???????
I wanted to share another game by TOMMYFOOKINSHELBY (see "Jerome Gambit: Smash Finish") because it answers an unasked question or two...
TOMMYFOOKINSHELBY - Fafa05
5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
The Two Knights Defense, often a stumbling block on the way to the Jerome Gambit, although White has options; see, for example, "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense", parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
4.Bxf7+
This line doesn't have a name, as far as I know, but it might as well be "the impatient Jerome Gambit". The earliest game that I have with it in The Database is from 2001, but it has to be much older than that. My research is lacking here.
Philidor1792, who has contributed much to this blog, explained his approach to the line in "What's Going On Here?"
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6
Or
6...Nc6 as in Philidor 1792 - guest1334, Bereg.ru, 2014 (1-0, 20), You [Philidor 1792] - Stranger, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 (1-0, 18), Philidor 1792 - guest3018, Bereg.ru 2014 (1/2 - 1/2, 24), and Philidor 1792 - guest345, Bereg.ru, 2014 (1-0, 15); or
6...Nc4 as in You - Stranger, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 (1-0, 26); or
6...Neg4 as in Philidor1792 - Stranger, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 (1-0, 27); or
6...Qe7 as in Philidor 1792 - Juppzupp, PlayChessBase.com, 2014 (1-0, 24).
7.e5 Ne8
Black has also tried
7...Qe8 in Philidor 1792 - Guest10161477, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 29);
7...Nd5 in You - Stranger, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 (1-0, 16) and You - Stranger, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 (1-0, 17), as well as Philidor 1792 - Guest838140, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 28);
7...d5 in Philidor 1792 - guest5, Bereg.ru 2014 (1-0, 42);
7...Qe7 in Philidor 1792 - guest1278, Bereg.ru 2014 (1-0, 29); and
7...d6 in Philidor1792 - Guest805466, PlayChessBase.com 2014 (1-0, 62).
8.Qf3+ Kg8
For some reason, Black preferred
8...Nf6 in Philidor 1792 - CrinjuChess, PlayChess.com 2014 (1-0, 46), Philidor 1792 Sauron2005, PlayChess.com 2014 (1-0, 25), and Philidor 1792 Ppion, PlayChess.com 2014 (1-0, 36); and
8...Ke7 in Philidor1792 - Guest691264, PlayChessbase.com 2014 (1-0, 14)
9.Qd5 checkmate
Oh. Right. Nice work, TOMMY.
The following game goes mildly along its way, featuring an arcane transposition from a "modern" Jerome Gambit to a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. Then, suddenly, the game lurches into deadly waters. And out, again.
Of course, Bill Wall is playing the Jerome.
Wall, Bill - Guest1507051
PlayChess.com, 2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d3
Bill plays a "modern" variation of the Jerome Gambit - one without 5.Nxe5. He decides that sacrificing one piece is enough - for now.
5...h6
Black wants to keep a White piece out of g5. The move is playable, but probably not best.
Bill has faced the stronger 5...Nf6 three times: Wall,B - Richard123, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 10); Wall,B - Hovo,D, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23); and Wall,B - Bandera,M, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 28).
The move in the game, 5...h6, creates a transposition to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit - in this case, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 - and White decides to capture on e5, after all.
6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6
Bill has also faced 7...g6, as in Wall,B - Riichmarj, Chess.com, 2010, (1-0, 29); and 7...Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qc3 Qf6 11.Qxc7 N8e7 12.O-O Kf7 13.Nc3 Be6 14.Qxd6 Rhd8 15.Qg3 Rac8 16.f4 Bd7 17.f5 Nh8 18.e5 Qb6+ 19.Be3 Qxb2 20.Bd4 Nxf5 21.e6+ Bxe6 22.Rxf5+ Bxf5 23.Qxg7+ Ke6 24.Re1+ Kd6 25.Qe7+ Kc6 26.Qc5+ Kd7 27.Re7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest396164, PlayChess.com, 2017.
8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.f4 Qh4+ 10.g3 Nf3+
Quite a shot! Without d2-d3 for White, and ...h7-h6 for Black, as in the current game, this move leads to a complicated and deadly (for White) variation - see "Repairing A Variation" Part 1, 2, 3 and 4 for a more complete assessment. I recall getting an email from my friend, "Mad Dog", about a Jerome Gambit correspondence game that he figured he was winning, as he had just won his opponent's Queen - alas, it was a Queen sacrifice, and he was ultimately thrashed.
