The Wisdom of The Database (Part 4)

We continue (see the earlier "Opening Report" parts 1, 2, and 3) to uses ChessBase's Opening Report function to take a look at the games in The Database. 

As a reminder, the Report gathers what lines are being played, and what lines are being used by the top players in the database. It gives a good "real life" view of the play of the Jerome Gambit, even if it does not always identify the objectively best move or line. 

Opening Report

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4


Alternative: 6...Bxd4

ubluk (1884) - billwall (2488)
Play The Jerome Gambit Quad, Chess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.Qb3 Qh4 10.Nc3 Ng4 11.g3 Qh5 12.Nd5 N8f6 13.f3 Nxh2 14.Bf4 Nxf3+ 15.Kf2 Nxe4+ 16.Kg2 Qf5 17.Raf1 Be6 18.Bxd6+ Ke8 19.Nxc7+ Kd7 20.Nxe6 Ned2 21.Nxg7 Nh4+ 22.Kh2 Nxf1+ 23.Kg1 Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Nd4+ 25.Nxf5 Nxb3 26.axb3 Rac8 27.Rxf1 Rxc2+ 28.Ke3 Rxb2 29.b4 Rg8 30.Kf4 b6 31.Rd1 Ke6 32.Re1+ Kd5 33.g4 Rg6 34.Bf8 1/2-1/2


savage13 (1791) - AAlekhine (1783)
thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6 8.0-0? Ne7 9.f4? N5c6 10.Qc4+ d5 11.exd5 Na5  12.Qxc7 Qd4+ 13.Kh1 Qxd5 14.Nc3 Qc4 15.Re1 Qxc7 0-1



jutabar (1653) - vladx (2192)
rated standard, FICS, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3 c5 10.Qd1 Qb6 11.Na4 Qc6 12.f4 Bg4 13.Qd2 Nc4 14.Qc3 Qxa4 15.b3 Nxe4 16.Qd3 Qc6 17.bxc4 Rhf8 18.Bb2 Kg8 19.Rfe1 Rxf4 20.Rxe4 Qxe4 21.Qc3 Rf7 22.h3 Be2 23.Qg3 Qxc2 24.Ba3 Re8 25.Qxd6 Qc3 26.Qxc5 Qxa1+ 27.Kh2 Bf3 28.gxf3 Re2+ 29.Kg3 Qe1+ 30.Kg4 Rf4+ 31.Kxf4 Qh4+ 32.Kf5 g6# White checkmated 0-1

ChessIcon (1761) - adrotrico (1924)
rated standard, FICS, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Bf4 Nc6 9.Qd5+ Be6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qf3 Qf6 12.h4 Ne5 13.Qg3 h6 14.Nc3 Ne7 15.0-0-0 Raf8 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Ke8 18.Bxe5 Qxe5 19.Qb3 Rxf2 20.Qa4+ Kd8 21.Qxa7 Qe2 22.Qa4 b5 23.Qb3 Qc4 24.Qxc4 bxc4 25.Rhg1 Rhf8 26.Rde1 R8f5 27.g4 Rxd5 28.Rg3 Rdd2 29.Rc3 Rde2 30.Rg1 d5 31.a4 Nc6 32.g5 h5 33.b4 Nxb4 34.a5 Na2+ 35.Kb2 Nxc3 36.Kxc3 Rxc2+ 37.Kb4 Kd7 38.Kc5 c6 39.Kb6 Rb2+ 40.Ka7 Rf7 41.a6 Kd6+ 42.Ka8 Re2 43.Rb1 Re8+ 44.Rb8 Rxb8+ 45.Kxb8 c3 46.a7 Rxa7 White resigns 0-1

Sullyman (1758) - Hisaw (1911)
rated standard, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.f4 Nc6 9.Qd3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Re8 11.0-0 Kg8 12.Be3 Qe7 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5+ Be6 15.Qb5 Bc8 16.Qd5+ Qe6 17.Qxe6+ Rxe6 18.f5 Rxe4 19.Bg5 Bd7 20.f6 Rf8 21.fxg7 Rxf1+ 22.Rxf1 Kxg7 23.Bf6+ Kg6 24.h4 h5 25.Bg5 Bf5 26.c3 Ne5 27.Bd8 c6 28.Bc7 d5 29.Bd8 Ng4 30.g3 Re2 0-1

vokrri (1612) - blackknight21 (1982)
GameKnot.com, 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.f4 c5 10.Qe3 Nc6 11.e5 Ng4 12.Qe2 Nd4 13.Qd3 Bf5 14.Qc4+ d5 15.Qxc5 Qh4 16.h3 Ne2+ 17.Kh1 Qxh3+ 18.gxh3 Be4+ 0-1


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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.f4

2 games, 2011-2012, Ø=2012
White scores excellently (100%).
Elo-Ø: 1261, 2 games. Performance = Elo 2109
played by: Petasluk, 1421, 1/1; Darthnik, 1101, 1/1

You should play: 6...Nc6

Petasluk (1421) - Jirayu (1412)
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.f4 Nc6 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.0-0 Qe7 12.d3 Bd7 13.Bd2 Rf8 14.Nc3 Kf7 15.Rae1 Kg8 16.e5 Nh5 17.e6 Be8 18.d4 Ng7 19.d5 Nd8 20.g4 c6 21.Qg3 b5 22.a3 a5 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 Qa7+ 25.Be3 Qe7 26.Bd4 Ra3 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.f5 gxf5 29.gxf5+ Kh8 30.Kh1 Rg8 31.Qe3 Qf6 32.Ne4 Rxe3 33.Nxf6 Rxe1 34.Rxe1 Rf8 35.e7 1-0

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d) 6.0-0

5 games, 2004-2011, 
White scores miserably (20%).
Elo-Ø: 1307, 4 games. Performance = Elo 1475
played by: Odizzel, 1508, 1/1; Chid, 1462, 0/1; Helal, 1166, 0/1; sTpny, 1094, 0/1

You should play: 6...Nf6

Odizzel (1508) - samshaunak (1740)
rated lightning, FICS, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 d6 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.f4 Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Neg4 11.h3 Nh6 12.g4 Nxe4 13.g5 Nf5 14.Re1 Re8 15.Nd2 Nxd2 16.Bxd2 Bd7 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 18.Bc3 Nd4 19.Bxd4 cxd4 20.Rd1 c5 21.c3 dxc3 22.Rxd7+ Re7 23.Rxe7+ Kxe7 24.bxc3 Kd6 25.Kf2 Kd5 26.Ke3 Kc4 27.Ke4 Kxc3 28.Kf5 c4 29.g6 Kb2 30.gxh7 c3 31.Kg6 c2 32.h8Q c1Q 33.Qxg7+ Qc3 34.Qxc3+ Kxc3 35.f5 b5 36.f6 a5 37.f7 b4 38.f8Q a4 39.Qc8+ Kb2 40.h4 b3 41.axb3 a3 42.Qh8+ Kxb3 43.Qe5 a2 44.Qe1 Kb2 45.h5 a1Q 46.Qxa1+ Kxa1 47.h6 1-0


AsceticKingK9 - Haroldlee123
ChessWorld JG6, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 9.Nc3 c5 10.Qd1 Qd7 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.f4 Nc4 14.Qe2 Nxb2 15.Rab1 Na4 16.Qc4+ d5 17.Qxa4 Qxa4 18.Nxa4 dxe4 19.Nxc5 e3 20.Nxb7 Ke7 21.Na5 Kf7 22.Rfe1 Re8 23.Nc4 Kg6 24.Rxe3 Rd8 25.Rg3+ Kf7 26.Ne3 Ba6 27.Nf5 h5 28.Re1 Kf8 29.Rg6 Rd2 30.Rxf6+ Kg8 31.Re7 Rd1+ 32.Kf2 Bc4 Black won on time 0-1

Whose Pressure?

The Advice: When your opponent is in time trouble, play strong moves, not fast moves.

