I enjoy playhing over the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games of ZahariSokolov playing at FICS. He shows an understanding of the opening, and brings a creativity that expands its impact.
In the following very difficult, complicated game, however, his opponent presents an odd, rarely-played defense, and the game quickly leaves recommended play. Still, it takes oversights on both sides before the winner is finally decided.
ZahariSokolov - mmamaju
standard, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7
Here we have the "Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation", otherwise known as "An Odd Line in an Odd Line". It is more of a psychological ploy than a solid defense - but, in this game at least, it is successful.
6.Nc4
Electing to retain his Knight. In similar situations (see below) it can be exchanged to double Black's pawns.
6.Qh5 is the strongest response, although there are not many examples in The Database: 6...Qf8 (6...d6 7.Qf7# stivb_99 - spymaster, GameKnot.com, 2008) 7.Nxc6+ (7.0–0 d6 8.Ng6+ hxg6 9.Qxh8 Nd4 10.Na3
Ne2+ 11.Kh1 Be6 12.d4 Bxd4 13.f4 Qf6 14.Nb5 Bb6 15.Bd2 a6 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.Bxc3
Bd4 18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Qxe5 20.Bxd4 Qxd4 21.c3 Qe5 22.Rae1 Qd5 23.Qxg7+ Kd6
24.Rd1 Qxd1 25.Rxd1+ Kc6 26.Qxg6 Black resigned, guest1200 – satmonger, Internet ChessClub, 2001) 7...dxc6 8.Qxc5+ Ke8 9.Qxf8+ Kxf8 10.c3 Nf6 11.d3 Kf7
12.0–0 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8 14.f5 Bd7 15.h3 Rae8 16.g4 h6 17.Bf4 Rc8 18.Nd2 c5 19.Nf3
c6 20.Nh4 Rf7 21.c4 Rd8 22.Ng6 Be8 23.Rf3 Rfd7 24.Ne5 Re7 25.Rd1 Nd7 26.Nxd7
Rexd7 27.Kf2 Bf7 28.Ke3 Kf8 29.h4 Ke7 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5 Ke8 32.g6 Bg8 33.Rh3
Kf8 34.Rh8 b5 35.b3 a5 36.Rdh1 Rxd3+ 37.Ke2 R3d7 38.Bg5 Re8 39.Ke3 bxc4 40.bxc4
Rd4 41.R8h4 Rxc4 42.Rb1 Rb4 43.Rxb4 cxb4 44.Kd3 Rc8 45.e5 Rd8+ 46.Kc2 Rc8 47.f6
c5 48.f7 Bxf7 49.gxf7 Kxf7 50.Rc4 Ke6 51.Bf4 Kd5 52.Kb3 a4+ 53.Kxa4 Kxc4 54.e6
Re8 55.Ka5 Rxe6 56.Bc7 Kc3 57.Bb6 c4 58.Bc5 Re5 59.Kb5 b3 60.axb3 cxb3 61.Kc6
Rxc5+ 62.Kxc5 b2 63.Kd5 b1Q 64.Ke6 Qb5 65.Kf7 Kd4 66.Kxg7 Qc6 67.Kf7 Ke5 68.Kf8
Qd7 69.Kg8 Kf6 70.Kh8 Qg7 checkmate, UNPREDICTABLE - aladu, FICS, 2009.
