Cracked Up

Sometimes I will play a game, and be happy with it: I put on the pressure, my opponent cracked.

Then I will turn the game over to Rybka and see what the computer program has to say. About the following game, it suggested that I played so poorly, my opponent probably cracked up laughing, and as a result lost his focus and lost...

perrypawnpusher - bartab
standard, FICS, 2012

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

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qd3

Bill Wall has taken a look at 9.Qc4+, and maybe I should, too: 9...Kf8 (9...Ke8 10.Bg5 (10.0-0 Na5 11.Qa4 b6 12.e5 Ng4 13.Qxg4 h6 14.Qxg7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Donavan, Chess.com 2010) 10...h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 d6 13.0-0-0 Qe7 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Ne5 16.Qc3 Qg7 17.Rhe1 Kd8 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.Rxe5 Qd7 20.d6 c6 21.Rf5 Re8 22.Qf6+ Re7 23.dxe7+ Ke8 24.Qf7#  Wall,B - Firewoods, Chess.com 2010) 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 d6 12.0-0-0 Bg4 13.f3 Bd7 14.Nd5 Be6 15.Rhe1 Bxd5 16.exd5 Na5 17.Qd3 g5 18.Bf2 c6 19.Bd4 Rh7 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qxh7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Jag, Chess.com 2010

9...Re8

Or 9...Ng4 10.Bf4 Nge5 11.Bg3 Nxd3+ White resigned, perrypawnpusher - anandh, blitz, FICS 2011.

Better, yet, might be 9...d5 10.Nxd5 Nxe4.

10.Bg5

A bit better was 10.0-0, as in perrypawnpusher - Duir, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 42).

10...h6

Missing the shot 10...Nxe4!?

11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.0-0 Re5

Perhaps with the idea of shifting the Rook to the Kingside for attack, but this looks like asking for trouble.

13.f4 Re7 14.Nd5

It was either this move, or the positional 14.e5, with pressure against Black's d-pawn, which, in turn, confines Black's light-squared Bishop. Of course, after the game, Rybka preferred 14.e5 over the text.

14...Qd6

The safe play was ...Qd4+, exchanging Queens, either right away, or after 14...Qxb2 15.Rab1

15.Qc4 Re6

Planning to block the Queen's check, but sounding a lot like "Trouble, please."

16.Nxc7

Am I the only person who did not see 16.f5 Kg8 (16...Re5 17.Nb6+ Kf8 18.Nxa8 Rc5 19.Qd3) 17.fxe6 dxe6 ?

16...Qxc7 17.f5 Ne5

Perhaps my opponent was laughing too hard at my play to see 17...Kg8 18.fxe6 dxe6 with an edge to Black.

In any event, he missed something.

18.fxe6+ Ke7 19.Qxc7 Black resigned

That was not so much "funny, ha ha" as "funny, strange".

Nerve

I've been reading the book Nerve, Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool, by Taylor Clark, with the naive hope that it might help me in a number of ways, including my blitz chess. A quick look at my 12th and 15th moves in the game below show I have a ways to go...

perrypawnpusher - Duquesne
blitz, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kf8

Declined. I was surprised to find only one example in The Database.

7.Bb3 Ng4

Instead, 7...d6 8.h3 Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Nd5 Nxe4 11.Qf3+ Nf6 12.d3 Be6 13.Nxf6 Qxf6 14.Bxe6 Qxf3 15.gxf3 Ke7 16.Re1 g5 17.f4 Bb4 18.Re2 gxf4 19.Bxf4 Raf8 20.Bg3 Rhg8 21.Bxg8+ Black resigned, was perrypawnpusher - Duquesne, blitz, FICS, 2010.

8.d3

A little better was to play for the "fork trick" with 8.h3 Nf6 and then 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.d4, etc.

8...Nd4

I think my opponent may have decided that his Knight on g4 was tactically protected, i.e. 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Qxg4 dxc3, but this was short-sighted, as 11.Qf5+ would allow White to pick up the Black Bishop on c5. The calm 8...d6 was probably best.

