The following game is another lightning affair from shugart at FICS. Both sides play relatively calmly - after White starts with the Jerome Gambit, of course - and then at one point Black slips. Punishment strikes light a lightning bolt.
shugart - kisa
1 2 lightning, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+
Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.O-O Qe7
11.d3 Kf7 12.f4 Re8 13.Nc3 c6 14.b3
Kg8
15.Ba3 c5 16.Rae1 b6 17.Qg3 Bb7 18.Bb2
18...Nh5 19.Qg4 Qh4 20.Qf3
Continuing with the theme of trapped knights that we have seen in recent posts (see "Jerome Gambit: Quirky" and "Jerome Gambit: Beware the Calm After the Storm"), White had 20.Qxh4 Nxh4 21.f5 d5 22.g3 Nf6
23.gxh4 dxe4 24.dxe4 Nxe4 with an equal game.
20...Nf6
21.g3 Qh5 22.Qg2 Qg4 23.Nd1 h5 24.Ne3 Qd7
25.f5 Ne5 26.Qe2 g6
Oops.
27.fxg6 Nxg6 28.Rxf6 Black resigned
I recently received a couple of games from chessfriend shugart, who plays at the online site FICS. The time control for each game is 1 minute, with a 2 second increment per move.
That kind of speed melts my brain, so the whole field of lightning - or bullet - chess always amazes me. Especially when it involves the Jerome Gambit.
Years ago I reviewed Bullet Chess One Minute to Mate by Hikaru Nakamura and Bruce Harper. A quote from that book is worth sharing
It is important to realize that bullet chess is not really about "truth," to the extent that some chess players use the term to refer to the objectively best moves, but rather whatever works. Bullet chess won't often help you in your search for "chess truth," although it will certainly help you learn how to play chess more quickly! But bullet chess will teach you a lot about chess psychology, as there is always a reason that any particular move is played it may not be a good reason, and it may not have much to do with the actual position, but there is always a reason. In this book, we explore the reasons why players do what they do when they are short of time, especially when it comes to making mistakes.
Clearly, the largely unknown and often unappreciated Jerome Gambit is going to cause the defender many "huh?" moments - deadly, in and of itself, when time is of the essence.
The final position brings a smile to the face.
shugart - kisa
1 2 lightning, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4
Qf6
Okay, commenting on moves in this game would be something like watching someone juggling chainsaws, and saying "That one over there doesn't look so sharp". But, I do have to point out that White's Queen is unprotected and at risk of being lost after ...Nf3+.
8.O-O Ne7 9.f4 N5c6 10.Qc4+ Qe6 11.Qe2 Rf8 12.Nc3 Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand. White has to give him something to worry about.
13.Be3 a6
A good sign. I remember that whenever my Chess Challenger 7 computer felt its position was fine, or it could not come up with a move that improved its position, it would begin to move its Rook pawns. That often allowed me to slowly improve my own position without disruption.
14.Rae1 d6 15.f5 Qe5 16.Bf4 Qc5+ 17.Be3 Qe5
Will there be a draw?
18.Kh1
White does not repeat the position. We can guess who is ahead on time.
18...Bd7 19.Bf4 Qa5 20.Bg5 Nd4
21.Qc4+
Tactics prevail.
21...Kh8 22.Qxd4 Nc6 23.Qc4 Rae8 24.f6 g6 25.f7 Re5 26.Bf6 checkmate
Very nice!
I thought I would start 2017 with a Jerome Gambit game that got me chuckling. White is played by shugart, who has over 120 games in The Database. The time control is "lightning", and I am tempted to say that the players should know better than to try the Jerome at that speed - but then I was reminded of a scene in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" where the two title characters are trapped at the edge of a cliff, and their only "escape" is to leap off, into the water below...
Butch Cassidy: Alright. I'll jump first.
Sundance Kid: No.
Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
Sundance Kid: Oh...
shugart - kisa
lightning, FICS, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Play the Jerome Gambit?
The time clock will probably kill you, anyhow.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8
7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.Nc3 c6 10.d3 h6 11.Be3 Bb4
We are getting to the part of the game where the clock dictates "Move first. Think later."
12.O-O Ba5 13.f4 d5 14.e5
For example, White has a threat - but Black has an equal one. Given a few more ticks of the clock, White would have found the safer 14.Bc5+ Kg8 15.e5
14...Bxc3
Fixing things for White, by missing the fork 14...d4. This move sugggests that time is now on White's side, and as long as he stays ahead on the clock he will win, regardless of what is happening on the board.