Second best seems to be 6.d4 Bb4+ (6...Nxe5 7.dxc5 d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.f4 Nc6 10.O-O h6 11.cxd6+ Qxd6 12.e5 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 hxg5 14.exf6+ Kxf6 15.fxg5+ Kxg5 16.Nc3 Bf5 17.Rd2 g6 18.Nd5 Rad8 19.Rad1 Bg4 20.Re1 Nb4 21.Re5+ Bf5 22.Rf2 Rxd5 23.h4+ Kxh4 24.g3+ Kg5 25.Ree2 Nxc2 26.Kg2 Nb4 27.Kf3 Bg4+ 28.Kg2 Bxe2 29.Rxe2 Rhd8 30.Re7 R5d7 31.Re5+ Kf6 32.Rb5 Nxa2 33.Rxb7 c5 34.Rb5 c4 35.Ra5 Nc1 36.g4 Nb3 37.Rb5 Nd4 38.Rb4 Rc7 39.b3 c3 40.Rxd4 Rxd4 41.Kg3 c2 42.b4 c1=Q 43.b5 Rc3+ 44.Kh4 Qh1 checkmate, ainafets - Straineryou, FICS, 2007; 6...Nxd4 7.Bg5+ Nf6 8.O-O d6 9.Ng4 Bxg4 10.Qxg4 Ne6 11.Rd1 Nxg5 12.Qxg5 Kd7 13.Qf5+ Ke7 14.Nc3 Qf8 15.e5 Bxf2+ 16.Qxf2 dxe5 17.Qc5+ Kf7 18.Qxc7+ Kg8 19.Qxe5 Re8 20.Qc7 Ng4 21.Qc4+ Qf7 22.Qxg4 Black resigned, trebbor - saucer, FICS, 2001) 7.c3 d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.Bxf6+ gxf6 10.Nxc6+ bxc6 11.cxb4 c5 12.a3 cxd4 13.O-O Qg8 14.g3 Be6 15.Qxd4 Bc4 16.Re1 Qe6 17.Nd2 f5 18.exf5 Black resigned, Darthnik - Amoxicillin, FICS, 2011.
There is also the reasonable-looking 6.Nxc6+ bxc6 (6...dxc6 7.d3 Nf6 8.Bg5 Be6 9.O-O Kd7 10.e5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 Ng4 13.h3 Ne3 14.fxe3 Bxe3+ 15.Bf2 Bxf2+ 16.Rxf2 Ke7 17.c3 c5 18.d4 Qd5 19.Qf3 Raf8 20.Qxd5 Bxd5 21.Nd2 Rxf2 22.Kxf2 b5 23.Nf3 Rf8 24.a3 h5 25.Kg3 Rg8 26.Rf1 g4 27.hxg4 Rxg4+ 28.Kf2 Rf4 29.Ke3 Re4+ 30.Kd2 Rg4 31.Rf2 Black forfeited on time, perrypawnpusher - salla, blitz, FICS, 2010) 7.d4 Bb6 (7...Bb4+ 8.c3 Bd6 9.Bg5+ Nf6 10.e5 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Kf8 12.O-O h6 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Be3 d5 15.Bc5+ Kg8 16.Nd2 h5 17.Nf3 Bg4 18.Qd3 Bxf3 19.Qg6 checkmate, CoachCrupp - zzzozzzo, FICS, 2008) 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.e5 Ba6 10.exf6+ gxf6 11.Be3 Qg8 12.Rg1 Re8 13.a4 c5 14.a5 cxd4 15.axb6 dxe3 16.Rxa6 axb6 17.fxe3 Qg5 18.Qf3 Kf7 19.Kd2 Re7 20.Nc3 Rhe8 21.Nd5 Re4 22.Nf4 Qc5 23.Ra3 Qe5 24.Rd3 Qa5+ 25.c3 Qb5 26.Qh5+ Qxh5 27.Rxd7+ Black resigned, jankrb - Red House, RedHotPawn.com, 2013;
6...Ne5
Black's best response is 6...d5, which would be a TN, keeping his advantage.
7.d3
White should simply take the Knight on e5 and be better. With the text, he returns the advantage to his adversary.
One wonders if one of Alekhine's cats jumped on White's keyboard.
7...Nxc4 8.dxc4 h6 9.Nc3 c6 10.Qg4 Qf8 11.O-O Kd8 12.Be3 Be7 13.e5 d6 14.Qh5
14...Kc7 15.exd6+ Bxd6 16.Ne4
A slip. Better was 16.c5 Be7 17.Qd5+.
16...Nf6 17.Qf3 Bg4 18.Qf4
Perhaps Stockfish 7's suggestion held out more hope: 18.Bf4 Bxf3 19.Bxd6+ Qxd6 20.Nxd6 Kxd6 21.gxf3.
