Beyond Gloom and Doom

Imagination and sheer force of will help the Jerome Gambiteer take a "bad" or "lost" position and make something out of it. In the following game, White finds himself in deep trouble (definition: playing White in the Jerome Gambit); and focusing only on his subsequent loss would blind observers to the actual chances that he created for himself.  

HauntedKnight - Makaroni
blitz, FICS, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4

This line has advantages and disadvantages over 6.Qh5+, and, at one time, was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference.

4...Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4

At first glance it looks like Black is in a panic, throwing pieces around and leaving some en prise. As I pointed out in "Gloom and Doom", however, this is a strong counter-attack for Black.

8.dxe5

Previous experience (including a couple of earlier games by HauntedKnight) has not been encouraging for White (8.0-0 seems "best"):

8.0-0 Nc6 9.cxb4 (9.Qf3+ Qf6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qd5+ Qe6 12.Qxe6+ dxe6 13.cxb4 Nxd4 14.Na3 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Nf6 16.Re1 Nxc1 17.Raxc1 c6 18.Nc4 Rd8 19.e5 Nd5 20.Nd6+ Ke7 21.Re4 a5 22.b5 cxb5 23.Rh4 h5 24.Nxb5 Nb4 25.Nd6 Bd7 26.Nxb7 Rdc8 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.h3 Rc2 29.Nxa5 Rxb2 30.a3 Nd3 31.f4 Ne1 32.Nc4 Rxg2 33.Nb6 Rc2 34.Nd5+ exd5 35.f5 Nf3 White resigned, Gamin - JumpNMustangII, FICS, 2001) 9...Qxe4 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Nc3 Qf5 12.b5 (12.Qb3+ d5 13.Nb5 Ne8 14.Nc3 Be6 15.b5 Ne7 16.Rae1 Nd6 17.Qb4 Rhc8 18.Re2 Ng6 19.Rfe1 Nh4 20.f3 Kg8 21.Bf2 Nxg2 22.Kxg2 Rf8 23.Bg3 Qxf3+ 24.Kg1 Nf5 25.Rxe6 Nxg3 26.hxg3 Qxg3+ 27.Kh1 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 h6 29.R6e2 Qg3+ 30.Rg2 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Rf1 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Rh7+ Kxh7 34.Qe7+ Qxe7 35.Kg2 Qf7 36.Kh2 Qf3 37.Nxd5 Rh1 checkmate, Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 12...Nb4 13.Rc1 c6 14.a3 Nbd5 15.Qb3 Re8 16.Rce1 b6 17.h3 Bb7 18.g4 Qf3 19.g5 Ne4 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Qd3 Nxg5 White resigned, RevvedUp - Crafty 19.19, blitz 2 12, 2006;

8.cxb4 Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 (9.Be3 Qxg2 10.Rf1 Nf3+ 11.Ke2 d5 12.Nc3 Bg4 13.Qb3 Nxd4+ White resigned, jfhumphrey - hvutrong, FICS, 2010) 9...Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Nc6 11.Rd1 Nxb4 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Re1 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Rxe1+ 15.Kxe1 d5 16.Be3 Bf5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3 Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 White resigned, Teterow - geneve, FICS, 2011;


8.Qe2 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 Nc6 10.g3 Qe7 11.Qc4+ d5 12.Qxd5+ Be6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qf3+ Kg7 15.d5 Ne5 16.Qd1 Bg4 17.Qd4 Nf6 18.Bg5 Nf3+ White resigned, Maza - aqeel, FICS, 2003.

8...Qxe4+ 9.Be3

HauntedKnight has a very creative idea: let Black choke on captured material while White castles Queenside and uses open lines for his pieces.

An earlier 9.Kf1, which might be "objectively" stronger, did not fix things in HauntedKnight - hellg, FICS, 2010.

9...Qxg2 10.Rf1 Be7 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qe2 Ke8

13.Nd2 Qxh2 14.0-0-0 Qxe5

15.Rfe1 Kd8 16.Qc4 Qg7

Black prepares for trouble.

