Footnotes to More Exploring

Here are some additions to the previous post, which focused upon a line in the  Abrahams Jerome Gambit, the game ndizvoh - stevebrown, blitz, FICS, 2015.


After 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 
6.Ke2

the move 6...Nf6 was suggested as an alternative to 6...Qf6,

He also had the move 6...Nf6, which does the same thing, as 7.Kxf2 would then be met with 7...Ng4+, winning White's Queen.

Examples from The Database: 

Rattymouse  - bobbybo
blitz, FICS, 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ White resigned

lksharma - oeyvind
blitz, FICS, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke1 Nxe5 9.d3 Rf8 10.Nh3 Kg8 11.Bg5 Qe8 12.Nd2 d5 13.Ke2 Bxh3 14.gxh3 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nc4 16.Raf1 Rxf1 17.Rxf1 Nc6 18.Kd1 Nxb2+ 19.Kc1 Qe5 20.Nf6+ Kg7 21.Nd7 Qd6 22.Bf6+ Kh6 23.Bxb2 Qxd7 24.Bc3 Re8 25.Bd2+ g5 26.h4 Kh5 27.Bxg5 Re2 28.Bf6 Qg4 29.Kb2 Qb4+ 30.Kc1 Qa3+ 31.Kd1 Rxh2 32.Rf5+ Kg6 33.Rf4 Rg2 34.Bb2 Rg1+ 35.Ke2 Qe7+ White forfeited on time

xreal - jgknight
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke2 Nxe5 9.Nf3 Nxf3 10.gxf3 d5 11.d3 dxe4 12.fxe4 Bg4+ 13.Kd2 Qg5+ 14.Kc3 Qe5+ 15.Kb3 Be6+ 16.c4 Nc6 17.Rf1+ Ke8 18.Bf4 Nd4+ 19.Kc3 Ne2+ 20.Kd2 Nxf4 21.Nc3 Rf8 22.Ke3 Ng2+ 23.Kd2 Rxf1 24.Rxf1 Qg5+ 25.Kc2 Ne3+ 26.Kb3 Nxf1 White resigned

marciprevi - chesssuperstar
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke2 Nxe5 9.d4 Nc4 10.b3 d5 11.bxc4 Bg4+ 12.Ke3 Qg5+ 13.Kd3 dxc4+ 14.Kxc4 Qxc1 15.Kc3 Bd1 16.Ne2 Qxc2+ 17.Kb4 a6 18.Rf1+ Kg7 19.Na3 Nc6 checkmate

A little further along in the game's notes, I recommended that

White probably should have settled for 7.Qxf6+ Nxf6 8.Kxf2 Nxe4+ and a roughly equal game.

However, a quick look at The Database showed that in 23 games my suggestion scored 72% for Black!?

A consultation with Houdini 3 and Stockfish 6 gave me a clue as to what was going on. While both computer programs agreed that the responses 9.Ke1 and 9.Kf1 led to a balanced game, the move 9.Ke2 (3 games) led to an edge for Black, and the move 9.Ke3 (15 games) led to  an advantage for Black. (Both moves are well met by 9...Re8.)

It can be helpful to know what has been played previously, if only to know what moves to avoid!

Finally, it can be noted that after the game continuation, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Qf6 7.Qd5+ Kg7

The Database contains 7 games with this position: 6 losses for White (one of them ndizvoh - stevebrown, blitz, FICS, 2015) and 1 draw.

Another Log on the Fire

Declining any kind of Jerome Gambit can only be justified for "psychological" reasons, as the defender is swapping at least an even game - and often a better game - for a worse one. Yet, as the new batch of games added to The Database shows, it still happens.

lksharma - Zaprax
blitz, FICS, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7

There is no need to decline the Bishop, as Black gets a roughly even game with the capture.

5.Nxe5 d6 

White has scored 61% from this position, in 130 games in The Database. Given that the first player is two pawns up, that relatively low success rate is probably a reflection of play at the club (and blitz) level.

6.Qh5

This looks aggressive ("one more log on the fire") but has not always worked for White - see crokit - sahistonline, blitz, FICS, 2011 for one other time out of ten games that it did - and the more prosaic 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 would not hand over the advantage to the second player as the text does.

6...dxe5

This move is good for Black, but challenging the White Queen with 6...Nf6 was even stronger. 

7.Qg5+ Kd7 

Again, 7...Nf6 was the move. It looks as if Black were responding to the possibility of 7...Kxf7 8.Qxd8, giving up his Queen; but, had he chosen that move order, after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kf1 Bd6 10.Nc3 Nxa1 the game would have been about even. 

analysis diagram




8.Qxe5 Nxc2+ 

Falling for the bait. Houdini prefers consolidation with 8...c5 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Bb3 Bd6 11.Qg5 Kc7 12.d3 Kb8 13.Bf4 Re8 14.Bxd6+ Qxd6 15.0-0-0 a6 16.f4 Qc7 with Black as slightly better.

analysis diagram





9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qe6 checkmate