What difference do the "extra" moves make in this case?
11.Kd1 Qd8
Uh, er, never mind.
The real test of the line goes something like this: 11...Ne7!? 12.e5+ (White must force the issue) Kc6 13.Qe4+ d5 (the only move to keep Black in the game) 14.exd6+ Nd5 15.gxh4 (there goes the Black Queen, White's only chance) Bg4 16.h3 (in the original line, "Mad Dog" tried Qa4; in a series of games against the computer program Crafty in 2012, Philidor1792 tried d4, and Crafty tried f5; all to no avail) Bh5 17.c4!? (The White Queen does not have to retreat, as she is protected in this line) Ng5+ (best) 18.Kc2 Nxe4 19.cxd5+ Kxd5 20.dxe4+ Kxd6 21.Nc3 and the game is balanced, as Black's two Bishops counter White's extra, doubled pawn.
analysis diagram
In the current game, Black is temporarily up a couple of pieces, but that situation does not last.
12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Qxc5+ d6 14.Qf2 Bg4
Black cannot save his Knight, and so falls behind by a pawn or two.
15.h3 Nd4+
Better was 15...Nh2+ 16.hxg4 Nxg4.
16.hxg4 c5
17.g5 Kd7 18.Be3 Qb6 19.Kc1 Ne7
The game remains complicated, but White is clearly better.
20.gxh6 gxh6 21.Nd2 Raf8 22.Nc4 Qc6 23.Bxd4 cxd4 24.Qxd4 Kc8
Things begin to slip away.
25.Nxd6+ Kc7 26.Nc4 b6 27.Qe5+ Kd8 28.Qb8+ Nc8 29.Ne5 Qc7 30.Qxc7+ Kxc7 31.Ng6 Black resigned
I just received another Jerome Gambit game played on the internet by Vlasta Fejfar ("vlastous"). The following game show the need for patience in certain lines of that wild, crazy attack. A certain amount of sitzfleisch helps, too. After a period of calm, White suddenly activates his Rooks, and Black does not react well to the danger.
[By the way, this is post #2,500 on this blog. As Mortimer Snerd - or Edgar Bergen - said, "Who'd a thunk it?"]
vlastous - Nyanyiwa
internet, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Qf6
The defense 6...Kf8 is solid and sensible. It can lead to a position where the Queens come off the board before a dozen moves have been played. "Objectively" Black's extra piece is worth more than White's two extra pawns, but in the rough-and-tumble of club play - especially when the first player has knowledge or experience of such lines - there is play to be had for the gambiteer.
9.d3 Qxf4 10.Bxf4 Nf6 11.Nc3
White has his two "Jerome pawns". Black's extra piece gives him the "two bishops" which are helpful in open positions.
From a psychological point of view, White should consider keeping the game closed, developing his pieces, increasing his control of space - but, otherwise, acting as if Black is the attacker, and letting him make the first mistake.
Other ideas:
