With one game left to complete in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, and that one largely unbalanced, the final standings can be predicted as follows
AsceticKingK9 27/28
mckenna215 23.5/28
braken 19.5/28
Rikiki00 19.5/28
Knight32 18.5/28
shm19cs 16.5/28
blackburne 15/28
Magni 14/28
Haroldlee123 12/28
DREWBEAR 63 11/28
pixifrufru 9/28
Baron wd von
Blanc, heart pirate 8.5/28
Luke Warm 8/28
klonka59 5/28
martind1991 3/28
Players who gamble with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) do so because there are all sorts of wild and creative things they can do out of the opening.
In fact, it is almost imperative that they do all sorts of wild and creative things.
Otherwise, Black can do all sorts of calm and boring things, like exchanging pieces, leaving him one ahead.
Or Black can use his extra piece to do all sorts of wild and creative things, himself.
Rikiki00 - blackburne
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.0-0 Rf8 7.Be3 Bxe3 8.fxe3 Kg8
White is playing one of the "modern" Jerome Gambit variations, without 5.Nxe5+. He has sacrificed less than in the "classical" lines, but he now has to work harder to make something of his position.
In the meantime, Black has castled-by-hand and has no apparent weaknesses.
9.Nc3 d6 10.h3 Nh5
Taking a look at the "hole" White has created at g3.
11.Nd5 Ng3 12.Re1 Ne7 13.Qd2 Nxd5 14.exd5 Rf7 15.Kh2 Nh5 16.e4 Nf4
The Black Knight, kicked out of g3, returns to f4.
In the meantime, Black has swapped off White's advance Knight. He has all the time in the world to double his Rooks on the f-file, to exchange them off, too, if White follows the same plan.
Or, he can look for something else.
17.Rf1 Qf6 18.Rf2 Qh6 19.Raf1 Bxh3
Great use of his extra piece.
20.gxh3 Qxh3+ 21.Kg1 Rf6 22.Rh2 Rg6+ 23.Kh1
A slip, but there was not a lot of future in 23.Kd2 Qg3+ 24.Ke3 Rf8 25.Qf2 Nh3 (yet another hole) 26.Qxg3 Rxg3 27.c3 Ng5 28.Rhf2 Nxf3 29.Rxf3 Rgxf3+ 30.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 31.Kxf3 and Black's endgame chances are clearly better.
23...Qxf1+ White resigned
With five games left in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, the leaders have been decided, but battles still rage up and down the finish line.
AsceticKingK9 has taken first place with 27 points out of 28 games, mckenna215 has taken second with 23.5 points out of 28 games, and braken has taken third with 19.5 points out of 28 games.
However, with a recent win Rikiki00 has lept to a tie with Knight32 for fourth place with 18.5 points, and with one game still in play he could, with another win, move into a tie for third.
Down the ladder, Luke Warm is holding onto eleventh place with 8 points, but, with a final win, pixifrufru could leap over him to 9 points out of 28 games. Both could be bypassed by Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate, who has 7.5 points with two games to complete.
Even martind1991, holding down last place with 2 points out of 23 games, can vault over his nearest rival, klonka59, if he finishes strongly.
The standings of the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
AsceticKingK9 25/26
mckenna215 23.5/28
braken 19.5/28
Knight32 18.5/28
Rikiki00 17.5/26
shm19cs 15.5/27
blackburne 15/28
Magni 12/26
Haroldlee123 11/27
DREWBEAR 63 11/28
pixifrufru 8/27
Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate 7.5/26
Luke Warm 6/26
klonka59 4/24
martind1991 1/15
There is an old caution that If you strike the King, you must kill him. Anything less than a terminal blow will allow the monarch to strike back...
Two weeks ago I reported that the player leading the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9, had suffered his first and only loss, on time; and that in his remaining two games, he was past the time limit, so his opponent could claim wins there, too.
A look at the ChessWorld site today indicates that AsceticKingK9 is back at the board and playing, again, giving the possibility of him finishing the tournament with 27 points in 28 games.
Second place has already been wrapped up by mckenna215, with 23.5 points in 28 games.
Rikiki00 continues to creep forward in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 17.5 points in 25 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken with 18.5 points out of 27 games.
The Jerome Gambit is not a drawish opening. Only 3% of the Jerome Gambit games in The Database are draws. Only 3 of the completed games in the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament have been drawn. It would seem, therefore, that splitting the point would be difficult, but the following game argues against that: White sacrifices a piece, Black gives it back, they draw. Q.E.D.
Rikiki00 - shm19cs
ChessWorld, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d3
One of the "modern" (non 5.Nxe5) Jerome Gambit lines.
5...h6 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Be3 Nd4 10.Bxd4 Bxd4 11.Nxe5+ Bxe5 12.Qxh5+
White has grabbed a second pawn as partial compensation for his sacrificed piece.
12...g6 13.Qf3+ Kg7 14.Rad1 c5 15.Nd5 Qd7 16.c3 Rf8 17.Qe3 Nf6 18.Nxf6 Rxf6
A slip that forces Black to return the piece.
19.f4 Rhf8 20.fxe5 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 22.Kxf1 dxe5
White's extra pawn does not mean a lot.
23.Ke2 b6 24.Qf3 a5 25.Qg3 Qe6 26.b3 b5 27.Ke3 Qd6 28.Qg4 b4 29.cxb4 axb4 30.Qe2 Qd4+ 31.Kf3 Kf6 32.Qc2 draw
Little has changed at the top of the standings in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, where almost 90% of the games have been completed.
AsceticKingK9 remains the un-catchable winner with 25 points out of 28 games.
He is followed by mckenna215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games.
Rikiki00 has snagged a point in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 16.5 points in 24 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken with 18.5 points out of 27 games.
Elvis has left the building.
After rocketing to the top of the chart with a score of 25 points in 25 games in the Chess World Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9 has lost his first game – on time – to Haroldlee123. His remaining two games, against martind1991, are over the time limit as well, but have not yet been claimed.
Not that it matters. 25 points is enough to win the tournament. (Oddly enough, early on I predicted that the winner would score 24 points. AsceticKingK9 exceeded that number, but 24 would have been enough to put him ahead of the second place finisher. Lucky guess!?)
Second place has been wrapped up by mckenna215, with a score of 23.5 out of 28 games.
Third, fourth and fifth places remain a tangle. Knight32 has 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has the same score, with one game remaining. Rikiki00 has 15.5 points in 23 games.
It should be pointed out that Haroldlee123, currently in 10th place with 8 points out of 22 games, nonetheless now has upset wins over both AsceticKingK9 and mckenna215.
It is clear now that AsceticKingK9 will take top honors in the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament.
The 15-player, double round robin contest, is over 80% complete, and AsceticKingK9 leads with 25 points out of 25 games (with three games left to complete).
Second place has been sewed up by mckenna 215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games. His 84% score is impressive, as well.
Third through fifth places are still undecided. Knight32 has completed his run, with 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has 18.5 points out of 27 games, so, with one final win, he could pass Knight32. However, Rikiki00 has 15.5 points out of 23 games, and could bypass both Knight32 and Braken with enough wins of his own.
With over 80% of its games completed, the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament continues to be a monstrous battle between its top two competitors.
AsceticKingK9 leads with 24 points out of 24 games. Can he go all the way to 28/28 ?
Mckenna215 is close, with 22.5 points out of 26 games. If he wins his remaining 2 games, he will still need to receive some help from a handful of other players to overtake AsceticKingK9 and take the crown.
It is clear that the player who does not take first place will garner second.
There is an interesting battle shaping up for third place, however, between braken (18.5 points out of 27 games), Knight32 (18.5 points out of 28 games) and Rikiki00 (15.5 points out of 23 games). Braken's last game is against Rikiki00, and the winner would be the odds-on favorite to scramble to the top of the heap.
Draws continue to be almost non-existant, making up less than 2% of the completed games!
AsceticKingK9 is clearly the "top dog" as the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament heats up, with 2/3 if its games completed. The leader has 20 points out of 20 games, which is hard to beat!
Right behind AsceticKingK9 is mckenna215, with 19.5 points out of 22 games.
Players who also have a mathematical chance of overtaking the "King" are Rikiki00, with 10.5 points out of 17 games, and "dark horse" Luke Warm, with 1 point out of 5 games.
Meanwhile, braken, with 17.5 points out of 26 games, holds third place and challenges for second place.
White is scoring 38% over all. The Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) has yet to be successful in 8 games. The "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+) have scored 43%, while the "modern" lines (not 5.Nxe5+) have scored 31%.
The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament continues, with all of the players firing off moves and many of the games proving to be exciting, entertaining, and instructional affairs.
To date, over 40% of the games have been completed, with White scoring 39% – an unimpressive figure when compared, say, to the Ruy Lopez, but about as robust a number as has been seen in other thematic tournaments, and a downright hearty one for an opening that has several established refutations.
9 of the 210 games (4%, an astonishingly "high" number as compared to only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database) feature the Jerome Gambit Declined with either 4...Kf8 or 4...Ke7.
63 of the games, a full 30%, are developing along "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+), the highest that I have seen in a thematic tournament.
The remaining 138 games follow "modern" Jerome Gambit lines (not-5.Nxe5+).
The current leaders are mckenna215, with 12.5 points (out of 14 games) and braken, with 11.5 points (out of 17 games).
In a tournament where each player plays 28 games, however, just about anything can happen over the course of the marathon. For example, AsceticKingK9 has 10 points out of 10 games, an impressive 100% score so far. Not far behind is Rikiki00 with 9.5 points out of 12 games.
Neither martind1991 nor Luke Warm have lost (or completed) any games, so their "perfect" scores have not been marred, either.
The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is underway, all 15 competitors and all 210 games!
We are already seeing results (8 completed games so far, 6 wins by White) from AsceticKingK9, mckenna215, Rikiki00, braken, blackburne, DREWBEAR 63, Knight32, Magni, pixifrufru, shm19cs, klonka59, Baron wd von Blanc heart pirate, martind1991, Luke Warm and Haroldlee123.
Many games are in their early stages, others are racing along.
There are a number of examples of the Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) – a relatively rare beast making up only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database – those certainly will expand our understanding of that line.
At least 29% of the games are "classical" Jerome Gambits, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7+ followed by 5.Nxe5+, which is the highest percentage that I have seen in a recent Jerome Gambit thematic tournament. Some "well established" theory is likely to be stood on its head by the time those games are done!
With about 7 out of 10 games following "modern" (non-5.Nxe5+ lines) there will be plenty of practice to round out the theory of this more tempered approach as well.
Next Sunday I will give further information on the progress of the tournament. When all games have developed far enough for me not to influence their play, I will begin presenting some with annotations.
(By the way, I predict that the tournament winner will score 24 out of 28 points.)
