I just resigned my Jerome Gambit game in the third round of the Italian Game Classic tournament at Chess.com. Truth be told, I ran out of ideas, in a bad position.
That's just one way that I am not as smart as Bill Wall - he never seems to run out of ideas. There are other ways, to be sure, and I will get to them.
In the mean time, I have to congratulate my opponent, who steadily and clearly out-played me, even more than I had feared.
Most likely I will finish in 3rd place in the tournament, out of 5 players, behind the undefeated Winawer99, and LttlePrince.
perrypawnpusher - LttlePrince
Italian Game Classic tournament, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
For the record, I had played this line against AndrewLLL earlier this round, winning in 18 moves. I was a bit worried that LttlePrince might notice, and learn from that game - as well as my blog notes.
This headache was just recently compounded, when I advanced to the fourth round of the Italian Game Battlegrounds tournament at Chess.com, along with TamasHK - and AndrewLLL (we had tied for top in our section and both moved on). So I can expect both of them to stop by and peruse this game coverage, too. (Hi, guys.)
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5
9.Ne2
Previously, I had played 9.f4 in perrypawnpusher - joseluislopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55) and 9.Bg5 in perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 22). I did not like how Black damaged my Queenside pawns in that first game, so I chose the text as a way of avoiding the Bishop-for-Knight swap.
According to The Database, 9.Ne2 was a novelty when I played it against AndrewLLL. I hadn't come up with anything better - so I played it again, against LttlePrince.
9...c6 10.f4 Bc7 11.e5 Ne4
A slight improvement over 11...Nd5, which AndrewLLL had played. This Knight seems to be floating in air, but, once it is cemented in place, it becomes a dominating force.
12.Qd3
Ah, yes. A decade ago, Wall, B - Stevanovic, R, Chess.com, 2010 had continued, instead, 12.O-O Bb6+ 13.Nd4 Bxd4+ 14.Qxd4 Qb6 15.Be3 Qxd4 16.Bxd4 and Black had succeeded in swapping Queens, exaggerating his Knight-for-a-pawn material edge. Since the game was a rare thing - a loss by Bill - I had figured that I could "improve" on his play by avoiding similar excitement along the a7-g1 diagonal. Fair enough; but, as I have pointed out, I am not as smart as Bill Wall...
12...d5 13.Be3 Bf5 14.Qb3 Bb6 15.O-O-O Bxe3+ 16.Qxe3 Qb6
This was my preparation for the line - no need to search for the game, it hasn't been posted on the blog, see "Do I Share Everything? No" - I even had an "answer" to "save" my Queen.
17.Nd4 g6
Well, my King has castled, and my Rooks are linked - but his Rooks are linked, too. White's chances must lie in mobilizing his "Jerome pawns", starting with h2-h3, perhaps preparing this with g2-g3 in order to counter-act Black's possible prophylaxis with ...h7-h5 and ...h5-h4.
Instead, I decided upon a joke plan that probably would have worked in 1-minute bullet chess, and might have worked in 5-minute blitz chess, but had no place in a 3-days-per-move tournament.
18.Nxf5 gxf5 19.Qh3
See? Who could possibly resist 19...Nf2, forking both of my Rooks and my Queen?
Is this chess or stand up comedy?
[to be continued]
In the previous post (see "Jerome Gambit: His Trap Was Part of My Trap") I noted that I had stumbled over another one of my blitz games that I had not yet posted on this blog. (With over 600 of my games in The Database, that seems quite possible.)
Playing over the game, it is hard to figure out why it did not appear: it is not an embarassing loss - or an interesting win, either. Play simply continues until Black errs, wherupon he resigns.
perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
In the main line Jerome Gambit, retreating the Bishop this way can lead to trouble, but, in the Four Knights variation, Black has protected against annoying Queen checks from d5.
8.dxe5
Back in 2011 - 2013, Philidor1792 experimented with the extravagant 8.f4!? in blitz play, scoring 7 - 2 - 1.
8...Bxe5 9.Bg5
Often the Bishop goes to g5 in the Jerome Gambit, to put pressure on the enemy Knight, possibly in conjunction with Nc3-d5. Previously, I had played 9.f4 in perrypawnpusher - joseluizlopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55), and, just recently, I had played 9.Ne2 in perrypawnpusher - AndrewLLL, Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020 (1-0, 18).
8...h6 10.Bh4 Qe7
11.Nd5 Qd6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.O-O c6 14.Nxf6 Qxf6 15.c3 d5
16.exd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5+ Kg6 18.Rad1 Be6 19.Qe4+ Bf5
White has 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but they are on either side of the board, and whatever passers they promise to produce are a long way into the future - if ever.
20.Qe3 h5 21.Qg3+ Bg4
A strange slip - given that the time control was 14 minutes, no increment, and he had 9 minutes left on the clock - as it allows his Bishop and Queen to be pinned to his King. I chose the Queen
22.Rd6 Black resigned
The following game again brings up a topic of concern
I have previously mentioned FIDE Master Dennis Monokroussos' thoughtful website, The Chess Mind, and his down-to-earth query, Is there even a single trap for Black to fall into in the Jerome Gambit?
My response has been
With due respect to Dennis, at the club level the entire Jerome Gambit can be considered a "trap" - especially if we consider psychological aspects. Black must pay attention, even as he treasures his advantages, or they will evaporate.
My recently-completed game against AndrewLLL, in the third round of the "Italian Game Battlefield" tournament at Chess.com, is an example of the defender setting a nefarious trap, only to discover that his trap was part of my trap...
perrypawnpusher - andrewLLL
Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. The Database does not contain any games by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome with this line. I have played the line 60 times, scoring 74%.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
8.dxe5 Bxe5
There is definitely something strange about this opening line of play - at least as far as I am concerned.
I recently posted a game where I now played 9.f4 - perrypawnpusher - joseluizlopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55) - that I had somehow overlooked posting 8 years ago.
In preparing for this post, I noticed that I had also not posted perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 22), where I explored 9.Bg5. I will fix that oversight soon. (The Database has 12 games with the move with White scoring 42%)
9.Ne2
After the suffering at the hands of joseluizlopez (see "Jerome Gambit: Another Historical 'Oversight' "), I made a note to try something that would keep my pawn structure intact. Little did I realize how odd the pawns would become.
9...c6 10.f4 Bc7 11.e5 Nd5 12.O-O Re8
Black begins to castle-by-hand and is better, having a piece for a pawn.
White focuses on Blacks backward d-pawn, that blocks the light-squared Bishop, which, in turn, hems in the Rook. It is not enough compensation, but it is something to work on.
13.c4 Ne7 14.c5 b6 15.b4 a5
My pawns are trying to gang up on the enemy d-pawn. If I only had an extra move, I could put my Bishop on b2, and then play a2-a3, with the ability to keep my pawn chain intact. Of course, I can't play 16.a3 directly, as it would fall to the simple 16...axb4. I decided to develop my Bishop and hope for the best.
16.Bb2 axb4 17.Qd4
The attacking battery along the a1-h8 diagonal has potential. It will take a little cooperation to become dangerous, but it's not chopped liver.
In the meantime, the Queen threatens to capture the pawn at b4.
She also threatens to blunder, which Black notices quickly.
17...bxc5
Guarding the pawn at b5, and offering the one at c5, instead. Of course, 18.Qxc5? would now be punished by 18...Bb6, pinning and winning the Queen.
Black had stronger defensive ideas available - after the game, Komodo 10 recommended the consistent 17...Kg8, completing castling and maintaining the advantage - but I suspect that the "Negative halo effect" took hold of AndrewLLL at this point, and he figured, "If this guy is dumb enough to play the Jerome Gambit, he's probably dumb enough to hang his Queen". So he set his trap.
18.e6+
Black resigned
I had not worked out the attack completely, but it is clear that Black must now play 18...Kxe6, when, after 19.f5+ Nxf5 20.Qe4+ Kd6 21.Rad1+, the end would be near. After 21...Nd4, the exchange sacrifice is easy to find (the time limit for this game was 3 days per move), and, with 22.Rxd4+ cxd4 23.Qxd4+ Ke6 Black's King will not be long for the world.
My game against AndrewLLL in the third round of the "Italian Game Battlegrounds" tournament at Chess.com (see the previous post) has already progressed enough that I can now correct a historical "oversight": despite my commitment to share all of my Jerome Games, regardless of outcome, on this blog, I sort of "overlooked" the game perrypawnpusher - joseluislopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55).
You might notice that I lost that game against joseluislopez, and that maybe I was too embarassed to share it. That is not quite right: I did post an endgame position from our game that featured a double blunder, before my eventual loss by checkmate.
Yet, fair is fair, so here is the game - with a couple of lessons to learn.
perrypawnpusher - joseluislopez
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5
9.f4
Starting the advance of the "Jerome pawns".
9...Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 d6
I willingly traded my Queenside pawn structure for some time - Black's Bishop moved 4 times before leaving the board, while my Knight moved once. This was probably a mistake. A master would find active play to compensate, but I am not a master. Well on into the endgame, you will still be able to see the effect of the different Queenside pawn structures.
11.O-O Bg4 12.Qd3 Re8 13.h3 Bh5 14.g4 Bg6
So far, White is playing aggressively, in true blitz style. Black probably should have returned material with 14...Bxg4!? which would have led to some danger to White's King.
15.f5 Nxe4
This is a mis-reading of the position, as it allows White to open the f-file. Instead, Komodo 10 suggests the bizarre 15...Bh5!?, and has Black holding on to a small advantage.
16.fxg6+
This move leads to White's advantage, but the alternative, 16.Qd5+, would have led to checkmate: 16...Kf8 17.fxg6+ Qf6 18.Rxf6+ Ke7 19.Rf7+ Kd8 20.Qxb7 Re7 21.Rxe7 Kxe7 22.Qxc7+ Ke8 23.gxh7 Nf6 24.h8/Q+ Ng8 25.Qxg8 checkmate..
16...Kxg6 17.Qf3
Looking to put more pressure on the enemy King, but overlooking Black's response, which is an effective remedy. More accurate would have been 17.Qd5, when 17...Nf6 (the only move to prevent checkmate) 18.Qf5+ Kf7 19.g5 would have led to a clear advantage.
17...Qf6
White's dynamic compensation for his structural defects has been wasted. Black now grinds his opponent down - and a significant part of his plan is to take advantage of White's isolated Queenside pawns.
18.Qxf6+ Nxf6 19.Bd2 Re4 20.Rab1 b6 21.Rb4 Rae8 22.Rxe4 Rxe4 23.Kg2 Re2+ 24.Rf2 Rxf2+ 25.Kxf2 Ne4+ 26.Ke3 Nxd2 27.Kxd2 Kg5 28.Ke3 h5 29.gxh5 Kxh5 30.Kf3 Kh4 31.Kg2 g5 32.c4 c6 33.c3 b5 34.cxb5 cxb5 35.Kh2 a5 36.Kg2 b4 37.cxb4 axb4 38.Kh2 d5 39.Kg2 d4 40.Kf3 Kxh3 41.Ke4 g4 42.Kxd4 g3 43.Kc4 g2 44.Kxb4 g1=Q 45.a4 Qb6+ 46.Ka3 Kg4 47.Ka2 Kf4 48.Ka3 Ke4 49.Ka2
I do not remember why I was playing on, a Queen down; most likely, my opponent was short of time. Only a miracle would save me - and I was not ready, when it came.
49...Qb5?? 50.Ka3??
Capturing the Queen would have led to a draw, even a pawn up. Probably I was short of time, too.
50...Qa5 51.Kb3 Kd4 52.Ka3 Qc3+ 53.Ka2 Qb4 54.Ka1 Kc3 55.a5 Qb2 checkmate
(My personal notes to this game suggested that I avoid 9.f4, and try something like 9.Ne2 - which I did, against AndrewLLL. We shall see how that works out.)
The third round of Chess.com's "Italian game Battlegrounds" tournament has started, and I find myself in Group 2 - which consists of me and andrewLLL.
As always, I was fully prepared to place my chances for success in the hands of the Jerome Gambit, but a review of my opponent's recent games suggests that he much preferred 3...Nf6, the Two Knights Defense, to 3...Bc5, which would limit my Jerome options.
So, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6, I crossed my fingers and played 4.Nc3, fully expecting 4...Nxe4, when I was resigned to returning to last year's site of grave strugggle with the Noa Gambit against RemoveKubab1 with 5.Bxf7+.
However, perhaps andrewLLL got a hint of the won game looming before him, and played, instead, 4...Bc5, allowing me to move the game into the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit with 5.Bxf7+.
The Database shows that I have played this line in 60 games, scoring 74%, but you never know when it comes to "refuted" openings, do you?
