Exploring

After the previous post ("Keep Your Eye on the Prize") I started gathering thousands of Abrahams Jerome Gambit games and adding them to The Database, to develop a better understanding of the opening.

As the following game shows, theory of some of the variations is not far developed.

macele - torment
blitz, FICS, 2005

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ 

3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Ke6 5.Nf3 

I was surprised to see that this move leads to an even game. So far, less than half of the games in The Database have this move.

Now, after 5...Nc6, the position would resemble a Jerome Gambit where the "ghost" White Queen has passed through the White Knight to deliver check.

5...d6 6.Ng5+ 

I have always been suspicious of this move in the Jerome Gambit proper, but here it seems necessary.

6...Kd7 7.Nf7 Qf6

One of a few equal responses. Black could have tried 7...Qf8 8.f3 Nf6 9.Qh3+ Kc6 10.g4 Qxf7 11.Qf1 d5 12.exd5+ Qxd5 13.Nc3 Qe6 14.Qb5+ Kd6 15.b4 b6 16.bxc5+ bxc5 17 Ba3 c6 18.Qxc5+ Kd7 19.O-O Nxg4 20.fxg4 Qxg4+ 21.Kh1 Bb7 22.Rg1 Qf3+ 23.Rg2 Re8 24.Kg1 Ba6 25.d3 Bb7 26.Rf1 Qh5 27.Rxg7+ Kc8 28.Qd6 Black resigned, Turkman - andrecoenen,  FICS, 2006. 

Or 7...Qe8 8. Qf5+ (8.Qg4+ Kc6 9.Qxg7 Be6 10.Nxh8 Nd7 11.b4 Bxb4 12.c3 Bc5 13.Ba3 Ndf6 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.Na3 Rd8 16.Nb5 Rd7 17.Qg3 Kxb5 18.c4+ Bxc4 19.a4+ Kc6 20.a5 Rd3 21.Qg7 Qd8 22.O-O Nxe4 23.Nf7 Qd4 24.Nxe5+ Kb5 25.Rfb1+ Ka6 26.Qf6+ Ngxf6 White resigned, AlexPR - raviven, FICS, 2008; or 8.Qf3 Nf6 9.Nxh8 Qxh8 10.d3 Nc6 11.Be3 [11.c3 Ke8 12.Bg5 Bg4 13.Qg3 Be6 14.Nd2 Kd7 15.f4 Rf8 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.b4 Bd6 18.O-O h6 19.Be3 Ng4 20.Rxf8 Qxf8 21.Rf1 Qe7 22.a3 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 Qg5 24.Qxg5 hxg5 25.Nf3 g4 26.Ng5 Bg8 27.Nf7 Be7 28.b5 Bxf7 29.Rxf7 Nd8 30.Rxg7 Ne6 31.Rxg4 Bxa3 32.h4 Ke7 33.h5 Kf7 34.h6 Nf8 35.Rg7+ Kf6 36.Rxc7 Kg6 37.Rxb7 Kxh6 38.d4 exd4 39.cxd4 Bb2 40.d5 Bd4+ 41.Kf1 Kg6 42.Ke2 Kf6 43.Kf3 Ng6 Black resigned, Philidor 1792 - guest1923, www.bereg.ru, 2015] 11...Bxe3 12.fxe3 b6 13.O-O Bb7 14.Qh3+ Ke7 15.Nc3 Bc8 16.Qh4 Be6 17.Nd5+ Bxd5 18.exd5 Nb4 19.Qxb4
Nxd5 20.Qc4 Ke6 21.e4 b5 22.Qxd5+ Kd7 23.Rf7+ Kc8 24.Raf1 Black resigned, pauldiekrake - AlgozBR, FICS, 2014) 8...Kc6 9.Qh5 (9.Qf3 Nf6 10.Nxh8 Qxh8 11.d3 Bg4 12.Qg3 Nbd7 13.h3 Be6 14.O-O Rf8 15.Be3 Nh5 16.Qh2 b6 17.Bxc5 Nxc5 18.Nd2 Nf4 19.b4 Nd7 20.c4 Kb7 21.a4 g5 22.a5 h5 23.Nf3 g4 24.Nh4 Nf6 25.g3 Nxh3+ 26.Kg2 Bxc4 27.dxc4 Nxe4 28.Ng6 Qf6 29.Nxf8 Qf3 checkmate, RattyMouse - raviven, FICS,  2007) 9...Nf6 10.b4 Bxf2+ 11.Kxf2 Nxh5 12.b5+ Kb6 13.Nxh8 Qxh8 14.d3 Qf8+ 15.Ke2 Bg4+ 16.Ke1 Nd7 17.Nc3 c6 18.bxc6 bxc6 19.Rf1 Ndf6 20.Bd2 Kc7 21.Na4 Qe7 22.Rb1 Nd7 23.h3 Be6 24.Ba5+ Kc8 25.Kd2 Rb8 26.Rxb8+ Nxb8 27.Rb1 Qg5+ 28.Kc3 Qxg2 29.Bb6 axb6 White resigned, AlexPR - raviven, FICS, 2007. 

Or 7...Nf6 8.Qf5+ (8.Qh4 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 10.Qxe4 Qf6+ 11.Qf3 Qxf3+ 12.gxf3 Rf8 13.Ng5 h6 14.Nh3 Nc6 15.c3 Kd8 16.d3 Bxh3 17.Rg1 Rg8 18.Bxh6 Kd7 19.Bxg7 Rae8 20.Nd2 Bf5 21.Ne4 Bxe4 22.dxe4 Kc8 23.b4 Kb8 24.b5 Na5 25.a4 Nc4 26.Rab1 Nd2 27.Rbd1 Nb3 28.Bh6 Rxg1 29.Rxg1 Nc5 30.a5 Nd3+ 31.Ke3 Nc5 32.h4 Ne6 33.Bg5 Ng7 34.Rg4 Nh5 35.Bh6 a6 36.bxa6 bxa6 37.Rg5 Nf6 38.Rg6 Ng8 39.Bg5 Rf8 40.h5 Kb7 41.h6 Nxh6 42.Bxh6 Rh8 43.Bg7 Rg8 44.f4 exf4+ White forfeited on time, radejanus - Erge, FICS, 2008; or 8.Qe2 Qf8 9.Nxh8 Qxh8 10.O-O h5 [10...Nc6 11.c3 Ke7 12.h3 Be6 13.Na3 a6 14.Nc4 Qc8 15.d3 Bxh3 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Be3 Ng4 18.f3 Qg3+ 19.Qg2 Qxg2+ 20.Kxg2 Nxe3+ 21.Nxe3 Bxe3 22.Rh1 h6 23.Rh5 g6 24.Rh4 Bf4 25.Rah1 Rh8 26.Rg4 Kf6 27.a4 Ne7 28.b4 Bd2 29.d4 Bxc3 30.dxe5+ Bxe5 31.b5 axb5 32.axb5 g5 33.Kf2 d5 34.Ke2 dxe4 35.Rxe4 Nd5 36.Kd3 Kf5 37.Kc4 Nb6+ 38.Kc5 Nd7+ 39.Kd5 Nf6+ 40.Kc4 Nxe4 41.fxe4+ Kxe4 42.Re1+ Kf4 43.Kd5 Rd8+ 44.Ke6 Rd6+ 45.Ke7 Bd4 46.Rf1+ Kg4 47.Rh1 h5 White resigned, ndizvoh - sniktawiii, FICS, 2014] 11.h3 Ke7 12.d3 Qh7 13.Bg5 Qg6 14.Qd2 Kf7 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Kh2 Nd7 17.f4 exf4 18.Rxf4 Ne5 19.d4 Nc4 20.Qf2 Bb6 21.b3 Na5 22.c3 c5 23.Nd2 cxd4 24.Rf1 Bd8 25.cxd4 Nc6 26.e5 dxe5 27.dxe5 Nxe5 28.Ne4 Nd3 29.Rxf6+ Bxf6 30.Qd4 Bf5 31.Qd5+ Kg7 32.Qxb7+ Kh6 33.Nxf6 Rf8 34.Nd7 Rf7 35.Qf3 Rxd7 36.Qxf5 Qxf5 37.Rxf5 Nc1 38.Rf2 a5 39.Rc2 Nd3 40.Rc6+ Kg5 41.Rc2 Nb4 42.Rc5+ Rd5 43.Rxd5+ Nxd5 44.a3 Nc3 45.Kg3 Ne4+ 46.Kf3 Nc5 47.b4 axb4 48.axb4 Na4 49.b5 Nb6 50.Kg3 h4+ 51.Kf3 Nc4 52.g3 Ne5+ 53.Kg2 hxg3 54.Kxg3 Nc4 55.h4+ Black forfeited on time, ndizvoh - LadyBishop, FICS, 2014; or 8.Qh3+ Ke7 9.Nxd8 Bxh3 10.gxh3 Rxd8 11.d3 Nc6 12.Nc3 Nd4 13.O-O Nxc2 14.Rb1 Nd4 White forfeited on time,  Djmilen - Torny, FICS, 2006) 8...Kc6 9.Nxd8+ Rxd8 10.Qg5 Rg8 11.d3 Bd4 12.Na3 Na6 13.Be3 Nb4 14.O-O-O Nxa2+ 15.Kb1 Nc3+ 16.bxc3 Bxc3 17.d4 Nxe4 18.Qh4 Bf5 19.f3 g5 20.Qxh7 Bxh7 21.fxe4 Bxe4 22.dxe5 dxe5 23.Rhf1 Bxg2 24.Rg1 Bf3 25.h4 Bxd1 26.Rxd1 gxh4 27.Rd3 Bb4 28.Nc4 e4 29.Ne5+ Kb5 30.Rb3 a5 31.c4+ Ka6 32.Ka2 c5 33.Nd7 Rg2+ 34.Kb1 b6 35.Ne5 a4 36.Rd3 exd3 37.Nc6 d2 38.Nxb4+ cxb4 39.Kc2 Rd8 White resigned, austindark - AkeZ, FICS, 2008. 