18...Bxf4 19.Bxf4+ Kc8 20.Nd6+ Kd7 21.Nxb7 Be2 22.Rfe1 Bxc4 23.Rad1+ Bd5 24.c4 Kc8 25.Nd6+ Kd7 26.cxd5 Nxd5 27.Bg3
White has been fighting back fiercely since losing his Queen, and he is helped by Black's next move, which actually gives the attacker the advantage in the game. Perhaps time problems?
27...Re8 28.Ne4
A missed opportunity for White, as he had 28.Rxe8 Qxe8 29.Nxe8 Rxe8 with a small advantage.
Black is now able to move on to victory.
28...Re6 29.f3 h5 30.Rc1 Rg6 31.Nc5+ Kc8 32.Ne6 Qb4 33.Rb1 Qb6+ 34.Bf2 Qa6 35.a3 Re8 36.Nc5 Rxe1+ 37.Rxe1 Qc4 38.Ne4 Qb3 39.Nc3 Nxc3 40.bxc3 Qxc3 41.Re8+ Kd7 42.Re1 Qxa3 43.Bh4 Qb4 44.Kh1 Qxh4 White resigned
The most famous Jerome Gambit game is the one by Blackburne, where he sacrificed material as Black to build a counter attack that led to a Queen sacrifice and checkmate.
Never mind that subsequent analysis and play has shown that, "objectively", the best Black should be able to hope for is a draw.
The fact is, the Blackburne Defense leads to sharp and complicated play, and it is important to have a concrete knowledge of the line - if either Black or White wishes to survive. As we have seen, and will see in the game below, "half a defense is worse than no defense at all..." Better to "Commit It To Memory".
fehim - KramMan
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5
d6
Here we go! To capture the excitement of the play ahead, it is fun to return to Geoff Chandler's comparison of the Blackburne Defense with "Mars Attacks!"
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Qxe4
Wait a minute... Sure, Black flashes out his Queen to h4, all big and bad and scary. But - then what? Certainly not to pawn-grab. What did he miss? What did he miss??
Hint: 9...Nf6! Black wants to trap White's Queen and make threats against her (as well as the King), eventually offering his other Rook as well.
10.Qxh7+
This is not going to go well for Black.
10.d3 worked in AlgozBR - khuizen, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 17)
10...Kf8 11.Nc3
Or 11.d3 Qe2 (or 11...Qf5 in obviously - dmyze, GameKnot.com, 2004 [1-0, 20]; or 11...Qe6 in ubluk - bfcace, Chess.com, 2012 [1-0, 18]) 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qh7+ Kf6 15.Qxc7 Bf5 16.Nc3 Qxc2 17.Nd5+ Kg5 18.Qe7+ Kh6 19.h4 Rh8 20.Qg5+ Kg7 21.Rae1 Rf8 22.h5 Bxd3 23.h6+ Kg8 24.Nf6+ Kf7 25.Nh7 Kg8 26.Nxf8 Bxf1 27.Rxf1 Bxf2+ 28.Rxf2 Qc1+ 29.Qxc1 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - pedroregistro, FICS, 2015
11...Qf5
Or 11...Qxc2 12.Qh4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - LtPoultry, blitz, FICS, 2010; or 12.d3 Qxd3 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rfe1+ Kd8 15.Qxg8+ Kd7 16.Qe8 checkmate, DREWBEAR 63 - blackburne, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009.
12.d3 Nf6 13.Qh4
This move is okay, as White is up the exchange plus a couple of pawns, so he can consolidate. He could continue his attack, however, with 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rae1+ Be6 15.Qg7.
13...Kg7 14.Be3 Be6 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Qf6
The next few moves bring some excitement, but the game is pretty much over. Black's slip at move 23 just ends things
18.c3 Rh8 19.f4 c6 20.c4 Qh4 21.Qxe6 Qxh2+ 22.Kf2 Qxf4+ 23.Ke2 Qg4+ 24.Qxg4 Black resigned
Sometimes Jerome Gambit games are easy, sometimes not. Sometimes they are pretty, sometimes pretty ordinary. Always they are complicated. Always they are exciting. Enjoy the following game, high notes and low.
