Yes, The Jerome Gambit Is Playable (Part 2)

[continued from previous post]

Morin, Louis (1900) - Guipi Bopala, Prince Eric (1900)
Quebec Open, Quebec, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes

So far, we have seen a few surprises. First, White played the Jerome Gambit in a serious over-the-board tournament. Second, Black, a youngster, has been holding his own - until a bit of a surprising (second-and-a-half?), if "scientific", return of the sacrificed material.

As the game progresses, I am reminded of some points made by Dennis Monokroussos, of the chess blog The Chess Mind, in a review of Hannes Langrock's The French Defense: The Solid Rubinstein Variation (2014). The perspective can be helpful in understanding "slow" Jerome Gambits.

A couple of practical drawbacks for [those playing the variation]: if you win, it’s going to take you at least 40 moves and possibly longer. That’s not so bad if you’re playing in a civilized tournament, but here in the U.S. at least you might be playing two full-length games in one day. If you’re young and full of energy then go for it (though if you’re young and full of energy you should play sharp openings instead!), but otherwise it may be a dubious tournament strategy. It’s also not very satisfactory if you’re in a must-win situation, unless you’re a big believer in your technical abilities or your opponent’s technical shortcomings... 

To his credit, he acknowledges early on some of the criticisms readers might offer; indeed, he relates asking the very strong German grandmaster Georg Meier if he isn’t concerned about the drawish tendencies of this line. Meier’s reply was that he has been able to win many kinds of endgames with it. And that’s the key: you have to have good technique and be willing to grind out points over the long haul. Meier is young and a great technician who is able to defeat lesser lights with remarkable regularity in this opening. Our mileage may vary, but by learning the types of endings that can arise via this opening we can replicate some of his successes in our own games. 

Now: back to our game.

34.Nd4 Rb7 35.Rfe1 Rxe1 36.Rxe1 Kf7 37.Re6 Be7

Perhaps the Bishop would be better placed at f6.

38.Nc6

Louis points out that, in time trouble, he missed the winning move, 38.f5! It looks like Black must avoid taking the pawn, as 38...gxf5 39.Nxf5+ leads to the fall of Black's d-pawn. On the other hand, after 38...g5, White's Rook can go after the h-pawn, i.e. 39.Rh6 g4+ (isolating White's f-pawn) 40.Kg2. Then, the computers like 40...a4 41.Rxh6 axb3 42.axb3 when things are still pretty complicated, but White has that extra pawn.

The computers also recommend 38.g4!?, which seems counter-intuitive, opening lines for the enemy Bishop, but, after 38...hxg4+ 39.Kxg4 it becomes clear that Black's minor piece is stuck in place, and 39...Rc7 might be the best chance, pursuing activity, even at the cost of a pawn after 40.Nxb5.

Remember, though: time trouble had reared it's fearsome head. Plus: even after the text move, White is better. And: the endgame is a difficult one.

38...a4 39.b4

Continuing to cramp the enemy Bishop, although 39.bxa4 bxa4 40.g4!? might have been playable, similar to the previous note. 

39...Rc7 40.f5 gxf5 

The first time control has been reached, and White's well-posted Knight dominates Black's troubled Bishop. The extra pawn means nothing. The game is even. (It is important to remember that in difficult situations, "even" does not equal "drawn".)

41.Rh6 Bf6

The Bishop can breathe! Also, the move limits the actions of White's Rook.

42.Rh7+ Bg7 43.Rxh5 Kg6 

44.Rh4

Possibly better was 44.g4!?. taking the chance to liquidate the Kingside pawns and preparing to hang on for the draw. Of course that's easy for me to say, as I was not playing the game.

44...Bf6 45.Rf4 Rh7+ 46.Kg2 Kg5 47.Rf3 Be5 48.Re3 f4

49.gxf4+

Reasonable, but it should allow Black's King to creep closer. Tougher was 49.Re1!? keeping it all in balance.

49...Bxf4

Keeping it even. Dizzying. Tick tock!

50.Rh3

According to the computers, this is the losing move, but how would I know? It makes perfect sense to me to exchange off the major pieces, but apparently this allows Black's King greater activity. On the other hand, 50.Re8!?, which supposedly leads to the half point after mad complications, would require incredible vision.

50...Rxh3 51.Kxh3 Kf5 

The problem is that while White can trade pawn-for-pawn, Black's King gets into the action, while White's is left out.

52.Nd4+ Ke5 53.Nxb5 Bd2 54.Na7 

Black has the game in hand. Impressive.

54...Kxd5 55.b5 Kc5 56.Kg2 Bb4 57.Kf3 Kb6 58.Nc8+ Kxb5 59.Ke4 Bc5 60.Ne7 Kb4 61.Kd3 Ka3 62.Kc2 Kxa2 63.Nd5
Ka3 64.Kc3 Bf2 65.Nf4 Bg3 66.Kc2 White resigned

Hats off to young Prince Eric Guipi Bopala, for playing such a fine game!