All's well that ends well

The other day I stopped by the website of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and read about the Eighth U.S. Chess School recently held in Scottsdale, Arizona. There I read about 15 year old Kevin Zhang, rated 2160, who made the remarkable comment

I like playing any endgame that’s completely equal...
I made 2100 without any opening theory at all, just with simple tactical ideas and solid endgames. I would get horrible positions out of the opening and then have to fight back in the middlegame.

That came to mind later in the day when I was playing a game at the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) and reached the following position with White. (It didn't arise from one of my Jerome Gambit games – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.)


Readers will recognize a standard Bishops-of-opposite-colors ending, and realize that White, despite his protected passed pawn, has nothing.

If my opponent hadn't been rated some 150 points above me, I would have offered a draw. It seemed polite to let him do so.

32. Kf3 Bb2 33. a4 Ba3 34. b5 axb5 35. axb5 Kd7

36. f5 c6 37. bxc6+ bxc6 38. Ke4 Bb2

Once White plays e5-e6, Black will be able to establish a dark square blockade with his Bishop and King, and the White pawns will not advance. Likewise, White can establish a light square blockade with his King and Bishop, and the enemy c-pawn will do no damage.

39. Bc4 Ke7 40. Bb3 Kd7 41. Be6+ Ke7 42. Bb3 Kd7

It's evident that neither one of us is getting anywhere. (Even though it was a 2 12 game, time on the clock was not an issue for either of us.)

43. h4 Ke7 44. h5 Kd7 45. Bc4 Ke7 46. Bb3 Kd7

Same old, same old. To show that I had a sense of humor, I decided to break the deadlock by sacrificing a pawn – not that it would change anything.

47. f6 gxf6 48. exf6
After 48...Bxf6 White's King heads for – h1!

Black will be able to exchange his c-pawn for White's Bishop and even win White's remaining pawn, but he will find himself in the even more notorious wrong-colored-Bishop-and-Rook-pawn ending where he will be unable to promote his remaining pawn because he will not be able to chase White's King away from the Queening square!

48...Ke8

My opponent shows that he is a funny guy, too. It turns out that he can draw without even recapturing the pawn!

49. Kf5 Bxf6

However, this is one joke too many.

My opponent would not communicate with me after the game (perhaps he had already started another match) so that I could not learn why he played this move instead of 49...Kf8, which clearly draws.

If I were to guess, I would say that after 49...Bxf6 50.Kxf6 he told himself: now, even if I lose both of my pawns my opponent will still be stuck trying to win that notorious wrong-colored-Bishop-and-Rook-pawn ending...

50. Kxf6 c5 51. Kg6 Kf8 52. Kxh6


Oooops... The Black King cannot get to h8 to hold off the White pawn.

Black resigns.

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (26)

After the previous one-sided adventure (see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (25)") the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) seemed to be on its last legs against the 7...d6 defense, and the following game – even though it is a humorous draw – adds to the Jerome's misery, as the computer Hiarcs 8, playing White, "panics" (as did Crafty 19.19 before it: see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (22)") and forces an early draw.

A pleasant break for RevvedUp, nonetheless.

Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp

blitz 2 12, 2006

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+

9...Ke7 10.Qg3 Kd6 11.Qd3+ Ke7 12.Qg3 Ke6 13.Qh3+ Kf7 14.Qh5+ Ke6 15.Qh3+ draw

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (25)

Further exploration into the 7...d6 line of defense in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) shows that it is more effective than it looks: Black's King is not so unsafe, and White's King can get into its own trouble.


RevvedUp - Hiarcs 8
blitz 2 12, 2006

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Rf1

As in "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (24)".
9...Nf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.d3 Bg4

Hiarcs 8 varies from 11...Qd4 that Fritz 8 played in the previous game.

12.Qd2 Qd4 13.c3 Qd6

It doesn't seem right that White has sacrificed two pieces to get into this position.

14.b4 Bb6 15.a4 Rhf8
Black can even ignore the threat of h4-h5, trapping his Bishop.

16.Qc2 Nxe4

A sacrifice, which accepted, will lead to mate.

17.dxe4 Rxf1+ 18.Kxf1 Rf8+ 19.Ke1 Bf2+ 20.Kf1 Bh4+ 21.Kg1 Qb6+ 22.Kh1 Rf1 checkmate


Brutal.

Don't say we didn't warn you...

From the "Why You Lose in the Opening" chapter of Tim Harding's Why You Lose at Chess (1982)

Playing an opening that is tactically unsound is rather another matter, for punishment is likely to be swift and painful if your opponent knows the refutation. Openings such as the Queen Pawn Counter Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5), Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5), Jerome Gambit(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) involve the early sacrifice of material that is unlikely, against a player of reasonable competence, to bring material or positional compensation...

To go deliberately into such openings or variations is not to be recommended as a general rule. If the opponent is weaker than you, then you should be able to win without taking such risks. If the opponent is stronger, he is likely to know the refutation or find it...

The rest of the story...?

Some time back I asked Bill Wall (see "Unorthodox Duo" and "Hip' Kat" for earlier mentions of Mr. Wall) if he had ever played the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) – and, if so, if he'd be willing to share a game or two.

His response was straight forward

Rick,

Looks like I only played one game with the Jerome Gambit. I'll have to experiment more with it.

Bill

Wall,B - Guest4395
Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone, 2001
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6



7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qd5+


I don't know how old this move is, but this game is the first time that it occurs in my database.

8...Ke7 9.d3

Or 9.f4 Nxf4?? 10.Qg5+ winning a piece.

9...c6 10.Bg5+ Nf6 11.Bxf6+ Kxf6
A gutsy move, keeping his Kingside pawns intact.
12.Qb3 Rf8 13.0-0 Kg5


Amazing! Can he actually get away with that?

14.Nd2 Kh6 15.Nf3 Qf6

With his King "castled" in a most unorthodox way, Black is ready to attack.

16.Rae1 Be6 17.Qxb7

"and later drawn"

What??? That's all???
(My guess is that Black's Kingside attack failed, White grabbed a pawn or two more, and things settled down... But it's a shame we don't know the rest of the story.)

A Reminder: Why we play this stuff...

Playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) – or, in the case of the game below, the Abrahams Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+) – can always seem to be a bunch of silliness, but every once in a while even a trivial game can have its moments.

hennybogan1954 - jesse220

www.gameknot.com 2006

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

For more on this line see "'Tis A Puzzlement...", "The Abrahams Jerome Gambit (Part I)" and "(Part II)".

3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 d6

A position similar to the "real" Jerome Gambit, only White's King Knight and Black's Queen Knight are still on the board.

6.Qf4+ Nf6 7.Nf3 Ke7

Black does not like the pin on his Knight, and rightly worries about a well-timed e4-e5 by White, but he would have done much better to have simply brought out his Queen's Knight with 7...Nc6.

8.d4

Surprisingly, White can already break with advantage: 8.e5 Nd5 9.Qe4 dxe5 10.d4.

8...Bb6 9.Nc3

Although not as strong now, 9.e5 was the move to keep the pressure on and keep the game in balance.

9...c6 10.0-0 Bg4

As can often be said in the Jerome Gambit: a good move, if it worked...

Given 5 minutes to "blundercheck" the position, Rybka 3 gives this prosaic end to the game: 10...h6 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Nd5 13.Qg3 Kf8 14.Rd1 Qe8 15.Ne4 Qe6 16.Nd6 Kg8 17.Nxc8 Qxc8 18.Nh4 Qe6 19.Ng6 Rh7 20.c4 Nb4 21.Rd6 Qxc4 22.Ne7+ Kf8 23.Ng6+ Kg8 24.Ne7+ Kf8 25.Ng6+ Kg8 draw.

11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Bxf3

Not wanting to leave the Bishop hanging after the Knight on f6 disappears, but, if so, this was better accomplished by 12...Nbd7 13.exf6+ Nxf6, when White is winning any way due to Black's unsafe King.

13.Qxf3

Taking the Knight first with 13.exf6+ was a bit stronger. Now Black and his game fall apart.

13...Nd5 14.Bg5+ Nf6 15.exf6+ Ke8 Black resigns

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (24)

Here we have another contest where the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) holds its own in the computer's hands, as Fritz 8 gives RevvedUp "Jerome Gambit odds" and RevvedUp again fights well enough – only to be ground down in the endgame.



Fritz 8 - RevvedUp
blitz 2 12, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke67.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Rf1
A "computer-ish" move played five years ago by The Perfesser (see "Jerome Gambit and The Perfesser (Part II)") and a reasonable alternative to 9.Qh3+.

9...Nf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.d3 Qd4


Going after Fritz 8's King. Perhaps RevvedUp should have tended to his own, first, castling-by-hand with something like 11...Rf8 12.Bg5 Ke7 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Nd2 Kg8 15.0-0-0 Be6. Black's King is drafty, and the position looks somewhat passive, but he does have the extra piece as compensation.

Remember, though, this is a blitz game, and attack often rules the day.

12.c3 Qd6 13.Nd2 Bg4

Giving back some material, by choice or by accident.

14.Rxf6 Bxe2 15.Rxd6 Bh5

Better was15...Kxd6 16.Kxe2 when Black would have the exchange for a pawn. He is hoping instead to take advantage of the awkwardly-placed Rook.

16.Rd5 Bd6 17.Nc4 Bf7


18.Bg5+ Ke6 19.Rd1 h6 20.Bh4 Rhe8 21.Bg3 Kd7



22.Nxe5+ Rxe5 23.Rxe5 Bxe5 24.Bxe5 Bxa2


RevvedUp is playing for a Bishops-of-Opposite-Colors ending where he reasonably hopes to find a draw. It is not clear to me if he would have more chances for success if he had kept his Kingside pawns intact with 24...g6 here followed by a later ...h5.

25.Bxg7 Rg8 26.Bxh6 Rxg2 27.Rd2 Rxd2 28.Kxd2 Bf7


Not all Opposite-Color-Bishop endgames are drawn, and in this one White has the advantage of 2 extra pawns, both of them passed. Black will have to set up two blocades, but it still seems worth playing on.

29.d4 c6 30.Ke3 b5 31.b4 Ke6 32.h3 Kf6 33.Kf4 Bc4


Perhaps the Bishop needed to go to g6 instead, setting up a blocade of the light h5 square which only can be relieved by White's King. When that happens, Black's Bishop should retreat to f7 maintaining the blocade squares at d5 and e6, while his King takes over defensive duties on the Kingside. Would that have worked? It is also dependent upon White playing e5 at some point – which he does not do in the game.

34.Bf8 Be6 35.h4 a6 36.h5 Bc4 37.h6 Kg6 38.Ke5

RevvedUp has chosen h7 as his blocade square, but Fritz 8, having wisely not advanced his e-pawn, is able to advance his King instead.

38...Bd3 39.d5 cxd5 40.exd5 Kf7 41.Bc5 Bh7 42.d6 Ke8 43.Kf6 Bd3 44.Kg7 Kd7 45.h7 Black resigns

Wow. Who says computers can't play endgames??