Laaber - Ausxh,
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+
The text is thematic, but 6.Nxc6 is probably better: 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Qh5+ g6 (7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qd6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.e5 Ng4 11.Qf4+ 1-0 Wall,B - Gebba, Chess.com, 2010) 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qc3 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1609773, PlayChess.com, 2013;
Not 6.Nxc6 bxc6? 7.Qh5+ as seen in perrypawnpusher - rodrigojalpa, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 25); perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 42); Wall,B - Qwerty, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 9); and Wall,B - LFTN, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 20), for example.
Interestingly, Stockfish 6 prefers 6.Nxc6 Qh4!?
6...g6 7.Nxg6 Bxf2+
Best!?
8.Kd1
8.Kxf2 is playable: Blackstone,J - Dommeyer,C, Campbell, CA 1960 (1-0, 13); Philidor 1792 - Guest834593, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 16); ZahariSokolov - naijachampion, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 34).
The alternative, 8.Kf1, doesn't work if Black follows up with 8...Nf6!?, but that hasn't shown up in The Database yet, only 8...hxg6?! in jecree - lhoffman, FICS, 2008.
8...Nf6 9.Nxh8+
White is overlooking something.
9.Qf3 was seen in Petasluk - Klonkku, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 57).
9...Kf8
Black, too: 9...Nxh5.
And some thing else.
10.Qf5
Missing: 10.Qf7 checkmate.
10...d6 11.Qxf2
White will be up the exchange and a couple of pawns once he gives back the Knight at h8.
11...Bg4+ 12.Ke1 Qe8
Trying to mix it up again.
13.d3
There was nothing wrong with 13.Qxf6+.
13...Kg7 14.Bg5 Nxe4 15.dxe4 Qxe4+ 16.Be3 Nd4
White is winning, but it may not feel that way to him.
17.Nc3 Nxc2+ 18.Kf1 Nxe3+
19.Kg1 Qe5 20.Re1 Rxh8 21.Rxe3 Qd4
The extra Rook will help White, once it gets free. But first White will take advantage of Black's last move and win the Queen.
22.Re7+ Kg6 23.Qxd4 Rf8 24.Qxg4+ Kf6 25.Qe6+ Kg5 26.h4+ Kf4 27.Nd5+ Kg3 28.Qh3 checkmate
Sharp variations can work in favor of the gambiteer, or cut against him. It is important to be as up-to-date as possible on the tricky variations.
I recently downloaded some more games from the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS), and, as well as checking out some "old" Jerome Gambiteers (e.g. drumme, HauntedKnight, Petasluk), looked at the efforts of a relatively new member of the Gemeinde, ZahariSokolov.
In the following game he faces a rare, but old and dangerous defense, and, under pressure, chooses the wrong line (although, in another game in the notes, this also leads to victory), and suffers defeat.
I have added some game references for Readers to have a better idea of how to deal with this kind of play.
ZahariSokolov - Quarte
standard, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Nf3+
This surprising move, attributed to Norton - who defeated Alonzo Wheeler Jerome with it in a correspondence game in the early years of the gambit - rips open White's Kingside and makes him vulnerable to attack.
9.gxf3
Probably the only move, although I have gotten away with 9.Kf1 a couple of times in perrypawnpusher - igormsp, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 13), and perrypawnpusher - rheapennata, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0,12); while Jerome, as mentioned, did not - Jerome,A - Norton,D, Correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 42).
