Further on Down the Broken Path

The last time I took a look at this Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit line (see "Pathbreaking") I pulled together some information that would be helpful for both Black and White, if they chose to wander further down the path. As the following game shows, it is important to either pay attention to the road signs or have a good GPS available

HJBUCK - fastglass

blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.f4

"Common, but perhaps not best."

6...Bd6

"An odd sideline that puts Black at great risk."

7.Qg4+

This is why: "Next time White can come armed with 7.Qg4+..."

7...Ke7 8.Qg5+

Ooops.

The path was 8.Qxg7+ Ke8 9.Qf7 checkmate.

8...Nf6

Also driving into the rough.

With 8...Ke8 Black could have defended and shown that his threats were an equal to White's (which means, being a piece up, Black would be better): 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.Nf7+ Ke7 11.Nxh8 Nxc2+ 12.Kd1 Nxa1.

HJBUCK didn't need a second invitation.

9.Qxg7+ Ke8 10.Qf7 checkmate

This line should join the one in "Instant Victory" in the bag of tricks that anyone who plays the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 



Instant Victory

I've been looking at the latest games downloaded from the FICS games database and have found some interesting examples. Today we examine three games featuring a line that should scream "instant victory!" to White and save him time calculating variations.

jandewit - foduck
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8

There has been much discussion about this defense on the blog. A good peek can be found here.

6.Qh5+ Ke7

The game has barely started, but this move signals The End. (Black needed to try 6...g6, with even chances.)

It is disappointing to consult the updated New Year's Database and see that there are 155 games with this position, with White scoring only 66%.

Attention class, look closely!

7.Qf7+

The recent game HJBUCK - MischaMaisky, FICS, 2010, continued 7.d3 d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.Qf7 checkmate. 

The outcome is fine for White, but 7...Qe8 would have defended for Black. Also, White could have checkmated a move sooner than he did.

7...Kd6

The updated New Year's Database has 80 games with this position. Amazingly, White lost 15 of them. Perhaps the fact that most were either blitz or lightning games factored in.

8.Nc4+

nanebe - MischaMaisky, FICS, 2010, continued 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Qxd4 Two pawns down, Black resigned.

8...Kc6 9.Qd5 checkmate

(By the way, don't feel too bad for MischaMaisky, who lost two of the above games. He played two Blackburne Shilling Gambits against HJBuck on the same day, choosing 5...Ke6 in the other game and checkmating his opponent in 28 moves.)