Pawns 1, Piece 0

Sometimes White wins by attack in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and sometimes he has to "play out" the game and use his pawns against his opponent's extra piece. Proper defense by Black should save at least half of the point, but that doesn't always happen...

perrypawnpusher - CorH

blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5

Our earlier game, featuring 5...Kf8, was a pretty good example of Black and his extra piece out-duelling White and his extra pawns (although I had my chances)  perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009, (0-1, 74).

6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+

A check of The Database shows that I don't always play this "nudge": 7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qe3 Nf6 9.0-0 Re8, perrypawnpusher - MoonCat, blitz, FICS, 2007, (1-0, 29).


7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.0-0 Kf7

Returning the extra tempo lost by the "nudge".

11.f4


Also seen: 11.Nc3 as in perrypawnpusher-joejox, blitz, FICS, 2009 (½-½, 27).

I did not find Rybka's apparent "let's not risk anything else" recommendation that it made after the game to be appealing: 11.d4 Re8 12.Qb3+ Kf8 13.f3 c6 14.c4 Qb6 15.Be3 Be6 16.Nc3 Bf7 17.Rfe1 

analysis diagram








11...Re8

Of course, Black's Knight can aways kick White's Queen instead, with 11...Ng4 as in perrypawnpusher - Feestt, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19).

12.f5 Ne5


Instead, the precipitous 12...Rxe4 did not work at all after 13.fxg6+ hxg6 14.Qxe4 in perrypawnpusher - bnxr, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0,29).


13.Nc3


I wanted to play 13.d4 but could not figure out how to meet 13...Neg4. The moves are from Vazquez -Carrington, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 and I should have remembered them for historical reasons, if no others: 14.Qb3+ Kf8 15.h3 Rxe4 16.hxg4 Rxg4 17.Qf3 c6 18.Nc3 d5 19.Bf4 Kg8 20.Be5 h5 21.Rae1 Bd7 22.Re3 Qb6 23.b3 Rf8 24.Na4 Qb4 25.Nc5 Bc8 26.c3 Qb6 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Qh3 Rg5 29.Ne6 Bxe6 30.fxe6 Qc7 31.e7 Re8 32.Qe6+ Kh8 33.Qxf6+ Rg7 34.Qf8+ Black resigned

13...Kg8


Prudent. There was always the kick at the Queen with 13...Nc4 as an alternative, although it did not lead to much difference after 14.Qd4 Ne5 15.d3 Kg8 in perrypawnpusher - DysonLin, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 23).


14.d4 Neg4

Of course.

15.Qf3 Bd7


An opponent tried 15...c6 in perrypawnpusher - avgur, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23) but the pawn probably needed to take two steps. 


16.h3 Nh6 17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.Rae1 Kh8

19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Ng8

Active defense with 20...Bc6 (followed by 21...Rg8) was more likely to be successful in holding back the pawns, reaching  a balanced game.

21.f6 Bc6 22.Qf4 Rf8 23.f7

White's "Jerome pawn" threatens to win back the sacrificed piece: 23...Qg5 24.Qxg5 hxg5 25.fxg8/Q+ Kxg8. White would be a pawn better, but the win would be far off.

Instead, Black saves his Knight and loses his King.

23...Ne7 24.Qf6 checkmate

...said the spider to the fly

If you play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) against an opponent twice (like my games against BronxBoyII, JoeJox and tejeshwar), you may ruin the advantage of surprise – and your opponent may have his own surprise waiting for you...

perrypawnpusher - marbleschess

blitz 10 0, FICS, 2009

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

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

Improving on 6...g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 from our first game.

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7

This looks like a TN, and a good one at that. Now the pawn-grab 9.Qxc7 for White is a good way to commit suicide: 9...Qxe4+, etc.

9.Qe3 Nf6 10.d3 d5 11.f3

Falling back and digging in. See my game against Mooncat for a similar idea.

11...dxe4 12.fxe4 Ng4 13.0-0+

Well, that's one worry (King safety) taken care of, and a second piece developed, but Black is still clearly better.

13...Ke8 14.Qg3 Qc5+ 15.Kh1 Be6

A good developing move, although 15...Rf8 might have been stronger.

16.Nc3 Kd7

Preparing to both swing the Queen Rook into play and castle-by-hand. Marbleschess, it is clear, was no longer in awe of the Jerome Gambit.

Perhaps that is what saved me.

17.h3

Better might have been 17.Bf4, but I had a pretty good guess how my opponent was going to respond to my move, and I had an unsettling surprise.

