Deus ex Chess Clock

When I play through Jerome Gambit games by Bill Wall or Philidor 1792, I imagine a hero emerging, unscathed, from the center of whirling, churning chaos...

When I play the Jerome Gambit, though, it is a lot more like riding in a car that is careening out of control, heading for a cliff - and, if I am lucky, I can jump out in time...

Something like the following game.

perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ 

My opponent has faced this opening a few times earlier, and may not have been impressed:

6.0-0 Rf8 7.Nd5 Kg8 8.d3 h6 9.Nh4 Nxd5 10.Nf5 Nde7 11.Nxh6+ gxh6 12.Bxh6 Rf6 13.Bg5 Rg6 14.Qh5 Qf8 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Qxe5 Bd6 17.Qb5 Qh6 18.h3 b6 19.Rae1 Qg5 20.g3 Qxb5 White resigned, maharishi - OudeKwakkelaar, FICS, 2006; and
6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.d3 d6 8.0-0 Rf8 9.Nd5 Nxd5 10.exd5 Nd4 11.c3 Nf5 12.Nxh7 Rh8 13.Qh5+ Ke7 14.Bg5+ Kd7 15.Bxd8 Rxd8 16.Qf7+ Black resigned, BurtForFun - OudeKwakkelaar, FICS, 2012.

6...Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4

This is a slight improvement over our earlier game, which continued with 7...d6, in perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (½-½ , 62).

8.Qxd4 Qe7 9.0-0 

This is a little bit better than 9.f4 as in perrypawnpusher - HGBoone, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 27); but 9.Bg5, which I played next move, is probably best. 

9...Re8 10.Bg5 Qd6 

The prudent 10...Kg8 was seen in perrypawnpusher - BigKalamar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 49).

11.Qe3

I just knew that after the game Houdini was going to scold me for not playing 11.Qxd6 and it did, suggesting 11...cxd6 12.Nb5 and Black has an edge, which he keeps, of course, after 12...Rg8 13.f4 Nc4 14.b3 Nd2 15.Nxd6+ Ke6 16.Rfe1 Kxd6 17.Rad1 h6 18.Rxd2+ Ke7 19.Bh4 g5 20.fxg5 hxg5 21.Bg3 b6. 

Now my game is headed for a cliff...


11...Neg4 12.Qh3 h6 13.Bh4 Qc5 14.Qd3 Qh5

Black would have done better with 14...d6, but Houdini still says that White has very little for his sacrificed piece. 

15.Bg3 d6 16.f4 

Here, however, Black forfeited on time.


Once again, White is saved by the Jerome Gambit's "secret weapon".

Folie à deux

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) is one of the "modern" Jerome Gambit lines where White obtains one pawn in exchange for his sacrificed piece.

In a recent game, after much ado, having gained nothing more and lost nothing more, I arrived at the following endgame position.


perrypawnpusher - OudeKwakkelaar, blitz, FICS, 2011

I had the delusional notion that the game could be draw by moving the White King to the Queenside and eliminating Black's pawns.

The funny thing was, my opponent had the same idea.

43.Kf5 Nd3 44.Ke6 Nc1 45.Kd6 Nxa2 46.Kc6 Nb4+ 47.Kb7 Nd3 48.Kxa7 Nc1 49.Kxb6 Nxb3 50.Kb5 Kh6

Black's King can not help on the Queenside until he takes care of the White h-pawn.

51.Ka4 Nd2 52.Kb5 Nb3 53.Ka4 Nd2 54.Kb5

I was happy with a repetition of position.

54...Ne4 55.Kc6 Kh5 56.Kd5 Nc3+ 57.Kxc5 Kh4 58.Kd6 Kxh3 59.c5 Nb5+ 60.Kd7 Kg4 61.c6 Kf5 62.c7 Nxc7

drawn, as neither player has mating material

But, wait a minute! Let's go back to Black's move 51 (or 53) and try 51...Nd4 instead:

 
analysis diagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now Black's Knight and pawn cooperate perfectly, and White's King can only race around foolishly, taking a stab at the pawn, then the Knight, then the pawn...
 
Eventually Black's King joins the dance and the game is over: 51...Nd4 52.Ka5 (going after the pawn) Kh5 (Black has time to head toward the h-pawn) 53.Kb6 Nb3 54.Kc6 Kh4 55.Kb5 (might as well go after the Knight again) Kxh3 56.Ka4 Nd4 57.Ka5 (back to the pawn) Kg4 58.Kb6 Nb3 59.Kb5 Kf4 60.Ka4 (attacking the Knight) Nd4 61.Ka5 Ke5 62.Kb6 Nb3 63.Kb5 Kd4 64.Ka4 Kxc4. Black will simply escort his pawn to its Queening square.
 
The final irony is that while the leap of the Black Knight to d4 was a winner on move 51 and move 53, even if the second player had finally discovered the idea it would not be so on move 55: Black would need to play 54...Nb3, and that would allow 55.Ka4, repeating the position for the third time and allowing a draw, anyway...

Such things are bound to happen in blitz play.