9.Nxd4 d6 10.Ne6+ Bxe6 11.Bxe6 Bxf2+

12.Rxf2+

From his 7th move, I was sure that my opponent wanted to exchange his two pieces for my Rook and pawn. I was okay with that. What I missed here is that, with my Bishop on e6, attacking his Knight (which protects his Bishop), a better move was 12...Kh1, as both Black pieces remain hanging.

12...Nxf2 13.Kxf2 Qf6+ 14.Qf3 Ke7

15.Qxf6+

Okay, but 15.Nd5+ was Game Over. 

15...gxf6 16.Bf5 Rhg8 17.Be3 c5 18.Nd5+ Kf7

19.Nc7 Rab8 20.Be6+ Ke7 21.Bxg8 Black resigned

Still

As with yesterday's post (see "Imperative"), today's game shows Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) advocate blackburne taking the black pieces and asking his opponent to show what he has gotten out of the "modern" variation. It is imperative that he find something.

Black can bide his time with his extra piece, and blackburne does – until it is time to switch over to attack.

DREWBEAR 63 - blackburne
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.0-0 d6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3 Bg4

8.Bg5 Nd4 9.Nd5 Rf8 10.h3 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Kg8 12.b4 Bb6 13.c3 Ne6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nxb6 axb6

White has an open file to work with (the g-file) but Black will be able to oppose there.

16.Kh2 Nf4 17.Rg1+ Kf7 18.Rg3 Rg8 19.Rg4 Qd7

This move does more than link Rooks.

20.Rh4 Rg2+ 21.Kh1 h5 22.Rxf4

Expecting 22...exf4 23.Kxg2 leaving him ahead a pawn.

22...Qxh3 checkmate

Imperative

Players who gamble with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) do so because there are all sorts of wild and creative things they can do out of the opening.

In fact, it is almost imperative that they do all sorts of wild and creative things.

Otherwise, Black can do all sorts of calm and boring things, like exchanging pieces, leaving him one ahead.

Or Black can use his extra piece to do all sorts of wild and creative things, himself.

Rikiki00 - blackburne
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament

ChessWorld, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.0-0 Rf8 7.Be3 Bxe3 8.fxe3 Kg8

White is playing one of the "modern" Jerome Gambit variations, without 5.Nxe5+. He has sacrificed less than in the "classical" lines, but he now has to work harder to make something of his position.

In the meantime, Black has castled-by-hand and has no apparent weaknesses.

9.Nc3 d6 10.h3 Nh5

Taking a look at the "hole" White has created at g3.

11.Nd5 Ng3 12.Re1 Ne7 13.Qd2 Nxd5 14.exd5 Rf7 15.Kh2 Nh5 16.e4 Nf4

The Black Knight, kicked out of g3, returns to f4.

In the meantime, Black has swapped off White's advance Knight. He has all the time in the world to double his Rooks on the f-file, to exchange them off, too, if White follows the same plan.

Or, he can look for something else.

17.Rf1 Qf6 18.Rf2 Qh6 19.Raf1 Bxh3

Great use of his extra piece.

20.gxh3 Qxh3+ 21.Kg1 Rf6 22.Rh2 Rg6+ 23.Kh1

A slip, but there was not a lot of future in 23.Kd2 Qg3+ 24.Ke3 Rf8 25.Qf2 Nh3 (yet another hole) 26.Qxg3 Rxg3 27.c3 Ng5 28.Rhf2 Nxf3 29.Rxf3 Rgxf3+ 30.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 31.Kxf3 and Black's endgame chances are clearly better.

23...Qxf1+ White resigned

What Do You See?

The following position is from the game braken - mckenna215, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2011, one of the few drawn games in that large 15-player double-round-robin tournaments.

The situation is relatively balanced, but Black's two Bishops are likely to prove more than White's Rook can handle. The game will be decided by what each player can see in the position.

21. Ne7 Ne6

Black allows the win of two pieces for the Rook. I think he simply missed White's 23rd move.

22.Rxe6 Nxe6 23.Qg6+

A smart idea. After the routine 23.Qxe6 Black has 23...Qe8, and the pin on the White Knight is annoying. There are even lines where the Knight can be trapped and won for a pawn or two, pushing the game closer to the split point.

23...Kh8 24.Qxe6 Kh7 25.Nxd5 Qa3

White has won a pawn, and Black seeks counterplay on the Queenside.

Instead of a battle of N+P vs B, or an exchange of minor pieces into a Q+Ps vs Q+Ps endgame, things should now shift to an attack on Black's King with 26.g4!? 

26.Ne3

Not wanting to lose the a-pawn, but giving Black the counterplay he was seeking.

26...Qc1+ 27.Nf1 Qxc3

The game has changed again. Now Black is looking to take the d-pawn and be up a pawn, with a freed Bishop to dominate the humbled Knight.

White says "no, thank you" and forces the draw by repetition.

28.Qe4+ Kg8 29.Qe8+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ Kg8 31.Qe8+ Kh7 Drawn

Jerome Gambit and "Opening Lanes"

As Michael Goeller pointed out in his comment to the recent post "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service", International Master Gary Lane has again (see here and here) taken a look at the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), an opening that he admits he has "a soft spot for", in his "Opening Lanes" column at ChessCafe.com.

As Gary has mentioned me by name, and asked for some games, I will be sending him a few. Be sure to watch for next month's edition of "Opening Lanes"!

Of course, readers who have interesting Jerome Gambit games are encouraged as well to send them to garylane@chesscafe.com

If you...

The old caution still holds today: if you strike the King, you must kill him. If the King survives your blow, he is likely to come back with all his force and deliver a brutal revenge.

The following position is from blackburne - klonka59, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2011. To be fair, Black was doing quite well until recently, but, as you can see, he has allowed White back into the game – and a very messy one, at that.

White has two Rooks to Black's Queen, and three extra pawns to match Black's Knight.

33.Rxd1 Qxd1 34.Rg6+ Kd7 35.Rxh6 Qxc2+

Now White has a Rook and a Bishop and a couple of pawns to face the Queen. Things might still be about even, but White's pawns allow him to keep the pressure on.

36.Kf3 a6 37.f5 Qxa2 38.e5 Qd5+ 39.Kf4 Qxd3

Black's Queen has been doing her best to deal with the White pawns, but two of them are beginning to look scary.

40.Rh7+ Kc6 41.Bd4 Qf1+ 42.Kg5 Qg2+ 43.Kf6 Qg8 44.Rg7 Qd8+ 45.Kg6 a5

Black has his own passed pawn to advance.

46.e6 Qe8+ 47.Kg5 Qd8+ 48.e7 Qe8 49.f6 Kd5 50.Kf5 a4

51.Rh7 Qd7+ 52.Kg6 Qe8+ 53.Kg7 Ke6 54.Rh8 Qf7+ 55.Kh6 Kd7

Black has done what he can to restrain the "Jerome pawns" but it is not enough.

56.Rd8+ Ke6 57.e8Q+ Qxe8 58.Rxe8+ Kf7 59.Re7+ Kf8 60.Kg6 a3 61.Rxc7 a2 62.Rc8 checkmate

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service

Although he finished in the top half of the standings, with a plus score, long time Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") – still, to the best of my knowledge, the top-rated modern player to venture the Jerome Gambit in serious over-the-board games, risking his rating (and the ribbing of his mates) – did not seem, in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, to be at the top of his game.

Perhaps he was playing this one for fun, which would explain his sometimes "casual" approach to an opening which, for all of its off-beat style, still has a certain amount of "theory" to acknowledge.

The title of this post comes from signs placed at some retail establishements, suggesting that people who have taken a casual approach to attire need not enter.

In the following game, however, blackburne got seriously served.

blackburne - shm19cs
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.f4

A theoretical novelty (TN), but there is no need to add insult to injury and name it after the player of the White pieces, especially as there is already a Banks Variation in the Jerome.

6...Nxe5

Black immediately puts his finger on the problem with White's move.

7.fxe5 Qh4+

The game resembles a reversed Damiano Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 3.Nxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+), although in this case it is the defending side that had sacrificed a piece.

8.g3 Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 Qxh1+ 10.Qf1+ Qxf1+ 11.Kxf1 d6

12.exd6 cxd6 13.c3 Bh3+ 14.Ke2 Nf6 15.d4 Re8+ 16.Kd3 Bb6 17.Bg5 Bf5+ 18.Kd2 Ne4+

The final indignity. White resigned.

Retrospective

I was looking through a number of the games in the nearly-finished ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament when I was surprised by the following position from mckenna215 - blackburne

Never mind White's extra Queen – what was his King doing at h8?

I rolled back the game a number of moves, and looked at the position again, with Black to move.

It is clear, now, what happened in the game: Black's Queen chased the White King to safety at h8. But, is that all we can say? Let's roll the game forward...

25...Qa1+ 26.Kf2 Qb2+ 27.Kg3

White's King, feeling claustrophobic, heads for the wide open spaces. He could well have stayed closer to home with 27.Kf1 Qc1+ 28.Ke2 Qb2+ 29.Kd3 Qb1+ 30.Kd2 Qb2+ 31.Qc2 when his Queen's arrival would save the day.

27...Qxc3+ 28.Kf4

Now here Black played 28...Qxd4+, and the game eventually ended on a slip or a spite check with 29.Kg5 Qg4+ 30.Kf6 Qf4+ 31.Kg7 Qg5+ 32.Kh8 Qf6+ 33.exf6 Black resigned.

Had he found 28...Qd2+, the second player would have been able to make use of his light-squared Bishop and his "dark-squared" Queen to keep the enemy monarch from going further afield. One possible line might be 29.Kf3 Qd1+ 30.Ke3 Qe1+ 31.Kd3 Ba6+ when 32.Kc2 would allow Black to continue checking with 32...Qe2+, and 32.Nc4 would allow Black to win the Knight, e.g. 32...Qb1+, when his piece for White's extra pawn might well hold the draw.

To be fair to White, had he played 28.Kh4 instead, his King would have escaped: 28...Qxd4+ 29.Kg5 Qg4+ 30.Kf6 Qf4+ 31.Nf5. 

"I don't get it"

Part of the fun of preparing games for this blog is looking into them and uncovering the logic (or illogic) behind a plan or a series of moves by one player or the other. This can bring to light all kinds of "errors of thinking". It can also leave me scratching my head in wonder, murmuring "I don't get it." 

The following game features blackburne, the top over-the-board (not just online) Jerome Gambit player, and Haroldlee123, who scored two serious upsets in the Chess World Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament. 

blackburne - Haroldlee123
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011

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

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

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

I found 68 games in The Database with this move. White scored 67%.

8.Kxf2 Nf6

Most often Black has played 8...Qf6+, when "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." (See "Short and Unbecoming")

9.Qf4 d6 10.Rf1 Kg7 11.d4 h6 12.Kg1

Both sides have castled-by-hand.Black's next move was played too quickly and gets him in immediate danger.

12...Rf8 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qg5 Kg7 15.Qh6+ Kf7 16.Qg5

The games in this tournament were played with a time limit of 5 days per move, but there was nothing to prevent opponents from playing faster if they ran into each other online. That's what seems to be going on here. White is repeating the position for what reason? I don't get it. (Perhaps: psychology.) Certainly 16.Bg5 would have kept the heat on.

16...c6

Black is avoiding repeating the position (by 16...Kf7) for what reason? I don't get it. He is down two pawns and should be thrilled with a draw. Instead, the text tosses a piece.

17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Ke6 19.exf6 Rxf6 20.Rxf6+

The endgame, a piece and a pawn up, will be pleasant. White could have played sharper with 20.Re1+ Kg7 21.Qh4, but why bother? Remember, each player had 28 games to contend with.

After Black's response there are a number of checkmating lines available, and White chooses one.

20...Ke7 21.Rxg6+ Black resigned

Favorite Checkmate



Haroldlee123 - klonka

 Here we have my favorite checkmate from the lingering Chess World Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament.

White has just played 69.e7 checkmate.

He might just as well have played 69.Bh6#.

Promoting three pawns to Queens and sacrificing one would have been a bit too much: 69.d7 Ke7 70.f8/Q+ Kxe6 71.d8/Q Ke5 72.Qf5#