The following educational game, mentioned in the previous post (see "White Punishes Errors Quickly"), was played online at InstantChess.com at its "classic" time control, 30 minutes or more per game.
SA3OD - gianluca
classic, InstantChess.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5
Asking for trouble, allowing a transposition to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
6.Bxf7+ Kf8
I know this sounds silly, but there are 30 games with this position in The Database. White scores 48%. (Which sounds even sillier.)
7.Nf5
A thoughtful idea, although stronger was 7.Nxc6!? Qh4!? 8.O-O bxc6 9.Bb3 Qxe4 when White has recovered his sacrificed piece, as a better pawn structure and a safer King.
7...Kxf7 8.Qd5+ Kf8
Instead, 8...Kf6 would be too bold: 9.Qxc5 Nge7 10.Nc3 (10.Qc3+!) 10...d6 11.Nd5+ Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Re8 13.O-O Re5 14.Qd3 Bxf5 15.exf5 Rxf5 16.b3 Kg6 $2 17.Bb2 (17.g4!) 17...Ne5 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.Qb5 b6 20.Rad1 Qe7 21.Rd7 Qg5 22.Rxc7 (22.Qc6+!?) 22...Raf8 23.Qe2 e4 24.Qxe4 Kh7 25.Rxa7 Kh8 26.Re7 Rxf2 27.Rxf2 Qc5 28.Ref7 Rxf7 29.Qe8+ Rf8 30.Qxf8+Qxf8 31.Rxf8+ Kh7 32.Rb8 Black resigned, MidKnightBlue - cesrmathurine, FICS, 2005.
9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qc3 Bxf5 11.exf5 Nf6
White has an extra pawn (temporarily) and a safer King, but he lags in development.
12.O-O Ne7 13.Nd2 Nxf5 14.Nf3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Kg6
The King needed to go back to f8, as SA3OD immediatly shows.
16.Qd3 Qd7 17.Nh4+ Kf7 18.Qxf5 Qxf5 19.Nxf5 Rhe8
20.g4
In the next few moves, White is thinking of attack. (Instead, he should heed American National Master Dan Heisman's advice to club players, that after winning material one should think about consolidation first, not wild aggression. The simple 20.Be3 comes to mind.)
20...Re2 21.h3
Instead, the consolidating 21.Ne3! would have saved a world of headaches.
21...Rxc2 22.f4
Everybody is going to the party, but, by the time they get there, the party will have moved on.
White still had time for 22.Ne3, evicting the enemy Rook. Even 22.Be3 was possible, as 22...Rxb2?! would be well met by 23.Rac1!? with counterplay.
22...Re8 23.g5 Ree2
24.Nh4
The correct way to protect g2 (and attack Black's Rook) was 24.Ne3!
24...Ne4 25.gxh6
Instead, 25.Rf3 would have kept the enemy Knight out of g3 and lead to an even game.
25...gxh6
Better to invade: 25...Ng3.
26.f5
Still attacking. Still overlooking 26.Rf3.
26...h5
Black overlooks his last chance for 26...Ng3.
White is in a turned-around situation for a Jerome Gambit player, being up a piece and down a pawn. His King is in more danger, too.
Although Black has more practical chances, the game is still about even.
27.Bf4 Rxb2 28.Ng6 Rxa2 29.Rxa2 Rxa2 30.Re1 Ra4
31.Nh8+
Not the solution to a difficult position, especially if time was getting short. Stockfish 7 suggests: 31.Kg2 Kf6 32.Kf3 Ng5+ 33.Bxg5+ Kxg5 34.h4+ Kxf5 35.Ne7+ Kf6 36.Nd5+ Kg7 37.Re7+ Kg6 38.Rxc7 b5 39.Nf4+ Kf5 40.Nxh5 Rxh4 41.Ng3+ Ke5 42.Rxa7 and White should hold on. Whew!
Now Black's game improves step-by-step.
31...Kf6 32.h4 Kxf5 33.Bg5 Nxg5 34.hxg5 Kxg5
35.Nf7+ Kg6 36.Nd8 b6 37.Ne6 c5 38.Rd1 Rg4+ 39.Kh2 c4
40.Rxd6 Kf7 41.Nc7 Rg5 42.Rc6 Rc5 43.Rh6 Kg7 44.Re6 Rxc7 45.Kg2 b5 46.Kf2 b4 47.Ke3 b3 48.Ra6 b2 49.Ra5 b1=Q 50.Rxh5 c3 51.Rg5+ Kh6 52.Rd5 c2 53.Rd6+ Kh7 54.Kd4 Qd1+ 55.Ke5 Qxd6+ 56.Kxd6 c1=Q 57.Kd5 Rd7+ 58.Ke6 Rd2 59.Ke5 Qe1+ 60.Kf4 Rf2+ 61.Kg3 Qg1+ 62.Kh3 Rh2 checkmate
Some day, maybe, I will get caught.
Oh, wait a minute. I already did get caught.
Some day, maybe, I will learn.
Oh, wait a minute, I once did know.
Well - next time I hope to remember...
In the meantime here's another Jerome Gambit game where I made what I knew was the wrong move, because I couldn't remember why it was wrong.
And I won in a near-miniature, anyhow.
perrypawnpusher - alvarzr
2 12, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf6
Last year my game against the same opponent continued 7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qe3 Nf6 and I was out-played in a pitched battle, (missing one chance at a saving swindle) in perrypawnpusher - alvarzr, blitz, FICS, 2013, (0-1, 59). Hmmm... Looks like I haven't posted that game yet. My bad.
8.d4
I played this move even though I knew it was not the best move.
I had forgotten 8.Qxc5 d6 (8...Qe7 9.Qf5# perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010) 9.Qe3, with an edge for Black in perrypawnpusher - useche, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22) and perrypawnpusher - wbrandl, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 28).
8...Bxd4
Black doubles my error and sends it back to me...
In a game six years ago my opponent back then played the correct 8...Bb4+!?, but after 9.c3 he tried 9...c6 and after 10.Qg5+ I was on my way to sweet victory in perrypawnpusher - whitepandora, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 41).
A more recent game - the analysis from this blog should still have been clear in my memory - saw 8...h6 9.Qxc5 with Black a bit better, in perrypawnpusher - tjaksi, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 16).
9.Qg5+
This is fine, but 9.Bg5 would have been checkmate. (And 10.Bg5 would have been checkmate against whitepandora, too!)
9...Ke6 10.Qxd8
These kind of positions make me verrrrrrry nervous. Sure, White has a Queen and a pawn for only two pieces, but that's the problem - what if I get overconfident and blunder it all away? (Sure, that would be almost as bad as losing to the Jerome Gambit, right?)
10...N8e7 11.Qxc7 Ne5 12.Qa5 b6 13.Qd2 Bc5 14.Nc3
I briefly looked at 14.b4!? but quickly decided that I didn't need more material, I needed to escape with what I had and to find a settled position. (Thanks, Dan Heisman.)
14...Ba6 15.Nd5!? Rac8 16.Nxe7 Kxe7 17.Qg5+ Ke6 18.Qf5+ Kd6 19.Bf4 Rce8 20.0-0-0+
Hold the Xanax. I think I've got things under control now.
20...Kc6 21.Bxe5 Black resigned
I've been playing too much chess lately, breaking my rule to follow Dan Heisman's (of the "Novice Nook" articles at Chess Cafe) suggestion mentioned in a Chess Life article earlier this year
...set up a "feedback loop" whein one studies something (adds positives), applies it with careful practice, gets expert help to correct mistakes (subtracts negatives), and then repeats ad infinitum. this loop, which is essentially practiced in every school, is a key for getting better at any complex endeavor, whether it be chess, math, skiing or pharmacy.
I've been dropping points and half-points here and there, and even my wins have been ragged and have had more to do with good fortune than good play.
Tonight I hit my nadir
perrypawnpusher -TrentonTheSecond
blitz, FICS, 2010
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...Re8
I faced this move for the first time a few days ago and won in a baker's dozen worth of moves, ending with 13.Qd5+.
8. dxc5 Nc4
9. Qd5+??
Unbelievable.
9...Nxd5 White resigned
I've decided: no more playing chess games until next month. Study, analyze, learn: no pawn-pushing.
Readers probably won't even notice, however, as I have a backlog of about a dozen games to post here...
Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Welton Vaz sends us a Chess.com link to an enjoyable discussion on the play of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 – known on this site as the "Semi-Italian Opening" (after Euwe) – as a way of avoiding the Fried Liver Attack 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7
Although one of the Chess.com posters complained about 3...h6 "I hate when players play this as it is an insult to the Italian" there was no suggestion on the website, either in the discussion or the related 21 games given, that White could return the "insult" of 3...h6 by transposing to the Jerome Gambit with, say, 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+.
Of course Welton sent one of his games where he provided that "insult" – which we will see in "Italian Game Anti-Fried Liver Defense (Part 2)".
By the way, Grandmaster Boris Alterman has a 6-part series on the Fried Liver Attack on his website, along with instruction on a whole list of gambits, including the Danish, Evans, Max Lange and Morra.
I note that Alterman has two books forthcoming, one on gambits with White and one on gambits with Black. Of the first, he writes
The Alterman Gambit Guide: White Gambits is both an opening book and an instructive manual. Sharpen your tactics and learn to play dynamic attacking chess while studying the most entertaining gambits. Lines covered include:Evans Gambit, Panov Attack, Morra Gambit, Philidor, Danish Gambit, Urusov Gambit, Morphy Attack, Cochrane Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Fried Liver Attack and Milner-Barry Gambit
For those who like their liver fried, there is also a book by NM Dan Heisman on The Computer Analyzes the Fried Liver / Lolli.
