Showing posts with label freesok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freesok. Show all posts

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Faster Than The Speed of Thought

Those who play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) have become comfortable, out of necessity, with a certain level of chaos all over the chess board.

The same is true for those who play Jerome-like (or Jerome-ized) openings – and doubly so for those who play them at blitz or lightning speed.

I was working through some fast games by DragonTail at FICS (Free Internet Chess Server), making some quick assessments and decided that the particular variation that I was looking at was too wild for me. Add the fact that the players were not at their tip-top best (no offense intended), and the whole series seems to have taken place faster than the speed of thought... 

DragonTail - chingching 

blitz, FICS, 2009 

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4

Now, after 4...exd4 we will have a variation of the Scotch Gambit; and after 4...Bxd4 we will have George Laven's Miami Variation, as presented in Acers and Laven's The Italian Gambit (2004). 

4...Bxd4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Kg6 -+

Yes, after this move Black has a significant advantage, as he would after 6...Ke8, 6...Kf8 or 6...Ke7.

On the other hand, after the careless 6...Kf6, White would have the advantage: 7.Qf3+ Ke7 (7...Kg6 8.Qf5+ Kh5 9.Ne6+ g5 10.Bxg5 Bxf2+ 11.Kxf2 dxe6 12.g4#) 8.Qf7+ Kd6 9.Na3 Nf6 10.c3 Qg8 11.cxd4 Nxd4 12.Be3 h6 13.Nc4+ Kc6 14.Nxe5+ Kb5 15.Bxd4 hxg5 16.Qg6 Qh7± 

7.Qg4 Nf6?

A stronger move is 7...Nh6 -+ , but it has to be followed up properly: 8.Qg3 Bxf2+? 9.Kxf2 ± Rf8+ +- 10.Nf7+? -+ Kxf7 DragonTail - Patrick, FICS 2008 (0-1, 21); Not so good is 7...d5 8.Qg3 (but 8.Ne6+ +-) 8...Bxf2+ (8...Qf6) 9.Kxf2 Qf6+ ± 10.Kg1 = Kh5? +- 11.Nd2? -+ Qxg5 DragonTail - freesok, FICS 2007 (0-1, 23); 7...Qf6 -+ is the computer's choice;
Not 7...d6? giving White the advantage, but wait: 8.Qg3? (8.Ne6+ Kf7 9.Nxd8+ Nxd8 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qf3+ +-) 8...Kf6? 9.Nf3? (9.Qf3+ Kg6 10.Qf7+ Kh6 11.Ne6+ g5 12.h4 Bc3+ 13.Kf1 Bxe6 14.hxg5#) 9...Kf7 10.Ng5+ Ke7 11.Nf3 Be6? 12.Nxd4? (12.Qxg7+ Ke8 13.Qxh8 +-) 12...Nxd4 DragonTail - chingching, FICS 2009 (0-1,43) 

8.Qg3?
There was the opportunity for 8.Qf5+ Kh5 9.Nf3+ g5 10.Qxg5 checkmate 

8...Nh5 9.Qg4 d5? Instead, 9...Nf6 equalizes. 

10.Ne6+ Kf6 11.Bg5+ Black resigned