15.bxc3 Ne8 16.f5 Rg8
17.Bc5+ Kf7 18.e6+
It is a bit impertinent to suggest the alternative 18.Qg6#, as White is not going to win via checkmate. He doesn't have to.
18...Kf6 19.Bd4+
Likewise, 19.Qg6+ Ke5 20.Rae1# is irrelevant.
19...Ke7 20.Bc5+
It is the height of rudness to suggest, instead, that 20.Qg6 or 20.f6+ would have led to the win of Black's Rook. White has it all under control.
Black forfeited on time
That's okay. Time ran out on 2016, too. Happy New Year!
I recently received 3 interesting and original games from "shugart" who plays online at FICS. In return, I was able to send him the latest version of The Database, which has been updated with FICS games through February 2016.
The following game features a line that shugart has shown a liking for.
shugart - javannanda
FICS, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+
"The nudge", a sign that the player may be familiar with the games and analysis of this blog.
7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+
Varying from the mundane 9.Qe3. This is a line that shugart has a lot of experience with.
9...Qd7
A couple of other lines that show up in shugart's play:
9...c6 10.Qe2 (10.Qb3 Qe7 11.d3 Be6 [11...b5 12.O-O a5 13.a4 Be6 14.Qc3 Rc8 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qxa5 Nf6 17.Nc3 Bd7 18.Bg5 h6 19.Nd5 Qf7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Nc7+ Kf8 22.Nd5 Kg7 23.Qd2 Bc6 24.Ne3 Ne5 25.Nf5+ Kh7 26.Qxh6+ Kg8 27.Qe3 Rd8 28.f4 Ng4 29.Qg3 Kf8 Black resigned, shugart - piqueres, FICS, 2013] 12.Qa3 Nf6 13.O-O Rf8 14.f4 Bd7 15.Nc3 h6 16.Bd2 Kd8 17.Rad1 Kc7 18.Qa5+ b6 19.Qa6 Bc8 20.Qa3 Bb7 21.Rde1 Nd7 22.d4 d5 23.exd5 Qxa3 24.bxa3 cxd5 25.Nb5+ Kc6 26.a4 a6 27.Re6 checkmate, shugart - CompareAlfio, FICS, 2014) 10...Nf6 (10...Nf4 11.Qf3 Qf6 12.d3 g5 13.O-O Nh6 14.g3 Bg4 15.Qe3 Nh3+ 16.Kg2 Rf8 17.f4 gxf4 18.gxf4 Qh4 19.f5 Bh5 20.Qxh6 Rg8+ 21.Kh1 Nf2+ 22.Rxf2 Qxf2 23.Qe6+ Kd8 24.Qxg8+ Kc7 25.Qxh7+ Kb6 26.Be3+ Black forfeited on time, shugart - qvenky, FICS, 2013) 11.O-O Bg4 (11...Qe7 12.d3 Kf7 13.Nc3 Rf8 14.f4 Kg8 15.Be3 a6 16.h3 b5 17.Rae1 Qc7 18.Qd2 Bd7 19.a3 Rae8 20.Kh2 h6 21.Kg1 Nh4 22.Qf2 Ng6 23.Qg3 Kh7 24.f5 Ne5 25.d4 Nc4 26.Qg6+ Kh8 27.Bc1 Re7 28.b3 Be8 29.Qg3 Nb6 30.Bf4 Nh5 31.Qg4 Nxf4 32.Qxf4 Nd7 33.f6 Rxf6 34.Qg3 Ref7 35.Rxf6 Nxf6 36.e5 dxe5 37.dxe5 Nd5 38.Nxd5 cxd5 39.Qd3 Qc5+ 40.Kh1 d4 41.e6 Re7 42.Qe4 Bf7 43.Rf1 Bxe6 44.Rf8+ Bg8 45.Qa8 Qd5 46.Qxd5 Black resigned, shugart - kisa, FICS, 2015; or 11...Kf7 12.d4 Re8 13.Nc3 b6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Be3 a5 16.f3 Ba6 17.Qf2 Bxf1 18.Rxf1 d5 19.e5 Nh5 20.f4 Qh4 21.g3 Qh3 22.f5 Nf8 23.Qf3 Kg8 24.Qe2 Nxg3 25.hxg3 Qxg3+ 26.Kh1 Nh7 27.Rg1 Qh3+ 28.Qh2 Black forfeited on time, shugart - tiotonho, FICS, 2013) 12.f3 Be6 (12...Qb6+ 13.Kh1 Bd7 14.Nc3 Kf7 15.Qc4+ Be6 16.Qe2 Rhe8 17.d3 Kg8 18.Na4 Qc7 19.Bf4 Nxf4 White resigned, shugart - ronaldomponte, FICS, 2015) 13.d4 Kf7 14.f4 Bg4 15.Qe3 Re8 16.e5 Nd5 17.Qb3 Kg8 18.Nc3 Nge7 19.h3 Be6 20.Qxb7 Nxc3 21.bxc3 dxe5 22.fxe5 Bd5 23.Qa6 Ng6 24.Ba3 Qg5 25.Rf2 Rf8 26.Bxf8 Rxf8 27.Rxf8+ Nxf8 28.Qe2 Ne6 29.Rf1 Nf4 30.Qf2 Bxg2 31.Qxf4 Qxf4 32.Rxf4 Bd5 33.a3 h6 34.Kf2 g5 35.Rf6 Kg7 36.Ke3 a6 37.Kd3 h5 38.c4 Bg2 39.Rf5 Kg6 40.Rf6+ Kg7 41.h4 g4 42.Ke3 Bf3 43.Rxf3 gxf3 44.Kxf3 Kg6 45.Kf4 a5 46.a4 Black resigned, shugart - kisa, FICS, 2015, and
9...Bd7 10.Qe2 Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 (11...h5 12.f4 h4 13.h3 Bc6 14.Nc3 Qe7 15.d3 Kd7 16.Bd2 Rae8 17.Rae1 Kc8 18.Qf2 Qd7 19.Qxa7 Qd8 20.Qa8+ Kd7 21.Qa5 Ne7 22.d4 b6 23.Qa3 Nh5 24.d5 Bb7 25.Qa7 Ba8 26.e5 Nxd5 27.Nxd5 Bxd5 28.Qa4+ Bc6 29.e6+ Rxe6 30.Qb3 Rxe1 31.Rxe1 Qf6 32.Bc3 Qxf4 33.Qe6+ Kd8 34.Rf1 Qg3 35.Rf2 Nf4 36.Qf5 Nxg2 White resigned, shugart - mozartain, FICS, 2013) 12.f4 Re8 13.d3 (13.Nc3 Kf8 14.d4 a6 15.e5 Bb5 16.Nxb5 axb5 17.Qxb5 dxe5 18.fxe5 Qxd4+ 19.Kh1 c6 20.Qxb7 Nxe5 21.Bg5 Ned7 22.Rad1 Qa7 23.Qxd7 Qxa2 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.Rxf6+ Kg8 26.Qf7+ Qxf7 27.Rxf7 Kxf7 White resigned, shugart - fifthavenue, FICS, 2013) 13...Kg8 14.Nc3 d5 15.e5 Bg4 16.Qe1 Nh5 17.h3 Bd7 18.g4 Nhxf4 19.Bxf4 Nxf4 20.Rxf4 Qh4 21.Qxh4 Black resigned, shugart - pattyvanny, FICS, 2013.
10.Qb3
He has also played 10.Qe2 Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 12.f4 Re8 13.Nc3 Qg4 14.Qc4+ Kf8 15.d3 Be6 16.Qxc7 Rac8 17.Qxb7 Kg8 18.f5 Nh4 19.e5 19...Bd5 20.Nxd5 Qxg2 checkmate, shugart - glemzy, FICS, 2013.
10...Qe6 11.Qe3 Nf6 12.Nc3 Kf7 13.O-O Re8
The game has reached the same position reached in shugart - transitman, lightning, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 29), and others, although in the earlier game Black's Queen was at e8.
14.f4 Qc4 15.d3 Qc5 16.d4 Qh5 17.e5 dxe5 18.fxe5 Kg8
White now puts a bit too much faith in his "Jerome pawns" with his next move - although things turn out fine in the end.
19.exf6 Rxe3 20.f7+ Kf8 21.Bxe3 c6 22.d5 Bg4
Not the best defense.
23.Bc5+ Ne7 24.Rae1 cxd5 25.Bxe7 checkmate