11.c3 Bb6 (11...h6 12.Nd2 g5 13.Bg3 Nh5 14.d4 Bb6 15.Nc4 Nxg3 16.hxg3 Kg7 17.f3 Be6 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.a3 h5 20.Kf2 h4 21.gxh4 Rxh4 22.Rxh4 gxh4 23.Rh1 Rh8 24.f4 Bg4 25.f5 Kf6 26.Ke3 d5 27.Kf4 Be2 28.e5+ Kg7 29.g4 hxg3 30.Rxh8 g2 31.Rh3 g1=Q 32.Rg3+ Qxg3+ 33.Kxg3 Kh6 34.Kf4 Bh5 35.e6 Kg7 36. Ke5 c6 37.f6+ Kg6 38.f7 Kg7 39.Kd6 Bg6 40.Ke7 Black resigned, Philidor1792 - guest2052, Internet, 2012) 12.Nd2 Bd7 13.Nc4 Kf7 14.Nxb6 axb6 15.f3 Rhe8 16.Kf2 b5 17.a3 Be6 18.Ke3 Rad8 19.d4 Bb3 20.Kd2 h6 21.Rae1 g5 22.Be3 Nh5 23.g3 Kg6 24.Re2 Rf8 25.Rf2 Rf7 26.f4 gxf4 27.gxf4 Rdf8 28.Rg1+ Kh7 29.f5 Rg8 30.Rxg8 Kxg8 31.Bxh6 Nf6 32.Rf4 Rh7 33.Bg5 Rxh2+ 34.Ke3 Kf7 35.Rh4 Rxh4 36.Bxh4 c6 37.Kf4 Bc2 38.e5 Nd5+ 39.Kg5 dxe5 40.dxe5 Nc7 41.Bg3 Bd3 42.e6+ Nxe6+ 43.fxe6+ Kxe6 44.Kf4 Kd5 45.Ke3 Bf1 46.Kd2 Kc4 47.Kc1 Kb3 48.Bf2 drawn, Philidor 1792 - guest2498, bereg.ru 2014;
11.O-O Kf7 (11...Bg4 12.Nc3 Bd4 13.Be3 Bxc3 14.bxc3 b6 15.f3 Be6 16.d4 Re8 17.Bf4 Nh5 18.Be3 Kf7 19.Rfb1 Rhf8 20.Bc1 Kg6 21.d5 Bd7 22.Bd2 c6 23.c4 Nf4 24.Kh1 h6 25.Rb3 Rc8 26.g3 Ne2 27.Rd3 c5 28.c3 b5 29.Re3 bxc4 30.Rxe2 Rxf3 31.e5 dxe5 32.Bxh6 gxh6 33.Rxe5 Rxc3 34.Re7 Rd8 35.Kg1 Rc2 36.Rb1 Rxa2 37.Rb7 c3 38.Rb1 c2 39.Rbe1 Bh3 40.R7e5 c4 41.Rc1 Rb8 42.Re2 Rbb2 43.Kf2 a5 44.d6 Kf6 45.Kf3 c3 46.Ke3 Bf5 47.Kd4 Rb3 48.d7 Ra4+ 49.Kc5 Bxd7 50.Rcxc2 Rb5+ 51.Kd6 Rd4+ 52.Kc7 Rd3 53.Ra2 Bg4 54.Re4 Rd2 55.Rf4+ Kg5 56.Raa4 Bh3 57.Rf8 c2 58.Rc4 Rxh2 59.Rg8+ Kf6 60.Rf8+ Kg7 61.Rf3 Be6 62.Rcc3 Re2 63.Kd6 Rb6+ 64.Kc5 Rb1 65.Kd4 Rd1+ 66.Kc5 Re5+ 67.Kc6 Bd5+ 68.Kd6 Re6+ 69.Kd7 Rc6 70.Rfe3 Kf6 71.Rxc2 Bf3+ 72.Rd2 Rxd2+ 73.Rd3 Rxd3+ 74.Ke8 Rc8 checkmate, GNUChess - GNUChess, OS-RGCX-182777, 2003) 12.Nc3 Bd7 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Ke7 15.Rf3 Rhf8 16.Raf1 c6 17.d4 Ng4 18.Rxf8 Rxf8 19.Rxf8 Kxf8 20.Nd1 Be8 21.h3 Nf6 22.Nc3 Bg6 23.e5 dxe5 24.dxe5 Ne4 25.Ne2 Ke7 26.Nf4 Bf7 27.b3 g5 28.Nd3 c5 29.g4 c4 30.Nb2 cxb3 31.axb3 Ke6 32.Nd3 Kd5 33.Kf1 Nc5 34.c4+ Kc6 35.Ke2 Nxb3 36.Nb2 Nc5 37.Kf3 a5 38.e4 a4 White resigned, blackburne - Argento1960, ChessWorld.net, 2004; and
11.Be3 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Nxd2 Kg8 14.O-O-O c5 15.Nc4 Ne8 16.Ne3 Be6 17.h4 Nf6 18.h5 b5 19.h6 g5 20.f3 Kf7 21.d4 b4 22.Rhe1 Rhe8 23.g3 Ke7 24.d5 Bd7 25.e5 dxe5 26.Nc4 Nh5 27.g4 Bb5 28.d6+ Kd8 29.d7 Rf8 30.Nd6 Bc6 31.gxh5 Bxf3 32.Rd3 e4 33.Rd5 Kxd7 34.Nxe4+ Kc6 35.Rxc5+ Kb6 36.Rc4 Rae8 37.Rxb4+ Ka5 38.a3 Rf4 39.Nxg5 Rxe1+ 40.Kd2 Re2+ 41.Kd3 Rxb4 42.axb4+ Kxb4 43.Nxf3 Re6 44.c3+ Ka5 45.b4+ Ka4 46.b5 Rxh6 47.c4 Rxh5 48.Nd2 Kb4 49.Nf1 Rh3+ 50.Ne3 Rxe3+ 51.Kxe3 Kxc4 52.b6 axb6 53.Ke4 b5 54.Kf4 b4 55.Kg5 b3 56.Kh6 b2 57.Kxh7 b1=Q+ 58.Kh6 Qf5 59.Kg7 Qg5+ 60.Kf8 Kc5 61.Ke8 Qg7 62.Kd8 Kd6 63.Ke8 Qg8 checkmate, GNUChess - GNUChess, OS-RGCX-182777, 2003.
