Cure for Time Trouble (Part 2)

I've been taking more time finding my moves these days, with the hope that the resulting improvement in my play will shorten the game and lessen my need for those tick-tocks anyway. There is always the risk, though, of burning time, and not finding anything special...

perrypawnpusher - salla
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7

I have only 8 examples of this, "An Odd Line in an Odd Line", in the updated New Year's Database.

6.Nxc6+

Wrong!

On move 6 Black had 5 possible King moves (instead of capturing the Knight on e5). Here are the proper responses to each:

5...Ke8 6.Nxc6;
5...Ke7 6.Qh5;
5...Ke6 6.Qg4+;
5...Kf8 (best) 6.Nxc6;
5...Kf6 6.Qh5


It has been a couple of years since I looked at 5...Ke7, but the best response should not have been hard to figure out. My slip lost the chance for an advantage, i.e. 5...Ke7 6.Qh5 Bxf2+ (best) 7.Kxf2 Qf8+ 8.Nf3.

6...dxc6


The better capture, preventing d2-d4.

7.d3 Nf6

An error that both my opponent and I missed. Black needed to get his King and Queen off of the same diagonal, either with 7...Kf8 or 7...Qd6. Otherwise, White can now play 8.e5 and the Black Knight will be lost, as moving it would allow the killer Bishop check from g5.

8.Bg5 Be6 9.0-0

For all the time that I was spending thinking, I wasn't getting much of a return. White should have at least mixed it up with 9.e5, although after 9...Qd5 10.exf6+ gxf6 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Qxg2 Black would still have had an edge.

9...Kd7 10.e5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 Ng4

Escaping in the wrong direction.

13.h3 Ne3 14.fxe3 Bxe3+ 15.Bf2 Bxf2+ 16.Rxf2

White has an edge, but little of it is any of his doing. Time was evaporating, too.

16...Ke7 17.c3 c5 18.d4 Qd5 19.Qf3 Raf8 20.Qxd5 Bxd5

Again with the strategy of exchanging Queens – see "Cure for Time Trouble (Part 1)" – as a way to deal with dwindling time, but with little benefit. In fact, the game ends without me having an intelligent idea.

21.Nd2 Rxf2 22.Kxf2 b5 23.Nf3 Rf8 24.a3 h5 25.Kg3

Of course 25.Ke3 made more sense.

25...Rg8 26.Rf1 g4 27.hxg4 Rxg4+ 28.Kf2 Rf4 29.Ke3 Re4+ 30.Kd2 Rg4 31.Rf2 And here, with White maintaining a small edge, and not much time on his clock – Black forfeited on time.

Cure for Time Trouble (Part 1)

I've been taking more time finding my moves these days, with the hope that the resulting improvement in my play will shorten the game and lessen my need for those tick-tocks anyway. There is always the risk, though, of burning time, and not finding anything special...

 perrypawnpusher - blackflower
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+

This is the 32nd time that I have played this move here, and my record to date is 29-0-3, but this is the first time that I have noticed that 7.d4 might be stronger...

7...Ng6 8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.Qxc5+ N8e7

Adding to his development, but I think 9...d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 was the better way to do that.

10.f4

This is a bit stronger than 10.Nc3 b6 11.Qe3 Bb7 12.f4 d5 13.f5 d4 14.fxg6+ Kg8 15.Qf4 dxc3 16.Qf7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - sarBear, blitz, FICS, 2009.

10...b6 11.Qe3

Made reflexively, but the Queen was probably better placed at h5.

11...Kf7

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Ng4

Harassing the Queen is irresistible; but going to c6 was wiser.

14.Qg3 h5 15.h3 Nf6 16.e5

16...Nxf5

Probably a miscalculation. Better was the return of the piece with 16...d5 17.exf6 gxf6 when Black is only a pawn down. 

17.Rxf5 d6 18.Rf2 dxe5 19.dxe5 Qd4

Black will soon be rid of the annoying "Jerome pawns," but he also will be a piece down.

20.exf6 gxf6 21.Nc3 Rg8 22.Qf3 Be6 23.Qxh5+ Ke7

Black is now in serious trouble. Lucky for him, I was feeling some time pressure. 

24.Qh7+ Bf7 25.Qd3

I figured that an exchange of Queens would simplify the position, reduce Black's counter-attacking chances, and help me think quicker. If I had been able to find the much stronger 25.Bh6, threatening Re1+ followed by Rd1, winning the Queen, that would have been a solution to my time trouble.

25...Qc5

Maintaining the pin. Exchanging was better.

26.Qe4+ Be6

27.Be3 Qh5 28.Qf3

Another crass attempt at exchanging Queens, when 28.Bd4 should not have been too hard to find. With more time, I probably would have found it.

28...f5

Well, that solves everything. Black protects his f-pawn and neglects his Queen.

29.Qxh5 Black resigned

Complications, Anyone?

You might not be a fan of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, and you might not be a fan of the Jerome Gambit, but you would have to be a pretty jaded chess player not to appreciate the complications stirred up in the following game.

richiehill - fidotopdog
standard game, FICS, 2010

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

4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6

6.c3 d6

Recently looked at on this blog: see perrypawnpusher - ozypawnstar, blitz, FICS, 2010.

7.Qg4+

Reviving and older line and introducing further complications.

7...Ke7

Capturing the Knight with 7...Kxe5 is only asking for trouble, although if Black has his wits about him he can still draw. 

White can split the point after that with 8.f4+ Kxe4 (8...Kf6 costs Black his queen after 9.Qh4+ Kf7 10.Qxd8 but he can limp on with a worse position after 10...Nc2+ 11.Kf2 Nxa1) 9.f5+ Kd5 (or 9...Ke5 10.cxd4+ and White is better; or 9...Kd3 10.Qxd4+ Kc2 11.Na3#) 10.Qxd4+ Kc6 11.Qc4+ Kd7 12.Qe6+ Kc6 13.Qc4+ draw by repetition, as White has nothing better.

White has tried for more after 7...Kxe5 with 8.cxd4+ and gotten lucky after both 8...Kf6 9.Qh4+ Kf7 (9...g5 was necessary to keep the game even) 10.Qxd8 Be7 11.Qxc7 Nf6 Black resigned, Jeopar - InduMMS, FICS, 2009;

and 8...Kxd4 9.Qe2 (9.Qf3 is unclear) 9...Nf6 10.d3 (better 10.Nc3 Ke5 11.f4+) 10...Ke5 11.f4+ Ke6 12.d4 Kf7 when Black was better, but White won in 26 moves in SynapticGap - osmann, FICS, 2006.

It is easy to see why fidotopdog retreated his King in this game!

8.Qg5+ Nf6

This looks natural, but Black would have done better exchanging Queens, i.e. 8...Ke8 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8. He probably avoided this line because of 10.Nf7+ Ke8 11.Nxh8, but his position would have been better after the reciprocal 11...Nc2+ 12.Kd1 Nxa1. That kind of thing is easier to see after the game.

9.cxd4 dxe5

10.Qxe5+

Choosing to win the Bishop rather than the Knight, but this takes some cooperation. Better was the straight-forward 10.dxe5, when 10...Qd3!? 11.exf6+ gxf6 12.Qf4 would give White the edge. 

10...Be6

Falling in with White's plan. Instead, 10...Kf7 leads to a position where Black has a piece for three pawns. richiehill might have been happy with that, but "objectively" Black would have been better. 

11.d5 Ng4

A panic-induced attack on the enemy Queen.

As often happens in the Jerome Gambit family of games, there comes a time for Black to return his extra piece for some pawns. After 11...Nxd5 12.exd5 Qxd5 White can try the scary-looking 13.Qxc7+ to go two pawns up, but 13...Kf6, preparing ...Bd6 (the power of the two Bishops), shows Black's better development to good advantage. After 14.Qf4+ Qf5 15.d4 Bb4+ 16.Nc3 Rac8 White's best might well be to return a pawn with 17.0-0 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Rxc3 when the impact of the first player's extra pawn may not be very much.

12.Qxe6 checkmate

Delayed Jerome Gambit

Here's the latest "Delayed Jerome Gambit" from Bill Wall.

An execution delayed is still an execution.

Wall,B - Santiago,D
Chess.com, 2010

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

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Game.

6.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, or the Delayed Jerome Gambit, if you will.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Re8?!

Not exactly new, and not exactly bad, but not exactly best, either.

9.dxc5 Kg8?!

Completing the castling-by-hand.

10.f4 Nc4

Certainly there was nothing wrong with 10...Nf7 or 10...Nc6. Mr. Santiago seems destined to reaffirm the belief: "You can play anything against the Jerome Gambit (if you are willing to risk a loss)."

11.e5 Nh7

Now the other horse wobbles.

It was probably time to give the piece back for a couple of pawns with 11...Nxe5 12.fxe5 Rxe5, although White is better after 13.Qd3, for example 13...Rxc5 14.Bxh6.

12.Qd5+ Kh8 13.Qxc4 b6

14.Nd5 bxc5 15.Qxc5 c6 16.Nb4 a5 17.Nd3 Nf8 18.f5

Those annoying "Jerome pawns" are putting a cramp in Black's game.

18...Ba6 19.c4 Rb8 20.b3 d5 21.exd6 Nd7 22.Qxc6 Bb7 23.Qc7 Qf6

24.Qxd7 Qxa1 25.Bb2 Qxf1+ 26.Kxf1 Rg8 27.Qe6 Rbe8 28.Qxh6 checkmate

Instant Victory

I've been looking at the latest games downloaded from the FICS games database and have found some interesting examples. Today we examine three games featuring a line that should scream "instant victory!" to White and save him time calculating variations.

jandewit - foduck
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8

There has been much discussion about this defense on the blog. A good peek can be found here.

6.Qh5+ Ke7

The game has barely started, but this move signals The End. (Black needed to try 6...g6, with even chances.)

It is disappointing to consult the updated New Year's Database and see that there are 155 games with this position, with White scoring only 66%.

Attention class, look closely!

7.Qf7+

The recent game HJBUCK - MischaMaisky, FICS, 2010, continued 7.d3 d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.Qf7 checkmate. 

The outcome is fine for White, but 7...Qe8 would have defended for Black. Also, White could have checkmated a move sooner than he did.

7...Kd6

The updated New Year's Database has 80 games with this position. Amazingly, White lost 15 of them. Perhaps the fact that most were either blitz or lightning games factored in.

8.Nc4+

nanebe - MischaMaisky, FICS, 2010, continued 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Qxd4 Two pawns down, Black resigned.

8...Kc6 9.Qd5 checkmate

(By the way, don't feel too bad for MischaMaisky, who lost two of the above games. He played two Blackburne Shilling Gambits against HJBuck on the same day, choosing 5...Ke6 in the other game and checkmating his opponent in 28 moves.)

Alternate Universe

Readers may need a small reminder to recall Mr. David Black, who, a couple of seasons ago, shared one of his blitz games after he had entered "the Jerome gambits alternate universe."

Here is a recent over-the-board game that David supplied, noting 

For some reason in my last league match when presented with a chance to play it I couldn't resist! Despite the result of the game I'm hoping this isn't a trend.

I can understand Mr. Black's hesitation at the thought of playing the Jerome Gambit regularly in league play: he seems like a nice guy, he probably feels that embarassing one opponent is quite enough... 

Black,D - Plumb,M
Portsmouth A vs Chichester B, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

The Sorensen Variation (see "Jerome Gambit Nomenclature")

6.Qh5

The Banks Variation, named after Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") and discussed by IM Gary Lane in his "Opening Lanes" columns at the Chess Cafe and in his book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps . It offers a transposition to the 5.Nxe5 lines.

6...Qf6

Consistent with the early game Banks - Rees, Wolverhampton Summer League, 2003, but 6...Qe7 is likely stronger.

7.Nxd7+ Bxd7 8.Qxc5+ Qe7

White has three pawns for his sacrificed piece. He needs to tend to his development.

Black has a piece for his three pawns. He needs to tend to his King safety.

9.Qe3 Nf6 10.d3

White plans the pawn formation d3 + e4 + f4. He could also have tried d4 + e4 + f3.

10...Kf7 11.f4 Rhe8 12.h3

A useful move, both to keep enemy pieces off of g4 and as a prelude to g2-g4.

It seems odd to point out that what Black really needs is a pawn move like d7-d4, to confront the "Jerome pawns" – but Black no longer has that option.

12...Nb4 13.Na3 c5 14.Bd2 Nc6 15.g4 h6 16.0-0-0 a6

17.Rdf1 Kg8 18.Nc4 b5 19.Nb6 Rab8 20.Nxd7 Nxd7 21.h4

It looks like White has equalized, and has the initiative.

21...Nd4 22.g5 h5 23.c3 Nc6 24.f5 Nce5 25.f6

Relentless.

25...gxf6 26.gxf6 Nxf6 27.Qg5+

With the pawn sac, the walls of Black's fortress have been breached.

27...Kf7 28.Qxh5+ Ke6 29.Qf5+ Kf7 30.Bg5

30...Rb6 31.Kc2 Rd6 32.Rh3 Qe6 33.Qh7+ Black resigned

Looking Toward the New Year

On the first day of 2010 I offered interested Readers a PGN database of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+), and Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/4.Nc3/4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) games (see "Happy New Year!") – over 17,000 games, at that time. 

I have updated the file over the year. It is still available for free – just email me: richardfkennedy@hotmail.com.

On January 1, 2011, I will add games with the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ (variation so far unnamed) to the database (which I will start referring to as "The Database".)

This seems like a logical expansion, as in this line of play Black tries with his third move to avoid a possible Jerome Gambit, only to face the Bishop sacrifice anyhow. White's chances are similar to those in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. (Of course, White can also simply play 4.Nxe5 with advantage.)

The database will then contain about 22,222 games, which seems fitting for its second version.

(By the way, today marks the 900th consecutive post to this blog. The Jerome Gambit and its variants have not gone away, and neither have I.)