Out of sight, out of mind

When I was putting together yesterday's Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) post – a long game with analysis and diagrams can take a couple of hours – I noticed that I had referenced a game that was in my database, but had not yet shown up on this blog. Playing through the game, I could understand the oversight: it's another bad game.

I suppose that I can take some comfort in the fact that I scored 2.5 point in those 3 bad games – that almost makes up for the poor play.


perrypawnpusher - episodeninetynine
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 The Semi-Italian opening.


4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6
Some of my games have goen otherwise: 7...Ke6 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 Bxd4 ( 9...Qf6 10.dxe5+ Qxe5 11.Rd1+ ( 11.Bf4 Qxf4 12.Qxf4+ Kc6 13.e5 d5 14.b4 Nf6 15.bxc5 Ne4 16.Qf7 Nxc5 17.Qxg7 Be6; 11.Bf4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - joejox, FICS 2009) 11...Bd4 12.Qf8+ Ke6 13.Qe8+ Kf6 14.Qf8+ Ke6 15.Qe8+ Kf6 drawn, perrypawnpusher - Joyus, FICS, 2007) 10.Rd1 c5 11.c3 Ne7 12.Qh5 Kc7 13.cxd4 cxd4 14.Qxe5+ d6 15.Qxd4 Nc6 16.Qxg7+ Bd7 17.Bf4 Rg8 18.Qxh6 Qe7 19.Bxd6+ Qxd6 20.Qxd6+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Lakritzl, FICS 2009;

And 7...Kf6 8.Qf5+ Ke7 9.Qxe5+ Kf7 10.Qd5+ Kf6 11.e5+ Kg6 12.Qxc5 d6 13.exd6 Qxd6 14.Qxd6+ cxd6 15.Nc3 Bf5 16.d3 Rc8 17.Be3 a6 18.Bd4 Nf6 19.Rae1 Rhe8 20.f3 Kh7 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Kf2 Kg6 24.Re1 Rc8 25.Re7 Rb8 26.Ne4 Bxe4 27.fxe4 b5 28.Rd7 Rb6 29.c3 b4 30.c4 b3 31.a3 f5 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - bergeruw, FICS 2007

8.Qd5+

As I've said (see "Ugly"), I continue to play this nudge; few others do. For example: 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qc4+ Be6 10.Qe2 Nf6 11.f4 Re8 12.f5 Bxf5 13.Rxf5 d5 14.e5 Qd7 15.Qh5 c6 16.Nc3 Qc7 17.d4 c5 18.Nxd5 Qd8 19.exf6 gxf6 20.Rxf6+ Qxf6 21.Nxf6 Black resigned, abhailey - cumelen, net-chess, 2008

8...Kf6

Or 8...Kf8 9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 N8e7 11.d4 Kg8 12.Nc3 Kh7 13.f4 Rf8 14.f5 Nh8 15.g4 Kg8 16.g5 hxg5 17.Qxg5 Nf7 18.Qg3 Nc6 19.f6 g5 20.Bxg5 Nxg5 21.Qxg5+ Kf7 22.Qg7+ Ke6 23.d5+ Ke5 24.Qg3+ Kd4 25.Qd3+ Ke5 26.Qg3+ Kd4 27.Qd3+ Ke5 28.Qg3+ Kd4 29.Qd3+ Ke5 30.Qg3+ Kd4 31.Qd3+ Ke5 32.Qg3+ Kd4 drawn, perrypawnpusher - pascalwilliams, blitz, FICS, 2007;

Or 8...Ke8 9.Qxc5 Qe7 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.f4 b6 13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Ba6 15.dxe5 Qxe5 16.Re1 Kf7 17.Qf3 Rhe8 18.Bf4 Qc5+ 19.Be3 Qb5 20.Bd4 Qxb2 21.e5 Nd5 22.e6+ Kg8 23.Qg4 Nxc3 24.Qxg7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - Cibola, blitz, FICS, 2009

9.Qf5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ Ke8 11.f4 d6 12.Qe3

Too much of a reflex action. One subtle difference between the regular Jerome Gambit and the Jerome Gambit coming out of the Semi-Italian opening is that here I had the option of 12.Qh5, pinning and eventually winning the Knight on g6.

That's worth remembering for next time.

12...Qf6 13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4

Now, where should the Queen go?

15.Qg3

What made sense was 15.Qd3, not this move which drops a pawn.

15...Qxd4+ 16.Kh1 Kd7 17.Nc3 b6

As long as Black is behind in development, White has hope.

18.Bf4 Ba6


This move is consistent, but turns out not to be good. I wish I had realized how not-good it was.

19.Rad1 Qc5


Sometimes there are things going on in a game that neither player recognizes. I was totally unaware that the Black Queen had to go to f6 to stay out of trouble.