17.Bd4 Nf6 18.Ne4 h6

 

White is down a piece and two pawns, but his Rooks are knocking on Black's front door, While Black's are still in the garage.

19.Bxf6

Rybka suggests preparing for a breakthrough with 19.Be5, as in 19...d6 20.Nxd6 cxd6 21.Rxd6+ Bxd6 22.Qd4 Qd7 23.Bxd6 Rf8 24.Be7+ Ke8 25.Bxf8+ Kf7 26.Re7+ Qxe7 27.Bxe7 Kxe7

analysis diagram





Both Rybka and Houdini see White as having almost equalized in this unbalanced position.

With the text, White clears the lines for his Rooks, but Black's defensive resources prove sufficient to hold off the attack.

19...Bxf6 20.Nxf6 Qxf6 21.f4

21...d6 22.Re4 Bf5 23.Red4 Qe6 24.Qb4 Qxa2 25.Qxb7

White's Queen has finally broken through, but so has Black's.

25...Qb1+ 26.Kd2 Qc2+ 27.Ke3 Re8+ 28.Kf3 Qe2+ 29.Kg3 Re3+ 30.Kh4 Qf2 checkmate

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the King of Draws

Ready? Ready?! Ready!? Ready!

Having recently taken a look at the Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit in AsceticKing9 - blackburne, ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, 2011, I figured that I was ready when my opponent sprung it on me. At least, as it turns out, I was more ready than he was.


perrypawnpusher - Carville
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

Blackburne's Defense, returning a Rook. See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Be6

Instead, it is critical to trap the White Queen with 9...Nf6.

Other Bishop moves seen in this position are 9...Bh3 as in Fritz 8-RevvedUp, 2 12 2006 (1-0, 18) and 9...Bg4 as in perrypawnpusher - MrScrumps, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 11).

10.Qc3

Getting the Queen out of danger, even at the cost of a pawn. A little better was 10.d3, for example 10...Rf8 11.Qc3 Nf6 12.Nd2 Kg8 13.Nf3

Previously seen: 10.d4 Rf8 11.Bh6 (11.Bg5 Bxd4 12.Qxd4 Qxg5 13.f4) 11...Qxh6 12.dxc5 Nf6 13.Qxf8+ Qxf8 14.Nc3 Bc4 15.Rfe1 Ng4 16.cxd6 Qxd6 17.f3 Qxh2 checkmate, Permanence - footsoldier, FICS, 2008.

10...Qxe4 11.d3 Qg4 12.Nd2 Rf8 13.Ne4 Bd5 14.h3 Qf5 15.Nxc5 dxc5

I am up a pawn and the exchange, and if I can continue to develop my pieces (even though now 16.Qxc5 is playable), that should mean something.

16.Be3 b6 17.Rae1 Ne7 18.d4

Intending to open the position for my pieces.

After the game, Houdini pointed out Black's vulnerability on the dark squares could be attacked, starting with 18.Bh6, since protecting against mate at g6 with 18...Rg8 allows White to keep the initiative 19.Re5 Qd7 20.Bg5!? Nc6 21.Rxd5!? Qxd5 22.Qf6+ Ke8 23.c4 Qd6 24.Re1+ Kd7 25.Qf7+ Kc8 26.Qxg8+ with clear advantage.

analysis diagram







18...c4 19.Qd2 Kg8

Black has completed castling-by-hand, but trouble is ahead.

20.Bh6 Rf7 21.Re5 Qh5

An oversight, but 21...Qd7, retreating the Queen and protecting the Bishop, would allow White to highlight the awkward position of Black's Knight with 22.Rfe1. White will then triple on the e-file with 23.Qe3, and Black can neither protect nor move the poor piece (because of the threat of mate).

22.Rxh5 Black resigned

War

As the 2011 edition of the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament comes to a close, it seems fitting that the first full game looked at in any depth be one between the tournament's top-rated & top-finishing player, and the current top over-the-board Jerome Gambiteer.

The game quickly becomes as sharp and as theoretical as any modern opening line.

AsceticKingK9 - blackburne
ChessWorld, JG6 tournament, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

The Blackburne Defense, harking back to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"

Not surprisingly, the modern "blackburne" has played this sacrificial line as well. See "blackburne as Blackburne with black".

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0

An alternative, but still complicated, line of play (see "Update: Blackburne Defense") is preferred by Houdini (who prefers White): 9.d4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Bxd4 11.0-0 Ng4 12.Nf3 Qxf2+ 13.Rxf2 Bxh8 14.Ne5+ Kg8 15.Nxg4 Bxg4 16.c3 Bg7 17.Be3 Re8 18.Re1 Rxe4 19.Rf4 Rxf4 20.Bxf4 Kf7 where Black has the two Bishops and a pawn for the exchange. 

9...Nf6 10.Qd8 Bh3

Having sacrificed one Rook, Black now offers the other.

Not quite as strong is 10...Bb6 as with 11.e5 White frees his Queen: 11...dxe5 12.Qd3 e4 13.Qc3 Nd5 14.Qg3 Qf6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.dxc3 Be6 17.a4 Rc8 18.Re1 Bf5 19.a5 Bc5 20.Bg5 Qc6 21.Be3 Bd6 22.Bf4 Bxf4 23.Qxf4 h5 24.h3 Qf6 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Be6 27.Rxe4 g5 28.Qg3 Bd5 29.Re5 Be6 30.Rae1 Re8 31.Qd3 Kg7 32.Rxe6 Rxe6 33.Qd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Foo,N, Palm Bay, FL, 2010.

11.Qxc7+

Of course, 11.Qxa8? would have led quickly to mate after 11...Qg4.

Equally disastrous was the related 11.g3 Qxe4 12.Qxc7+ Kf8 White resigned, Siggus - toe, FICS, 2007.

11...Kf8

The proper retreat square, not 11...Kg8 12.Qxb7 Qg4 (12...Re8 13.d4 d5 14.gxh3 Qxh3 15.Qb3 Qg4+ 16.Qg3 Qxe4 17.dxc5 Black resigned, Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006) 13.Qb3+ and White won, Chandler,G - Dimitrov,T, 5 minute special game, 2004.

12.Qxb7

The critical position.

White is ahead the exchange and four pawns, and threatens to grab a Rook – with check. Still, he should realize that he is on the defensive.

Black's pieces are very active, but the best he can do now is to force White to sue for peace with checks and repetitions.

12...Re8

Instead, 12...Qg4, threatening mate, seems essential.

White's only viable response is to grab the Rook, and then check like crazy, for example, 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ (14.e5 d5 and Black will mate) 14...Kf8 15.Qa8+ draws by repetition. 

13.gxh3 Qxh3

Black probably figured that with mating threats like ...Nf6-g4 and drawing threats like ...Qh3-g4+-f3+ he would be okay.

White does not give him a chance, however.

14.e5 Rxe5 15.Qg2

Dumping cold water on the attack. When White gets his pieces developed, his extra Rook will tell.

15...Qf5 16.d3 Re2 17.Bh6+ Kf7 18.Nd2 Rxd2 19.Bxd2 Ke6 20.Qb7 Ng4 21.Rae1+ Kf6 22.Qe7 checkmate

Got A Match?

It was not long after I began looking into the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) that I noticed one chess match kept turning up in the databases: in 1993, between the human Micah Fischer-Kirshner and the chess-playing program KnightStalker, an early version of Fritz. As luck would have it, I was able to interview Micah about his experience for this blog.

The Jerome Gambit seemed a natural for matches, especially ones involving computers. Jeroen_61 of the Netherlands ran one with Hiarcs, Junior 7, Shredder Paderdorn (6.02) and Fritz 7.

I tried a few myself, notably a Fritz8 vs Fritz5 encounter and a Delphi vs Wealk Delphi contest. Each attempt had its shortcomings. (Perhaps you read about them here.)

The mysterious "perfesser" played an introductory 4-game match with the Talking LCD Chess Gadget. Like the Jerome Gambit itself, it was good for some chuckles.

Topping all efforts so far, "RevvedUp" and his trusted companions Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8 explored the Jerome Gambit in a 30-game encounter. It was simply war.

And then there is that as yet untold tale of two expert-to-master-level American players who played a Jerome Gambit match 5 years ago, but the games remain hidden from public view, pending the players' release of a monograph on the opening...

Perhaps that will show up on this blog one of these days.






























http://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/2008/11/jerome-gambit-and-perfesser-part-i.html


iv

LPDO Revisited

In "My House! My House! My Kingdom for a House!" I mentioned Grandmaster John Nunn's acronym, LPDO, as a reminder that "Loose Pieces Drop Off". In the following game, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member HauntedKnight takes that notion into account when planning his play, and it helps him grab a "loose" Knight. Black's resignation, only a pawn down, might be a bit early, but it is easily understood.

HauntedKnight - OneNoTrump
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+

Computers tend to like this move, for their own computer-ish reasons. For examples, see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)" for RevvedUp's 2008 tag-team match against Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, where this move showed up, played by Crafty. It also appears in Jeroen's earlier 2003 Jerome Gambit computer tournament in the game Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9.

If the computers are given enough time they often find the recommended 6...Qh4!? as well.

Has OneNoTrump examined the Jerome Gambit with a computer, or is this a knee-jerk reaction (my Bishop is attacked, move it and attack White)?

7.c3 Bxc3+

A clue: this looks like a human decision. The 75 games that have this move in The Database all have a person playing Black.

Computers realize, of course, that Black must return a piece, and suggest something like 7...Ng6/c6 8.cxb4 to mess up White's pawns a bit; or they let White choose which piece he wants by playing 7...Qh4. 

8.bxc3

Bolstering White's center, but 8.Nxc3 was probably a bit better: development and all that.

8...Nc4 9.Qh5+ g6

Reflex. 

Better was 9...Kf8 and Black keeps his edge, even against 10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5, because he has 11...b6 12.Qb4 Qe7 when after 13.0-0 the Knight escapes with 13...Nf7. 

10.Qd5+ Black resigned

The loose piece at c4 will drop.

Nudge 2.0

The other day Bill Wall told me that there were 5 Jerome Gambit games (out of over 4.8 million) in the new Big Database 2011 from ChessBase. It turns out that 2 of them were unknown to me. Here's one.

Kitzler,G - Schloeffel,C
Karl Mala Memorial FICS, 2009

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

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

7.Qxc5

Instead of this direct capture, I prefer the "nudge" 7.Qd5+ which usually pushes Black's King to the back rank, where it can interfere with the development of his King Rook. It costs me an extra tempo, but Black returns it with a later ...Kf7 or ...Ke7.

7...d6 8.Qd5+

I suppose that this move could be a "nudge 2.0" as it either moves Black's King, or the Queen's check is blocked by Black's light-squared Bishop, which in turn makes the b7 pawn available for capture.

How good is the move? Well, there are 127 games with it in The Database, and White scores only 37%. On the other hand, the move has been played by Jerome Gambit stalwarts blackburne, AAlekhine and Bill Wall, and was chosen by computers Crafty 19.19 and Yace Paderborn in their games against RevvedUp.

8...Be6 9.Qxb7

Black willingly gives up the pawn and White happily takes it. At least one of them apparently remembers what happens to one who takes the Queen's Knight pawn...

As in many Jerome Gambit positions, Black is "objectively" better, but if White can consolidate his position (he is behind in development and his King is not safe) then in casual or club games White's extra 3 pawns may be able to balance out Black's extra piece.

9...Nf4

Two other possibilities:

9...Nf6 10.d4 Re8 11.Nc3 Qc8 12.Qb5 Bd7 13.Qd3 Nxe4 14.0-0 Kg8 15.Bg5 Nxg5 16.Rae1 c6 17.Qc4+ d5 18.Qd3 Rxe1 19.Rxe1 Bf5 20.Qd2 Ne4 21.Nxe4 Bxe4 22.f3 Bf5 23.g4 Bxg4 24.fxg4 Qxg4+ 25.Kh1 Nh4 26.Qe2 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 Rf8 28.h3 Kf7 29.Re3 Re8 30.Rxe8 Kxe8 31.c3 Ke7 32.Kg1 Ke6 33.Kf2 Kf5 34.Kg3 g5 35.a4 h5 36.b3 Ke4 37.Kf2 Kd3 White resigned, blackburne - meliam, ChessWorld, 2004; and


9...Nh4 10.0-0 Qg5 11.Qxc7+ Ne7 12.g3 Nf3+ 13.Kh1 Qh6 14.h4 Bh3 15.Rd1 Qe6 16.Qa5 Bf1 17.Qh5+ Ng6 18.Qxf3+ Kg8 19.Rxf1 Qh3+ 20.Kg1 Ne5 21.Qb3+ d5 22.Qxd5+ Nf7 23.Qxa8+ Black resigned, Wall - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010.


Players who return to this line also need be aware of the unplayed 9...Qg5!? Trust me, the Black Rook on a8 is poisoned. White has to try 10.g3. 

10.0-0

This move seems prudent, but it actually opens up Pandora's box. White had to find 10.Rg1 and hold on, as Black has both quiet and wacky responses (try 10...Bd5!?) to try to increase his advantage.

10...Bh3

Okay, take a deep breath.

Black, as is the case in many Jerome Gambit games, has missed the killing stroke 10...Qg5, as 11.g3 causes horrible weaknesses on the white squares around White's King, i.e. 11...Ne2+ and 12...Qh5.

Instead, Black has gone in for flash (taking the Bishop now leads to a quick mate), and that means White has an extra chance. He should try 11.Qb3+, hoping for something like 11...d5 12.d4 Qg5 13.Qg3 Ne2+ 14.Kh1 Nxg3+ 15.fxg3+ Qf6 16.Rxf6+ Nxf6 17.gxh3 Nxe4 when White has two pawns for the exchange and Black will have to work for a win.

After 11.Qb3+ Ke8 12.Qb5+ White should probably exchange Queens if he has the opportunity and otherwise work on his development, again hoping that his 3 extra pawns will come to his rescue.

11.e5

Opening the route to g2 for his Queen, but now his game completely collapses. It is probably time to draw the curtain on this tragedy.

11...Bxg2 12.Qb3+ Bd5 13.e6+ Kf8 14.Re1 Bxb3 15.e7+ Nxe7 16.axb3 Nf5 17.Kh1 Nh3 18.d3 Qh4 19.Rf1 Nxf2+ 20.Kg2 Re8 21.Rxf2 Qg4+ 22.Kf1 Qh3+ 23.Rg2 Qf3+ White resigned

White's undeveloped Queenside tells the tale.


graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the WizardofDraws

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (3)

One problem with a refuted opening like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that it is refuted... That means that there are lines that Black can play that lead to equality – or more. In some of those lines White can complicate things and hope to take advantage of the confusion. In other lines it is not so easy for White to "find something".

Luke Warm - Daves111
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament,
ChessWorld, 2010

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5

This defense, a favorite of computer chess programs, gives back a piece to drain the dynamism out of the position.

In the gruelling "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down" matches between human RevvedUp (a pseudonym) and Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, the flesh-and-blood player twice scored draws with Black from this position against opponents rated 1,000 points higher than him. 

The updated New Year's Database shows that White has tried 9.b4, 9.c3, 9.d3, 9.d4, 9.Nc3, 9.Rf1, 9.Qe2, 9.Qf5+, 9.Qg4+ and 9.Qh3+.

In the current game, Luke Warm decides to try a Queenless middlegame, but he finds nothing but trouble.

9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Qf3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Qg4 12.Qxg4 Bxg4

13.Nc3 Rf8 14.d3 Bh3 15.Bd2 Bg2 16.Ke2 Bf3+ 17.Ke1 Bxh1 18.Ke2 Rf2+ 19.Ke1 Rxh2

20.Nb5+ Kd7 21.b4 Bf2+ 22.Kd1 Bxg3 23.c3 Bf3+ 24.Kc2 Nf6 25.a4 a6 26.Na3 Bf4 27.Rd1 Bxd1+ 28.Kxd1 Rxd2+ 29.Ke1 Black resigned

Nibbled to Death...

