Shorter and Even More Unbecoming

I just meant to check on my opponent, but I hit the "play" button instead of the "history" button, and wound up inflicting another annoying game on him. Perhaps it was his extravagant use of time, again, but for the second game in a row my play was sad, sad, sad. 


perrypawnpusher - Conspicuous
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

The Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

A strong and practical defense: Black decides that he has enough material to win, and takes no further risks.

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qf6

Commanding the dark squares and targetting f2.

8.0-0 Nh6 9.Be3 Bd6

10.f4 Ng4 11.e5

This move apparently scared my opponent, but it is a disaster-in-the-making for me. Sadly, I was clueless at the time.

11...Nxe3

Instead, Black should escape the fork with 11...Qh6 and after 12.h3 (to stop mate) administer one of his own with 12...Nxe3.

12.Qe2

Horrible. Instead, 12.Qf3 would have kept Black's advantage to a minimum.

12...Nxf1

Lucky for me Black was seeing as much (or as little) as I was, or he would have simply played 12...Bxe5, since 13.fxe5 Qxf1+ 14.Qxf1+ Nxf1 15.Kxf1 Ke7 would leave him a Rook ahead.

13.exf6 Black resigned

I don't think I dare play Conspicuous again!

Short and Unbecoming

The following Jerome Gambit game is short and unbecoming, a collection of moves on my behalf which look like a multiple choice test where the answers are all a) best, b) good, or c) barely adequate and I keep selecting c) as my choice.


perrypawnpusher - Conspicuous
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

With the promise of an exciting game ahead.

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

Or not. The text is a counter occasionally seen: there are 63 games in The Database, with White scoring 67%.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6

At the cost of exchanging a won game for one in which he is a pawn down, Black has reached a Queenless middlegame that is not what every Jerome Gambiteer wishes for.

On the other hand, I figured that it would not be difficult to grind this one out.

10.Nc3 Re8 11.d3 c6 12.Rf1

More energetic was 12.Ke2, as in Ghandybh - brownplant, Chess.com, 2009 (1-0, 20).

12...Kg7 13.Kg1 Rf8 14.Bg5 Nh5

This leaves Black open to a tactical shot, but I was only thinking "exchange with tempo".

If you compare Queensides, you can see that White's development advantage is significant.

15.Rxf8

Fine, but why not 15.Bh6+ ?

15...Kxf8 16.Rf1+ Kg7 17.g4 h6 18.Bh4

I had figured out the following line of play, but where would Black's Knight go after 18.Be3, instead?

18...g5 19.gxh5 gxh4 20.Rf4

Winning a rather meaningless pawn, as Black's remaining Kingside pawn holds back two of White's, anyhow.

20...h3 21.Rg4+

Making more sense was 21.e5

21...Kf6 22.Rg6+ Black resigned

Yes, White is better, but who's to say that Black didn't expire of boredom? 

Still Instant

Last year I pointed out that a position in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit should have spelled "Instant Victory" for White – in which the first player had a forced checkmate – it had in fact yielded only a 66% score in 155 games in The Database.

The number of examples has grown since then by about 20, but the score for White remains the same.

Lucky for me, I read and remembered that post, and I recently scored my second "instant" victory.

perrypawnpusher - theferno
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Blackburne Shilling gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8

Last year my opponent played the sharp 5...Ke6  in Ronels - theferno, FICS, 2010, (1-0, 34).

6.Qh5+ Ke7

This is the position to recall.

Last year my opponent played the correct 6...g6 against me and I had to out-play him from a roughly equal position in perrypawnpusher - theferno, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc6

Or 8...Kc5 9.Qd5+ Kb4 10.c3+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Raankh, blitz, FICS, 2010.

9.Qd5 checkmate

Relayed Deaction

I was doing a internet search for Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games when I found the following example. I give it mostly for historical reasons, as my guess is that it is a U8 game. Further information is requested.

Karlaevi,N - Basilaia,B
Nana Alexandria Cup
4th International Children's Chess Festival
Poti, Georgia, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+

Go ahead and laugh, but The Database has 355 games with this move.* (Okay, White scored only 23%, but that still includes 78 wins!)

A few examples can be seen at "Eyeblink Chess: Crash", "Opening Tale", "Death of A Variation" and "Re-Inventing the Flat Tire".

5...Ke8

I don't think that Black was trying to avoid 5...Qxg5 6.d4, with the simultaneous pawn attack on the Bishop at c5 and the uncovered Bishop attack on the Black Queen (it can be easily dealt with by playing 6...Qxg2) – I think that he simply overlooked the possible capture of the Knight.

That would go a long way toward explaining the end of the game.

6.d3 Qf6 7.f3 Black resigned

My guess is at this point Black realized "Wait a minute! I could have had that Knight for free!" and decided that this just wasn't going to be his game... despite the fact that he had an extra piece.

I have to mention that 7.f3 appears to be a "TN", a "theoretical novelty". Of the 5 games in The Database that have the position after 6...Qf6, White scored  60%.


(* One of the strengths of The Database is its inclusiveness: it contains over 24,000 games to draw ideas and inspiration from. One of its weaknesses, as this example illustrates, is its lack of exclusiveness: just about any game – good, bad or ugly – can find its way in there. YMMV. By the way, the title is a Spoonerism.)

Powerful Like a Storm

When the creative and indomitable Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen wrote "A Personal Approach to the Openings" for the wonderful How To Open A Chess Game, he began the chapter by recalling that when he was 9 he found a chess book that inspired him, even if, he admitted, the text was 20 years old and the chess ideas of the author at least three times that aged. Larsen remembered an inspiring quote  

The Jerome Gambit is powerful like a storm; nobody can tame it. Nothing shows more clearly the lack of greatness in the chess professions of today than the fact that none of them have the courage to play the Jerome Gambit...

Oh, no, wait a minute, I got that wrong: the author was writing about the King's Gambit, not the Jerome...

perrypawnpusher  - badhorsey
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6

Shades of my game against Navarrra (see "Over").

7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf8

Staying out of further trouble.

9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 Nf6

White is two pawns up, with the safer King.

11.0-0 Qe7 12.Nc3 c5 13.d3 Kf7 14.b3

My opponent was using up a lot of thinking time on each move, so I decided to develop conservatively (using a formation that I borrowed from the b3 Sicilian) – to stay away from something bright, sharp, brilliant and wrong.

14...Rf8 15.Bb2 Kg8 16.Rae1 b6 17.f4 Ng4

Black has castled-by-hand, and with the exception of his Bishop (which I had expected to go to b7) his developement has progressed as well. The text move shows the irresistible temptation (which should, nonetheless, be resisted) to harass the Queen.

18.Qg3 Bd7 19.Nd5

From this point on, White's game becomes scarier and scarier (for Black).

19...Qd8 20.h3 Nf6 21.Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.e5 Qe6 24.f5 Qd5 25.e6 Bc6 26.f6

Those "Jerome pawns"!

26...g6 27.f7+ Kf8 28.e7+ Kg7 29.f8Q+ Rxf8 30.exf8Q checkmate

Boring

Coming to this game right after a painful loss (see "Done in by Greed") I felt comfortable, but I was in no mood to risk anything. This led to a certain level of "boring" in my play.

perrypawnpusher - Olito
blitz, 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+ Ng6

This position has been good to me previously: 14 wins and 2 draws.

8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Qf6

11.Nc3 c6 12.f4 Bd7 13.f5 Ne5

The same old dance. White has been creeping toward equality, and this gives him a boost.

14.d4 Nc4 15.Qd3 Nb6 16.Bf4 Ne7 17.Rae1 Kf7

It is understandable that Black's King no longer wants to be on the e-file, but there is too much going on on the f-file for it to be safe there, either.

After the game Rybka 3 suggested a way for Black to reach a pawn-down endgame that might have been preferrable: 17...Nbc8 18.e5 dxe5 19.Bxe5 Bxf5 20.Rxf5 Qxf5 21.Qxf5 Nxf5 22.Bxg7+ Kf7 23.Bxh8 Ncd6 24.Be5 Nc4 25.Rf1 Kg6 26.Ne2 Nxe5 27.dxe5 Re8 28.Nf4+ Kg5 29.Nd3 b6

18.g4

Protecting the f-pawn so that the e-pawn can advance. Stronger was 18.Bg3.

18...g5

This is a rash move which should have been strongly met by 19.e5, as Black has no good answer: to start, 19...dxe5 is met by 20.Bxe5.

My response, opening the f-file, returns the game almost to even.

19.fxg6+ Qxg6 20.Be5+ Ke8

Black, at least temporarily, forgets that he is a  piece up, and can afford to return some material: 20...Kg8 21.Bxh8 Qxg4+ 22.Kh1 Kxh8 followed by 23...Rg8 and his two pieces are at least a match for White's Rook and pawn.

21.Bxh8 Qxg4+ 22.Kh1 Ng6 23.Bf6

Readers with good tactical vision probably saw the strength in 23.e5, instead, as 23...dxe5 (23...Nxh8 24.exd6+ is crushing) 24.Bxe5 allowed the Bishop to return unharmed.

After the text White is up the exchange and a pawn, and my timid brain began to yell "that is enough, it is time to consolidate!" instead of the more appropriate (for the board, although perhaps not for me at the time) "Black's Queen Knight and Rook are still offside, it is time to attack!"

23...Nf4 24.Qg3 Qxg3 25.hxg3 Ne6 26.e5 d5 27.Ne2 Nc4 28.b3 Na3

White's extra pawn is now passed and protected. As soon as he takes care of that annoying enemy Knight, he can get down to the "technique" that it takes to win.

Yawn.

29.c3 Nc2 30.Rb1 Ne3 31.Rf3 Ng4 32.Nf4 Kf7 33.Nxe6 Kxe6 34.Rbf1 Be8

35.Bg7 h5 36.Kg2 Bg6 37.b4

Both my opponent and I missed a tactic here, which I finally saw at move 40.

37...b5 38.a3 a5 39.Bf8 Ra7 40.Rf6+

40...Nxf6 41.Rxf6+ Kd7 42.Rxg6 Ra8

 43.Bc5

I was still on auto-pilot, which is a pity, as 43.e6+ was a super move, since it has both mating net and pawn promotion threats.

43...Rh8 44.bxa5 h4 45.a6 h3+ 46.Kh2 Ra8 47.a7 Rh8 48.Rg7+ Ke6 49.Rb7

I had my winnning idea worked out, but sharp-eyed readers probably noticed that 49.g4 instead sets up a mating net. 

49...Kf5 50.Rb8 Rh6 51.a8Q Ke4 52.Rf8 Kd3 53.Rf6 Rh5 54.Qxc6 Kxc3 55.Qxb5 Rg5 56.Rf3+ Kd2 57.Qb2+ Ke1 58.Bb4+ Kd1 59.Rf1 checkmate

Sunday Book Review: Catalog of Chess Mistakes

Catalog of Chess Mistakes
Andy Soltis
David McKay (1979)
softcover, 213 pages
English descriptive notation

Grandmaster Andy Soltis' "Chess to Enjoy" column in the monthly Chess Life magazine has been one of the most popular features with readers for decades. Soltis writes well, and he knows what he readers want to see.

Catalog of Chess Mistakes is one of the author's older titles, written when he was still an International Master. Yet, it is worth a look (or another look) as it fits in well with several titles that I have touched on over the last few weeks: Why You Lose At Chess, Danger in Chess and Surprise in Chess.

Soltis starts right out annoying traditionalists
If you are like me, you have already started giggling.

Chess is a game of bad moves. It it, in fact, the game that most depends on error. No game has a greater variety of ways of going wrong or gives you as many opportunities – dozens on every move. Other games depend heavily on chance or on the mastery of some relatively limited skills. But a chess game is decided by the failings of one of the players.

Yet we refuse to recognize this. We like to think the game is a battle between good moves and better moves. When we win, we tell ourselves – and anyhone who will listen – that the critical difference was our fine maneuvering, our positional cunning, or our tactical ingenuity. When we lose, well, it was a stupid mistake – as if errors were an abberation, an extraordinary accident. Mistakes can only be messy, ugly, and disruptieve, we say.

Soltis is only warming up

The masters know better. They know that a well-played game is not an error-free game. There are errors of varying magnitudes, and each game is sure to hold some small mistakes. "Chess is the struggle against error," said Johanned Zukertort, one of the greatest players of the last century. Victory belongs to the player who struggles best – not just against an opponent, but against himself.

The author lays out his targets in each chapter: Tactical Errors, Mistakes with Pieces, Calculation and Miscalculation, Positioinal Errors, Strategic Errors, Your Attitude Is Your Error, Practical Mistakes and Errors with Material.

He encourages players to examine their own games, asking
1) What kind of error is it?
2) How serious would the error be if punished?
3) When was the error made?
4) What was the status of the game when you comitted the error?
5) How were your errors spaced?

Once you've developed this Error Profile you'll know, in short, what part of your game you need to work on away from the tournament hall and what to watch out for when you are at the board. Self-awareness is the name of the game.

My only concern is that it remains in English Descriptive Notation (e.g. 1.P-K4) which may be annoying to some players and incomprehensible to younger ones. Still, it's worth the effort!
Catalog of Chess Mistakes is an engaging, humorous, enjoyable book; its examples are well-drawn from games and players strong and not-so-strong; read it, and you will begin shedding some of your more memorable mistakes.