Or 7... g6 8. Qg4+ Black resigned, Kazzakii - kkpsA, FICS, 2014. 

Or 7...Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Nf6 9.Qh3+ Kc6 10.Qc3+ Kd7 11.Nxd8 Kxd8 12.d3 Ng4+ 13.Ke1 Nc6 14.Bg5+ Ke8 15.h3 Nh6 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Rf1 Be6 18.Qd2 Nd4 19.c3 Nc6 20.Qf2 Ke7 21.Qf6+ Kd7 22.Qg7+ Ne7 23.Qxh6 Rag8 24.g4 Ng6 25.Qe3 Nf4 26.Rxf4 exf4 27.Qxf4 Rf8 28.Qe3 b6 29.Nd2 Rf7 30.Kd1 Rg8 31.Kc2 Rgf8 32.d4 Kc8 33.d5 Bd7 34.Qe2 Kb7 35.Rf1 Black resigned, Mannixcannon - Txanan, FICS, 2014)

8.Qf5+

Instead, 8.Qf3 seems essential.

Alternately 8.Qg4+ Ke7 9.Qg5 Kxf7 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6 11.d3 Ng4 12.O-O Nc6 13.c3 Be6 14.b4 Bb6 15.a4 a6 16.h3 Nf6 17.Bg5 Nh5 18.Nd2 h6 19.Bh4 g5 20.Bg3 Raf8 21.Nf3 Ke7 22.b5 axb5 23.axb5 Na5 24.c4 Nb3 25.Ra3 Nd4 26.Nxd4 Bxd4 27.Ra7 Bxa7 28.Bh2 Nf4 29.Bxf4 gxf4 30.Kh1 Rhg8 31.f3 Rf6 32.Kh2 Rg3 White resigned, drcollie - nytwotwenty, FICS, 2006; or 8.O-O g6 (8...Nc6 9.Nxh8 Nd4 10.Na3 Bxa3 11.bxa3 Nxc2 12.Rb1 b6 13.Rb2 Nd4 14.Rb1 Bb7 15.d3 Ne7 16.Nf7 Rf8 17.Ng5 Ba6 18.Rd1 g6 19.Qxh7 Ne2+ 20.Kh1 Nxc1 21.Nf3 Ne2 22.Rd2 Nd4 23.Nxd4 exd4 24.Rf1 Rf7 25.Qh3+ Kd8 26.f4 Nc6 27.Qf3 g5 28.f5 Ne5 29.Qg3 Nxd3 30.Rxd3 Bxd3 31.Qxd3 Qe5 32.Re1 Rh7 33.h3 g4 34.Kg1 gxh3 35.Qxh3 Rxh3 36.gxh3 Qg3+ 37.Kf1 Qxh3+ 38.Kf2 Qh2+ 39.Kf3 Qh3+ 40.Kf4 Qxa3 41.Re2 Qe3+ 42.Rxe3 dxe3 43.Kxe3 Ke7 44. Kf4 Black forfeited on time, RattyMouse - attackme, FICS, 2008) 9.Qh3+ (9.Qf3 Qxf3 10.gxf3 Ke7 11.Nxh8 Kf8 12.d3 Kg7 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.c3 Bh3 15.Re1 Nd7 16.a4 Rf8 17.b4 Bb6 18.a5 Bxf2+ 19.Kxf2 Ngf6 20.Kg3 Be6 21.h4 Nh5+ 22.Kf2 Bg4 23.Nd2 Nf4 24.Kg3 Nxd3 25.Re3 Nxc1 26.fxg4 Ne2+ 27.Rxe2 c6 28.Rh1 Black resigned, radejanus - Blus, FICS, 2014) 9...Kc6 10.Qf3 Qxf3 11.gxf3 Bh3 12.Re1 Nf6 13.Nxh8 Nbd7 14.Nf7 Nh5 15.Ng5 Nf4 16.Nxh3 Nxh3+ 17.Kg2 Nxf2 18.c3 Nf6 19.b4 Bb6 20.c4 Nd3 21.Rd1 Nxb4 22.Ba3 Nc2 23.Nc3 Nxa1 24.Rxa1 Rf8 25.Rf1 Nh5 26.h3 Nf4+ 27.Kg3 Nd3 28.Ne2 h6 29.Kg4 Nf2+ 30.Kg3 g5 31.c5 Nxe4+ 32.fxe4 Rf2 33.Kxf2 Bxc5+ 34.Bxc5 Kxc5 35.Ng3 Kd4 36.Nh5 Kd3 37.Nf6 Kxd2 38.Nd7 Kd3 39.Kf3 Kc4 40.Rc1+ Black forfeited on time, Rattymouse - COHGNH, FICS, 2007. 

8...Qxf5 9.exf5 Nf6 10.Nxh8 Ke7 11.c3 Bxf5 12.d4 Bb6

Black is temporarily down the exchange, but White's Knight on h8 will soon be lost, giving the defender the advantage.

13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Bg5 Nc6 15.O-O Rxh8 16.Re1 h6 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 Rd8 19.Na3 a6 20.Nc4 Ke6 21.f3 Nd5 22.Re2

A slip, which compounds White's problems.

22...Bd3 23.Rd2 Bxc4 24.b3 Be2 25.Rxe2 Nxc3 26.Rc2 Rd1+ 27.Rxd1 Nxd1 28.Rd2 Nc3 29.a3 Nd4

30.Kf2 Kf5 31.Rd3 Nd5 32.g3 g5 33.g4+ Kf4 34.h3 c6 35.Kg2 Ne2 36.Kf2 Nc1 37.b4 White forfeited by disconnection

Nothing To It

Chess players who first encounter the Jerome Gambit often decide that there is nothing to it. They accept the first sacrificed piece. They accept the second sacrificed piece. They casually block White's brash Queen check with their g-pawn. Then they settle down to figure out how to play the rest of the game.

Too often, it is already too late.

perrypawnpusher - tripledubs
blitz, FICS, 2014

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

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

7.Qxe5 Nf6

Defenders familiar with the Jerome Gambit will try 7...d6 (Blackburne's Defense) or 7...Qe7 (Whistler's Defense) or some defense of their own concoction.

In the game, Black, in returning one piece, sees that his Rook is endangered, and so protects it - returning a second piece. 

8.Qxc5

White is two pawns ahead. He will be temporarily uncomfortable while behind in development (whose gambit is this, anyhow?) but his opening can be considered a success.

8...Re8

Best is 8... Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also playable is  8... Qe7 as in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48).

A bit better than the text is 8...d6 followed by ...Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic ChessWorld.net 2008 (1-0, 24) and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41).

9.d3 d5

More strident than 9... d6 as in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63), perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15), and perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 33).

10.f3

This is an improvement over 10.O-O of Vuquoclong - VonKortez, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 22) and  10.Bg5 of UNPREDICTABLE - ornito, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36).

10...c6 11.Bg5

Better is 11.Nc3 or 11.O-O, as the text allows Black to grab back a pawn with the combination 11...Nxe4 12.fxe4 Qxg5.

11...dxe4 12.dxe4

Thoughtless, expecting the game to "play itself". Better and more principled would be 12.fxe4 because then 0-0 would put more pressure on the Black Knight at f6.


12...Be6 13.Nc3 Kg7 14.O-O Qc7 15.Bxf6+ Kxf6

16.Rad1

Here I overlooked a nice tactic with 16.Nb5!? based on Black's pinned c-pawn, his attacked Queen, and the placement of his Rooks.

16...b6 17.Qf2 Red8 18.a3 Rd7 19.Rxd7 Bxd7 20.Rd1

So far I have been pretty good at doing nothing, but here I could have tried 20.Qh4+ Kg7 21.Qe7+ Kg8 22.Rd1. The funny thing is that I kind of get there, eventually.

20...Rd8 21.Qh4+ Kg7 22.Qg3

Cowardice. Better 22.Qe7+ Kg8 23.e5.

22...Qc8

It was probably better to exchange Queens.

23.Qe5+ Kg8 24.Qd6 Qa6 25.e5 Qc4 26.e6 Qc5+
27.Qxc5 bxc5

Black resigned

The Bishop is lost.

Faster-er and Furiouser-er

My opponent and I were playing a "normal" blitz Jerome Gambit game until we each started to make our moves too quickly. Things degenerated quickly into a state where "the winner is the one who makes the next-to-last blunder". In this case, it was me. 

perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

According to The Database, Gryllsy - zagothal, blitz, FICS, 2013 continued 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.c3 Bb6 9.Be3 d6 10.Nd2 Bg4 11.Qg3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 h5 13.h3 Bd7 14.0-0 Ke7 15.Ndf3 Rf8 16.Nh4 Be6 17.Ng6+ Kd7 18.Nxf8+ Qxf8 19.Nxe6 Kxe6 20.Rf5 Qf7 21.Raf1 Rf8 22.Qf2 Ne7 23.g4 Neg8 24.g5 Nxe4 25.Rxf7 Nxf2 26.Rxf8 Ne7 27.R1xf2 Black resigned

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

I have a theory about this move. Some defenders push the g-pawn because is part of a defense - Blackburne's, Whistler's - that they are familiar with and are ready to play. Others do so, though, almost as a reflex, to punish White for his early Queen attack - and they figure that they will work out the rest of the defense later.

I checked The Database and found 411 games with the position after 6...g6. Of those games, 139 continued, after 7.Qxe5, with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6. Another 52 games saw Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. That means that in over half of the games where 6...g6 was played, Black was either committed to an inferior defense, or to "figuring something out" - which amounted to the same thing. 

7.Qxe5 Nf6

"I'll take Door Number Three, Monty."

8.Qxc5 Re8 

Instead, Black played 8...Nxe4 in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also seen was 8...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48); and 8...d6 in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008 (1-0, 24), and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41). 

9.d3 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 

Also played: 10...d5 in perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15) and 10...Kg7 in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63).

11.Qf3+ Qf6

For historical purposes, let me point out that 11...Kg7 was Black's response in Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 (1-0, 39). 

12.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The game has lost its attack and counterattack, but White is ahead two pawns.

13.0-0 Kg7 14.Nc3 a6 15.Bg5 Ng4 16.h3

The mistakes start to creep in, small ones at first. A bit better was 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nc7 Be6 18.Nxa8 Rxa8.

16...Ne5 17.f4 Nf7 18.Bh4

Better still was 18.Nd5 Nxg5 19.Nxc7 Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Rf8 21.Nxa8 Nxf4 but at this point I wasn't looking that deeply into the position. 

18...b5 19.Nd5 Ra7 20.Bf6+ Kg8 21.Ne7+

Missing 21.Bd4 c5 22.Nf6+ Kf8 23.Nxe8 cxd4 24.Nf6 Kg7. 

21...Rxe7

A gift. I had expected simply 21...Kf8 22.Nxc8 Rxc8. 

22.Bxe7 c5 23.Rae1?

Returning the favor. I learned to drive in New Jersey, where the two controls on the car are the gas pedal and the horn...

23...Rxe7 

The game is now roughly even, with White having an Rook and two pawns vs two pieces.

24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Rxe5?

25...Nxe5 was the proper recapture, even with the risk of leaving the Knight pinned to an undefended Rook, because of a tactical shot that my opponent and I both missed. 

26.Rxe5 Nxe5 27.Re1 Nc6

Black's best here was 27...Nxd3, although he is worse after 28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Rxc8 Nxb2 30.Rxc5 Kf6.

28.c3?

My opponent and I both missed that 28.Re8+ would fork King and Bishop. 

28...Bf5 29.Re3 Kf7 30.g4 Be6 31.a3 Kf6 32.Kf2 Kg5? 

One last slip, to seal the game.

33.Rxe6 Black resigned

This game is somewhat reminiscent of the old saying "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get."

Not Right Enough

Sometimes, it seems, you can do almost everything right - and still not be successful.

In the following Jerome Gambit game, Black counter-attacks while securing the safety of his King. When White's pawns get too frisky, he returns the sacrificed material and transitions to what looks like a draw-able endgame.

And then he loses.

As ever, especially in a 3-minute game, Phiilidor 1792 is a force to be reckoned with.  


Philidor 1792 - guest2498
3 0, www.bereg.ru, 2014

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

10.Nc3 c6 11.0-0 Kf7 12.f4 Re8 13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4

Harassing the Queen with the Knight is a known theme, but probably 14...Neg4 was a stronger way to do it, as in perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 25) and perrypawnpusher - darqknight, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 63). 

15.Qf3 Kg8

Curiously, reaching perrypawnpusher - Nadant, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 59) only with White to move, not Black.

Black has castled-by-hand, and White will soon be ready to get his "Jerome pawns" rolling. The defender still has an edge. 

16.b3 Nb6 17.Bg5 Qe7 18.Rae1 Qf7 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Nfd5 21.e6 Qf8 

The pawns are beginning to look ominous, so Black returns material.

22.Ne4 Bxe6 23.fxe6 Qxf3 24.Rxf3 Rxe6 25.c4 Rae8 26.cxd5 Rxe4 27.Rxe4 Rxe4 28.dxc6 bxc6 

White's Bishop vs Knight and better pawn position give him a slight edge. He outplays his opponent the rest of the way.

29.Rc3 Re6 30.Kf2 h6 31.Bh4 Nd5 32.Rc5 g5 33.Bg3 Ne3 34.Bb8 Ng4+ 35.Kf3 Nf6 36.Bxa7 Nd5 37.Rc2 Kf7 38.Bc5 Kg6 39.a4 h5 40.a5 g4+ 41.Kf2 Nf4 42.a6 Nd3+ 43.Kg3 Kg5 44.h4+ gxh3 45.Kxh3 Nxc5 46.Rxc5+ Black resigned

[Readers: March 2014 was the 5th most-visited month in this blog's history and the highest March ever. Many thanks for stopping by! - Rick]

Two Positions

In the following game my opponent out-played me, encouraging me to extend a shell of "Jerome pawns" which he then cracked like an egg. I'd like to look at a couple of interesting positions from the game, neither of which I "solved" correctly.

 perrypawnpusher - mconst
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

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

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Ne5

This is the first position. Black is clearly being provocative, asking for the d-pawn or the f-pawn to kick the Knight to g4. I've not seen it before.

Instead, I've seen 9...Nf6 in perrypawnpusher - hogmaster, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld, 2008 (1-0, 37); perrypawnpusher - joejox, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1/2- 1/2, 27); perrypawnpusher - DysonLin, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 23); perrypawnpusher - Mences, blitz, FICS,  2009 (1-0, 38); perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 25);  perrypawnpusher - SkypeFro, blitz, FICS 2010 (1-0, 39);   perrypawnpusher - BishopChris, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22);

I've also faced 9...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - jamtaylo, blitz, ChessWorld Welcome JG, 2009 (1-0, 27).

10.0-0 Nf6 11.f4

Likely better is 11.d4, which would cause me to re-think my understanding of how to play this position. The attraction of the move is obvious: kicking the Knight on e5 and opening the c1-h6 diagonal for White's dark squared Bishop. It also means that White should then answer 11...Neg4 (not the best response) with 12.Qd3, giving up, at least for the moment, the idea of pinning Black's Knight along the f-file with either the Rook or Queen and then attacking it with e4-e5.

11...Neg4

This is probably not as solid as 11...Nc6 but it is much more annoying.

12.Qf3 Nh6

13.h3 Kf7 14.e5 Ne8 15.g4 Rf8 16.Qd5+ Be6 17.Qxb7 Qh4

Here's the second position of interest. The question is: Is Black bluffing?

He had the choice of the ordinary 17...dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg8 19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 20.Qe4 Nf7 which is about equal.

Instead, he offers a Rook.

18.Qg2

I played this too quickly, but it is worth looking at 18.Qxa8 d5, locking the Queen out. The alternatives to the pawn move, 18...Qxh3, 18...Nf6 and 18...Nxg4, are all well met by 19.Qg2.

When White then covers his h-pawn with 19.Kg2, Black has 19...Nd6, exposing an attack on the Queen.

As Her Majesty runs back home, Black breaks through: 20.Qxa7 Ne4 21.Qa3, however I have not been able to find anything better for Black than either 21...Bxg4 or 21...Nxg4 each which yield nothing more than a draw through perpetual check after 22.hxg4.

18...Rb8 19.f5 Bc8 20.d4 Bb7 

The game is complicated, and my play from here on out is not good.

21.Qh2

White needed to shield himself from that Bishop with 21.d5 dxe5 22.c4, when Black might have a slight edge.

21...Kg8

Prudent, but there were good attacking chances with 21...Nxg4.

22.Nd2

White needed to get rid of that Knight with 22.Bxh6
22...Nxf5

Even more deadly was 22...Nxg4, but my game was collapsing fast.

23.gxf5 Qxd4+ 24.Rf2 Rxf5 25.Nb3 Qd1+ White resigned

A Simple Game (?)

I was having fun playing my most recent Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). It seemed like a simple, straight-forward game. Afterward I gave it to Rybka to look over, and I found that things are not always as simple as they seem...

perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010

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

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

My first game with andrecoenen continued 6...g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Re8 10.d3 d5 11.f3 dxe4 12.fxe4 Ng4 13.Qf3+ Kg7 14.0-0 Qh4 15.Qf7+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz FICS, 2010

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

This is a solid position for Black, although the updated New Year's Database has 33 previous games with this position — and White scored 61%.

10.Nc3

Varying from 10.0-0, which I had played three times before: 10...b6 (10...Bd7 11.f4 Qe7 12.d3 Kf7 13.Nc3 Rhf8 14.h3 Kg8 15.g4 Bxg4 16.hxg4 Nxg4 17.Qg3 Nf6 18.f5 Ne5 19.Bg5 Qd7 20.d4 Nc4 21.b3 Nb6 22.e5 dxe5 23.dxe5 Qd4+ 24.Qe3 Qg4+ 25.Kh2 Nfd5 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qg3 Qh5+ 28.Kg2 Qe2+ 29.Rf2 Qe4+ 30.Kh3 Rxf5 31.Rxf5 Qxf5+ 32.Kh4 Qg6 33.c4 Nb4 34.a3 Nc2 35.Rf1 Nd4 36.Qf4 Ne6 37.Qe3 h6 38.Be7 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Mences, blitz FICS, 2009; 10...Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.f5 Ne5 13.Nc3 Nc4 14.Qd4 Ne5 15.d3 Kg8 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qd5+ Be6 19.fxe6 c6 20.e7+ Kg7 21.exd8Q Raxd8 22.Qd4 c5 23.Qf2 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - DysonLin, blitz FICS, 2009) 11.f4 Bb7 12.d3 Qe7 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Bd2 h6 15.h3 Qd7 16.Qg3 Ne7 17.e5 Nfg8 18.Rae1 Nf5 19.Qf2 Nge7 20.g4 g6 21.gxf5 gxf5 22.Re3 Rg8+ 23.Rg3 Kf7 24.Ne2 h5 25.Kh2 Rg6 26.Rfg1 Reg8 27.Nd4 dxe5 28.Rxg6 exd4 29.Rxg8 Nxg8 30.Qg3 Ne7 31.Qg7+ Ke6 32.Re1+ Kd6 33.Qe5+ Kc6 34.Qxe7 Qxe7 35.Rxe7 Kd6 36.Re5 Bc8 37.Kg3 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - hogmaster, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld, 2008.

10...c6 11.f4 Kf7 12.0-0 Re8

My game against joejox continued, instead 12...Rf8 13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4 15.Qd3 Nb6 16.Bg5 Kg8 17.g4 Nbd7 18.Rae1 Qb6 19.Na4 Qb4 20.b3 Nxg4 21.Bd2 Qa3 22.Bc3 b5 23.Bb2 Qb4 24.Bc3 Qa3 25.Bb2 Qb4 26.Bc3 Qa3 27.Bb2 draw perrypawnpusher - joejox, blitz FICS, 2009

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Neg4 15.Qg3 Qb6

Black's Queen move is a good one — which I under-estimated during the game. Now, against best play, White cannot both support his center and move it forward on the attack.

16.Be3

I was unhappy with this move (I could not think of anything better) and was even unhappier after the game when I saw what Rybka had suggested that I play instead: 16.Qd3 Ne5 17.Qd1 Ned7 18.Qd3 Kg8 19.b3 c5 20.Be3 cxd4 21.Bxd4 Qc6 22.Rf4 Ne5 and Black is better.

analysis diagram






This line needs some serious examination for White, starting with 10.Nc3

16...Nxe3 17.Qxe3 d5

This is part of the reason that the game seemed simple to me at the time: Black hits my center with his d-pawn and I advance my e-pawn to bypass it. Instead, though, Black had 17...c5 when 18.Rad1 cxd4 19.Rxd4 Bd7 and again White's pawns have been banged up and the second player is better.

18.e5 Ng4

Unnecessarily aggressive, moving the game toward equality. The cold-blooded 18...Kg8 was the right idea, as the White e-pawn is pinned to the Queen.

19.e6+

Rybka evaluated this as too early, preferring 19.Qf4.

19...Kf6

This was Black's last chance to finish castling-by-hand with 19...Kg8. Instead, he steps into the line of fire.

20.Qf4 Bxe6

It is not the time to return the piece for two pawns, although neither retreating nor protecting the Knight will help, either.

21.fxe6+ Kxe6 22.Rae1+ Kd7

The "Jerome pawns" are gone, but the files they have opened will win the day.

23.Qxg4+ Kd6 24.Qf4+ Kd7 25.Qf7+ Black resigned