The Actuality: It is so tempting to blitz along with the opponent. Of course, that eliminates that "strong moves" stuff.




perrypawnpusher - jomme
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5

The Italian Four Knights Game, by way of the Petroff.

5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6

I've had this position before, scoring 4 wins and a draw. Add 0-0 and ...h6 and in that position I have 7 wins, 4 losses and a draw.

9.0-0 c5

This is the kind of move that just doesn't feel right, but I couldn't find anything against it and I couldn't decide where the best square to retreat my Queen to was. Luckily, my opponent was using up his time at a fast clip, and in a few moves he was playing mostly on the increment.

10.Qe3

Or 10.Qd1 Qb6 11.Na4 Qc6 12.f4 Bg4 13.Qd2 Nc4 14.Qc3 Qxa4 15.b3 Nxe4 16.Qd3 Qc6 17.bxc4 Rhf8 18.Bb2 Kg8 19.Rfe1 Rxf4 20.Rxe4 Qxe4 21.Qc3 Rf7 22.h3 Be2 23.Qg3 Qxc2 24.Ba3 Re8 25.Qxd6 Qc3 26.Qxc5 Qxa1+ 27.Kh2 Bf3 28.gxf3 Re2+ 29.Kg3 Qe1+ 30.Kg4 Rf4+ 31.Kxf4 Qh4+ 32.Kf5 g6 checkmate, jutabar - vladx, FICS, 2006.

10...Re8

This seems better than 10...a5, in a game that I should have known better: 11.f4 Nc4 12.Qe2 Nb6 13.e5 Re8 14.Qf3 Nc4 15.exf6 Ne5 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.fxg7+ Kxg7 18.Qf7+ Kh8 19.Qh5 Rg8 20.Qxe5+ Rg7 21.Bh6 Ra6 22.Bxg7+ Kg8 23.Nd5 Rd6 24.Ne7+ Black forfeited on time, jfhumphrey - Fenkoff, FICS, 2010.

11.f4

After the game Rybka mentioned 11.f3, which is the kind of recommendation it makes when it can not see any chance for advantage and wants White to just brace himself and risk nothing.

11...Nc4

Certainly 11...Nc6 was more solid.

12.Qd3 Nb6 13.b3

This is a simple idea (remember, I was foolishly speeding up my moves, too) but it was probably time to break with 13.e5, now or on the next move.

13...a5 14.Bb2 Kg8 15.Rad1 d5

16.exd5 Bd7 17.h3 a4 18.Rfe1 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Qc7

I was getting annoyed: he kept finding moves. Why wouldn't that flag fall??

20.Re5 Re8 21.Qe4

His time pressure, my blunder. Unbelieveable.

21...Rxe5

The sad thing is that even though my opponent missed taking my Queen, this move is strong enough to win.

22.Qxe5 Qxe5 23.fxe5 Nfxd5 24.Nxd5 Nxd5

With Black's clock headed back into the healthy range, White is lost, as he is a piece down in an uncomplicated ending (he cannot hold his "compensation", the pawn at e5).

I hung on for almost 30 more moves, but it was wasted effort, as my opponent was even less likely to blunder when he had time to think.

25.c4 Ne3 26.Bc1 Nc2 27.Kf2 Kf7 28.Ke2 Ke6 29.Bf4 Nd4+ 30.Kd3 axb3 31.axb3 Nc6 32.Ke4 Nb4 33.h4 Bc6+ 34.Ke3 Nc2+ 35.Kf2 Nd4 36.g3 Nxb3 37.Ke3 Nd4 38.Kd3 b5 39.cxb5 Bxb5+ 40.Kc3 Ne2+ 41.Kd2 Nxf4 42.gxf4 Kf5 43.Ke3 c4 44.Kd4 Kxf4 45.e6 Kf5 46.e7 Kg4 47.e8Q Bxe8 48.Kxc4 Kxh4 49.Kd3 Kg3 50.Ke2 Kg2 51.Ke3 h5 52.Kf4 h4 White resigns 0-1