ZahariSokolov, himself, a few days earlier, had gotten away with
9.Kd1: 9...Nd4 (9...Ne7!) 10.Qd5+ Ke7 11.Qxc5+ d6 12.Qxd4 Bg4+ 13.Ke1 c5 14.Qxg7+ Ke8 15.Qxg4 Nf6 16.Qe6+ Qe7 17.Qxe7+ Kxe7 18.d3 h6 19.Nc3 a6 20.Be3 b5 21.Ke2 Rhg8 22.g3 b4 23.Nd5+ Nxd5 24.exd5 Kf6 25.Rae1 Kf5 26.Kd2 h5 27.Bf2 Rae8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Re1 Rxe1 30.Bxe1 Kg4 31.Ke3 Kh3 32.f5 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - LAVAL, standard, FICS, 2015
9...Qh4+ 10.Ke2
The "only" move, this time, is 10.Kd1: CFBBlind - Quandary, FICS, 2001 (1-0, 18); perrypawnpusher - Sir Osis of the Liver, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008 (1-0, 19); perrypawnpusher - sjeijk, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 19); ZahariSokolov - GhengusFungus, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 11).
10...Qf2+ 11.Kd3 Qxf3+ 12.Kc4 b5+ 13.Kxb5 Qe2+
A testimony to White's ability to struggle and survive: 13...a6+ 14.Kc4 Nf6? 15.Qxc5+ Ke6 16.Re1 Qxf4 17.d3 Qd6 18.Qxd6+ Kxd6 19.e5+ Kc6 20.exf6 gxf6 21.b3 d5+ 22.Kc3 Bg4 23.Bf4 h5 24.h4 f5 25.d4 Rhe8 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Be5 Rf8 28.Nd2 f4 29.Rf1 f3 30.Rf2 Kb6 31.Kd3 c5 32.c4 dxc4+ 33.bxc4 cxd4 34.Bxd4+ Kc6 35.Ke4 Re8+ 36.Kf4 Rf8+ 37.Kg3 Rd8 38.Bf6 Rd3 39.Nxf3 Bxf3 40.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 41.Kxf3 Kc5 42.a3 Kxc4 43.Kf4 Kd5 44.Kg5 Ke6 45.Bc3 Kf7 46.Kxh5 Kg8 47.Kg6 Kf8 48.h5 Black resigned, gibonacci - jschulte, GameKnot.com, 2007.
A testimony to an early chess computer's terrible addiction to grabbing material: 13...Rb8+ 14.Ka5 Bb4+ 15.Ka4 Qxh1 16.Qe5+ Kc6 17.Qd5+ Kb6 18.Qb5 checkmate, Young,J - Chess, Computer game, 1979.
14.d3 Rb8+ 15.Ka5 Bb4+ 16.Ka4 Qxc2+ 17.b3 Qc6+ White resigned
Let's face it, some players succeed with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) - even the more difficult lines - because they are strong, and they would succeed against their opponents whatever opening they used.
Then, there is the rest of us. Staying away from really bad lines (relatively speaking: remember, we are talking about the Jerome Gambit here) is essential. Never mind that our heroes have played them and escaped to triumph. There are some risks we should not take.
Galamon - GimpBishop
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7
Whistler's Defense. Stronger, much less known, and more dangerous for White than Blackburne's Defense (7...d6).
Do yourself a favor as a Jerome Gambiteer: don't take the Rook.
8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1
Yes, I know that Bill Wall once played the equally painful 9.Kd1 and managed a draw in Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, blitz 10 0, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 14). Better to remember the lessons of Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15)
9...Qxc2
Yes, I know that against 9...Nf6 ZahariSokolov at FICS won his game last year (ZahariSokolov - Dragonianlee, FICS, 2014 [1-0, 20]) and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome achieved a draw, a long time ago, in a correspondence game (Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876 [½-½, 20]) but both were fortunate; and while the text is okay, 9...Qh4!? is stronger than either it or 9...Nf6.
10.Qxh7+ Kf8
If you have access to The Database you might want to point out to me that after 10...Kf6 White won in markinchrist - Gurucool, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 20) - but that was only because Black forfeited by disconnection when he had a forced checkmate in 9 moves.
11.Qxg6
A blunder.
Yes, chessmanjeff of FICS both won and lost games with 11.Nc3 (chessmanjeff - CHESSWILL, blitz, FICS, 2013 [1-0, 38] and chessmanjeff - throwback, blitz, FICS, 2014 [0-1, 16]) - that's scoring 50%, right? - but "objectively" Black's game was still better.
11...Qd1 checkmate
The following game allowed me to both see what an interesting new Jerome Gambit player was doing, as well as check out another example of a defensive move by Black that I have sometimes underestimated.
ZahariSokolov - naijachampion
standard, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8
Black decides that accepting one sacrificed piece is enough.
His King would be safer on f8, however. See "A Second Chance to Decline".
6.Qh5+
The text is thematic, but 6.Nxc6 is probably "objectively" stronger. See "Don't drive like my brother", "Ooops..." and "A Short Wall(k)".
6...g6 7.Nxg6 Bxf2+
At first glance a surprise, but Black counts the Bishop's time left as limited, and plans to get a pawn for it.
8.Kxf2
White escaped twice after declining the piece, but it is not a strategy that I would endorse:
8.Kd1 Nf6 9.Qf3 Rg8 10.Nf4 Bc5 11.c3 d6 12.d4 Bb6 13.h3 h5 14.Re1 Bd7 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5+ Ne7 17.Qxh5+ Kf8 18.Rf1+ Nf5 19.Bh6+ Ke7 20.Rxf5 Bxf5 21.Qxf5 Qd7 22.Bg5+ Ke8 23.Qe4+ Kf8 24.Bh6+ Kf7 25.Nd2 Rae8 26.Qf4+ Kg6 27.Kc2 Qf5+ 28.Qxf5+ Kxf5 29.g4+ Kg6 30.Bf4 c6 31.Bxd6 Re2 32.Kd3 Rge8 33.Nc4 Bd8 34.a4 b5 35.axb5 cxb5 36.Ne5+ Kg7 37.Kxe2 Bg5 38.Rf1 Rh8 39.Rf7+ Kg8 40.Rf3 Kh7 41.Nc6 Re8+ 42.Kf2 a6 43.Ne5 Bh4+ 44.Kg2 a5 45.Rf7+ Kg8 46.Rf5 a4 47.Rh5 Bd8 48.Bb4 Kg7 49.h4 Bf6 50.Kh3 Rf8 51.g5 Bd8 52.Kg4 Bc7 53.Bc5 Bb8 54.d6 Rd8 55.Nc6 Rd7 56.Nxb8 Kg6 57.Nxd7 Black forfeited on time, Petasluk - Klonkku, FICS, 2011;
8.Kf1 hxg6 9.Qxh8 Qf6 10.Qxf6 Nxf6 11.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 12.Ke3 d5 13.Nc3 Bf5 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.d3 Bf5 16.Bd2 Kd7 17.Rhe1 Re8+ 18.Kf2 Ne5 19.h3 d4 20.Bf4 Kd6 21.Bxe5+ Rxe5 22.Rxe5 Kxe5 23.Re1+ Kd6 24.Kf3 Black resigned, jecree - lhoffman, FICS, 2008.
8...Qf6+
8...Nf6! is the correct move here, still unplayed as far as The Database is concerned.
9.Qf5
9.Nf4+ is the strongest rejoinder, as seen as far back as Blackstone,J - Dommeyer,C, Campbell, CA 1960 and as recent as Philidor 1792 - Guest834593, PlayChess.com 2014.
9...hxg6 10.Qxf6 Nxf6 11.d3 d6
Black has the standard piece for two pawns. He has seen the Queens leave the board, and his King has escaped danger, but the game is not over.
12. c3 b6 13. Bg5 Ng4+ 14. Ke2 Be6 15.Nd2 Rxh2
A tactical oversight, not just the win of a pawn.
16.Rxh2 Nxh2 17.Rh1 Ng4
Still missing something, or in shock. It was time to bite the bullet with 17...Bxa2.
18.Rh8+ Kd7 19.Rxa8 Bxa2
White is a clear exchange ahead. From here on he outplayed his opponent.
