Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Reeling Sequel

A few days after the previous game (see "Opening Disaster") I matched up against TheProducer again. This time, the shoe was on the other foot, and my opponent mostly ran roughshod over me.


The only thing "positive" that can be said about this sequel is that "Winning Ugly" is better than "Losing Ugly".



perrypawnpusher - TheProducer
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+

So far, a rerun of a previous episode, "The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit."

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6

The recommended line for Black. My opponent had obviously gone over our first game, and improved his early opening play.

6.c3

6...Qg5

The idea behind my 6th move can be seen in : 6...Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Kxd4 8.0-0 Qf6 9.f4 b5 10.Qc2 c6 11.b3 Black resigns, vierifan - neeeng, GameKnot.com, 2006

My opponent, though, preferred a move that is thematic in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

7.cxd4 Qxg2 8.Qg4+

When I played this move, I felt pretty good about it, having come up (over-the-board) with a way to stop Black's counter-attack and leave White with a slight advantage – an extra, doubled pawn.

Imagine my embarassment when Fritz 8 later showed me the checkmate that I could have found had I played more aggressively: 8.Qb3+ d5 9.Qxd5+ Kf6 10.Qf7+ Kg5 11.h4+ Kh6 12.d3+ Qg5 13.hxg5 checkmate.

8...Qxg4 9.Nxg4 d5 10.d3 dxe4 11.dxe4 Nf6 12.Nc3

Wow! No way!

If that looks like I just left a piece hanging, that's right: even in the Jerome Gambit you get something for your sacrificed material. (The "something" is usually "inadequate compensation", but let's not quibble here.)

Well, at least as a Jerome Gambiteer I was used to playing a piece down...

12...Nxg4 13.Bf4 Bb4 14.f3
Still feeling a case of "nerves" after my 12th move, or I might have grabbed the pawn at c7 - this move or next.

14...Nf6 15.0-0-0 c6
16.d5+ cxd5 17.exd5+ Kf5 18.Bg3 Kg6 19.Rhe1 Re8 20.Rxe8 Nxe8 21.d6 Bd7

The passer wasn't much, but it was all that I had to play with.

22.Rd4 a5 23.a3 Bxc3 24.bxc3 Rc8 25.Kd2 b5
On top of it all, I was behind on the clock – although this turned out eventually to have its advantages.

26.Kd3 Nf6 27.Kd2 Re8 28.c4 b4 29.axb4 axb4 30.c5 b3
Anyone who has ever lost to the Jerome Gambit or lost to perrypawnpusher can commence laughing. My game is about to go from "pitiful" to "dead lost."

31.Kc3 Rb8 32.Kb2 Kf7 33.Rc4 Nd5

More accurate was 33...Bc6, but it's no loss in the larger scheme of things: White now had a chance to even the game and hope for a draw, but his time was dwindling.

34.c6 Ne3 35.Rf4+ Ke6 36.Re4+ Kd5 37.cxd7


Wrong capture! 37.Rxe3 Kxc6 38.Re7 g5 39.Rxh7 Rf8 40.Kxb3 Rxf3+ 41.Kc4 looks like a balanced game.

Now Black is back to his crushing position.

37...Nd1+ 38.Ka3

Not completely hopeless was 38.Kb1 Nc3+ 39.Kb2 Nxe4 40.fxe4+ Ke6 41.d8Q Rxd8 42.Kxb3.
38...b2 39.d8Q Rxd8 40.Rb4 Ra8+
Okay, it's time to start counting how many checkmates my opponent missed.

To be fair, he probably was sure that all he needed to do was keep the pressure on me with decent moves, and that I would either blunder or run out of time. Still, he had a minute or two to spare, and it would have been a decent investment to work out the mate.

41.Ra4 Rxa4+

Of course, this wins, but so does 41...b1Q 42.Rxa8 Qb2+ 43.Ka4 Nc3+ 44.Ka5 Qb5 checkmate.

42.Kxa4 b1Q 43.d7 Qa1+

Likewise there was 43...Nc3+ 44.Ka3 Kc4 45.d8Q Qa2.

I'll stop nit-picking. My opponent was merely choosing the manner of my demise, as was his complete right.

As for why I didn't resign – well, the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde is a hopeful lot, is it not?

44.Kb5 Nc3+ 45.Kb6 Qb1+ 46.Kc7 Nb5+ 47.Kd8 Nd6 48.Ke7
I began to feel about my e-pawn the way Gollum (in "The Lord of the Rings") felt about the Ring: My precious!

All silliness, of course: I was still totally busted.

48...Nf5+ 49.Ke8 Qb8+ 50.d8Q+

Yes, Dear Readers, that is how much my dwindling time was controlling the "thinking" in the game: my opponent placed his Queen en prise, and just like in my game against Cibola (see "Ooops!"), I overlooked the capture!

50...Nd6+ 51.Ke7 Qxd8+ 52.Kxd8 Nf5

White could now draw (!) with 53.Bb8, but I could only think about getting my King to his pawns.
53.Ke8 Nxg3 54.hxg3 g5 55.Kf7 h5 56.Kg6

Ooops!

As shown similarly in a previous post "To belabor a point..." the drawing idea was 56.f4 gxf4 57.gxf4 h4 58.f5 h3 59.Kg7 h2 60.f6 h1Q 61.f7 and White will have no more luck against the f-pawn than my unnamed opponent had against the a-pawn.

56...Ke5

Double ooops! With 56...h4 57.gxh4 gxh4 first, and then ..Ke5 (to get in front of the White passer) the win would be secure.

Here we see the ultimate "reward" for "playing on the opponent's time."

57.Kxg5 Kd4 58.g4 Ke3 59.gxh5 Kxf3 60.h6 Kg3 61.h7 Kf2 62.h8Q

Now all I have to do is Beat the Clock with the less than 30 seconds that I have left.
62...Ke1 63.Qb2 Kf1 64.Kf4 Ke1 65.Ke3 Kf1 66.Qf2 checkmate

That was a seriously ugly win. Afterward, I messaged my opponent "good game" but I should have sent "I'm sorry."

My apologies to the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, as well, for representing you so poorly.

I'll hassle TheProducer no more.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Opening Disaster

Enter the term "shilling" (for "Blackburne Shilling Gambit" and "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit") in the "SEARCH BLOG" gadget at the top of this site, and you will see a number of posts on the opening line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 and the Jerome Gambiteer's favorite response, 4.Bxf7+.

The Bishop sacrifice is not the "theoretically best" move (which may or may not be 4.0-0 or 4.Nxd4 or 4.c3) but it has the ability to cause utter chaos in a game – as it does in this one.

perrypawnpusher - TheProducer
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4



4.Bxf7+

4...Ke7

Yeow! Mars Attacks! Shock and Awe!

5.Bxg8

Or 5.Bc4, with attacking chances and the advantage. I just went for the two pawns that were available.

5...Rxg8 6.Nxe5 Ke8


Getting back to business: in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, White's Nxe5 is punished by black's ...Qg5 -- so here, the King has to get off of the diagonal. No harm, no foul, right?

7.d3 d6 8.Nf3 Qf6
Hey, if it works against the Jerome Gambit...

9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3 d5

11.Be3 Qe5 12.d4 Qf6 13.Nxd5 Qc6

14.Qh5+ g6 15.Qe5+ Be7

Sure, why not?

The know-it-all Rybka 3 later suggested: 15...Kf7 16.Qf4+ Kg7 17.Nxc7 Bd6 18.Qh6+ Kh8 19.Nxa8 Qxe4 20.0-0 Bd7 21.Qg5 Be7 22.Qf4 Qxf4 23.Bxf4 Rxa8 when the position has been simplified, and White has the exchange and three pawn advantage. No fun there, either.

16.Qxe7 checkmate

Monday, March 23, 2009

Whodunnit??


From the ever-enjoyable and often hilarious pages of Geoff Chandler's oeuvre d'internet, ChandlerCornered (see "Mars Attacks!", "Stuff happens...", and "Queened! and Rooked!").

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Ooooops...

It can be a lot of fun showing off my Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games – even the losses – or, as in the case below, my Jerome-ized games, but it's a little embarassing to find in the middle of a "good" win a really bad move...


perrypawnpusher - Cibola
blitz FICS, 2009

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

The Semi-Italian Game, not necessarily safer than 3...Bc5.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6

8.Qd5+ Ke8

Or 8... Kf8 as in perrypawnpusher - pascalwilliams, blitz 3 0, FICS, 2007 (1/2-1/2, 32) and abhailey - cumelin, net-chess.com, 2008 (1-0, 21).

9.Qxc5 Qe7 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.f4 b6


Up to here we have a pretty normal Jerome Gambit-style scenario: White hopes he can use his two extra pawns to create mischief before Black can get his extra piece to settle things.

13.f5

Fritz 8's suggestion is interesting, suggesting play across the whole board, and a balanced game after: 13.Qg3 Nf8 14.e5 Nh5 15.Qf3 g6 16.d4 Ba6 17.Rd1 Ng7 18.Ne4 Kd8 19.d5 Kc8 20.a4

13...Ne5 14.d4 Ba6


If you can counter a tactical threat with a stronger one of your own, that is a good thing: so Black threatens my Rook while I "merely" threaten his Knight – well, not exactly, but that was what my opponent was thinking. Instead, the Knight should retreat to f7.

15.dxe5 Qxe5



If 15...Bxf1 then 16.exf6 Qxf6 17.Kxf1. Now I have my piece back, and am up a pawn.

16.Re1 Kf7 17.Qf3 Rhe8 18.Bf4 Qc5+ 19.Be3 Qb5


Clearly a case, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") would say, of serious shock and awe.

20.Bd4

Clearly a case of "short attention span chess". When I looked closer at the board after my move (most experts recommend looking at the board before you move) I was appalled at my oversight. Oooops...

20...Qxb2



Well, I suppose it would be too much to expect him to let me have a second chance to capture his Queen... I do have a lot of pawns and pieces pointed at his King, however.

21.e5 Nd5

This falls in with White's plans. Better was 21...Qb4, attacking the Bishop on d4. White's attack can then proceed, but slower: 22.Rad1 Kg8 23.Qg3 Nd5 24.Ne4 Qf8 25.Nd6 followed in a few moves with the pawn break f5-f6.

22.e6+



22...Kg8 23.Qg4 Nxc3

Ending the game, but 23...Re7 24.Nxd5 lead to only misery as well after 24...Qxd4+ 25.Qxd4
cxd5 26.Qxd5 Bb7 (what else??) 27.Qd6

24.Qxg7 checkmate


Saturday, March 21, 2009

Overheated



A new line in a defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) doesn't cool things off, but, rather, puts the heat on Black's King...




perrypawnpusher - hotintheshade
blitz 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 Nh6
Haven't seen that move before.

9.Qxe5+ Kc6 10.Qd5+ Kb6


11.d4

If you can visualize (I couldn't at the time) 11.Nc3 followed by Na4+ and then the capture of the Black Bishop at c5, you can see that this isn't the strongest move for White. Rybka's suggested line of play, later, was much more complicated: 11.Qb3+ Kc6 12.a4 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qh5 14.Qb5+ Kd6 15.b4 Re8 16.Nc3 c6 17.Qxc5+ Qxc5 18.bxc5+ Kxc5 with advantage to White.

11...Bxd4
This capture puts hotintheshade's King in serious danger, whereas after 11...Bb4+ 12.c3 Bf8 it is not clear that White has anything more than checking his way repeatedly to a draw.

12.Qxd4+ c5

A multi-purpose move designed to block the check and give Black an escape square at c7. Unfortunatly, it also opens the possibility of a checkmate in 4 moves.

Against the better 12...Ka6, Rybka suggests 13.Qa4+ Kb6 14.Qb4+ Kc6 15.Qc3+ Kb6 16.Be3+ c5 17.Bxc5+ Ka6 18.Qd3+ b5 19.a4 Kb7 20.Qd5+ Kb8 21.Bd6+ Qc7 22.Bxc7+ Kxc7 23.Qxa8. Whew!

13.Qxg7
Readers will no doubt have seen the better: 14.Bd2+ Ka4 ( 14...Kb5 15.a4+ Kc4 16.Na3 checkmate) 15.b3+ Kb5 16.Na3 checkmate

13...Qf8 14.Qxf8 Rxf8 15.0-0 d6 16.Nc3 Bd7

White has a simple two-pawn advantage.

17.Nd5+ Kc6 18.Bd2 Rae8 19.Rae1 Be6 20.f5

Sloppy, as the pawn could simply be taken; but my opponent is taken in by my oversight.

20...Bxd5 21.exd5+ Kxd5 22.Bxh6 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Rxf5

The rest of the game just plays itself out.

24.Re7 Kc6 25.Rxh7 Re5 26.Rf7 Re2 27.Rf2 Re6 28.Bf4 d5 29.h4 c4 30.Kf1 Kd7 31.Re2 Rf6 32.g3 d4 33.Re4 d3 34.cxd3 cxd3 35.Rd4+ Ke7 36.Rxd3 Kf7 37.Rd7+ Kg6 38.Rd6 Rxd6 39.Bxd6 Kh5 40.Kf2 Kg4 41.Bf4 a6

42.Ke3 Kf5 43.h5 Kf6 44.h6 Kg6 45.Kd4 b5 46.Kc5 Black resigns