Win and Lose With the Bishop Sacrifice Gambit!

Yury V. Bukayev directed me to Michael Tam's "Adventures of A Chess Noob" website, subtitled, appropriately, "learning and having fun with chess!"

In particular he wanted me to see "Win and lose with the Bishop sacrifice gambit!" This was not a particular opening, but, as Mr. Tam pointed out, a thematic idea that can occur in a number of openings. "This is best characterized by the Jerome Gambit" he says, although he adds "The Jerome Gambit is completely unsound, I don't recommend it."

The rest of the video is Mr. Tam showing two games, one where he  defended a Two Knights defense and one where he played a Vienna Gambit. Both featured the Bishop sacrifice.

He sagely suggests that you make the sacrifice "only if you have an immediate attack that can take advantage of the exposed King". That has always been a criticism of the Jerome. (It is also why White often follows 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 with the further sacrifice 5.Nxe5+ and attack, i.e. 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+)

I recommend visiting the site (with some stunning graphics), which has many videos about many openings, and especially watching Mr. Tam play over the second game, the Vienna Gambit. It is truly wonderful to hear Mr. Tam talk about how Stockfish continues to rate the defender as doing far better, move by move, even though you are watching the pieces on the board and you know that you are seeing him crush his opponent.  

Happens in the Jerome Gambit, too, I have to add.

The World Champion Has Used Yury Bukayev’s Advice on 4…Be7 in Game 11 of the Match with Enough Success

 The World Champion Has Used Yury Bukayev’s Advice  

on 4…Be7 in Game 11 of the Match with Enough Success  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

Let’s analyse the opening stage of today’s main chess game GM Lei Tingjie – WCC GM Ju Wenjun (Game 11 of the World Chess Championship Match 2023: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2548557  ):  

 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7  

In my recent analytical publication (https://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/2023/07/lei-tingjie-has-beaten-ju-wenjun-in.html) on Game 5 (and partially on Game 3) I have written about opponents’ moves 4.d3 Bc5: “This sequence is very popular among top chess players in the modern time, but I don’t recommend both 4.d3?! and 4…Bc5?!, if you want to make the best move. Thus, after 4…Be7! White doesn’t have an advantage”. Thus, Ms. Ju has used my advice on 4…Be7 today. 

 

5.Nc3 d6 6.a4 0-0 7.Bg5 Be6 

Black has a very good alternative: 7…h6! AN 8.Bh4 [8.h4? hxg5 9.hxg5 Ng4!, and Black has a large advantage; 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Nd5 g6 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.h3 Be6 or 11…Kg7, and Black stands slightly better in both cases; 8.Be3 Be6 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.c3 Nbxd5 12.Bxd5 Nxd5 13.Qb3 Nxe3 14.fxe3 Rb8!?, and Black has a large advantage] 8…Nh7!? 9.Bg3 [9.Bxe7 Qxe7 =] 9…Bg4! 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bh2 Ng5 12.g4 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Nd4, and after 14…Bg6 Black has a good position.  

It is very interesting that after 9…Re8 10.0-0!? (10.h3) 10…Bg4 11.h3 Bh5?! White plays 12.Nxe5!!, and after the natural move 12…Bxd1? White gets a very large advantage after 13.Nxf7!: if 13…Qb8 (Black gets an enormous material advantage) 14.Ne5+! Kh8 15.Ng6#, and it is much more complicated than the Legal’s Mate – one of topics of this famous blog. 

 

8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Nd5 Bxd5 

The move 8.Bxf6 isn’t the best one, although it is impossible for White to get an advantage here. After 9…Bxd5 the game’s position is almost even. Black has a very good alternative: 9…g6! AN (with the idea 10…Bg7!) 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 (here Black plans to capture White’s Bishop) 11.Bxe6 Qxe6! with the following …f7-f5!, and Black stands better.  

 

And let me finish this research. I recommend the Women’s World Champion Ms. Ju to choose more strong and more aggressive opening system in the 12th classical game of the Match, its result depends on its early opening stage enough strongly. Thus, I recommend her to play 1.e4, 1.c4 or 1.d4 instead of 1.Nf3. 

 

 Contact the author:  istinayubukayev@yandex.ru   

  

© 2023 Yury V. Bukayev (Copyright © Bukayev Yury Vyacheslavovich 2023). All rights reserved.   

[A legal using of this investigation with a reference to it is permitted   

and doesn’t require author’s consent.]  

 

International Chess Day

 

Jerome Gambit: 17th Piece Again

It is important to remember that in very fast time controls, the challanges that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) provides to the defender are not always on the board.

Black can sometimes "solve" the Jerome, but that comes at the cost of thinking time. Sometimes too much thinking time.

The following game is an excellent example. Playing through the moves, you might get a bit of indigestion on the part of angelcamina, but, never fear, his "17th piece" comes through.

angelcamina - Jigsaw71

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ N8e7 9.O-O d6 10.Qc4 c6 

(10...Ne5 11.Qb3 N7c6 12.f4 Nd7 13.Nc3 Qe8 14.d3 Qf7 15.Qa3 Kg8 16.Bd2 h5 17.Rae1 h4 18.Nd5 Nf6 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 20.Bc3 h3 21.g3 Bd7 22.e5 Qd5 23.Rf2 fxe5 24.fxe5 Nxe5 25.Bxe5 dxe5 26.Qe7 Re8 27.Qg5+ Kh7 28.Rf6 Qg2 checkmate, angelcamina - lucasmaps, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 

11.f4 d5 12.exd5 cxd5 13.Qb3 Bf5 14.Nc3 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 Qxb3 16.axb3 Bxc2 17.b4 Bd3 18.Re1 a6 19.Re3 Bf5 20.d4 Kf7 21.g3 Rhe8 22.h3 Bxh3 23.Kh2 Bg4 24.Bd2 Nf5 25.Re5 Nxe5 26.dxe5 g6 27.Rh1 d4 28.Ne4 Rad8 29.Ng5+ Kg7 30.Kg2 d3 31.Rxh7+ Kg8 32.Rxb7 Nd4 33.Bc3 Ne2 34.Bd2 Rc8 35.Nh7 Rc2 36.Nf6+ White won on time

Jerome Gambit: Psychology

There is a psychological aspect to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). The defender, expecting to enter into a quiet game (Giuoco Piano), suddenly is under a wild attack that can come as a surprise and be very unsettling.

Black also has a few psychological counters.

Simplest is to decline the Bishop sacrifice with 4...Kf8. White, intent upon some kind of Bashi-Bazouk attack, has to be content with withdrawing the Bishop to d5 or c4 or b3; and a realization that he is playing a quiet game, although with an extra pawn, against a displaced King. (Stockfish 15 rates White as better by more than 2 pawns.)

Black can decline the offered Knight after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ with 5...Kf8; again the game does not turn out as White planned.

A more developed psychological counter by Black is seen in the "Counter-Jerome Defense" or the "Counter-Jerome Gambit", as is seen in the following game.

Anonymous - Anonymous

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 

Here, Black can play Blackburne's 7...d6, or Whistler's 7...Qe7.

Instead, he initiates a Jerome-like piece sacrifice to promote the exchange of Queens.

7...Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.Rf1 Nxe4+ 11.Kg1+

I find this a fascinating position.

Material is equal and development is roughly balanced, although King safety may become an issue for Black.

I was surprised to see that Stockfish 15 (35 ply) rates White as about 4 pawns better.

The database has 24 games with this position, with White scoring 79%.

This game demonstrates. 

11...Kg7 12.b3 

Targeting the Black King along the long a1-h8 diagonal.

12...Kh6 

Dodging the upcoming Bishop attack which would skewer the King and win the Rook.

But this walks into more danger. 

Remember, this is a 3-minute blitz game, and accidents can happen.

13.d3+ g5 14.dxe4 Re8 

Black's Rook is out of danger - for now.

15.Re1 d5 16.Nc3 d4 17.Nd5 Re6 

Stumbling, in order to prevent Rf6+, but overlooking the possible fork with 18.Nxc7. It is a difficult day for the piece.

18.h4  

Focusing on the King.

18...Kh5 19.Bxg5 c6 20.Nf4+ Kg4 21.Nxe6 Bxe6 

White is a Rook up. Can he bring the game home before his flag falls?

22.Rad1 c5 23.Rf1 Kh5 24.Rf6 Re8 

White has a forced checkmate.

25.Rdf1 Bg8 26.Rf8 

An exchange of Rooks increases his advantage.

26...Rxf8 27.Rxf8 Be6 

White can easily grind out an endgame win, or go for a checkmate.

For the latter he will need to involve one more piece.

28.Rf6 Bd7 29.Kf2 b5 30.Kf3 Bg4+ 31.Kf4 Bd1 32.Rh6 checkmate

It does not appear that White was troubled in the least by the absence of his Queen.