20.b3 Nge5 21.Rg8 Na5 22.d4 Nxb3 23.Rg7+ Kc8 24.dxe5 Nxd2 25.Kxd2 dxe5 26.Rxg6 a5 27.Be7 Kd7 28.Ba3 Be6 29.g4 c6 30.g5 b5 31.Rg7+ Kd8 32.Ra7 a4 33.Ke3 Kc8 34.g6 Black resigned
The following game gave me a good laugh. I've included a lot of sidelines, and some decent earlier games (available from The Database). Black (rated almost 400 points higher) plays just fine - until he takes his eye off the ball for one second. That is enough for White to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.
Philidor1792 - abarmard765
lichess.org, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 Be6
Or 9...Nh5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.Nd2 a)11.Qxh5? Qxf2+ 12.Kd1 Qxg2 13.Re1 (a)13.Qh4 Qxh1+ 14.Kd2 Qg2+ 15.Kc3 Qg1 16.Qf4+ Ke8 17.Nd2 Qd4+ 18.Kb3 Qb4 checkmate, chessmanjeff - Gardenz, FICS, 2012) 13...Bg4+ 14.Qxg4 Qxg4+ 15.Kd2 Qf4+ 16.Kc3 Qxh2 17.Bd2 Qe5+ 18.Kb3 a5 19.a4 Bd4 20.Nc3 g6 21.Rf1+ Kg7 22.Rf3 Rhf8 23.Raf1 Rxf3 24.Rxf3 Bxc3 25.Bxc3 Qxc3+ 26.Kxc3 Rf8 27.Rg3 h5 28.b3 Kh6 29.Kd2 g5 30.Ke3 h4 31.Rg1 h3 32.d4 Kh5 33.e5 dxe5 34.dxe5 g4 35.Ke4 h2 36.Rg2 h1B 37.Kd4 Kg5 38.Rg3 b6 39.c4 Rf4+ 40.Ke3 Rf3+ 41.Rxf3 Bxf3 42.e6 Bc6 43.e7 g3 44.e8Q Bxe8 45.Kf3 Kh4 White resigned ZahariSokolov - Jiracek, FICS, 2014; b)11.Qxf6+ Nxf6 12.h3 (b)12.Nc3 c6 13.Na4 Bb4+ 14.Bd2 Bxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Be6 16.f4 b5 17.Nc3 Ke7 18.Rhe1 b4 19.Ne2 c5 20.c4 a5 21.h3 Rhf8 22.a3 b3 23.Rf1 g6 24.Rae1 Nd7 25.g4 Bg8 26.g5 Bf7 27.Kc3 Rab8 28.h4 Nb6 29.Kd2 Kd7 30.Rf2 Be6 31.Ng3 Na4 32.f5 Bxc4 33.dxc4 Nxb2 34.Kc3 Na4+ 35.Kd2 b2 36.Kc2 Nb6 37.Kxb2 Nxc4+ 38.Ka2 a4 39.Rc2 Nxa3 40.Kxa3 Rb3+ 41.Ka2 Rxg3 42.f6 Re8 43.e5 dxe5 44.Rxc5 Kd6 45.Rc4 Rg2+ 46.Ka1 a3 47.Ra4 Rf2 48.Rd1+ Kc5 49.Ra7 h5 50.Re7 Ra8 51.Rxe5+ Kc6 52.Red5 Ra4 53.Rd6+ Kb7 54.R6d4 Rxd4 55.Rxd4 Kc6 56.Rd3 a2 57.Rd8 Kc5 58.Rb8 Kd5 59.Rb6 Ke5 60.Ra6 Kd5 61.Rxa2 Rf1+ 62.Kb2 Rf2+ 63.Kb3 Rf3+ 64.Kb4 Rf4+ 65.Kb5 Kd6 66.Ra6+ Kd7 67.Kc5 Rxh4 68.Ra7+ Ke8 69.Rg7 Rg4 70.Rxg6 Rg1 71.Rg8+ Kf7 72.Rg7+ Ke8 73.g6 Kf8 74.Kd5 h4 75.Ra7 Rxg6 76.Ke6 Kg8 77.Ke7 Kh7 78.f7 Rg7 79.Kf6 Rg6+ 80.Kf5 Black resigned, destinyx - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004) 12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.f4 Kf7 15.Nc3 