Boden-Kieseritzky-Jerome Gambit??

My fascination with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) sometimes gets me into adventures that I really shouldn't be able to get out of...

perrypawnpusher - jayshanker
blitz game 12 0, FICS 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6

Not everybody wants to play the Giuoco Piano with 3...Bc5. Lately I've been answering 2...Nf3 (the Petroff Defense) with 3.Bc4 and if 3...Nxe4 then 4.Nc3, the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit (4...Nxc3 5.dxc3). So I figured in this game to transpose from the Two Knights Defense into the B-KG as well.

4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Nc3 f5

So far, so good, although Black's last move is quite unusual. Since a main defence against the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit involves ...f6, protecting the black e5 pawn, White should be able to count on decent play after the text with 6.Re1.

Of course, that was not what I was thinking, as I had a case of Jerome-Gambit-on-the-brain...

6.Nxe4 fxe4 7.Nxe5 Nxe5 8.Qh5+


Not precisely Jerome-ish, as White retains his King Bishop, but the thematic foolish sacrifice of material for a dubious attack is recognizable.

8...g6

Tic tac toe! Once again, the "shock and awe" of responding to the sacrifice makes up for much of its theoretical un-soundness.

There should be more to a gambit idea than just crossing my fingers and hoping, as the following defense should have resolved the game quickly in my opponent's favor: 8...Ng6 9.Re1 Qh4! (I don't think I'll test my luck twice with this line.)

9.Qxe5+ Be7

10.Qxh8+ Bf8 11.d3 d6 12.Bh6 Kd7 13.Qxf8 Qxf8 14.Bxf8 Ke8

The rest is silence.

15.Bg7 Bd7 16.Rae1 Kd8 17.Rxe4 c6 18.Be6 Kc7 19.Bxd7 Kxd7 20.Rfe1 Kc7

21.Re7+ Kb6 22.Bd4+ c5 23.Bc3 a5 24.Rd7 Rc8 25.Ree7 Rc6 26.Rxb7+ Ka6 27.Ra7+ Kb6 28.Reb7 checkmate

More of The Next Best Thing...

In his comment to "London Calling... Seven Months of Blog" and "The Next Best Thing..." Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") called readers attention to the opening 1.h4.

Would giving a couple of games by some top past masters give a different picture of the possibilities of that opening?

Janowski,D - Allies

Paris, 1901

1.h4 e5 2.h5 d5 3.e3 f5 4.b3 Be6 5.Bb2 Nd7 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Nc3 a6 8.Bd3 Qe7 9.Nxd5 Bxd5 10.Bxf5 Nh6 11.Bxd7+ Kxd7 12.c4 Be4 13.d3 Bb4+ 14.Ke2 Bxf3+ 15.gxf3 c6 16.d4 e4 17.fxe4 Qxe4 18.Rg1 Nf5 19.Qd3 Qxd3+ 20.Kxd3 Rhg8 21.e4 Nh4 22.f4 Raf8 23.Raf1 g6 24.hxg6 Rxg6 25.f5 Rg2 26.Rxg2 Nxg2 27.Rh1 Rf7 28.d5 cxd5 29.cxd5 h5 30.Rh2 Nf4+ 31.Kc4 Be1 32.Be5 Bg3 33.Bxf4 Bxf4 34.Rxh5 Be5 35.Rh6 Bf6 36.Kc5 Bg5 37.Rd6+ Kc7 38.Re6 Be3+ 39.Kc4 Kd7 40.f6 Bf2 41.e5 Bg3 42.Kd4 Rh7 43.Ke4 Be1 44.Kf5 Bb4 45.Kg6 Rh4 46.Rb6 Kc7 47.Rxb4 Rxb4 48.f7 Rf4 49.Kg7 1-0

Bogoljubow,E - Schuppler

Haslach, 1949

1.h4 d5 2.d4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bf5 5.c3 Nbd7 6.Ne5 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Nd7 8.Qa4 h5 9.Nf3 Qc7 10.Bf4 e6 11.Bh2 g6 12.Nd4 Bg7 13.Nxf5 gxf5 14.f4 Nc5 15.Qc2 Ne4 16.g3 Bh6 17.Bg2 0-0-0 18.Rd1 Rdg8 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.0-0 Rg4 21.Kh1 Rhg8 22.b4 Bf8 23.a4 Be7 24.Rd2 Rd8 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Rd1 Qc7 27.a5 Rg8 28.Bg1 Rxg3 29.Bxa7 c5 30.Qa4 Qc6 31.b5 Qe8 32.Rg1 Qg8 33.Rxg3 Qxg3 34.Qc4 Qh3+ 35.Kg1 Qg4+ 36.Kh1 Qh3+ 37.Kg1 Qe3+ 38.Kh1 Qh3+ 39.Kg1 Qg3+ 40.Kh1 Qxh4+ 41.Kg2 Qg4+ 42.Kh1 Qh3+ 43.Kg1 Qg3+ 44.Kh1 h4 45.a6 Qh3+ 46.Kg1 Qg3+ 47.Kf1 e3 0-1

Nerves of Tin

I still play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in online blitz games and I still sometimes get a case of "nerves" when I do.

Good thing I still win...

perrypawnpusher - GabrielChime
blitz 12 0, FICS 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6
An unusual move – I have less than a half-dozen game examples in my database. That's the fun of defending against the Jerome Gambit, however: there are so many ways to give back a piece or two.

9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qe3
An alternative was 11.Qc3.

We have a typical Jerome Gambit position, where White has two pawns to make use of against Black's extra piece.
11...Bd7 12.0-0
Also equal (according to Fritz 8) is 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc6 14.0-0 Kf8 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Qe7 17.e6 Be8. I'm never quite sure when to play with the pawns and when to develop.
12...Qf8 13.e5 Kd8
An interesting position! Black's King is temporarily lodged in the middle of his back rank, and his two Rooks are very much parked in the garage. Yet White's lag in development does not (yet) make that situation dangerous. My next move – preferring to open the center instead of reinforcing it with 14.d4 – is a strategic error.

14.exd6
Ask Rybka a simple question and sometimes it will give you a complicated answer. Set this position on "blundercheck" at 5 minutes a move, and Rybka comes up with a line leading to a draw by repetition: 14.d4 Qf5 15.c4 Nh6 16.Nc3 Re8 17.h3 Kc8 18.Bd2 Kb8 19.Rac1 Qh5 20.Qd3 Bf5 21.Qe3 Bd7 22.Qd3 Bf5 23.Qe3 Bd7 24.Qd3 Bf5 25.Qe3 Bd7 26.Qd3 Bf5 27.Qe3 Bd7 28.Qd3 Bf5 29.Qe3...
14...Qxd6 15.Nc3 Nf6 16.d3 Re8 17.Qf2
Sitting here, White's Queen is liable to be harassed by a future ...Ng4. The usual "imbalance" of adventurous connected pawns has disappeared. Black is clearly better.

17...Rf8
Black could have brought some serious heat with 17...Ng4 18.Qd2 Qd4+ 19.Kh1 Bc6. The text move is okay – it's just not best.
18.Be3 b6
Again, 18...Ng4 instead seems the way to go. I was glad to see GabrielChime open up the possible future home of his King.

19.Rae1 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Qxd5 21.Bd2
Trying to get something going.
21...Qxa2
Black feels comfortable enough to grab a pawn, and I was actually glad that he did, as it decentralized his strongest piece. Unfortunately, my response is not best: I should have played 22.Qd4.

22.Bc3 Qd5
Here or on the next move, Black wins the day with ...Rxf4.
23.Bxg7 Re8
I have been handed an even game by my generous opponent. Such is blitz – such is the Jerome Gambit.
24.Rxe8+ Kxe8 25.f5 Ne7
The position is more complicated than it seems at first glance, and Rybka's post mortem analysis leads the game into an oddly balanced endgame where White has a Rook and a pawn for a Knight and a Bishop: 26.c4 Qxd3 27.Re1 Kf7 28.Qh4 Nxf5 29.Qxh7 Rg8 30.Bh6+ Kf6 31.Qxg8 Nxh6 32.Qd8+ Kg6 33.Qxc7 Qd4+ 34.Kh1 Ng4 35.h3 Nf2+ 36.Kh2 Nxh3 37.Qe5 Qxe5+ 38.Rxe5 Nf2 39.Re7 Ng4+ 40.Kg3 Nf6. Needless to say, none of this occurred to me.
26.f6
Play 'em like you got 'em is often good advice for the Jerome Gambiteer, although in this case the advancing f-pawn is nothing special. Unless Black believes it is...
The computer suggests that it is time for the second player to return the extra piece and transition into an even ending: 26...Nf5 27.c4 Qxd3 28.g4 Kf7 29.gxf5 Re8 30.Qh4 Bxf5 31.Qh5+ Bg6 32.Qd5+ Qxd5 33.cxd5 Re2. Perhaps this is chess how it should be played, rather than how I play it.
26...Ng6
Now Black gives his extra piece back (a time-honored defensive move) – only to discover that the resulting position has another piece soon-to-hang.
27.f7+ Kd8 28.f8Q+ Nxf8 29.Qxf8+ Black resigns

After 29...Be8 White will play 30.Rf5 planning to attack the pinned Bishop a second time with 31.Re5. Black can counter this with 30...Qd6 (threatening to exchange Queens) but then White can sidestep with 31.Qg8 with plans to put his Rook on f8, again winning the Bishop. The problem for Black after 29...Be8 30.Rf5 Qd6 31.Qg8 is that there is no way for his Queen to protect the Bishop without coming to grief: 31...Qd7 32.Rd6; 31...Qe7 32.Bf6; or 31...Qe6 32.Qxe6.

Ugandan Chess Master

Every once in a while I have taken a break from posting on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) to mention happenings in Uganda, where Kennedy Kid Jon spent last summer (see "And Now For Something Completely Different..." and "A Short Break from the Jerome Gambit").

Jon's Uganda blog is at http://www.jbkuganda.blogspot.com/

Word from the Uganda Chess Federation is that Moses Kawuma, a member of the Ugandan Olympiad Chess Team, recently scored 8-0-2 at the 2008 World Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. According to The Chess Drum, this performance (9/10) was enough for Kawuma to be granted the FIDE Master title.

Here are Master Moses Kawuma's games:

Kawuma,M (2204) - Chimthere,A (1966) [D37] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (1), 13.11.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Qxd1+ 10.Rxd1 Bd7 11.Ne5 Be8 12.Nb5 Nc6 13.Nd3 Be7 14.Nc7 Rc8 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Bxe6+ Bf7 17.Bxc8 Rxc8 18.a3 Nd5 19.0-0 Nxf4 20.Nxf4 Bf6 21.Rd2 Ne5 22.Nd5 h5 23.Nxf6+ gxf6 24.Rfd1 Kg7 25.f3 Kg6 26.Kf2 Bb3 27.Re1 a5 28.f4 Nc4 29.Rd3 a4 30.Re2 b5 31.e4 Rc6 32.Rd5 Nd6 33.Rd4 Nc4 34.g3 Kh6 35.h3 Kg6 36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Rc8 38.Rd5 Rh8 39.Kg2 Nb6 40.Rd6 Nc4 41.Rd7 Rh4 42.Kg3 Rh1 43.e5 fxe5 44.fxe5 Bd1 45.Rf2 Nxe5 46.Rd6+ Kg7 47.Kf4 Nf7 48.Rb6 Rg1 49.Rxb5 Rxg4+ 50.Ke3 Bb3 51.Rb7 Kg6 52.Rb4 Rg3+ 53.Kd4 Rg5 54.Rb6+ Kg7 55.Kc3 Nd8 56.Re2 Kf7 57.Rd6 Ne6 58.Rd7+ Kf6 59.Rf2+ 1/2-1/2

Grassi,E (2063) - Kawuma,M (2204) [B33] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (2), 14.11.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.Bd3 Be6 12.Qh5 Rg8 13.g3 Rg4 14.f3 Rg6 15.Qxh7 Rh6 16.Qg8 Rg6 17.Qh8 Bxd5 18.exd5 Qg5 19.f4 exf4 20.0-0-0 fxg3+ 21.Kb1 Ne5 22.hxg3 Rg8 23.Qh3 Qxg3 24.Bxf5 Qxh3 25.Bxh3 b4 0-1

Skehan,C - Kawuma,M (2204) [A45] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (4), 16.11.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 c5 3.c3 d6 4.Nd2 e5 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bc4 Bd6 7.e4 0-0 8.Ngf3 a6 9.a4 Nc6 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Qc2 Na5 12.Be2 Qc7 13.b4 cxb4 14.c4 b5 15.Qa2 bxc4 16.Nxc4 b3 17.Qd2 Nxc4 18.Bxc4 Nxe4 19.Qd3 Nc5 20.Qc3 Rab8 21.Bb2 Ne4 22.Qd3 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Ng5 24.Rac1 Nh3+ 25.Kh1 Bc5 26.Qc3 Bd4 27.Qd2 Qb7 28.Kg2 Nf4+ 29.Kg3 Qb6 30.Bxd4 Qg6+ 31.Kh4 Qh5+ 0-1

Kawuma,M (2204) - Antoniou,A (2177) [E18] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (5), 17.11.2008
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.0-0 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.Ne1 Bxg2 10.Nxg2 d5 11.Qa4 dxc4 12.Qxc4 Nd7 13.Qc6 Nf6 14.Be3 Qd6 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Bg5 Nd5 18.Bxe7 Qxc6 19.Rxc6 Nxe7 20.Rcc1 Kf8 21.e4 Ke8 22.Ne3 c5 23.dxc5 Rxd1+ 24.Nxd1 Kd7 25.b4 bxc5 26.bxc5 Kc6 27.Nb2 Rd8 28.Rc2 Rd4 29.f3 Kb5 30.Kf2 Nc6 31.Ke3 e5 32.a3 f6 33.Nd3 Na5 34.Nb2 Rd8 35.f4 exf4+ 36.gxf4 Rc8 37.e5 fxe5 38.fxe5 Rc6 39.Nd3 Nb3 40.a4+ Kxa4 41.Ra2+ Kb5 42.Rxa7 Nxc5 43.Rxg7 Nxd3 44.Kxd3 Rh6 45.Rg2 Kc6 46.Ke4 Kd7 47.Ra2 Rh4+ 48.Kf5 Rh5+ 49.Kf6 Rh6+ 50.Kf7 Rh3 51.Rd2+ 1-0

Miller,B (1741) - Kawuma,M (2204) [B21] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (6), 19.11.2008
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd2 0-0 8.Nge2 d6 9.0-0 Be6 10.Kh1 Qd7 11.f4 Bc5 12.Qg3 exf4 13.Nxf4 Kh8 14.Ncd5 Bd4 15.Bc3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Bxd5 17.exd5 Ne5 18.c4 Qg4 19.Qf2 Rfe8 20.Rae1 b6 21.Re3 Nxd3 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.cxd3 Re5 24.h3 Qg5 25.Ne2 Qe3 26.Qxe3 Rxe3 27.Nc1 Kg8 28.Kg1 b5 29.Kf2 Re7 30.Re1 Rc7 31.g4 bxc4 32.g5 Nd7 33.Re8+ Nf8 34.Rd8 cxd3 35.Nxd3 Rd7 36.Rxd7 Nxd7 37.Kf3 f6 38.gxf6 Nxf6 39.Nb4 a5 40.Nc6 a4 41.Nb4 Kf7 42.a3 g5 43.Ke3 h5 44.Kf3 Kg6 0-1

Kawuma,M (2204) - Kumar,M (2019) [D37] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (7), 20.11.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c6 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.h3 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bd3 Nf6 14.Qa4 a6 15.Ne5 b5 16.Qb3 Ne4 17.Rcd1 Qa5 18.Bb1 Rfd8 19.Qd3 Qb4 20.f3 Nf6 21.Rf2 g6 22.g4 Nd7 23.Rfd2 Bf6 24.Nxd7 Rxd7 25.g5 Bg7 26.Qf1 Rdd8 27.h4 Re8 28.a3 Qe7 29.Be5 b4 30.axb4 Qxb4 31.f4 a5 32.h5 Qb3 33.Bd3 Bc6 34.Qe2 Ba4 35.Kf2 Qb4 36.Rh1 Qe7 37.Qg4 Bb3 38.Qh4 Bxe5 39.fxe5 Bc4 40.hxg6 fxg6 41.Bxg6 Rf8+ 42.Kg3 Rc7 43.Rdh2 hxg6 44.Qh8+ Kf7 45.Rh7+ Ke8 46.Rxe7+ Rxe7 47.Qh3 Kd7 48.Qg2 Rf5 49.Rh4 Rxg5+ 50.Rg4 Rxg4+ 51.Kxg4 Kc6 52.Qc2 Kb6 53.b3 1-0

Kawuma,M (2204) - Christopher,A (1679) [D12] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (8), 21.11.2008
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 4.c4 c6 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Nh4 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Bb2 Rc8 12.Bf3 b6 13.Qd2 c5 14.cxd5 cxd4 15.exd4 Bb4 16.dxe6 Ne5 17.Qe3 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 fxe6 19.Ne4 Qd5 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.Qxd5 exd5 22.Rfc1 Kf7 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Rc1 Rxc1+ 25.Bxc1 Bc3 26.Be3 b5 27.Kf1 f5 28.Ke2 f4 29.Bxf4 Bxd4 30.Be3 Be5 31.Bxa7 Bxh2 32.g3 Ke6 33.Kf3 Ke5 34.Kg2 Bxg3 35.Kxg3 Ke4 36.a4 b4 37.Bc5 Kd3 38.Bxb4 Kc2 39.a5 Kxb3 40.Be1 1-0

Ho Hou Meng,H (1926) - Kawuma,M (2204) [A10] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (9), 22.11.2008 1.c4 b6 2.Nc3 Bb7 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c5 7.d5 d6 8.e4 Nbd7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.Bd3 a6 11.a4 Re8 12.0-0 Ng4 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Qg5 Qxg5 15.Nxg5 Nge5 16.Be2 exd5 17.exd5 Nf6 18.Rae1 Rad8 19.b3 Bc8 20.Nge4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Bf5 22.Ng3 Bc2 23.Bd1 Bxd1 24.Rxd1 Ng6 25.Rfe1 Kf8 26.Kf1 Re5 27.Ne4 h6 28.f3 Ke7 29.g3 Kd7 30.f4 Ree8 31.Kf2 Ne7 32.Nd2 Nf5 33.Nf3 Rb8 34.Ra1 Rxe1 35.Rxe1 b5 36.axb5 axb5 37.g4 bxc4 38.gxf5 cxb3 39.f6 gxf6 40.Rb1 c4 41.Nd4 Ra8 42.Nxb3 Ra2+ 43.Kg1 cxb3 44.Rxb3 Rd2 45.Rb7+ Ke8 46.Rb8+ Ke7 47.Rh8 Rxd5 48.Rxh6 Rf5 49.Rh4 d5 50.Kf2 d4 51.Ke2 Ke6 52.Kd3 Kd5 53.Rg4 Rh5 54.h4 Rf5 55.Rg7 Rxf4 56.Rxf7 Rf3+ 57.Kd2 Ke6 58.Rh7 d3 59.h5 Kf5 60.Rh8 Rh3 61.h6 Kg6 62.Rg8+ Kf7 63.Rg7+ Ke6 64.h7 Kf5 65.Re7 Kg6 66.h8Q Rxh8 67.Kxd3 Kf5 68.Ke3 Ra8 69.Kf3 Ra3+ 70.Kf2 Kf4 71.Rb7 Ra2+ 72.Kf1 f5 73.Rb4+ Kg3 74.Rb3+ Kg4 75.Rb4+ f4 76.Rb3 Rc2 77.Ra3 Rd2 78.Rb3 Kf5 79.Rb5+ Ke4 80.Rb4+ Ke3 81.Rb3+ Rd3 82.Rxd3+ Kxd3 83.Kf2 Ke4 84.Ke2 f3+ 85.Kf2 Kf4 86.Kf1 Ke3 87.Ke1 f2+ 88.Kf1 Kf3 1/2-1/2

Kawuma,M (2204) - Rambalohery,J [A46] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (10), 23.11.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 e5 10.Bg5 exd4 11.exd4 Re8+ 12.Be3 Nh5 13.0-0 c5 14.dxc5 dxc5 15.Be4 Ne5 16.Qe2 Nc6 17.Bxc5 Qh4 18.Qg4 Qxg4 19.hxg4 Bxc3 20.Bxc6 Rec8 21.Bxb7 Rxc5 22.Bxa8 Bxb2 23.Rab1 Bd4 24.gxh5 Rxh5 25.Bd5 Bb6 26.Rb3 Kg7 27.Re1 Bc7 28.Re7 Bh2+ 29.Kf1 Kf6 30.Rxf7+ Ke5 31.Rh3 1-0

Muendle,K (1928) - Kawuma,M (2204) [D55] 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (11), 25.11.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 0-0 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.b4 c5 11.bxc5 bxc5 12.Qc2 g6 13.0-0 c4 14.Be2 Re8 15.Rfb1 Bc6 16.Rb2 Nd7 17.Rab1 Qe7 18.a4 Rec8 19.Nd2 Bg7 20.Bf3 Nf6 21.g3 h5 22.h3 Qd7 23.Bg2 Qd6 24.Nb5 Qd8 25.Nc3 Bf8 26.Nf3 Rab8 27.Ne5 Rxb2 28.Rxb2 Ba8 29.Qb1 Kg7 30.Rb5 a5 31.Rb2 Bb4 32.Nb5 Bb7 33.Na7 Rc7 34.Nb5 Re7 35.Qd1 Ne8 36.Qc2 Nd6 37.Nxd6 Qxd6 38.h4 Bc8 39.Qd1 Bf5 40.g4 hxg4 41.e4 c3 42.Re2 dxe4 43.Bxe4 Rxe5 44.Bxf5 Rxf5 45.Re4 g3 46.f3 Qc6 0-1

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (30)

In the last game in this "human vs computers" Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) match, Yace Paderborn seems headed for the draw that Crafty 19.19 and Hiarcs 8 had found before it, when RevvedUp decides to vary – after all, his position is better.


Unfortunately, that gives the silicon beast the opportunity to lengthen the game and eventually outplay its human opponent.

Yace Paderborn - 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+

Kd6 10.Qd3+

10...Ke7 11.Qg3 Kf7

The draw comes with 11...Kd6, when Yace Paderborn likely would repeat with 12.Qd3+, etc. Perhaps RevvedUp was aware of a couple of previous examples of this line of play – where Black won.
12.Qxe5 Bd4

Colossus - Rybka v1.0 Beta.w32, Jerome Forced Computer Chess Match USA, 2006, transposed to this line, but saw ...Qh4+ here instead: 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+ Ke7 10.Qg3 Kf7 11.Qxe5 Qh4+ 12.g3 Qe7 13.Rf1+ Kg6 14.Qxe7 Nxe7 15.c3 Bh3 16.Rf4 Bd6 17.Rh4 Bd7 18.d4 Rae8 19.e5 Nd5 20.a3 Be7 21.Re4 Bf5 22.Re2 Bd3 23.Rg2 Rhf8 24.Bf4 c5 25.Nd2 Kh5 26.Rc1 Nxf4 27.gxf4 Rxf4 28.Kd1 Rg4 29.Rxg4 Kxg4 30.b4 Rf8 31.bxc5 Rf2 32.h3+ Kxh3 33.Rb1 Bxb1 34.Nxb1 Rf1+ 35.Kc2 Rxb1 36.Kxb1 h5 37.d5 Bxc5 38.d6 Kg4 39.Kc2 h4 40.Kd3 h3 41.Kc4 b6 42.d7 Be7 White resigns

13.Rf1+ Nf6 14.Qh5+ Ke7

Junior 7 preferred ...Kg8: Fritz 5.32 - Junior 7, Jerome Gambit The Jeroen Experience (1.1), 2003: 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+ Ke7 10.Qg3 Kf7 11.Qxe5 Bd4 12.Rf1+ Nf6 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.Qg5 h6 15.Qf4 Qe7 16.d3 Bg4 17.Nd2 Rf8 18.h3 Bh5 19.c3 g5 20.Qg3 Be5 21.Qe3 Bf4 22.Rxf4 gxf4 23.Qxa7 Qg7 24.Qf2 Nd7 25.d4 Kh7 26.e5 Rhg8 27.Kf1 Qg6 28.Kg1 f3 29.g3 Qxg3+ 30.Qxg3 Rxg3+ 31.Kf2 Rg2+ 32.Kf1 Bg6 White resigned

15.Qg5 Rg8

"Objectively" stronger (i.e. a computer thought of it) was 15...Re8 16.Qxg7+ Kd6, but it is not hard to see why RevvedUp preferred the text, even at the cost of an even game.


16.e5 h6 17.Qf4 Re8 18.exf6+ Kf7+
Black's development and relative King safety easily compensates for the lost pawn. But, give White a few more moves to get his position together, and...

19.Kd1 Bxf6 20.Nc3 Kg8

Black has castled-by-hand and retains an edge.

21.Ne4 Rf8
22.Rf3 Bd7 23.Nc5 Bc6 24.Ne6 Bxf3+ 25.gxf3 Qd6 26.Qxd6 cxd6 27.Nxf8 Rxf8

28.f4 g6 29.d3 h5 30.a4 a6 31.Ra3 Rf7 32.c4 Rd7 33.b3 d5 34.Kc2 Kf7

Again, the dynamic aspects of Black's position compensate for the pawn down. Yace Paderborn, however, nibbles away, move-by move.

35.Be3 dxc4

This gives Yace Paderborn a passer, and may not be best.

36.bxc4 Ke6 37.Rb3 Bd4

This exchange opens the floodgates, and White's game improves rapidly. Perhaps something neutral like 37...Bg7 was better.

38.Bxd4 Rxd4 39.Rb6+ Kf5 40.Rxb7 Rd6 41.Rf7+ Kg4 42.Kc3 Kh3 43.f5 gxf5 44.Rxf5 Rh6 45.Rf2 h4 46.d4 Kg4 47.c5 h3 48.d5

Black resigns

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (29)

RevvedUp is happy to use the opening innovation in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) introduced by Shredder 8 in the last game (see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling down (28)") but his hopes for an early draw are dashed, nonetheless.




RevvedUp - Yace Paderbornblitz 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.Qe2

9...Nf6 10.Qc4+ Kd6 11.Qd3+

This Queen check, in a position where Black's Knight was not yet developed, led to quick draws in Crafty 19.19 - RevvedUp and Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp. Unfortunately for White, here the Knight makes a difference.

11...Kc6
Black can go this way, instead of to e2 – but even in that case, White's thematic Qg3 doesn't force a repetition of position: 11...Ke2 12.Qg3 Nxe4 13.Qxe5+ Kf7 14.Rf1+ Bf2+ 15.Rxf2+ 16.Nxf2 and after White captures the Knight at f2 he will be down only the exchange for a pawn, but Black's game will still be much better.

12.Qf3

Fritz 8 prefers the exchange of Queens, but a pawn-for-a-piece is not the ideal Jerome Gambit endgame.

12...Bg4 13.Qb3 Qd4 14.Rf1

A slip, but 14.Qe3 Nxe4 was hardly attractive.

14...Qxe4+ White resigns

And Yet Wilder Still...

From Edward Winter's A Chess Omnibus (2003):

Back-rank mate

A bizarre game:

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke6 7.Qxg4+ Kxe5 8.d4+ Kxd4 9.b4 Bxb4+ 10.c3+ Bxc3+ 11.Nxc3 Kxc3 12.Bb2+ Kxb2 13.Qe2+ Kxa1 14.Kf2 mate.

Seven [sic] consecutive captures by the black king and the option of giving mate by castling at move 14. Indeed, page 120 of Robert Timmer's Startling Castling! stated that White played 14.0-0 mate. That source gives White's name as F.C. Spencer, with no other details. When the game appeared on page 158 of the May 1894 Deutsche Schachzeitung White was identified as J. Spenser of Minnesota. Giving the score (also with 14.Kf2) on page 200 of its July 1917 issue, the BCM offered no players' names or occasion, but the score was said to be derived from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News of 1894. It appeared in the 1895 book of Chess Sparks by J.H. Ellis, headed only 'Played at Mineapolis [sic] Chess Club about 1894'