5+ Kd7 28.Rxd4+ Black resigned, Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, 2006) 12.d3 dxe4 13.dxe4 Nf6 14.Nc3 Ng4 15.Qd3 Qxd3 16.cxd3 Rd8 17.Rd1 c5 18.h3 Nf6 19.Be3 b6 20.g4 Nc6 21.Rac1 Ke7 22.a3 Bb3 23.Rd2 Rhf8 24.Kf2 Rd7 25.e5 Nxe5 26.fxe5 Ne4+ 27.Ke2 Ng3+ 28.Ke1 Rf1 checkmate, RevvedUp - Hiarcs, 2006; and

11.0-0 Bf7 12.d4 Nc6 13.0-0 Nge7 14.Nc3 Ke8 15.Bd2 Kd7 16.Rad1 Kc8 17.e5 Nd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.b3 Re8 20.c4 Bg8 21.Bc3 Qe7 22.e6 b6 23.d5 Nd8 24.f6 gxf6 25.Bxf6 Qf8 26.Bxd8 Qxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Kxd8 28.Qg5+ Kc8 29.Rf6 Kb7 30.Qg7 a5 31.a4 Rac8 32.g4 Ka6 33.g5 b5 34.cxb5+ Kb6 35.Qd7 Ka7 36.h4 Red8 37.Qc6 Re8 38.Qa6+ Kb8 39.Qxa5 Black resigned, guest673 - guest767, ICC, 2003.

11.0-0

Or 11.f5 Ne5 12.d4 Nc6 13.0-0 Bc4 14.Rd1 Nf6 15.Nc3 Ng4 16.Qg3 h5 17.b3 Ba6 18.h3 Nf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qxd1+ 21.Nxd1 Ne4 22.Ba3+ Kg8 23.Qe3 Nd2 24.Qxd2 Rd8 25.Qg5 Rh6 26.f6 Rd7 27.e6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - jamtaylo, ChessWorld Welcome JG, 2009.

11...Nf6 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Ned7

The retreat to c6 was probably stronger.

14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nd5 16.Qa3+ Qe7 17.e6 Qxa3 18.Nxa3 Bxe6

19.fxe6+ N7f6 20.Bg5 Ke7 21.Rae1 Rae8

This Queenless middle game or piece-full endgame is slightly in White's favor. It is not the kind of position that gambiteers always aim for, but it is a rather healthy state for one who plays the Jerome Gambit.

22.c3 a6 23.Nc2 c5 24.b3

24...Kd6 25.Bxf6

I should have played 25.c4 first, chasing one of the protectors of the f6 Knight.

25...Nxf6 26.Rf5

This looks awkward.

After the game Rybka recommended 26.Ne3 Rxe6 27.Nf5+ Kd7 28.Rd1+ Kc8 29.Nxg7, but the resulting position has a similar problem: it is going to take White a lot of work to make his extra pawn pay off.

26...b6 27.Rfe5 Re7 28.Na3 b5 29.c4 b4 30.Nc2 Rhe8

Black's well-placed King makes White's extra pawn almost meaningless.

31.Rg5 g6 32.Ree5

Cute – but wrong. Now 32...h6 wins the exchange and then a pawn for Black.

32...Rxe6 33.Rxc5 Ne4

This looks like a winning move, and my opponent played it as if it were.

Best play, however, as Rybka showed after the game, was more complicated: 33...Re2 34.Nxb4 Re1+ 35.Kf2 Ne4+ (the right time to check with the Knight) 36.Kf3 Rf8+ (or 36...Nxg5 37.Rxg5)37.Kg4 Nxc5 38.Rd5+ Ke6 39.Rxc5 Re2 40.Kg3 Rff2 41.h3 Rxg2+ 42.Kf3 Rh2 43.Ra5 Kf6 44.Rxa6+ Kg5. White has two pawns for the exchange, and the game is in balance.

analysis diagram






34.Rcd5+

White would pick up another pawn if he checked with the other Rook: 34.Rgd5+ Ke7 35.Rc7+ Kf6 36.Rxh7

34...Kc6

This allows a fork at d4 which would be good for White. Black's best was another exchange-for-Knight-and-pawns ending with 34...Kc7 35.Nxb4 Nxg5 36.Rxg5 Rd8

35.Rg4 Nc3 36.Nd4+

Finally.

36...Kb6 37.Nxe6 Nxd5 38.cxd5 Black resigned

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws.