Rapid Discouragement

Sometimes, when a chess game is suddenly not going the way it "should", a player will lose interest and resign. Much better to start over in another game with a full set of pieces! This seems to be the case for Black in the following game - at move 6 he received a shock (and a piece) but he kept his cool and had a fairly pleasant position after move 8. Ten moves later, he resigned.

Wall,B - Mkvibes
PlayChess.com, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 h6 5.d3 Bc5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 

Here we have a Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, where White has temporized with d2-d3 instead of 0-0 -- which he takes care of on the next move.

7.0-0 Rf8 8.Qe2 Kg8 

Black has castled-by-hand. What will he do next? Bill is willing to wait and see.

9.a3 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Na4 b6 12.e5 Nd5 

Time to complicate further.

13.Bxh6 gxh6 14.Qe4 Qg5

Not the best reply. Bill's response leads to his opponent's rapid discouragement.

15.Qxd5+ Kh7 16.Qxa8 Rg8 17.Nxc5 bxc5 18.f4 Black resigned

Black's position is not horrible, but he has nothing going for him; plus he is down an exchange and two pawns. And that light-squared Bishop...

Thinking Too Much?!

Sometimes when we play the Jerome Gambit, our opponents get to thinking - and thinking - and thinking. Still, at some point they have to get back to playing - or time will catch them out. (As Samantha Smith says "Tick... tick... tick... BOOM!")

Philidor 1792 - NN
bereg.ru , 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+

The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.

3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Qh4 d6 7.c3 Black forfeited on time 

Two ideas from games from The Database that continued: 7...h6 (7...Bg4 8.Ng5 h6 9.d3 Ke7 10.Nh3 Bxh3 11.Qxh3 Qd7 12.Qg3 Qg4 13.Be3 Qxg3 14.hxg3 Bxe3 15.fxe3 Nc6 16.Na3 a6 17.0-0-0 Rhf8 18.Rh4 Nd8 19.d4 Ne6 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Nc4 Nd7 22.Rg4 Rf2 23.Rd2 Rxd2 24.Nxd2 Nf6 25.Rh4 Rf8 26.Kc2 Nh7 27.Nc4 Rf2+ 28.Kb3 Rxg2 29.Nxe5 Rxg3 30.a4 Rxe3 31.Nc4 Rf3 32.e5 Rf4 33.Rxf4 Nxf4 34.Ne3 h5 35.Nf5+ Kf7 36.Kc4 g6 37.Ng3 g5 38.Kd4 h4 39.Nh1 Ke6 40.Ke4 Ne2 41.Kf3 Nc1 42.b4 Na2 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Nxc3 45.b6 cxb6 46.Nf2 b5 47.Nd3 Nd5 48.Nc5+ Kxe5 49.Nxb7 b4 50.Na5 Nhf6 51.Nc4+ Kd4 52.Nd2 Kd3 53.Nb3 Kc3 54.Na5 b3 55.Nxb3 Kxb3 56.Kg2 Kc3 White resigned, stemplarv - theophraste, FICS, 2009) 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Nc3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 g5 12.Qg3 Nxe4 13.Bxg5 hxg5 White resigned, alxaraya - hyperspace, FICS, 2014 

A Whole Lot of Chess in Three Minutes

The following game is a roller coaster ride of chess. Hang on, there's whole lot of chess in this 3-minute game!

Philidor 1792 - Bojokrupanj1
blitz 3 0, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7 Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6

This line must be considered inexact, as it transposes with an extra move (f2-f4)  to the 6...Ng6 defense, as in Philidor1792 - jenskun, Russia Central Federal District vs Phil, Chess.com, 2015 (1-0, 27).

9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qg5+ 

Stockfish 6 likes this move better than 11.Qe3, which appeared in a lot of my games; although it prefers 11.Qa3 the most.

11...Kd7 12.Qg4+ Ke8 13.Qg3 

There is only one other game in The Database with this position, Leonas - amec_pt2005, ChessHere.com, 2009 (0-1, 30) which now continued 13...Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4.

13...Nf6 14.Nc3

14.d3 was correct; now things become more difficult for White.

14...Nh5 15.Qf3 Nhxf4 16.0-0 Rf8 17.d4 Nh3+ 18.gxh3 Rxf3 19.Rxf3 Qh4

White may have lost his Queen for a Rook, but he has not lost his fighting spirit.

20.Be3 Be6 21.Raf1 c6 22.Bf2 Qh5 23.Bg3 Kd7 24.d5 cxd5 25.exd5 Bxd5 26.Rd3 Bc6 27.Rxd6+ Ke8 28.Re6+ Kd7 29.Rd6+ Kc8

Black declines allowing a draw by repetition. This gives his opponent more chances to concoct devious notions.

30.Rf7 Qxh3 

Time is growing shorter. Black grabs a pawn and eyes the White King.

31.Kf2

Both players overlooked 31.Nd5!? Bd7 32.Rxg6 hxg6 33.Rf8+ Be8 34.Rxe8+ Kd7 35.Rxa8 and White would have ample material for his Queen. 

31...Qg2+ 32.Ke3 Qg1+ 33.Ke2 Qg2+ 34.Rf2 Qh3 35.Rf7 Qg4+ 36.Ke1 Be8 

White's King has proven elusive, much to Black's dismay. Time is almost up, and White continues combining.

37.Rc7+ Kxc7 38.Rxg6+ 

Here Black's flag must have fallen, as after 38...Qxg3+ 39.Rxg3  Bg6 the position would have been about even.

Winning Fast or Losing Fast?

Knowing your chess opening and what you and others have played previously is a powerful weapon in a contest.

Bill Wall's games show up over 365 times in The Database; he has a lot of experience with the Jerome Gambit - usually a whole lot more than his opponents. (As a reference, The Database's  over 51,500 games is useful, too.)

It is no wonder that the following game ends quickly. 

Wall,B - Guest4240618
PlayChess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf6 

8.Qxc5

MrJoker and I have explored 8.d4: perrypawnpusher - whitepandora, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 41); mrjoker - Taj, Internet Chess Club 2009 (1-0, 9); perrypawnpusher - tjaksi, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 16); and perrypawnpusher - alvarzr, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 21).

8...d6

Not 8...Qe7 9.Qf5#  perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010. 

9.Qc3+

As opposed to the retreat 9.Qe3 seen in  perrypawnpusher - useche, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22); perrypawnpusher - wbrandl, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 28); MrJoker - ipon, Internet Chess Club, 2011 (1-0, 33); and MrJoker - vicwill, Internet Chess Club 2011 (1-0, 12).

Now Bill is on his own, as there are no other examples of this move in The Database; but his opponent immediately helps him out.

9...Ne5 10.f4 Black resigned

Take My Pieces, But Take My Word, Too

Sometimes the recipient of a gambit is skeptical. Free material? Why not grab all I can get?? The gamiteer adds: It will cost you.

In the following game Black happily receives a Bishop and then a pawn. When offered a Knight, he scarcely resists the temptation.

White then shows that his "generosity" should have been taken seriously, as well.

Philidor 1792 - NN
2015

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3

Combining Jerome Gambit ideas with the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit!

I have only seen this once, mentioning the idea in a note in an earlier post about an earlier Philidor 1792 game, referencing Jirotka,S - Super Expert, 1990; but The Database is incomplete concerning 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+.

We have seen 5.Nxe5+ in a number of White's games: Philidor 1792  -guest2044, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 45); Philidor 1792 - guest213,www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 41); Philidor 1792 - guest564, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 56); and Philidor 1792 - guest45, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 28). 

5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 d6 

A typical mistake against the B-K.

7.Nxe5+ Ke6 8.0-0 Kxe5 

I was not being frivolous, thinks White, believe me.

9.Qh5+ Ke6 10.Re1+ Kd7 11.Bg5 Black resigned

Been There, Done That, Have the Points to Show It

As I play through new (to me) Bill Wall games, I am surprised at how many people throw the Blackburne Shilling Gambit back at his Jerome Gambit. Maybe they really expect him to play 4.Nxe5?!. Maybe they don't know about the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The fact is, when it comes to the BSJG, Bill's been there - and has the points to prove it.

Wall, Bill - Amoex
PlayChess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Ke8

There are other choices, as Bill has encountered:

5...Kf6 6. f4 (for variety: 6.Ng4+ as in Wall,B - GYHZ, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 36] and Wall,B-Darksquare, www.Chess.com,  15 0, 2010 [1-0, 23]) 6...g6 7.c3 Ne6 8.O-O Ne7 9.Ng4+ Kg7 10.f5 Nc5 11.f6+ Kg8 12.d4 Ne6 13.f7+ Kg7 14.Bh6 checkmate, Wall,B - Mora, E, Chess.com, 2010; or

5...Ke6 as in Wall,B - apollyon, 2010, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 12) 

6. Qh5+ 

A bit stronger is 6.c3 which Bill has also played 6...Ne6 (6...Nc6 7.Nxc6 dxc6 8.Qh5+ Ke7 (8...g6 9.Qe5+ Qe7 10.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 11.Kd1 Qxg2 12.Re1+ Ne7 13.d3 Qxf2 14.h3 Bf5 15.Bg5 Qf3+ 16.Kc1 Kd7 17.Qxh7 Re8 18.d4 Qg3 19.Bd2 Bxh3 20.Na3 Bf5 21.Nc4 Kd8 22.Ne5 a6 23.Qh1 Kc8 24.Rg1 Qf2 25.Rg2 Qxg2 26.Qxg2 Nd5 27.Nxg6 Bxg6 28.Qxg6 Re7 29.Qf5+, Black resigned, Wall,B - Apple, Chess.com, 2010) 9.d4 Nf6 10.Qf3 Kf7 11.e5 Bg4 12.Qf4 Qe8 13.Be3 Bd6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Qxd6 Ne4 16.Qc7+ Kf8 17.Qxb7 Rb8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2 19.Qa3+ Black resigned, Wall,B-Verrsili, Chess.com, 2010) 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.Qxh8 Nh6 (9...Nf6 10.d3 Qe7 11.Be3 d6 12.O-O b6 13.Bh6 Kd7 14.Bxf8 Nxf8 15.Nd2 Ba6 16.Qh3+ Ne6 17.Nb3 Qh7 18.Qxh7+ Nxh7 19.c4 Rh8 20.f4 Rg8 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Toyong, Chess.com, 2010) 10.O-O Nf4 11.Qe5+ Ne6 12.Qg3 Qg5 13.Qxg5 Nxg5 14.d4 Nhf7 15.Nd2 Be7 16.f4 Ne6 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Neg5 19.g4 Bf6 20.h4 Nh7 21.Nf3 Nd6 22.Bf4 Ne4 23.Bxc7 d5 24.c4 Bd7 25.cxd5 Kf7 26.Ne5+ Bxe5 27.dxe5 Bb5 28.Rfe1 Nd2 29.e6+ Ke7 30.d6+ Ke8 31.d7+ Bxd7 32.exd7+ Kxd7 33.Rad1 Kxc7 34.Rxd2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Klevic, PlayChess.com, 2014.

Of course he has also done well with 6.f4 Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.O-O Bc5+ 9.d4 Bd6 10.Qb3 Bxe5 11.fxe5 d5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.exd5 Na5 14.Qb5+ c6 15.Qe2+ Qe7 16.Qh5+ Kd8 17.d6 Qxd6 18.Rxf6 Qd5 19.Bg5 Kd7 20.Rf7+ Ke6 21.Qh6+ Kxf7 22.Qf6+ Kg8 23.Bh6 Qf7 24.Qd8+ Qe8 25.Qxe8 checkmate, Wall,B - JoeNine, Chess.com, 2010; and

6.O-O Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.d4 d6 10.Qf3 Bg4 11.Qg3 Qd7 12.Nd2 h5 13.h3 h4 14.Qe3 Bh5 15.e5 Nd5 16.Qe4 Qe7 17.c4 Nb4 18.a3 d5 19.Qb1 Na6 20.f4 Be2 21.Qg6+ Kd8 22.Qxc6 Bxf1 23.Qxa8+ Kd7 24.Nxf1 dxc4 25.d5 Nc5 26.Be3 Nd3 27.e6+ Kd6 28.Qc6 checkmate, Wall,B-Garri, Chess.com, 2010. 

6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 

Or 7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.O-O Qe7 11.f4 Ng4 12.Qh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - DSLC, FICS, 2013; or

7... Qf6 8. Nxh8+ Kd8 9. Nf7+ Ke7 10. d3 Nxc2+ 11. Kd1 Qxf2 12. Bg5+ Nf6 13. Nd2 Nxa1 14. e5 Bg7 15. Bxf6+ Bxf6 16.
exf6+ Qxf6 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Ng5 d6 19. Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Sharkia,A, Chess.com, 2010; or

7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nf6 (8...Nxa1 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Apple69, Chess.com, 2010) 9.Qe5+ Be7 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 Nxe4 13.Re1 d5 14.d3 Bf5 15.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Schlier,A, Chess.com, 2010. 

8.Qxg6+

White has two choices here, and two pieces of advice. The Database has 98 games with 8.Qxg6, with White scoring 58%; and
369 games with 8.Qxh8, with White scoring 52%. On the other hand, Stockfish recommends 8.Qxh8  and after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 gives Black the edge.

As is often the case in club chess, the player who knows better what is going on in the game has the advantage - as the following moves show.

8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8

White gathers in the Rook, after all. He has a Rook and four pawns against Black's extra two pieces.

Still, Black races to take advantage of White's "sidetracked" Queen and attack the enemy King, only to wind up dropping a piece in the process.

11...Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6

Or 13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010. 

14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned