Done in by Greed

The following game was a tense, balanced affair, travelling through known territory for a dozen moves and on into a balanced middle game. When I went pawn-grabbing with my Queen, however, my opponent struck back hard, eventually checkmating me.

Lesson?

perrypawnpusher - ZhekaR
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Nf6

The Database shows that mrjoker has a win, a loss, and a draw against 8...Qe7.

9.Nc3

Or 9.d3, which can traspose to the game.

9...Qe7 10.Qe3 d6

11.0-0 Be6

Black has many alternatives, including: 11...b6 as in perrypawnpusher - Navarrra, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 24) [Hmmm, I don't think that I have posted this game yet - RK]; 11...Rf8 as in mrjoker - rex3, CC, 2009 (1-0, 50), perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31), perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 20) and perrypawnpusher - chingching, blitz, FICS, 2011 (½-½, 36); 11...Ne5 as in perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 50); and 11...Kd7 as in perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22).

12.f4 Bc4

Earlier this year I faced 12...Kd7 in perrypawnpusher - Solaar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 33).

13.d3 Ba6

14.Bd2 b6 15.Rae1 Kd7 16.Qh3+ Kd8 17.Nd5

Planning to use the opened e-file for my Rook, but 17.e5 was probably a better idea.

17...Nxd5 18.exd5 Qd7 19.Qg3 Qf5

The game is about even, as White has two pawns, better development, and a safer King as compensation for his sacrificed piece.

20.c4 Re8 21.Rxe8+ Kxe8 22.Re1+ Kd7 23.Qe3 Rf8 24.g3 c5 25.dxc6+

After the game Rybka 3 suggested instead 25.b4 cxb4 26.Bxb4.

25...Kxc6 26.Bc3 Rf7 27.Qe8+ Qd7 28.Qe4+ Kc7 29.Qa8

A fool's errand. That pawn on a7 will turn out to be very, very expensive.

29...Bb7

This is good enough for advantage, but 29...Nxf4 was already crushing (i.e. 30.gxf4 Qg4+, etc.).

30.Qxa7

The only chance to keep on playing lay with 30.Qe8.

30...Qc6

Again, good; but, again 30...Nxf4 was much stronger.

31.Re4 Re7 32.Bd4 Rxe4 33.dxe4 Ne7 34.b4 Nc8 35.Qa3 Qxe4 36.Qb2 Qe1 checkmated

Wow. Nice work by ZhekaR to punish my pawn-grabbing!

Crash and Burn

If a chess game were a rocket, then the opening moves would be the first stage of the vehicle, designed to boost further stages and the payload into orbit. In the following game the Jerome Gambit does its duty and propels the game to equality. Shortly afterward, though, everything crashes and burns...

perrypawnpusher - roccovargas
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Game.

6.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kg8

I was surprised to see that this move was not in The Database.

8.Nxc6 dxc6 9.d3 Bg4

The two Black Bishops remind me of the game Lowe-Parker, correspondence, 1879 as well as two of my contests against MRBarupal.

10.Qe1 Bb4 11.f4 Kh7

Black has castled-by-hand. White's "Jerome pawns" are sufficiently robust as to suggest an even game.

But that "problem" can be "fixed".

12.h3 Bd7 13.g4 Rf8 14.g5 hxg5 15.fxg5

White is "attacking", but the problem is similar to several previous debacles (see "Slaughter") where I left my King insufficiently guarded.

15...Nh5 16.Rxf8 Qxf8 17.Qh4

Still "attacking". Combine this with criminal neglect of defense, and my game falls apart quickly.

17...g6

More painful would have been 17...Bc5+, which my opponent and I both overlooked.

18.Be3 Qf3 19.Qf2 Qxf2+ 20.Kxf2 Bxh3 21.Rh1 Rf8+ 22.Ke2 Ng3+ White resigned

Mysteries of the Jerome Pawns

I wish that I had won the following game because I solved the "mysteries" of the "Jerome pawns" discussed after move 20. Alas, I took advantage of my opponent's mistake and slid into a drawn endgame, feeling lucky... 

perrypawnpusher - chingching
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

According to The Database, which I consulted after the game, up until now, chingching was 9-1 against the Jerome Gambit. However, every one of those games saw 5.d4 instead of 5.Nxe5+, so my move was going to at least give my opponent something new to look at. 

I was interested to see that chingching had also played 16 games (scoring 75%) defending an Italian Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4, which transposed to the Jerome with 4...exd4 5.Bxf7+ (an idea as old as Wright - Hunn, Arkansas, 1874). Among the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, DragonTail is the top practitioner of this line, and we have previously seen DragonTail - chingching, blitz, FICS, 2009.

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qe3 d6

10.0-0 Nf6 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.f4 Kf7

Continuing to castle-by-hand. Instead, 12...Ng4, as in perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31) is not as strong.

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Neg4

As often happens, it is tempting to harass the White Queen. I suppose this is because White's opening seems so artificial that certain allowances can be made in how Black responds. Still, 14...Nc6 was for choice, as White can now develop some initiative.

15.Qe2 Kg8 16.h3 Nh6 17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5

19...Qc5+ 20.Kh1 Nd5

This is a critical position for the game, as Rybka 3, in the post mortem, saw Black's last move as a blunder (recommending 20...Ne8 instead).

The point is that the "Jerome pawns", now connected and passed, work very well with White's heavy pieces after  21.Nxd5 Qxd5 22.Rad1

analysis diagram






See?

I admit that I still did not, and it took some work to see why Rybka saw White as more than a piece better.

For starters, White is threatening e5-e6 and f5-f6 which combine with Qg4+ in a mating attack. That suggests that Black's best retreat for his Queen will be 22...Qf7, even though that still allows White to play 23.e6.

If Black uses his Queen to blockade the forward pawn with 23...Qe7, then 24.Qe5 will force 24...Bxe6 25.fxe6.

If Black uses his Queen to blockade the trailing pawn with 23...Qf6, then White has a tricky combination: 24.e7 Re8 25.Rd8!? when 25...Rxd8 is met with 26.Qc4+ and Black has to either give up his Bishop with 26...Be6 or face the other advancing Jerome pawn with 26...Kf7 27.exd8/Q Qxd8 28.f6+ Kf8 29.Qc5+ Qd8 30.Qe3 Be6 31.Qxh6+ Ke8 32.Qxh7 Qf8 33.Re1 Qxf6 34.Qg8+ Qxa8 when White is up the exchange and two pawns.

Wow. That is so far over my head...

21.Qh5 Nxc3 22.bxc3 Qxe5 23.Rae1 Qf6

White's position is only a shadow of what it was 3 moves ago. His Kingside "attack" is also doomed to failure.

24.Re3 Bxf5 25.Ref3 Qe6

An odd slip by opponent, dropping a piece, when 25...Qg6, instead, would have sealed his advantage.

26.Rxf5 Rxf5 27.Qxf5 Qxf5 28.Rxf5 Rd8

We have reached a drawish looking endgame.

29.Rb5 Rd2 30.Rxb7 Rxc2 31.Rxa7 Rxc3 32.a4 Rc1+ 33.Kh2 Ra1 34.Rxc7 Rxa4 35.Rd7 Ra2 36.Re7 Game drawn by mutual agreement

Quite Complicated

Making sense of Jerome Gambit middlegames can be a challenge. To write the notes for this blog I make use of my friends Rybka 3, Fritz 10 and Fritz 8. Sometimes I tell them "I saw that!" and sometimes I don't...

perrypawnpusher - parlance
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

I've been here 30 times, and scored 82%. That's not due to the strength of White's position, mind you, but because I am familiar with the tricks and traps of the opening. 

10.0-0 Rf8

Probably better than 10...Qe7 in our earlier game, perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22).

After the game, Fritz 8 suggested 10...d5!? which follows the idea that if you are ahead in development you should open up the game: 11.exd5+ Kf7 12.Nc3 (Hanging on to the d-pawn with 12.c4 wastes time that needs to be spent by White on development, e.g. 12...Re8 13.Qg3 c6 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.d3 Bf5) 12...Re8 13.Qc5 Ne7 14.d4 Nexd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 and Black survives the discovered check and his misplaced King to maintain his advantage.

If I face 10...d5, in the future, I am likely to try the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit-ish 11.d4 dxe4 12.f3!?

11.f4 Qe7 12.Nc3 c6

Keeping the White Knight off of d5.

A bit better might be 12...Kf7, continuing to castle-by-hand.

12...Ng4 worked out better than it should have in last year's perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31).

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4

You have to wonder if, just once, ...Ned7 was the right idea, with castling-by-hand still on the menu.

15.Qd3 b5

I've seen this kind of maneuver in my game against Saltos and both games against VGxdys. I think Black does best, instead, simply to retreat his Knight with 15...Nb6.

After all the travelling that the piece has done (...Nb8-c6-e5-g6-e5-c4) perhaps my opponent was unwilling to invest one more move – although that soon changes.

16.Bg5

I thought this was a pretty interesting idea at the time.

After the game, Rybka 3 preferred 16.a4.

16...h6

Taking the pawn right away was possible: 16...Nxb2 17.Qg3 Nc4 18.Rae1 Qc7 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Nd5 21.Nxd5 cxd5 22.Qg4 with a slight edge to Black, but I would be okay with White's position.

17.Bh4

Simpler was 17.Bxf6 Rxf6 18.b3 Nb6 19.Rae1 but I was okay with some complications of the text.

17...Nxb2

Taking the pawn shifts the edge to White.

18.Qf3

It would have been stronger to try 18.Qg3, as in 18...Qd7 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qd4+

18...Nc4 19.e5 Nd2

Enticed by the chance to fork my Queen and Rook. 

Black needed to bite the bullet, give up some material and move his King to a safer place with 19...Kf7. The resulting position would be quite complicated.

If White captures the Knight on f6, Black can force the exchange of Queens, i.e. 20.exf6 Qe3+ 21.Qxe3 Nxe3, when some simplification leads to 22.Ne4 Nxf5 23.Rxf5 Bxf5 24.Nxd6+ Ke6 25.fxg7 Kxd6 26.gxf8/Q+ Rxf8 where White is a pawn up, but the game is close to a drawish Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.

White can capture on c6, instead, and enter a somewhat better Queenless middlegame, i.e. 20.Qxc6 Qb7 21.Qxb7 Bxb7 22.exf6 gxf6 23.Nxb5 a6 24.Nc3 Rae8.

Rybka's preference, though, is to pursue the attack on the Kingside with 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qh5+ Kg8 22.e6 in order to force Black to liquidate, when an exchange sacrifice by White will give him the edge:  22...Bxe6 23.fxe6 f5 24.Qxh6 Rf6 25.Qg5+ Qg7 26.Qxg7+ Kxg7 27.d5 Ne3 28.dxc6 Nxf1 29.Rxf1 Rxe6 30.Nxb5 Kf6 31.g4 Ke7 32.gxf5 Rg8+ 33.Kh1 Rf8 34.Nd4.

Like I said: "Quite complicated."

20.Qxc6+ Black resigned

White's Queen is very active, and the next few moves are easy to see: 20...Kf7 21.exf6 Qb7 22.Qxd6 (possible because the Black Knight no longer protects the pawn) Nxf1 23.Rxf1 and now 23...Qd7 24.Nxb5 shows that White has plenty for his sacrificed exchange.

Another Odd Thing

Sacrifice unsoundly, fall behind in development, send the Queen out to hunt pawns...

Doesn't sound like much of a recipe for victory, does it? Oddly, that kind of describes the way that I played the following game. Wins with White in the Jerome Gambit are often odd things.

perrypawnpusher - Solaar
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

The Database has 82 games with this position. White scores 70%. This is my 29th time here, scoring 81%.

10.0-0 Qe7 11.Nc3

The alternative is 11.d3, although transpositions are likely. 

11...Be6

Looking for trouble.

Rybka 3 suggests 11...Kf7, while 11...Rf8 was seen in perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31); 11...Ne5 was seen in perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 50); and 11...Kd7 was seen in perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22).

12.f4 Kd7

Odd, perhaps planning to castle-by-hand on the Queenside; but returning the piece, intentionally or otherwise.

Better was 12...Bc4 as in QuadCoreBR - Alecs, FICS, 2008: 13.d3 Ba6 14.b4 b6 15.b5 Bb7 16.f5 Ne5 17.d4 Neg4 18.Qg3 h5 19.h3 Nh6 20.e5 Ne4 21.Nxe4 Bxe4 22.Bg5 Qd7 23.e6 Qxb5 24.Bxh6 gxh6 25.a4 Qe2 26.Rf2 Qc4 27.Qg7 Black resigned.

13.f5 Bxf5

Slightly better was 13...Bc4 14.d3 Ne5 15.dxc4 Nxc4 16.Qd4 Ne5, when Black would be down a pawn, but he would have pressure and play against the backward White pawn on e4.

14.Rxf5

Was Solaar expecting me to play 14.exf5? If so, after 14...Qxe3+ 15.dxe3 Ne5 14.e4 the game would have reached the position mentioned in the note to Black's 13th move, only with Queens off the board and it being Black's move. White would still have an edge.

14...Rae8 15.d3 Kc8

The difficulty for Black here is that even though he is better developed and White's center is under pressure, there is time for White's Queen to go pawn-hunting.

16.Qxa7 Rhf8 17.Bg5

Also possible was 17.Qa8+ Kd7 18.Qxb7 but I decided to save that for later,

17...Qe6 18.Bxf6 Rxf6 19.Rxf6 Qxf6 20.Rf1 Qe5

21.Qa8+

After the game Rybka 3 pointed out the more ferocious 21.Rf5 Qe6 22.Rb5 Kd7 23.Rxb7 Rc8 24.Nb5. I was content to be a few pawns up and head toward the endgame.

21...Kd7 22.Qxb7 Nf4 23.Qb5+ Qxb5 24.Nxb5 Rf8 25.Nc3 c6 26.g3 Ne6 27.Rxf8 Nxf8

28.Kf2 Ne6 29.Ke3 c5 30.Ne2 g5 31.c3 Kc6 32.d4 c4

A slip that ends the game quickly, rather than slowly.

33.d5+ Black resigned

A Tale of Threes

My first three Jerome Gambit games against MRBarupal, I lost.

My second three (counting the one below), I won.

This most recent game overlaps a couple of earlier games, making a third interesting "three". 

perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

My first three games (0-3) against this opponent continued 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6. The next three (3-0) continued 5...Kf8.

There are plenty more Jerome Gambit refutations for us to explore.

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.0-0 Nf6

8.d3 Bg4 9.Qe1 Qd7

Varying from 9...Qe8 which appeared in  perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2011 (10. Be3 Bd6 11.f4 Nh5 12.e5 Be7 13.f5 Black resigned) and the following day in Knightpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2011 (10.Be3 Black resigned).

Fritz8 doesn't see much difference between 9...Qd7 and 9...Qe8, although it slightly prefers a third move, 9...Kf7.

10.Be3 Be7 11.f4 Re8

12.Nd2 h5

Developing his final piece, with aggressive intentions? Or preparing a pawn formation against an expected avalanche of "Jerome pawns"? 

13.Nf3

After the game Rybka 3 was critical of this move, preferring Nd2-c4-e5 as the proper way for the Knight to advance to the center. After the text, Black can simply exchange the piece off – which he promptly does.

13...Bxf3 14.Rxf3 g6

This is a complicated position. After the game Rybka 3 preferred sending the Knight to g4 to exchange off the Bishop at e3, keeping Black's edge.

15.f5

Playing to open lines against the enemy King, but this could turn risky, as White is behind in development. Rybka 3's suggestions show much more patience, with a focus on putting the Queen and Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal before breaking through.

15...Rg8 16.e5 Ng4 17.fxg6+

Rybka 3 looked at the position of the two Black Rooks and suggested 17.f6 instead, with a complicated mess to follow: 17...Bd6 18.d4 Kf7 19.Bf4 g5 20.Bg3 h4 21.Qe4 Rh8 22.h3 hxg3 23.hxg4 Kf8 (Fritz 8 prefers 23...Bf8) 24.Re3 Rxe5 This is Rybka's idea 25.dxe5 Bc5 26.e6 Qh7 27.Kf1 Qxe4 28.Rxe4 Rh1+ 29.Ke2 Rxa1

analysis diagram









Black has a slight advantage.

17...Kg7

18.Bf4 Qe6 19.h3

Fortunately for me, my opponent now overlooks a Bishop check from c5, which would have strengthened his game. It was more prudent for me to play 19.c3 Ref8 20.d4 first, and after 20...Nh6 21.Qe2 Kxg6 the game would be about even, according to Rybka 3.

19...Nh6 20.Qe4 Nf5 21.Raf1

The game remains complex: is Black defending or attacking on the Kingside? Or both?

In the meantime, White has completed his development, but the pawn on g6 is lost, and his attack is going nowhere. After a few exchanged pieces, Black's edge will become clear.

21...h4

Putting a cramp in White's Kingside and makes an outpost for his Knight at g3, but Rybka 3 preferred 21...Nh4 22.Rg3 Ref8 23.d4 Nxg6 24.Qf3 h4 25.Rg4 Kh8 26.Qe2 Rf5 27.Qe4 Nxf4 28.Rfxf4 Rxf4 29.Rxf4 Rg7 when Black is clearly better.

Black's move opens up a tactical opportunity for White that hides behind the smokescreen of an apparent blunder.

22.Bd2 Ng3

Forking White's Rook and Queen. (He should have abandoned the Knight with 22...Kh8, but then White would have the better game.)

23.Rf7+ Kh8 24.Rh7 checkmate