I recall reading somewhere the phrase "nibbled to death by ducks" as a way of describing a slow end. In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), Black is "nibbled to death" by a duck-billed platypus – on a motorcycle...



perrypawnpusher - dkahnd
blitz FICS, 2010

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

This position shows up 66 times in the updated New Year's Database, with White scoring 68%.

10.f4 Ng4

Alternatives were seen in Fritz 8 - RevvedUp, 2006: 10...Kf7 11.0-0 Rf8 12.Qb3+ Be6 13.Qxb7 Ne7 14.f5 Bd7 15.Qb3+ Ke8 16.Nc3 c6 17.Kh1 Qb6 18.Qa3 c5 19.d3 Bc6 20.Bf4 Kd7 21.b3 Ng4 22.Qc1 Ne5 23.Bxe5 dxe5 24.Qg5 Rg8 25.a3 a5 26.Qg3 Qc7 27.Qh3 Rh8 28.f6+ Kd6 29.fxg7 Rhg8 30.Rf6 checkmate; and

perrypawnpusher - blackburne, JG3 thematic, Chessworld, 2008: 10...Rf8 11.0-0 Kd7 12.Nc3 b6 13.d4 c6 14.f5 Ne7 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Nfd5 17.e6+ Kc7 18.Qe5+ Kb7 19.Qxg7 Nf6 20.Bg5 Nfg8 21.f6 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Rxf6 23.Bxf6 Nxf6 24.Qxe7+ Nd7 25.exd7 Qxd7 26.Qxd7+ Bxd7 27.Rf7 Kc7 28.Rd1 Rd8 29.Ne4 Kc8 30.Nf6 Be6 31.Rxd8+ Kxd8 32.Rxa7 Bf5 33.Nxh7 Bxc2 34.h4 Ke8 35.h5 Bxh7 36.Rxh7 Kf8 37.h6 Kg8 38.Rb7 Black resigned

11.Qg3

11...Rf8

Played as an attacking move along the f-file, not as part of castling-by-hand. An alternative was 11...Qh4.

12.0-0 Qf6 13.d3 Qd4+ 14.Kh1 N6e5

A cute move, based on the fact that White's f-pawn is pinned.

Best was a line that smartly exchanged down to a pawn plus endgame: 14...Nxf4 15.h3 Nxd3 16.Rxf8+ Kxf8 17.cxd3 Qf2 18.Qxf2+ Nxf2+ 19.Kg1 Nxd3 20.Nc3.

analysis diagram







15.h3 Nh6 16.Nc3

The Black pawn at g7 (and possibly the one at c7, after that) was available, but I wanted some development – and to connect my Rooks.

16...Ng6 17.Be3 Qb4

Looking for more, my opponent finds less. White's development has improved, and Black should not be pawn-hunting. Safer was 17...Qf6.

18.Nd5 Qa4

Compounding the error.

19.Nxc7+ Kd8 20.Nxa8 Qxc2

21.Qg5+

Good, but even sharper was 21.f5.

21...Ne7 22.Rad1

This is a safe move that keeps White's advantage.

Crushing, instead, was 22.Rac1.

22...Qxb2 23.Rd2 Qf6 24.Qa5+ Ke8 25.Nc7+ Kf7 26.Nd5 Nxd5 27.Qxd5+ Be6

White is nibbling away at Black's position – with sharp teeth (and up the exchange).

28.Qxb7+ Kg8 29.Qxa7 Qh4 30.Bd4 Bf7 31.Kg1 Rd8

It is Black's turn to shore up the defenses and look for an attack.

32.Rb2 Qh5 33.Rb8 Rxb8 34.Qxb8+ Be8 35.Qxd6

Ahead by 4 pawns, White is in no hurry.

Black slips.

35...Nf7 36.Qe6 Kh8 37.Qxe8 checkmate

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws