Beware: The Sneak!

Black's biggest dangers in playing against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) are overconfidence, a dismissive attitude and inattention. If any of these plague the second player in the early moves of the game, an otherwise blatant maneuver called The Sneak might arise.

In its starkest form, The Sneak looks like this:

I know what you're thinking: nobody would fall for that, letting the Bishop get trapped.

It is true, not everybody does fall for it. Here are some warnings, though:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3

2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.d3 Nc6 5.c3 Bc5 6.a4 d6 7.Nf3 Ng4 8.0-0 Rf8 9.b4 Bxf2+ 10.Rxf2 Nxf2 11.Kxf2, Viejoasquerosos - BigJase, redhotpawn, 2006 (1-0, 40)

2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7

4...Kf8 5.Bxg8 Rxg8 6.c3 Qf6 7.d3 d6 8.a4 Ke8 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.h4 h6 11.h5 Qe6 12.Bd2 Bd7 13.b4 Bxf2+ 14.Kxf2, SIRMO - AAlekhine, chessworld, 2007 (1-0, 47)

5.d3

5.c3 d6 ( 5...Nf6 6.d3 h6 7.0-0 g5 8.Qb3+ Ke8 9.Kh1 g4 10.Ng1 h5 11.Bg5 Rh7 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Qg8+ Qf8 14.Qxh7 g3 15.Qg6+ Qf7 16.Qxg3 d6 17.a4 Be6 18.b4 Nxb4 19.cxb4 Bxb4 Piratepaul - DREWBEAR 63, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 26)) 6.d3 Nf6 ( 6...Bg4 7.Ng5+ Kf8 8.Qxg4 Qe7 9.Ne6+ Ke8 10.Nxg7+ Kf7 11.Nf5 Qf6 12.Bg5 Qe6 13.a4 Nf6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.b4 Bb6 16.a5 Bxf2+ 17.Kxf2, Piratepaul - metalwarrior1969, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 36)) 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.Nbd2 h6 11.Bh4 Qd7 12.a4 h5 13.b4 Bxf2+ 14.Bxf2, Piratepaul - blackburne, chessworld, 2008 (0-1, 22);

5.0-0 Nf6 6.d3 Rf8 7.Nc3 Kg8 8.Ne2 d6 9.a4 Be6 10.c3 h6 11.b4 Bxf2+ 12.Rxf2 Ng4 13.Rf1 Black Puma - Sir Osis of the Liver, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0,35)

5...Nf6

[ 5...h6 6.c3 ( 6.0-0 g5 7.h3 Nf6 8.a4 d6 9.c3 g4 10.hxg4 Bxg4 11.b4 Bxf2+ 12.Rxf2 Black Puma - DREWBEAR 63, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 21)) 6...d6 7.0-0 ( 7.a4 Bg4 ( 7...Qf6 8.b4 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2, SIRMO - Ratscales, chessworld, 2008 (1-0, 36)) 8.b4 Bxf3 9.Qxf3+ Qf6 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6 11.bxc5 dxc5, braken - willitfw, chessworld, 2008 (1-0, 51)) 7...Nf6 8.a4 Na5 ( 8...Bg4 9.b4 Nxb4 ( 9...Bxb4 10.cxb4, Piratepaul - calchess10, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 44)) 10.cxb4 Bd4 11.Ra2 a6 ( 11...Nh5 Piratepaul - TWODOGS, JGTourney4, ChessWorld 2009 (1-0, 32)) 12.Nbd2 Nh5, Piratepaul - eddie43, chessworld, 2008 (0-1, 56)) 9.b4 Bb6 10.bxa5 Bxa5, braken - eddie43, chessworld, 2008 (1-0, 23)

6.Bg5

6.a4 Rf8 7.c3 d6 8.0-0 Kg8 9.Ng5 ( 9.b4 Nxb4 10.cxb4 Bxb4 11.Qb3+ Kh8 12.Qxb4 0-1 Black Puma - stampyshortlegs, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (0-1, 24)) 9...Bg4 10.Qe1 Nh5 11.h3 Bxh3 12.Nxh3 Ng3 13.b4 Nxb4 14.cxb4 Bd4 15.Ra2 Nxf1 16.Kxf1, SIRMO - manago, chessworld, 2008 (1-0, 18)

6...Rf8 7.0-0 Kg8 8.c3 Qe8 9.Kh1 d6 10.a4 Bg4 11.b4 Qh5 12.Bd2 d5 13.bxc5 dxe4 14.dxe4 Nxe4 Piratepaul - delboy138, chessworld, 2008 (1-0,17)

A Closer Look (Part IV)

Until improvements come along in the "modern" lines of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I'm going to stick with the classical 5.Nxe5+, even it it's a "fish-y" move -- at least it's a fish with attitude.


Here are some more games from the recently completed Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at ChessWorld (see "A Closer Look (Part I)", "A Closer Look (Part II)" and "A Closer Look (Part III)").

First, a couple of quickies:

braken - queen st, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Be7 8.dxe5 b6 9.Qf3+ Ke8 10.0-0 g5 11.Rd1 Bb7 12.e6 d6 13.Qf7

mediax - willitfw, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.c3 Nd3+ 8.Ke2 Nf4+ White resigned

Ouch.

Next, Black plays a 6th move TN/TL which seems to confuse White, who has an even game afterwards, but whose game goes quickly downhill nonetheless:

braken - delboy138, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Nd3+ 7.Qxd3 Be7 8.d5 d6 9.Bf4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Rf8 11.Nf3 Kg8 12.Ng5 Nh5 13.Nxh7 Nxf4 14.Qg3 Kxh7 15.h4 Nh5 16.Qh2 Bf6 17.0-0-0 Be5 18.g3 c5 19.f4 Nxf4 20.h5 Bg4 21.gxf4 Bxf4+ White resigned


Here, the tournament winner returns material in a manner that gives White a small but solid plus -- but then hangs on until the Rooks and pawns endgame, where he outplays his opponent.

mediax - Carlos Azcarate, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.d3 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Rf1 Ke8 13.Bh6 Nf6 14.Bg7 Ng4+ 15.Kg1 Rg8 16.Re1+ Kf7 17.Bd4 Rd8 18.Rf1+ Bf5 19.h3 Rxd4 20.hxg4 Rxg4 21.Nc3 c6 22.Rae1 b5 23.Ne4 Kg7 24.Nd6 Rg5 25.Nxf5+ gxf5 26.Re6 Rg6 27.Re5 Rf8 28.Re7+ Kh8 29.Rxa7 f4 30.Rf3 h5 31.Re7 Rfg8 32.Re2 Rg4 33.Kh2 R8g5 34.c4 Kg7 35.b3 Kf6 36.Re4 Rxg2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Rxg3 Rxg3+ 39.Kh2 Rxd3 40.Rxf4+ Kg5 41.Rf2 Kg4 42.Rg2+ Kf4 43.cxb5 cxb5 44.Kg1 b4 45.Rf2+ Rf3 46.Kg2 Rxf2+ 47.Kxf2 Ke4 48.Ke2 Kd4 49.Kd2 h4 50.Ke2 Kc3 White resigned

Next White, the main champion of the "classical Jerome Gambit" in this tournament, comes out of the opening with the advantage and builds on it -- until his unfortunate 23rd move gives the game away.

mediax - queen st, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3 Qg5 9.0-0 Nf6 10.d4 Qg6 11.dxc5 Nxe4 12.Qf3+ Bf5 13.cxd6 Nxd6 14.h3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Be6 16.Qc3 c6 17.Bf4 Ne4 18.Qf3 Rad8 19.Bc7+ Bf5 20.Bxd8 Rxd8 21.Qb3+ Kf8 22.f3 Ng3 23.Rf2 Rd1+ 24.Kh2 Rh1checkmate

Finally, a rock-em, sock'em battle.

mediax - braken, www.chessworld.net 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qe3 Nf6 9.d4 Re8 10.f3 Bf5 11.0-0 Nh5 12.Qb3+ Be6 13.d5 Bc8 14.Nc3 Kg8 15.h3 Nhf4 16.Bxf4 Nxf4 17.Rf2 Bxh3 18.gxh3 Nxh3+ 19.Kf1 Nxf2 20.Kxf2 Qh4+ 21.Ke3 Rf8 22.Ne2 Qh3 23.Ng1 Qh1 24.Qc4 Rxf3+ 25.Nxf3 Qxa1 26.Qxc7 Qxb2 27.Qxd6 Qb6+ 28.Qxb6 axb6 29.Ng5 Rxa2 30.c4 Ra5 31.Kd4 b5 32.cxb5 Rxb5 33.Ne6 Rb6 34.Kc5 Rxe6 35.dxe6 Kf8 36.Kd6 Ke8 37.e5 h5 White resigned


graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

A Closer Look (Part II)

The recently completed Ninja Knights T3 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) thematic tournament at ChessWorld – won by Carlos Azcarate – has many interesting and enjoyable games to play over (see "A Closer Look (Part I)").

A number of players followed up 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 in the "modern Jerome Gambit" fashion with 5.c3 (for a discussion of this move, see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XII").


Piratepaul - drewbear, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bxd4 9.Qb3+ d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.0-0 h6 12.Ne4 b6 13.Nbd2 Kh7 14.Nf3 Be6 15.Qc2 g6 16.Qxc6 Bf5 17.Ng3 Bd3 White lost on time;

delboy138 - Carlos Azcarate, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.Qb3+ Ke8 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.d3 d6 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Ng4 12.Qd5 Qxg5 13.Qxc6+ Bd7 14.Qxa8+ Ke7 15.Qxh8 Qxe3+ 16.Kh1 Nf2+ 17.Rxf2 Qe1+ White resigned

casker - delboy138, www.chessworld.ne 2008: 5...Nf6 6.0-0 Rf8 7.Qb3+ d5 8.d3 Kg8 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nbd2 Kh8 11.Ne4 Bd6 12.Qxd5 Bf5 13.Neg5 Bg6 14.Nh4 Be7 15.Nxg6+ hxg6 16.Nf7+ Rxf7 17.Qxf7 Qd6 18.Be3 Rf8 19.Qc4 Qf6 20.Rae1 b6 21.h4 Bd6 22.Qxc6 Qxh4 23.g3 Qg4 24.Qh1+ Kg8 25.f3 Qe6 26.b3 Qd5 27.f4 Qxd3 28.fxe5 Bxe5 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qh8+ Ke7 31.Bg5+ Kd7 32.Qd8+ Black resigned;


queen st - drewbear, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Qf6 6.0-0 h5 7.b4 Bb6 8.c4 Nxb4 9.Qb3 a5 10.c5+ Kg6 11.cxb6 cxb6 12.a3 Nc6 13.Bb2 d6 14.d3 Ra6 15.Bc1 Be6 16.Qd1 Bg4 17.h3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qxf3 19.gxf3 Nd4 20.Nd2 Kh7 21.Kh1 Ne7 22.Nc4 Nxf3 23.Nxd6 Ng6 24.Kg2 Ngh4+ 25.Kg3 b5 26.Nxb7 Rg6+ White resigned;


casker - braken, www.chessworld.net 2008: 5...Nf6 6.d3 Rf8 7.Qb3+ d5 8.Ng5+ Kg8 9.0-0 Kh8 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Nxe4 12.Nf7+ Rxf7 13.Rxf7 Be6 14.Rf1 Nc5 15.Qd1 Qg5 16.Qf3 Nxd3 17.g3 Nxb2 18.Na3 e4 19.Qf2 Nd3 20.Qe2 Nce5 21.Nb5 Bh3 22.Rf4 Nxf4 23.exf4 Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Qe7 25.Nd4 Nxh2 26.Kg1 Ng4 27.Qb5 e3 28.Qxd5 e2 29.Ne6 Re8 30.f5 Qg5 31.Qe4 Qe3+ 32.Qxe3 Nxe3 33.Kf2 Nc2 34.Rc1 e1Q+ 35.Rxe1 Nxe1 36.Kxe1 Bxf5 37.Kd1 Bxe6 White resigned

The majority of the games continued after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 with either the "modern" 5.d3 or 5.0-0, or the classical 5.Nxe5, each which requires a separate "closer look".

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

Carlos Azcarate Wins Tourney

As predicted (see "Carlos Azcarate Topping Ninja Knights T3") Carlos Azcarate took first place in the 13-player, double round robin Ninja Knights T3 (Jerome Gambit) tournament at ChessWorld scoring 79% – 19 wins out of 24 games.

He was followed closely by casker with 18.5 points, braken with 18 points and drewbear with 17.5 points. Next came Piratepaul with and delboy138 each with 16 points, although Piratepaul's score (2-0) in their individual encounters would seem to put him ahead on tie-breaks.

I am hoping to be able to bring you the best and most interesting games played in the tournament over the next few weeks.

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"