The other day I woke up too early, and said to myself, "Let's have a chess game, and then a cup of coffee."
Wrong.
I needed the coffee first.
perrypawnpusher - igisr
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke7
I have played games where Black has chosen 8...Ke8, 8...Kf8 and even 8...Kf6, but the text move was new to me. (There is only one game example in The Database.)
There is something significant about the placement of the Black King, but in the morning mental fog, it eluded me.
9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.f4 Re8
Instead, the game mrddblack - ammagamma (1-0, 32), continued 11...Rf8.
12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4
Routine, but probably better was 13...Nc6.
14.Qd3 b5 15.Nc3
After the game, Stockfish recommended the straight-forward 15.b3 Nb6 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Qxd3 18.exf6+ Kxf6 19.cxd3 with a slight advantage for White.
The text move is not "wrong", but it reflects the fact that I believed that e4-e5 was not currently playable because it allowed the exchange of Queens - missing, as Stockfish showed, that White can use the zwischenzug exf6+ after ...Qxd3 to regain his sacrificed piece.
15...a6 16.b3 Nb6 17.Ba3
Hoping that the pin on Black's d6 pawn will allow White's e-pawn to advance, but this is cloudy thinking, and easily evaded. Better was the simple 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Qxd3 19.exf6+ Kxf6 20.cxd3 as we have seen.
17...Kf7 18.Rae1
A standard move in this kind of position, but I could not escape the feeling that I had missed something...
18...Bb7 19.Bb2 b4
White's pawn center is now crumbling under the pressure of Black's pieces (and the b-pawn), but I was confident that I had everything under control.
20.Qc4+ Nxc4
Or not. White resigned.
I had a cup of coffee while I did the post mortem.
I received another interesting game from Dave Black, who commented on how "Sometimes games just seem to flow. In this game i just seemed to make natural moves, looking to stay as active
as I could and that was enough."
It is hard to argue with him: smooth sailing.
mrddblack - ammagamma
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke7
I was amazed to see that in over 3,700 Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit games in The Database, this was the first with 8...Ke7.
The move itself is not "bad", but it might indicate a casual approach to defense, depending on what Black's plans are. As the game goes, the second player wants to castle-by-hand, and his King is not slowed by the text (in comparison with the more often played 8...Ke8).
Now Black secures his King while White mobilizes his "Jerome pawns".
9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.f4 Rf8 12.Nc3 Kf7 13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4 15.Qd3 Nb6
The position is about equal. I doubt that Dave used much time in reaching it, it is so "Jerome-ish".
16.Bf4 Nh5 17.Ne2 Nxf4 18.Nxf4 Bd7 19.Rae1 Kg8
20.Ng6 Rf7 21.e5 dxe5 22.dxe5 Qg5
Black reaches for more, but obtains less. He was counting on the threat to g2, but overlooked that White will have a move with an attention-demanding check.
23.e6 Bc6 24.exf7+
The proof that ...Bc6 should have come a move earlier.
24...Kxf7 25.Qg3 Qxg3 26.hxg3
White is up the exchange, plus two annoying "Jerome pawns."
26...Nd5 27.Ne5+ Kf6 28.Nxc6 bxc6 29.Re6+ Kg5
Black avoids the long, uphill struggle that would come after 29...Kf7 30.Rxc6 by falling into a mating net.
30.Rg6+ Kh5 31.Kf2 Rf8 32.Rh1 checkmate