17...N4e5 18.d4

Perhaps what Ossip Bernstein was thinking about when he mentioned "the equalizing injustice of chess."

Now White would have a slightly better game after Black plays 18...Qc4 19.Rd1 Raf8 20.dxe5+ Kc8, but instead his opponent goes to pieces.

18...Qxd4 19.Rd1 Qxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Rad8 21.Bf4 Kc8 22.Bxe5 Nxe5 23.Qxe5

23...Bd7 24.Nc3 Rhe8 25.Qg3 g6 26.Nd5 Black resigns

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (12)

Searching for improvements in play against the ...Ng6 defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), the computer grabs a pawn – and has to struggle mightily not to fall to a crushing counter-attack.
Crafty 19.19 - RevvedUp
blitz 2 12, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+Ng6


7.Qxc5 Nf6 8.0-0


Crafty 19.19 prefers safeguarding the King over protecting the King's pawn, as 8...Nxe4 could be met with 9.Qd5+
8...d6 9.Qe3 Rf8


Likewise, RevvedUp castles his King by hand.

The alternative Rook placement on the e-file has been seen: 9...Re8 10.d3 ( 10.Nc3 d5 11.d3 d4 12.Qf3 dxc3 13.bxc3 Ne5 14.Qg3 g6 15.Bg5 Kg7 16.Qh4 Rf8 17.f4 Nf7 18.e5 Nxg5 19.exf6+ Kg8 20.fxg5 Bf5 21.Rfe1 Rf7 22.Re5 Qd6 23.Qd4 Qa6 24.Rae1 Qxa2 25.c4 Qxc2 26.Re8+ Rf8 27.f7+ Kxf7 28.R1e7+ Kg8 29.Qg7 checkmate, blackburne - Sir Osis of the Liver, www.chessworld.net 2008) 10...Ng4 ( 10...d5 11.f3 Bd7 12.Qf2 Kg8 13.Bg5 Bb5 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Nc3 Bc6 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxb2 18.Nxc7 Rec8 19.Nxa8 Rxc2 20.Qg3 Qd4+ 21.Kh1 Qxd3 22.Qb8+ Nf8 23.Qxb7 Qg6 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Rg1 Qc6 26.Rab1 Rc3 27.Qf7 Qxa8 28.Rb7 Ra3 29.Qxg7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher -MoonCat, FICS, 2007) 11.Qe2 Qh4 12.h3 N4e5 13.f4 Nd7 14.Nc3 c6 15.f5 Nge5 6.d4 Nf6 17.dxe5 Black resigned, Schlenker - Sfrd, from Randspringer

The thematic 9...d5 was also possible.

Now Crafty 19.19 goes pawn-hunting, allowing RevvedUp to unleash a powrful attack.

10.Qb3+ Be6 11.Qxb7 Kg8 12.Nc3 Ng4 13.h3 Nxf2 14.Rxf2 Rxf2 15.Kxf2 Qh4+ 16.Kg1 Rf8 17.Nd1

As I've mentioned (see "Jerome Gambit: Don't open that door!") sometimes when I play over a Jerome Gambit game, I secretly root for Black... Here RevvedUp is pounding his adversary (who is rated over 1,000 points higher than he is).
17...Bxh3

It was not obvious at blitz speed that Black had a mate-in-9 here: 17...Nf4 18.Qa6 Qg3 19.Ne3 Nxh3+ 20.Kh1 Qe1+ 21.Nf1 Rxf1+ 22.Qxf1 Qxf1+ 23.Kh2 Nf4 24.Kg3 g5 25.d4 Qxg2 checkmate. He still has the better game after the text, though.
18.Qb3+ Be6

A humorous echo of move 10! However, after the safer 18...Kh8 the computer cannot escape mate.

19.Qxe6+ Kh8 20.d3 Qe1+
21.Kh2 Qxd1

Good enough for the win, but 21...Rf1 instead was crushing.

22.Qd5 h6 23.Qe6 Rf1


Tough guy! Why not sac a piece?

24.Qxg6 Rh1+ 25.Kg3 Qe1+ 26.Kg4




26...Rh4+
Arrrgh! How unfortunate: 26...Qf2, hemming in the enemy King and threatening the pawn at g2 was the move that still won.
But this is blitz, and such things happen.
Crafty 19.19's King can escape – into enemy teritory – and RevvedUp is done for.

27.Kf5 Qf1+ 28.Ke6 Qf8 29.Kd7 Rh1 30.Kxc7 Qe7+ 31.Kc6 Rf1 32.Bg5 Qf8 33.Rxf1 Qxf1 34.Be3 Black resigns