Nb6 16.a4 a5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3 Bb4 19.Bd2 Rf8 20.g4 Kg8 21.f5 Nd7 22.e6 Nf6 23.0-0-0 d4 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.dxe4 Bd6 26.Rde1 Be5 27.g5 b6 28.Rhf1 Ba6 29.Rf3 Bc4 30.c3 c5 31.e7 Rf7 32.f6 gxf6 33.Rg1 Rg7 34.Rg4 fxg5 35.Rf5 Bd6 36.Bxg5 dxc3 37.bxc3 Re8 38.e5 Be6 39.Rf6 Bxe7 40.Rg3 Bxf6 41.exf6 Rg6 42.h4 h6 43.Bf4 Rxg3 44.Bxg3 h5 45.Bc7 c4 46.Bxb6 Ra8 47.Kd2 Kf7 48.Bd4 Bd7 49.Ke3 Bxa4 White resigned, raes - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004; c)11.Be3?! Qxf3 12.gxf3 Be6 13.Bxc5 dxc5 14.Nc3 Nf4 15.Ne2 Nxe2 16.Kxe2 Ke7 17.f4 g6 18.h4 Rad8 19.h5 Bg4+ White resigned, obviously - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004; 11...g6 (11...Be6? 12.Qxh5 Qxf2+ 13.Kd1 Qxg2 14.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 15.Nxf3 Bg4 16.Ke2 Ke7 17.Bg5+ Kd7 18.Raf1 Bxf3+ 19.Rxf3 Rhf8 20.Rhf1 Rxf3 21.Rxf3 Rg8 22.c3 h6 23.Bh4 g5 24.Bg3 a6 25.Rf7+ Kc8 26.d4 Ba7 27.Rh7 h5 28.Rxh5 g4 29.Ke3 Black resigned, lamacuk -tomwhufc, GameKnot.com, 2007) 12.0-0 Kg7 13.Qxf6+ Nxf6 14.c3 Bg4 15.d4 Bb6 16.f3 Bd7 17.Nc4 h6 18.Re1 Rhe8 19.Kf2 d5 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.e5 Nh7 22.Be3 Nf8 23.g4 Ne6 24.Kg3 g5 25.h4 Rf8 26.Rh1 Bb5 27.Rh2 Rf7 28.Rah1 Raf8 29.Rf2 Bd3 30.hxg5 Nxg5 31.Bxg5 hxg5 32.Re1 Re8 33.Rh2 Bg6 34.a3 Rf4 35.e6 Re7 36.Re5 Kf6 37.Rhe2 c6 38.a4 Re8 39.Re1 Rh8 40.e7 Re8 41.b4 Bc2 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Bd3 44.Rd1 Bc2 45.Rc1 Ba4 46.Rce1 Bb5 47.Re6+ Kf7 48.R6e5 Kf6 drawn, Philidor1792 - Dayana2006, Chess.com 2015.
10.c3 Bb6
Or 10...Qd7 11.Be3 Kf7 12.0-0 Rhf8 13.f4 Bg4 14.Nd2 Bh5 15.d4 Bb6 16.e5 Nd5 17.Ne4 Bg6 18.Ng5+ Kg8 19.Bd2 a6 20.Rae1 dxe5 21.fxe5 c5 22.e6 Qe7 23.Nf3 Bf5 24.Bg5 Qc7 25.e7 Qxg3 26.hxg3 Rfe8 27.Nh4 Bd3 28.Rf3 Black forfeited on time. naffets - pckong, FICS, 2008.
11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 Qd7 13.0-0 Ke7 14.f4 Rhf8 15.f5 Bf7 16.Nd2 Bh5 17.Rae1 Kf7 18.d4 Rae8
19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qc6
White has temporarily equalized, as 21.Qg3 would show.
21.Qg5 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 Rxe5 23.Nb3 Qe7 24.Rxe5 Qxe5 25.Nd4 Re8 26.Ne6 Kg8 27.Qxg7 checkmate
.png)
.png)
.png)