Just Look Ahead and Move!

Years ago, after playing over a number of Akiba Rubinstein's (1880 – 1961) games, I was inclined to think that he had reduced chess to a few easy steps: play 1.d4, win a pawn, exchange all the pieces, win the endgame. (Actually, it was a lot more complicated than that.)

With a chuckle, I was reminded of Rubinstein when playing over the following online blitz game by shugart. He offers a piece, Jerome Gambit style, but his opponent declines it. Like water rolling down hill, the game then progresses. It doesn't seem that there is a lot of need for tactical calculation - just look ahead and move!

Actually, it is a lot more complicated than that, as the notes show... A very eduational endgame! 

shugart - snob
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2017

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

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. 

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 

Black declines the gift of a piece. If you want me to take the Bishop, then I won't take the Bishop.

5.Bxg8 Rxg8 6.Nxd4 exd4 

Comfortable with an extra pawn - plus a safer King and a better pawn structure - White is comfortable letting the game unfold.

7.d3 h6 8.Qh5 d6 9.O-O Be6 10.f4 Bf7 

Black has the two Bishops. He is not in a hurry, either.

11.Qh4+ Kd7 12.Qh3+ Be6 13.f5 Bf7 14.Bf4 Kc8 15.Nd2 b6 16.Nb3 c5 

Black has secured his advanced d-pawn.

17.Qg3 Kc7 18.e5 Bxb3 19.exd6+ Bxd6 20.Bxd6+ Qxd6 21.Qxd6+ Kxd6 22.axb3 

In a 3 0 game, such exchanges happen quickly and help with the clock.

Will White's kingside pawn majority be enough?

22...Rgf8 23.g4 a5 24.Rae1 Rae8 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Kf2 Rf8

It was time, instead, for Black's Rook to invade via 26...Re3, with his King to advance behind it, keeping the game balanced. White now shows how it's done.

 27.Re1 Rf7 28.Re6+ Kc7 29.Kf3 b5 30.Ra6 Re7 

The issue here is not Black's a-pawn. It is the fact that when Rooks come off the board White will have a straight-forward win.

31.Ra7+ Kd6 32.Rxe7 Kxe7 

Okay, how fast can you move your pieces? The game is barely half over.

33.h4 Kd6 34.Ke4 b4 

Now the inhuman Stockfish 8 declares a checkmate in 26, but the ticking clock will inject a few inaccuracies before White grasps the full point.

 35.g5 h5 36.Kf3 Ke5 37.f6 gxf6 38.gxf6 

The more accurate 38.g6!? was the way to win, with many hassles: 38...Ke6 39.Kf4 Ke7 40.Kf5 c4 41.bxc4 a4 42.c5 a3 43.bxa3 bxa3 44.g7 Kf7 45.c6 Kxf7 46.c7 a2 47.c8/Q a1/Q 48.Qd7+

38...Kxf6 

39.Kf4 Ke6 40.Kg5 

White should admit that he has only a draw, and mark the enemy King with 40.Ke4, keeping it out of mischief. He also should keep his King closer to home, as Black can now cause pawn mischief similar to the note above: 40...c4 41.bxc4 a4 42.c5 a3 43.c6 Ke6 and it is Black who will have a checkmate in 26!

40...Ke5 41.Kxh5 Kf4 

Black's King advances aggressively, but it needed, instead, to mark White's King with 41...Kf5 and let his pawns do the work, e.g. 42...c4.

The advantage agains shifts to White.

42.Kg6 Ke3 43.h5 Kd2 44.h6 Kxc2 45.h7 Kxb3 46.h8=Q Kxb2 

This is a pretty crazy position, but quite won for White - with enough time to think. Amazingly, there is.

47.Qe5 Kc3 48.Qxc5+ Kxd3 49.Qxa5 Kc3 50.Kf5 d3 51.Ke4 d2 52.Qc5+ Kb3 53.Qd4 Ka3 54.Qxd2 b3 

If only the pawn were on the a-file or the c-file, Black might have drawing chances.

55.Qc3 Ka2 56.Qc4 Ka3 57.Qc5+ Ka2 58.Qa5+ Kb1 59.Kd3 b2 60.Kc3 Kc1 61.Qg5+ Kb1 62.Qb5 Kc1 63.Qf1 checkmate

An amazing game for 3 0!