11...a6 12. f3 Kf7
Things quickly went south for Black after 12...Be6 13.Bg3 g5 14.e5 dxe5 15.Bxe5 Kf7 16.Bxf6 Kxf6 17.Ne4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2651667, PlayChess.com, 2015.
13.Bg3 Re8 14.Bf2 Bb4 15.a3 Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 b6
Black has surrendered the Bishop pair to injure White's pawn structure. He still has a long way to go to collect more than a half point, however. In the meantime, White startssome action on the Kingside.
17.Kd2 Bd7 18.g4 h6 19.h4 d5 20.g5 hxg5 21.hxg5 Ng8
White is ready for some action on the Kingside, starting with a surprise.
22.g6+ Kxg6
Immediately, Black slips. He would have done better side-stepping the pawn with 22...Ke6, but he misses White's plan (perhaps because White has been so "quiet" with his play. The capture allows White a useful gain of tempo in response.
23.Rag1+ Kf7 24.Rh7 Ke7
You can see the rest of the game from here. Whites Rooks spring to life.
25.Rgxg7+ Kd6 26.Rxd7+ Kc6 27.Rxc7+ Kb5 28.exd5 Nf6
Black is suddenly 4 pawns down, 3 of them passed, but he hopes to use this Knight fork to win one back. Alas he slips.
29.Rh6 Nxd5 30.c4+ Black resigned
I received a couple of Jerome Gambit games from chessfriend Vlasta Fejfar. The first involves a complicated, frustrating, and, ultimately, philosophical defense. The second is almost off-the-road adventuring.
Let's dive into the tough stuff first. After a theoretical opening "discussion" and "scientific" middle game, there follows a textbook attack and a pleasant checkmate.
vlastous - franciscoribeiro
internet, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6
The annoying "annoying defense" (see 1 and 2 for starters). Computers love it. Vlasta has a lot of experience facing it.
Black offers to return one of the two sacrificed pieces. Although his King appears a bit precarious, much of the dynamism in the game is drained off.
White need to go into the line with a plan - and a decision about what kind of outcome he is looking for.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Kd6 10.Qd3+ Ke7 11.Qg3
Here the game Fejfar,V - Pressl, corr Czech Republic, 2015 was drawn.
Is a draw acceptable to White, who started the game with a Bashi-Bazouk attack, sacrificing two pieces? Is a draw acceptable to Black, who, only a few moves ago, had an "objectively" won game?
It is a typical Jerome Gambit irony that could be expressed in the idea: Both sides stand better (or worse).
11...Kf8
A little bit better is 11...Kf7, although Vlasta has experience with that line, too: 12.Qxe5 Bd7 (12...Bd4 13.Rf1+ Nf6 14.Qh5+
Kg8 15.Qe2 Be6 16.c3 Be5 17.g3 c5 18.d3 Qd6 19.Bf4 Bg4 20.Qe3 Bh3 21.Rf3
Bg4 22.Rf1 Re8 23.Nd2 Bxf4 24.gxf4 b5 25.e5 Nd5 26.Qg3 Qg6 27.Ne4 c4 28.Kd2 Bf5 29.Nd6 Rd8 30.dxc4 bxc4 31.Rae1 Qxg3 32.hxg3 Ne7 33.Ke3 Bd3 34.Rg1 Nf5+ 35.Nxf5 Bxf5 36.Rd1 Kf7 37.Rd4 h5 38.Rgd1 Rc8 39.Rh1 g6 40.Rh2
Ke7 41.a4 Rc6 42.Rd5 Be6 43.Rb5 Rc7 44.Rd2 h4 45.gxh4 Rxh4 46.Rd4 Rh3+
47.Kf2 Rd3 48.a5 Rxd4 49.cxd4 Bd7 50.Rb8 Ke6 51.Ke3 Kd5 52.a6 c3 53.bxc3
Rxc3+ 54.Kf2 Bc8 55.Ra8 Rc7 56.Ke3 Rc3+ 57.Kf2 Kxd4 58.Rxa7 Ke4 59.Rg7
Kf5 60.a7 Ra3 61.Rf7+ Kg4 62.Rf8 Bb7 63.e6 Rxa7 64.e7 Bc6 65.e8=Q Bxe8
66.Rxe8 Kxf4 67.Rf8+ Kg4 68.Rc8 g5 69.Rc3 Kh4 70.Kg1 Ra2 71.Rb3 g4 draw, Fejfar,V - Goc,P) 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qxc5 Qh4+ 15.Qf2+ Qxf2+ 16.Kxf2 Nf6
17.d3 Rhf8 18.Nc3 Kg7 19.Ke2 Bg4+ 20.Ke3 Be6 21.h3 Nh5 22.Ne2 Rae8 23.b3
Nf6 24.Ba3 Rf7 25.c4 Rd8 26.Raf1 Rfd7 27.Nf4 Bg8 28.Bb2 Rf8 29.e5 Re7 30.Kd2 Ne8 31.e6+ Black resigned, Fejfar,V - Svoboda, corr Czech Cup, 2016
He has also seen 11...Ke8 12.Nc3 Bd4 13.Rf1 Qd7 14.Nd5 c6 15.Ne3 Nf6 16.d3 Qc7 17.c3 Bxe3 18.Bxe3 Qe7 19.O-O-O
Rf8 20.Rf3 Bd7 21.Rdf1 c5 22.Bxc5 draw, Fejfar - Kyzlink, corr Czech
Republic, 2015.
You may have noticed in some of these games Vlasta was testing the Jerome Gambit in correspondence play - like Alonzo Wheeler Jerome did with his gambit over a century ago. A draw is a reasonable outcome.
12.Qxe5
For comparison, a couple of other games:
12. Rf1+ Nf6 13. Qxe5 Bd6 14. Qg5 Bxh2 15. Nc3 Be6 $2 16. e5 h6 17. Qe3 Qe7
18. exf6 gxf6 19. d3 c5 $6 20. Bd2 Rd8 21. O-O-O b6 $6 22. g3 Kg7 23. Rh1 Rd4
24. Rxh2 h5 25. Re1 Kf7 26. Rhe2 Rd6 27. Ne4 Rc6 28. Qf3 Kg6 29. Ng5 fxg5 30.
Qxc6 Kh7 31. Rxe6 Black resigned, Wall,B - Shah,V, chess-db, 2015; and
12.d3 Nf6 13.Rf1 Qe7 14.Nc3 c6 15.Bg5 Kf7 16.O-O-O Rf8 17.h3 Kg8 18.Rf3 Qe6
19.Rdf1 Be7 20.Kb1 Bd7 21.Nd1 Rae8 22.Qh4 b5 23.Ne3 Qd6 24.Qf2 Be6 25.g4
c5 26.Nf5 Bxf5 27.gxf5 Nh5 28.Bc1 Nf4 29.h4 c4 30.d4 Nh5 31.d5 b4 32.Qe2
c3 33.b3 a5 34.a4 bxa3 35.Rxc3 Black resigned, Wall,B - ubluk, Chess.com, 2012.
12...Qh4+
The alternative, 12...Bd6, was seen in a number of games in the legendary Fisher-Kirshner - KnightStalker match in 1993. When people send me Jerome Gambit games, they usually start with Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, and then follow with the Fisher-Kirshner - KnightStalker games.
The text is sharp and relatively unexplored. The only other game with it in The Database is the computer game WB Nimzo 2000b - La Dame Blanche 2.0c, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, 2009 - which was a 109 move draw!
13.g3 Qe7 14.Qxe7+ Kxe7
The game has left the path of the computers (which contained 14...Nxe7) and has transposed to 3 games played by Philidor1792 in 2012.
15.Nc3
Alternately, d2-d3 was seen in Philidor1792 - NN, 5 0 blitz, 2012 (1-0, 30) and c2-c3 was seen in Philidor1792 - NN, 5 0 blitz, 2012 (1-0, 22) and Philidor1792 - NN, no time control, 2012 (0-1, 27).
15...c6
Played to keep White's Knight off of d5. Probably better was 15...Nf6, but Black seems to have been nervous about a possible Bishop pin at g5 (see move 17).
16.Na4 Bd6 17.d4 h6 18.O-O
Bh3 19.Rf3 Nf6
A puzzling move. Black gives back his extra piece and secures what should be an even position. Stockfish 8, instead, suggests castling-by-hand on the Queenside, 19...Rf8 20.Bf4 Kd8 21.Nc5 Kc8, with advantage.