20.Qxg7+ Ne7 21.e5

This seemed consistent and good to me, but Rybka later saw it as a blunder, preferring 21.b4 Rag8 22.Qxg8 Nxg8 23.bxc5 bxc5.

21...Rag8 22.e6+ Kc6


On the other hand, Rybka didn't like this move one bit, either, preferring 22...Kd8.

Offsetting blunders, and White is now better.

23.Qxe7 Re8 24Qd7+Kb7 24.b3

Ah, the irony: Rybka shows how "simple" the position actually was – 25.Rd5 Qc6 26.b4 Na3 ( 26...Qxd7 27.exd7 Rd8 28.b5) 27.b5 Nxb5 28.Nxb5 Qxd7 29.exd7 Re7 30.f6 Rxd7 31.Bxh6 Rf7 32.Bg7... I think I'll leave the computer out of the discussion for a while.

25...Nd2 26.Bxd2 Bxf1 27.Rxf1 Qd4

28.f6 Rhf8

In the face of the advancing pawns, Black's play is deteriorating.

29.Nb5 Qxd2 30.Qxc7+ Ka6 31.Qxa7+ Kxb5 32.Qd7+


Overlooking the mate (that I paid two good pieces for!) with 32.Qa4+ Kc5 33.Qc4.

Well, I'm down a Rook now, but those advanced pawns have to count for something.

32...Ka6 33.e7 Qe2 34.Rg1

34...Rxf6 35.Qxe8 Rf1

Threatening mate-in-2, but it is Black's last hurrah...

36.Qa8+ Kb5 37.e8Q+ Qxe8 38.Qxe8+ Kb4 39.Rxf1 Black resigned

Semi-Good

I can understand the excitement of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and occasionally that can get a player ahead of himself or herself. The Jerome motif can be fun against the Semi-Italian Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6) but, as the following game shows, it is best to wait for Black to play ...Bc5 first.


Fuller - Vallance-Gallant
Women's Open Championship of Canada
ICCF, 2008



1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0

There's no use trying 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5+, as after 6...Ng6 there is no Bishop to capture on c5. I've gotten away with this oversight against marapr and my buddy abhailey has done the same against cumelen, but it's not the right way to play the Jerome Semi-Italian.

White's situation is similar to that in playing the "modern" Jerome Gambit: it's hard to work up play without her opponent's help.

5...d6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Nd5
7...Be7 8.c3 Re8 9.d4 Bg4

White keeps offering material, and Black keeps declining – and developing.

10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 exd4 12.c4 Kg8


Black has castled-by-hand, and White's game continues to go from bad to worse.

13.b4 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Nxb4 15.Qg3 Bg5

16.a3 Bxc1 17.axb4 Bb2 18.Rab1 Bc3 19.b5 Rxe4 20.Qf3 Qe7 21.b6 axb6 22.Ra1 Bxa1 23.g3 Re1 24.Qd3 Qe2 25.Qxe2 Rxe2 26.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 27.Kg2 d3 28.Kf3 Raa2 29.h4 Rxf2+ 30.Ke4 d2 31.Ke3 d1Q 32.Ke4 Qa4+ 33.Kd3 Rf3 checkmate

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, one should play the Jerome Gambit as soon as possible, but not sooner.

Whistling by the graveyard...

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game against tmarkst brought to mind the lament expressed earlier in "Jerome Gambit for Dummies (3)". Against such refutations as Whistler's Defense, What's a Jerome Gambit Gemeinde to do??

perrypawnpusher - tmarkst
blitz , FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

This was my 70th Jerome or Jerome-ized game. That I've scored 88% with the lines is a tribute to the general level of chaos in the chess world. Or sheer luck.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

Now: Blackburne or Whistler?

7.Qxe5 Qe7
Whistler, it is – my favorite anti-Jerome Gambit. I once used it myself to win a nice game against one of the top players in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter VIII").

Well, there was not much to do here but to take some inspiration from my buddy abhailey, who faced down the Whistler and wondered what all the fuss was about (see "Beware: Mad Dog!")...

8.Qf4+

This move looks like it took my opponent by surprise. C'mon, Mr. Pawnpusher, you're a piece down and I was offering you a Rook...

8...Kg7 9.d3 d6 10.Nc3 Bd4

Black has an idea on how to proceed, but I'm guessing that 10...Nf6 followed by ...Rf8 would have taken him further.

11.0-0 Qf6 12.Qd2
Cowering. A much better idea was 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.c3 Be5 14.Qg5 which should lead to a relatively even position.

12...Be6 13.Kh1 Rf8 14.f3
Adopting the "come and get me" approach. At this point Black's only problem is over-confidence.

14...c6 15.Ne2 Be5
Black now has a massive preponderance of pieces on the Kingside, so it was hard for him to see that the text move was an error.

16.d4 Bxh2
Forced, but still scary-looking.

17.Kxh2 Qh4+ 18.Kg1 h5



19.Qg5 Qxg5 20.Bxg5 h4 21.Nf4 Re8 22.Nxe6+ Rxe6

Exchanging pieces has calmed things down a bit.

23.Kf2 h3 24.gxh3 Rxh3 25.Ke3

The storm is over, and I was looking to see what I could make out of my pawn advantage.

25...Ne7 26.Bxe7 Rxe7 27.Rh1 Rg3 28.Rag1 Rxg1 29.Rxg1 d5

I can work with this. In the meantime, I think my opponent's disappointment (Where did my attack go??) hobbled his play.

30.e5 Kf7 31.f4 Re8 32.Rh1 Ke6 33.Rh6 Kf5 34.Rh7 Rb8



35.Rf7+ Ke6 36.Rf6+ Ke7 37.Rxg6



37...Kf7 38.f5 Rf8 39.Rf6+ Ke7 40.Rxf8 Kxf8 41.Kf4 Kf7 42.Kg5 b5 43.e6+ Black resigned


Looks like I won't have to give up the Jerome Gambit - at least for another week!

A Dangerous Place

In a chess game, like when on a long walk, if you're not paying attention to where you're going, you could wind up in a dangerous place. If you happen to be playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) you are almost certain to find some danger.
I think that my opponent, electrahan, knew something about the Jerome Gambit. Our game quickly travelled to a very complicated line of defense – nothing like the Najdorf Sicilian, but Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XVI and Jerome Gambit: Fools walk in... are almost "required reading" to appreciate what follows.

perrypawnpusher - electrahan
blitz 9 5, FICS, 2009

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

Welcome, Mr. Electrahan, shall we go for a walk?
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+
As far as you are willing to go, Mr. Pawnpusher...

Sometimes referred to as "His Nib's Defense," (see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter II") this line has caused me no small amount of headaches. And excitement. And wonder. There's a Queen sacrifice hidden somewhere, and even if it doesn't come off, the game becomes very unclear.

9.g3 Nf3+
Before this game I had losses to Temmo (0-1, 43) and James042665 (0-1, 18) in this line.

10.Kd1
This is the line that "R.F." originally played against "His Nib's", but in my earlier games I had preferred 10.Kf1, which was the better choice.

Now Black can sacrifice his Queen (as in abhailey - peonconorejas, net-chess.com, 2008, 0-1, 20) with 10...Ne7 11.e5+ Kc6 12.Qe4+ d5 13.exd6+ Nd5 14.gxh4 Bg4 and win – but you really have to know the line, as it would be difficult to suss out over-the-board in blitz.

10...Qh6
This retreat – which is similar to Temmo's Queen retreat (with my King on f1) and Kevin the fruitbat's Queen retreat to f6 in a comparable position (perrypawnpusher - Kevin the fruitbat, chessworld, 2008, 1-0, 38) – still leaves Black with a slight advantage.

11.Qd5+ Ke7 12.Qxc5+ Qd6 13.Qxd6+ cxd6
The same dilemma that I faced against Temmo: if the advanced Black Knight stands, the second player is better; but if it falls, I am even, and may have the advantage.

My one advantage against electrahan was that I was more familiar with the positions and play, and so was significantly ahead on the clock.
14.c3

To keep the Knight put.

After the game Rybka 3 recommended 14.b3 Nf6 15.Bb2 d5 (working to free the Bishop) with complications and a rather unclear game after either 15.exd5 or 15.e5.

14...Nf6
A sensible move, although Fritz8's 14...d5 and Temmo's 14...g5 were more likely to keep Black's edge.

15.d3

Stronger was the immediate 15.Ke2

15...b6
Black has settled upon his defensive plan: it involves ceding the Knight.

16.Ke2 d5 17.Kxf3 dxe4+ 18.dxe4 Bb7
19.Re1 Kf7 20.Nd2 Rhe8 Black has some compensation for his two pawns in the congestion of White's Queenside.

21.g4 d5

Instead, 21...Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Rxe4 23.Rxe4 Re8 24.Be3 Bxe4+ 25.Kf2 d5+ held chances of a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.

22.e5 d4+ 23.Kg3 dxc3 24.bxc3 Nd5
25.Bb2 Rad8 26.Ne4 Nf6 This does not work out, and is likely the result of time issues.

27.Nd6+

Good enough, but 27.Ng5+ Kg8 28.exf6 was stronger.

27...Kf8 28.Nxb7
Again, 28.exf6 was stronger, but the text works. Black's game unravels.

28...Rd7 29.Ba3+ Kf7 30.Nd6+ Rxd6 31.exd6
31...Ne4+ 32.Rxe4 Rxe4 33.Kf3 Rc4 34.d7 Rxc3+ 35.Ke4 Black forfeited on time