Jerome Gambit: Explosive

I recently received two Jerome Gambit games from chessfriend shugart, who plays at FICS. We have seen his games here before. 

His willingness to play at lightning time control continues to explode my brain.

One thing that helps in his play is familiarity with the opening, as the notes to the following game will show. (There might even be the chance that he reads this blog, and has picked up a tip or two.)

shugart - NightEagle
lightning, FICS, 2017

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

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7

In what appears to be a quick blitz game, shugart easily dealt with his opponent declining the gift: 4...Ke7 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 7.c3 d3 8.Qf3 h6 9.Qxd3 d6 10.O-O Be6 11.Qe2 Qe8 12.d4 Kd7 13.Qb5+ Kc8 14.Qxe8 checkmate, shugart - snob, blitz, FICS, 2013.

5.Nxe5+

The alternative 5.Nxd4 is a hybrid line that has also been played by Jerome Gambiteers such as drumme, HauntedKnight, JKELSEY and Wall:  5...exd4 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qe5+ Ne7 9.Qxh8 d6 10.Qxh7 Qd7 11.O-O Qg4 12.f3 Qg5 13.d3 Qf6 14.Nd2 Be6 15.Nb3 Bg8 16.Qh3 Be6 17.Qg3 Kd7 18.Bg5 Qf7 19.Bxe7 Bxe7 20.Nd2 Rh8 21.Rae1?! Bh4 22.Qf4? Qxf4 23.e5 Bxe1 (23...Qxh2+!) 24.Rxe1 Qxh2+ 25.Kf2 Qh4+ 26.Kg1 dxe5 White resigned, shugart -Yaman, lightning, FICS, 2014.

5...Ke8

(5...Ke6 6.Qh5 Nxc2+ 7.Kd1 Nxa1 8.Qf7+ Kxe5 9.f4+ Kd6 10.e5+ Kc6 11.Nc3 b5 12.Qd5+ Kb6 13.Qxb5 checkmate shugart - Manoelo, blitz, FICS, 2013)

6.Qh5+ Ke7

Necessary was 6...g6, but shugart has some experience with that, too: 7.Nxg6 hxg6 (7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 (8...Be7 9.Nxe7 Qxe7 (9...Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 d6 13.d3 Be6 14.Nc3 c6 15.Bg5 Rhg8 16.Bxf6+ Kxf6 17.g3 Raf8 18.f4 Ke7 19.Rae1 Kd7 20.e5 dxe5 21.Rxe5 Bg4 22.Rhe1 Kc8 23.Ne4 h5 24.Nd6+ Kd7 25.Nxb7 Rf7 26.Nc5+ Kc7 27.Re7+ Rxe7 28.Rxe7+ Kb6 29.Ne4 Bf3 30.Kd2 h4 31.Ng5 Bd5 32.gxh4 Bxa2 33.h5 Rh8 34.Rh7 Rf8 35.Ke3 Re8+ 36.Kf3 Bd5+ 37.Kg3 Re2 38.Ne4 Rxb2 39.h6 Rb3 40.Nf2 a5 41.Re7 Bg8 42.h7 Bxh7 43.Rxh7 a4 44.Rh8 Kc5 45.Ra8 a3 46.h4 Kd4 47.h5 Ke3 48.h6 Rb7 49.Rxa3 Rh7 50.Rc3 Kd4 51.Rxc6 Black resigned, shugart - Sutarsa, blitz, FICS, 2013) 10.Qxd4 Nxe4 11.0–0 Rg8 12.d3 c5 13.Qxe4 Qxe4 14.dxe4 Black resigned, shugart - smarcek, blitz, FICS, 2014) 9.Nxh8 Qe7 10.0–0 Qg7 11.f4 Qxh8 12.f5 Bd6 13.Qc3 Nc5 14.e5 Nce4 15.Qd4 c5 16.Qe3 Bxe5 17.d3 Bd4 18.Qxd4 cxd4 19.dxe4 d6 20.Bg5 Bd7 21.Nd2 Qg7 22.h4 h6 23.Bf4 Nh5 24.Bxd6 Ng3 25.Rf3 Bc6 26.Re1 Kd7 27.e5 Rf8 28.f6 Rxf6 White forfeited on time, shugart -Yaman, lightning, FICS, 2014) 8.Qxh8 Ne7 9.Qxd4 c6 10.0–0 d6 11.d3 Bd7 12.Bg5 Qc7 13.f4 c5 14.Qc3 b5 15.Bxe7 Bxe7 16.Qh8+ Bf8 17.Qf6 Be7 18.Qxg6+ Kd8 19.Nc3 Be8 20.Qg4 b4 21.Nd5 Qd7 22.Qxd7+ Bxd7 23.Nxe7 Kxe7 24.h3 Rg8 25.Kh2 Bc6 26.g4 d5 27.e5 Ke6 28.Rae1 d4 29.f5+ Kd5 30.e6 Be8 31.f6 Rf8 32.f7 Bc6 33.e7 Rxf7 34.Rxf7 Kd6 35.e8Q Bxe8 36.Rxe8 Kc6 37.Rxa7 Kd5 38.Rb8 c4 39.Rxb4 cxd3 40.cxd3 Kc5 41.Rb8 Kd5 42.Rb3 Ke6 43.Raa3 Kd5 44.Kg3 Black forfeited on time, shugart - Yaman, lightning, FICS, 2014. 

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Qd5+

Okay, okay, hold on a minute...

8...Ke7 9.Qf7+

Acceptable, but unnecessarily time-consuming, is 9.Qxd4, e.g. 9...Nf6 10.O-O d6 11.Nc4 Be6 12.Ne3 Kf7 13.f4 Be7 14.f5 Bd7 15.Nd5 Re8 16.Nxf6 Bxf6 17.Qd5+ Kf8 18.d3 Bc6 19.Qb3 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Qh4 21.Nd2 Bb6 22.Nf3 Qf6 23.Bd2 Rad8 24.Bg5 Qf7 25.Bxd8 Rxd8 26.Qxf7+ Kxf7 27.a4 a5 28.c3 Bd7 29.b4 axb4 30.cxb4 Be3 31.Ra2 Bc6 32.b5 Bd7 33.Re2 Bb6 34.e5 dxe5 35.Nxe5+ Kg8 36.Nxd7 Rxd7 37.Rd2 Rf7 38.d4 Rd7 39.d5 Rd6 40.g4 Kf7 41.h4 Kf6 42.Kg2 Kf7 43.Kg3 Bc5 44.Kf4 Bb6 45.Ke4 Ba5 46.Kf4 Bxd2+ 47.Kf3 Ba5 48.Rd1 Bb6 White forfeited on time, shugart - Yaman, lightning, FICS, 2015.

9...Kd6 10.Nc4+ 

That's it.

10...Kc5 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.c3+ Ka4 13.Qa5 checkmate

I am pond scum

I'm proud of some of my chess games, (a few of them, justifiably so).

The following game, however, a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+), does not make that list. It was a pretty sorry contest, and afterwards I felt as low as pond scum – especially because I won it.

Perhaps it is time to focus on analysis and theory for a while, and leave the over-the-board (or over-the-internet) play alone.

perrypawnpusher  - Macgregr
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 6.c3 Ne6

Not a new move (I have 70 examples in my database) but the first time that I have seen it. Black has the typical piece-for-two-pawns advantage, as well as the typical problem of the uncastled King.

7.d4 Nf6 8.Bg5

You have to admit, pinning the King's Knight looks like a good idea – until you realize that it can simply be taken.

Dumb.

So why didn't my opponent and I see this immediately?  Well, hats off to Macgregr, who saw it first...

8...d6

arcanglej - geppa, FICS, 2005 continued : 8...Nxg5 9.d5 Ngxe4 10.Kf1 d6 11.Nc4 c6 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Qe2 Ba6 14.Nbd2 d5 15.Rd1 Kf7 16.Nxe4 Bxc4 White resigned

However, Maguey - snob, FICS, 2003 saw White escape: 8...h6 9.Bxf6+ Kxf6 10.Qf3+ Ke7 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.c4 Nxd4 13.Qd5+ Ke7 14.Qxd4 d6 15.Ng6+ Kf7 16.Nf4 Be7 17.Qd5+ Kf8 18.Ng6+ Ke8 19.Nxh8 Bf6 20.Qf7 checkmate

9.Ng4

Ouch. Necessary was 9.Bxf6, of course.

9...Nxg5

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
             "Ozymandias", Percy Bysshe Shelley

10.Nxf6 gxf6 11.0-0 Bg7

Not a pretty sight for White. For Black, having the advantage of "the two Bishops" in this case means having two more Bishops than I do...

Still, I like my games to last more than a dozen moves, so I soldiered on.

12.Nd2 Bd7 13.f4 Nf7 14.e5

My only chance: Black's "centralized" King.

14...dxe5 15.fxe5 fxe5 16.dxe5 Bxe5

Aha! A lucky break for me. I can capture two pieces for a Rook – and only be down a Rook.

17.Rxf7+ Kxf7 18.Qh5+ Ke7

What is this? A touch of hope in the air?

Black could keep his lead with 18...Kg7, as after 19.Qxe5+ Qf6 20.Qxc7 White has only two pawns for his missing Rook. 

19.Qxe5+ Be6

My mind was full of the possibilities of a draw through repetition of position. Could it be?

20.Qg7+

While I was pleased, after the game, to learn that Fritz 8 said this led to a draw, I was astonished to see its suggestion: 20.Re1 Qd7 21.Ne4 Raf8 22.Nc5 followed by White capturing Black's Bishop after 22...Qd6 23.Qg7+ Rf7 24.Qg5+ Rf6. White would still be threatening Qg7+, picking up a Rook.

analysis diagram






20...Bf7 21.Qe5+

This looked like the way to a draw (i.e. check, check, check...) but it was not. Whatever happened to the old adage Three pieces and an attack"? After the game Fritz 8 gave the right approach: 21.Re1+ Kd7 22.Qg4+ Kc6 23.Qa4+ Kb6 24.Qb4+ Kc6 25.Nf3 Re8 26.Qa4+ .

21...Be6

My opponent didn't mind repeating the position while he thought things over. If Black's King had retreated along the c8-h3 diagonal (...Ke7-d7-c8) he could have found safety, perhaps at b8.

22.Qg7+

Repeating the position; again missing 22.Re1

22...Kd6 23.Qd4+ Bd5

Well, if I didn't force a draw, perhaps I could annoy my opponent into submission.

24.Nc4+ Kc6

Wow! This is either an angry move or a careless move.

Black takes the draw with 24...Kd7 25.Ne5+ Kc8 26.Qg4+ Kb8 27.Nd7+ Kc8 28.Nf6+ Kb8 29.Nd7+ etc. 

25.Ne5+

This is sufficient, although 25.Na5+ was even stronger.

25...Kd6

Black realizes to his dismay that 25...Kb5 leads to mate: 26.a4+ Ka6 27.Qd3+ Bc4 28.Qxc4+ b5 29.Qxb5.

26.Nf7+ Kd7

Now the full shock has set in: instead, 26...Kc6 would have saved the Bishop.

27.Nxd8 Raxd8 28.Qxd5+ Kc8

Breathless, I realized that I had a winning advantage. What to do with it before time ran out??

29.Qe6+ Kb8 30.Re1 a6 31.g3 Rhf8 32.Rf1 Rfe8 33.Qf7 h6 34.Qf6 h5 35.Qf5 Rh8

Three quick conclusions: my opponent wasn't going to help me by exchanging pieces, he was going to let me do the thinking while he hunkered down, and chasing the h-pawn didn't seem to get me anywhere.

36.Re1 Rdf8 37.Qd7 Rfg8 38.Re7 Rc8 39.Rh7 Rhe8

Nothing accomplished so far. My opponent was content to let me run out of time first. That might or might not happen – but surely I could convert a Q vs R advantage...

40.Qd2 Rcd8 41.Rd7 Rc8 42.Qf2 Rh8 43.Rd5 Rhf8 44.Rf5 Rh8 45.Qc5 h4 46.Rh5 hxg3 47.hxg3 Rhg8 48.Kg2 Rcd8

I managed to create a passed pawn (although winning the h-pawn would have given me two connected passed pawns) which was something accomplished.

49.Rh7 Rc8 50.b4

Ah, here's an idea... at long last.

50...Rge8 51.a4 Re2+ 52.Kh3 Ree8 53.b5

53...a5

A final bit of luck for me. Instead, after 53...axb5 54.axb5 b6 Black's King is still safe, and I would probably have had to go pack to the plan of advancing the g-pawn.

54.b6 cxb6 55.Qxb6 Red8 56.Qxb7 checkmate

What a mess of a game, even if my opponent was rated a few points above me.