It must be said that Black is employing the "scientific" idea (as he did on move 7) of accepting the sacrificed material, and then giving it back some time later.
20.e5 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Nd7
Vlasta suggested that 21...Ng4 would have led to an even game.
22.b3
Nxe5
Black is in too much of a hurry to capture the pawn. It will cost him another piece.
23.Re3 Kd6 24.Ba3+ Ke6 25.Rae1 b5 26.Rxe5+ Kf6 27.Bb2 Kg6 28. Nc5 Rad8
White is winning now - he has an advantage in material and a developing attack on the enemy King.
29.Re7 Rhg8 30.Ne6 Bxe6 31.R1xe6+ Kh7 32.
Rxc6 Rd1+
One last Hurrah. White's pressure on g7 is deadly.
33.Kg2 Rb1 34.Bf6 a5 35.Rcc7 Kg6 36.Bxg7 Rd1
37.Rc6+ Kg5 38.Re5+ Kg4 39.h3 checkmate
I recently referred to the chess clock as "the 33rd piece" (see "Strangest Beast") because it sometimes has a profound effect on the outcome of a game - sometimes as much as a Queen or more.
In the following game I have reason to suspect "the 34th piece" - the computer mouse, inputting moves in an online game. Its effect on my opponent's 16th move - if it was a mouse-slip - is rather off-putting and unfortunate.
Once again, the truism: In the Jerome Gambit, Black wins by force, White wins by farce. (Well, in my games, anyhow.)
perrypawnpusher - aksakal
blitz 5 7, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. I have 59 games with it in The Database, scoring 74%.
6.Nxe5+
After the game I was interested to discover in The Database the game olivercsc - aksakal, FICS, 2015, in which Black outplayed his opponent, but was done in by his clock: 6.O-O h6 7.d3 d6 8.h3 Rf8 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Nd4 12.a3 a5 13.Nd2 Qg5 14.Ne4 Qg6 15.Ng3 Kg8 16.Qh5 Qxh5 17.Nxh5 Nxc2 18.Rac1 Nd4 19.Kh1 Ne2 20.Rce1 Nf4 21.Ng3 Bd7 22.Ne4 Nxd3 23.Rd1 Nxf2+ 24.Nxf2 Rxf2 25.Rxf2 Bxf2 26.Rd3 Rf8 27.b4 Bg3 28.Rxg3+ Kh7 29.bxa5 e4 30.Kh2 Ba4 31.Re3 Bc2 32.Rc3 Bd3 33.Rxc7+ Kg6 34.Rxb7 e3 35.Rb6 e2 36.Rxd6+ Kg5 37.h4+ Kg4 38.Re6 Black forfeited on time.
My Jerome Gambit probably did not worry my opponent a bit.
6...Nxe5 7.d4 Ng6
A novelty. The Knight sometimes goes to g6 in other lines of the Jerome Gambit.
Here, best is 7...Bd6. Interestingly enough I have only faced that
move twice, and am 1-1.
That lack of "best" play reinforces Bill Wall's understanding of the opening's "playability" in casual, online, and fast games - the Jerome Gambit's "refuted" nature is often counter-balanced by the defender's lack of concrete knowledge about those refutations.
8.dxc5 Re8 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.O-O Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand and has his Rook on an open file.
12.f4 d6 13.cxd6 Qxd6 14.Qxd6 cxd6 15.Rad1 Be6
My opponent took some time deciding on the offer to exchange Queens. I agreed to the swap, immediately - which caused him to take some more time figuring out what I was up to.
I admit to being under the influence of the recent Philidor1792 bullet games posted on this blog. If our clocks were going to run down (his faster than mine, so far) I was going to be comfortable with a simpler position.
16.Rxd6
An immediate example of "simpler". I suspect that my opponent expected me to play the fork 16.f5, although 16...Bc4 17.fxg6 Bxf1 18.Rxf1 Re6 was probably even, as White would wind up with one or two pawns for the exchange.
16...Ne5
It is hard to read this as anything other than a mouse-slip.
What to do about the threatened pawn fork? Black could keep busy with 16...Rad8 17.Rxd8 Rxd8 and then 18.f5 could again be answered by 18...Bc4 19.Rd1 (I prefer this to 19.fxg6) Rxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Ne5 and White will move his King to the center, counting on that - and his 3 pawns for the piece - to fight against Black's edge (especially with the time clock advantage).
17.fxe5 Black resigned
An unfortunate end to an interesting encounter.
