Yesterday's game featured White reaching a fine Jerome Gambit position out of the opening, only to miss all of the attacking splendor that he had available. Sad.
In today's game, Black understimates the danger that he faces and quickly goes from two pieces up to two pawns down. Instead of my usual, conservative, "consolidate at all costs" approach, I decided to attack violently.
And it would have worked, too, if I hadn't hung my Queen.
Again: don't blame the Jerome Gambit for this "0-1".
perrypawnpusher - chingching
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6
A rare, usually careless (see the "Halo Effect" theme) response that takes Black quickly from a won game to nearly lost one. It is not an "instant victory", but it should be close.
7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qd5+ Ke8 10.Qxc5 d6 11.Qe3 Nf6
The Queen checks were covered in the notes to my recent games against badhorsey (1-0, 30) and navarrra (1-0, 26). Her Majesty has now returned home safely, two pawns to the better.
12.Nc3 Kf7 13.0-0 Re8 14.d3 c6 15.f4 Ng4
Completing castling-by-hand with 15...Kg8 or striking the center with 15...d5 were better ideas than the off-task, but irresistible, strike at the White Queen.
16.Qg3 Kg8 17.Bd2 d5 18.Rae1 Qb6+
This move caught me by surprise. It is actually a time-waster: compare White's Bishop and Rooks to Black's Bishop and Rooks and ask should Black be taking his Queen away from the action to win a pawn or two?
The similarity to the wandering enemy Queens in my games against irak (1-0, 33) and jgknight (1/2-1/2, 49) encouraged me.
19.Kh1 Qxb2 20.f5 Qxc2
21.Qxg4
Unnecessarily acrificing the Bishop at d2 because I believed that I had a "killer" followup move.
After the game, Houdini suggested the prudent 21.Nb1, instead, as White actually has time to protect his Queenside minor pieces because the Black Knight on g4 isn't going anywhere: after 21...Nf6 White would play 22.e5 and Black's "best" would be to hang his horsie out to dry again with 22...Nh5 23.Qf3.
Houdini's suggestion of 21.Nb1 Rf8 22.Rc1 allows Black to complete his Queenside meal with 22...Qxa2, but after 23.Qxg4 White will go a piece up and soon position his Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal and advance his "Jerome pawns" with a winning attack on the King.
21...Qxd2
Now, the rather pathetic 22.Ne2 would preserve whatever was left of White's initiative, giving him a small edge at the very best, due to Black's delayed development.
22.f6
Well, at least I could say that the odds were with me: Black has 41 possible responses, and 40 of them lose, almost all of them very quickly.
22...Bxg4
Of course, that one remaining move wins my Queen...
I played on a bit longer and recovered some material, but there was no way that I was going to survive being down a Rook for a Queen.
23.f7+ Kf8 24.fxe8Q+ Kxe8 25.exd5+ Kd7 26.dxc6+ Kxc6 27.Ne4 Qxd3 28.Rc1+ Kb6 29.Rb1+ Ka5 30.Nf2 Qc4 31.Rfc1 Qd4 32.Nxg4 Qxg4 33.Rc3 b5 34.Ra3+ Kb6 35.Rab3 a6 36.Rd3 Rc8 White resigned
My opponent finished up nicely and deserved his comeback win.
Again, don't blame my loss on the Jerome Gambit!
Every once-in-a-while I get the sense that I am learning from my mistakes and using in later games what I learned from earlier games. Upon reflection, this gives me a small sense of accomplishment.
perrypawnpusher - smarlny
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8
Black is content with the material advantage that he has, and backs his King away from danger. Let White do what he will!
I am always tempted now to play 6.Qh5, the Banks Variation (after Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks) but I am still uncertain how to best meet 6...Qe7.
6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.0-0 Ne7
The alternative, 7...Nf6, is as old as Jerome,A - Brownson,O, Iowa, 1875 (½-½, 29).
7...Bd6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18) and 7...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 74).
8.d3
After the game Rybka 3 pointed out that here White can already "punish" his opponent for his inaccurate 7th move by playing for a draw with 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.Qf3+ Kg8 11.Qb3+, etc.
As if.
8...Ng6 9.Be3 Bd6
Not wanting to open the f-file for White's Rook with 9...Bxe3, Black positions the Bishop on the attacking diagonal b8-h7.
The piece continues to shuffle from square to square, however, and I wonder if, upon reflection, my opponent would have preferred to simply have exchanged it.
10.f4 Qh4 11.Nd2 Kf7
To castle-by-hand, but, somehow, this never happens.
12.Nf3 Qe7 13.e5 Bc5 14.d4 Bb6
15.Qd3
Preparing f4-f5, but the move was playable immediately, thanks to a tactical trick that would not have been too hard to find, if I had looked for it: 15.f5 Bxf5 16.Ng5+ followed by 17.Rxf5.
15...h6
Obviously my opponent saw the Knight check from g5. This gives the "Jerome pawns" time to rumble, however.
16.f5 Nf8
This game was beginning to feel like my game against irak: comparing White's Rooks (linked) and Black's Rooks (on their home squares, two pieces between them), there has to be an attack coming.
17.f6 gxf6 18.exf6 Qe6
Taking the pawn on f6 would have been deadly, but the danger remains.
19.Rae1 Qd5 20.Ne5+ Ke8 21.c4 Qa5
White now has a number of ways to win. The flashiest would be to sacrifice two pieces with 22.f7+ Kd8 23.Bg5+ hxg5 24.Nxc6+ bxc6 25.Qe3 and mate is inescapable.
I found something simpler.
22.Bd2 Qxa2 23.Ng6+
I thought that the loss of a Rook would prompt my opponent to resign, so I looked no further, missing all of the fun that could happen after 23.f7+.
23...Kd8 24.Nxh8 Qxb2 25.Nf7+ Black resigned
My relationship with my chess partner, Rybka 3, is a mixed one: it helps me understand my games after they are over; in turn, I have to put up with its "insults" (negative evaluations) about my play.
I trust Rybka's evaluations, but sometimes they are based upon the dynamic play that is possible in a position – often including moves played at the master level – as compensation for sacrificed material.
In games like the following, my opponent could be content with his extra material throughout the game. I struggled, successfully, as it turned out, to find all of the compensation that Rybka, afterward, assured me was there.
perrypawnpusher - irak
blitz 6 10, FICS, 2011
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+ Kf8
Stronger, but more complicated with more risk, is 7...Ke6. The text move keeps Black's advantage.
8.Qxe5 Bd6
I have faced this move, without ...h6 and 0-0, against LeiCar and dogofthesouth.
9.Qc3
Possibly a bit stronger than 9.Qd4 in perrypawnpusher - LethHansen, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26).
9...Qf6
Black would not mind exchanging some pieces, to remove any danger to his King. White should be able to take advantage of this mind set and get an equal game.
10.d4 Bf4 11.Nd2
After the game Rybka 3 preferred 11.e5.
11...c6
AlonzoJerome - MarleysGhost, blitz, ICC, 2011, also continued with an overt "exchange" theme: 11...Bxd2 12.Bxd2 Qc6 13.Qf3+ Qf6 14.Qe3 d6 (1-0, 17)
12.Nf3 Bxc1 13.Raxc1 Ne7
Black is rightly pleased with his solid game, although a skeptic would point out that he moved his dark-squared Bishop four times in exchanging it for White's un-moved counterpart. These missing tempi can be seen in comparing the two home ranks: White's Rooks are linked, while it will take Black three moves to do so.
The question, as always, is: can White make something of this, or will Black's extra piece prevail in the end?
14.e5 Qe6 15.Qd3 Qxa2
I knew that Black could not afford this further loss of time, even with his solid position. This is the kind of pawn-grabbing that Chess Challenger 7 used to do against me all the time, many, many years ago.
How to punish it??
16.b3 Qa6 17.Qe4
Understandable, although more consistent (i.e. "Jerome pawns") was 17.c4. Nothing is going to happen quickly, but White's clamp-down on Black's position can grow tighter and tighter.
17...Ke8
Far-sighted: he plans to make f5 a strong point for defense. It will cost him more tempi to get his Queen back into play, but if he does not create further weaknesses in his position it will remain White's responsibility to show compensation for his sacrifices.
18.Nh4 Qb5 19.f4 Qd5 20.Qe3 Rf8
As planned, but Black gets his moves out of order.
After 20...g6 White can still go for the breakthrough with 21.f5 but after 21...Nxf5 22.Nxf5 gxf5 23.Rxf5 c5 Black is still holding his own, according to Rybka 3. White would still have to play accurately and actively to show his compensation.
21.f5 d6
Understandable: Black hits White's center, and prepares to finally develop his Queen Bishop and Queen Rook. Unfortunately, it opens things up for White, who can now better get at his King.
As painful as it might have felt, Black needed to continue to set development aside and play something like 21...c5.
After the game Rybka 3 suggested 22.Rcd1 cxd4 23.Rxd4 Qc5 24.f6 Nd5 25.Qf2 gxf6 26.Nf5 Kd8 27.Nd6 b6 28.Ne4 with an edge for White. Again, that is a rather sophisticated evaluation: White's compensation is largely in dynamic play, and if he lags, he loses.
22.f6
Good, and thematic, but second best: how could I have overlooked the "Jerome pawn"-themed 22.c4 (followed by 23.exd6)?
22...gxf6 23.exf6
23...Qf7
After some excellent cold-blooded defense, Black slips again, and his game rolls downhill...
Rybka 3 reduces the game to a Rook and pawn endgame that is better for White with 23...Rf7 24.Rce1 Qg5 25.Qxg5 hxg5 26.Ng6 Bg4 27.Rxe7+ Rxe7 28.fxe7 Kd7 29.Rf7 Rc8 30.c4 a5 31.Kf2 Bh5 32.Nf8+ Ke8 33.Rg7 Bf7 34.Nh7 Kxe7 35.Nxg5 Kf6 36.Rxf7+ Kxg5 37.Rxb7 Kf4 38.Re7 Rb8.
24.fxe7 Qxe7 25.Qxh6
Again, this is enough, but the puckish 25.Rxf8+ was better, as 25...Kxf8 would have been followed by the Knight fork 26.Ng6+, winning the Black Queen.
25...Rxf1+ 26.Rxf1 Be6 27.Re1 Kd7 28.c4 Re8
Finally, the pieces are developed. If Black could move his Queen out of the pin along the e-file, he could envision further resistance, being only a pawn down, with a Bishop against a Knight.
29.d5 Qf8 30.dxe6+ Ke7 31.Ng6+ Kf6 32.Nxf8+ Ke7 33.Qg7+
Here Black's time ran out. His clock was still running over 2 1/2 minutes later, so I courtesy adjourned the game. He resigned the next day.
