A Not-so-Simple "Simple Endgame"

In the following game, both players seemed interested in reaching a simple Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame. Apparently Black, a pawn down, assessed the position as drawn; while White believed that he could possibly out-play his opponent. Both of them were right. Except about the "simple" part.


mckenna215 - Knight32
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011

30.Bxa7

At first glance, this move seems extravagant: White gives up his Kingside passed pawn in order to have a 3-to-2 edge in pawns on the Queenside. However, Black's King is well-placed to blockade the White h-pawn, should it ramain on the board. White's move simply changes the game from "drawn" to "really drawn".

But, don't go away.

30...Bxh3 31.b4 c6

Putting your pawns on the same colored squares as your Bishop is the basic drawing strategy.

32.c4 Bd7

After the game was over, Black might have asked himself why he did not simply start to run his King over to c8, and save himself some hassles. The text move does not upset the draw, it just makes it possible, some time in the future, for it to become more complicated.

33.Kd2 Kg7 34.Kd3 Kf7 35.Kd4

35...Ke6

Coming out to "confront" the enemy, Black's King wastes important tempos. After 35...Ke8 followed by 36...Kd8 and 37...Kc8, he could have protected his pawns and allowed his Bishop to move where it needed to.

36.Kc5 Bc8

37.b5

Routine play, reducing the 3-to-2 pawn majority to a 2-to-1 pawn majority. This is one step further toward producing a passed pawn, but that may not be the best goal to work toward, especially if White reaches a 1-to-0 pawn majority only to have Black sacrifice his Bishop for it.

The text ignoresWhite's winning plan: get his King to c7, where it chases away the Black Bishop and wins the b-pawn.

To accomplish this, White needs to advance his King, 37.Kb6, and then exhaust Black's extra tempos, eventually forcing the monarch away: 37...Kd7 38.c5 Kd8 39.Bb8 Kd7 40.a5 Kd8 41.Bg3! Kd7 42.Bh4 when Black's King must give up his protection of the c7 square and allow White's King to move in.

That is hard work, but that is what it sometimes takes to extract a full point from a "drawn" endgame.

37...cxb5 38.cxb5

The pawn structure foreshadows a draw. Imagine White's a-pawn advancing to a6, where it is captured by Black's b-pawn, and then White's b-pawn recaptures. Unless Black's Bishop can be kept off of both the a6-c8 diagonal and the a8-h1 diagonal, there will be nothing to stop it from capturing the remaining passer should it step on a light square.

Can White's King advance and scare off the Black Bishop? It can, but if Black's King can get around to White's pawns, then it can capture one of them while White is capturing Black's last pawn. Then, the Black Bishop will stop the remaining White pawn, as in the previous paragraph.

38...Kd7

Ouch! Black blocks his Bishop.

This is a good move if White plays 39.Kb6, as Black answers 39...Kd6. But what if White moves his Bishop?

39.Bb8 Ke6

It now looks like White's King can swoop in and execute the plan given in the notes to White's 37th move. But, no: the pawn exchanges have changed everything. White has to play 40.Bg3, holding onto the b8-h2 diagonal so that White's trip to the White pawns takes longer...

40.Kb6 Kd7

This is not an endgame, it is a commercial for a headache medication!

With 40...Kd5 Black would again have established a drawn position, even against the scary-looking 41.Kc7 Bg4 42.Kxb7, as 42...Kc5 puts the White King in place to grab one of the pawns, e.g. 43.Ka6 Kb4 44.a5 Be2, etc. One pawn will not be enough for White to win.

Now Black's King is again in the wrong place (and it blocks its Bishop, again, too).

41.Bg3 Kd8

42.a5

Having given his King and Bishop chances to  untangle the game, White now nominates one of his pawns.

42...Kd7

Instead, the tactical shot 42...Bd7 holds the draw, for all the old reasons, starting with 43.Kxb7 Bxb5.

43.Ka7

Yes!

43...Kd8

According to Houdini, the best defense is 43...Ke8, after which White has a mate in 87...

44.b6

Yes!

Not 44.Kb8 when 44...Bd7 is equal.

44...Kd7 45.Kb8 Kd8 46.Bf4 Kd7 47.Bc7 Black resigned

A smooth finish: Black's King will have to move, abandoning his Bishop and pawn.

Thank you, mckenna215 and Knight32 for a very educational game! 

Staring It Down

In the following game White plays 6.d4 and is immediately hit with the strongest reply, 6...Qh4. Time to panic? Hardly. Simply time to stare the defender right in the eye and ask him: Okay, that's one good move, do you know what comes next?? 


Darthnik - aufdermaur
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4

A full-bore response to White's center play. For recent comments, see "Deus Ex Machina" and "Danger? He Laughs At Danger".

7.0-0 Ng4

Black has mate on his mind, and directs his pieces accordingly. 

8.h3 Bd6

Consistent, but 8...Bb6, as in Sir Osis of the Liver - perrypawnpusher, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld, 2008 (0-1, 38) and Wall,B - Rajiv, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 33) was probably stronger.

9.e5 Nxe5

Black decides to return a piece for two pawns, to keep the initiative. This may be a slight improvement upon the similarly intentioned 9...Bxe5 which was played in the earliest (to The Database's knowledge) 6...Qh4 game, Sorensen,S - X, Denmark,  1888, (1-0, 27).

Perhaps the patient 9...Be7 was better, still.

10.dxe5 Bxe5

11.f4

A very understandable move from a psychological perspective: White's King has been facing a three-piece onslaught in which Black was comfortable enough to burn one of his own pieces (why not, he still has an extra one) to keep things going. This feels unfair, as White chose the Jerome Gambit to have an attack on Black's King, not the other way around.

White's move blunts the impact of the Bishop, but he had more to expect from 11.Qd5+ putting the focus back on the Black monarch. If Black does not want to simply give a second piece back then he has to try 11...Kf6.

The equalizer for White, then, would be 12.Nd2, intending Ne4+, kicking the protection away from Black's Bishop. Simple development for Black, like 12...Ne7, would even allow the fork trick 13.Qxe5+ Kxe5 14.Nf3+ followed by 15.Nxh4 and material equality. Hanging onto the Bishop for dear life with 12...Qd4, instead, would lead to complications after 13.Qf3+ Ke7 14.Re1, but, again, White will recover his sacrificed piece.
White works this all out a move too late.

11...Bd6 12.Qd5+ Kf8 13.Nd2 Nf6

Now White has to work his attack up all over again. He can be satisfied that Black's "attacking" Bishop has become his "blocking" Bishop, as in blocking Black's own development.

14.Qd3 b6 15.Ne4 Bb7 16.Nxd6 cxd6 17.Qxd6+ Kf7 18.Qd3 Rhe8 19.Bd2 Kg8

The theme looks like it is about to change. Black has castled-by-hand and can look toward attacking White's King again (with an extra piece).

20.f5 Nh5 21.Bc3 Nf4

Aggressive, sure, but overlooking White's counter.

22.Qc4+

This double attack wins back the sacrificed piece. More than that, it seems to distress Black, who again sees his Kingside attack dissolve.

22...Kh8

This move whispers "King safety" but it should have been replaced with 22...d5, since after 23.Qxf4 Qxf4 24.Rxf4 Black can still look toward the drawing chances of a possible Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.

Now White's attack roars on.

23.Rxf4 Qh6 24.Rg4 Rg8 25.f6

Thematic, but 25.Re1, planning Re7 with even more pressure on g7, was even stronger.

25...g6 26.f7+ Rg7 27.Qb4 d5 28.f8Q+ Rxf8 29.Qxf8 checkmate

And that, good Readers, is how Darthnik faced the refutation, looked right into its eyes, and stared it down...

Good players create their own "luck"

Lest yesterday's post ("Deus Ex Machina") give you the mistaken idea that Bill Wall relies on metaphysical assistance to score 95%+ with the Jerome Gambit, here is another game of his that is the triumph of hard work and ingenuity. 
   


Wall,B - GuestZCLK
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

This is a very reasonable defense for Black. He keeps his King out of the crossfire and willingly gives back one of the two sacrificed pieces, confident that his remaining piece-for-two-pawns material advantage will be sufficient.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Qf6 9.0-0 Nh6 10.Nc3 Kf7

Black's development has kept pace with White's, and he is in the process of castling-by-hand. Yet, his advantage has slipped away, and White actually has the edge; which hardly seems fair at all. 

11.Nd5 Qd8

This is clear improvement over 11...Qg6 12.Qf4+ Ke6 13.Nxc7+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - recreation, blitz, FICS, 2010.

12.d4 Bb6 13.Bg5

It turns out that Black's King is not as safe as he would like it to be; that his Knight should have gone to e7 or f6 instead of h6; and that now his Queen is in danger as well and should probably take refuge with the unlikely 13...Qf8.

13...Qd7 14.Qf3+ Nf5 15.g4 Black resigned

It is true that instead of resigning Black can return his extra piece and eliminate White's center with 15...Bxd4 16.exf5, remaining only a pawn down; but he is dangerously behind in development and his dark-squared Bishop does not know where to find safety, even as White's Rook(s) eye the e-file...

Deus Ex Machina

According to Wikipedia, deus ex machina  is "a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event."

Readers may well wonder about the conclusion of the following game.



Wall,B - felineMMXI
FICS, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4

Although 6.d4 seems to be seeing a resurgence in the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, Black's Queen sally truly puts the line to the test.

7.0-0 Qxe4 8.dxc5 Nf6

In truth, White does not have a lot to work with here, but he sets about the task of trying to "make something out of nothing" anyhow.

9.Nc3 Qc6 10.Qd4 Ng6 11.f3 Re8 12.Be3 b6

White has caught up in development and linked his Rooks. His advanced c-pawn has slowed the development of Black's light-squared Bishop – so Black now takes steps against it.

13.b4 bxc5 14.bxc5 Nf8 15.a4 Ne6 16.Qc4 d6

17.Rfd1 dxc5 18.Bg5

It is hard to see any compensation for White's sacrificed piece.

White's situation seems bleak.

How will he survive??

At this point, however, Black forfeited by disconnection

Ng5+

Still fascinated with the move Ng5+ for White in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) after yesterday's examples of play in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, I bumped into the following recently played game at FICS.



Darthnik - cstevep
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Italian Four Knights Game.

5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.h3 Be7 8.Nf3 Kf7 9.Ng5+ Ke8 10.Nf3 Kf7 11.Ng5+ Ke8 Draw

(Ah, yes Geoff Chandler was on to it earlier; perhaps the Jerome Gambit is a forced draw after all...)

Sunday Tournament Update

Like a field of long-distance runners who start together at the same time and place, and then, after the starter's gun, stretch out along the route as they each find their pace, the 15 competitors in the current double-round-robin ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament have made their moves quickly or more deliberately, each according to a personal tempo.

One player has completed half his games. Another, on holiday, has yet to make a half-dozen moves in any of his. (Black has rebounded: having won only 2 of 8 games, for 25%, by last Sunday, Black has now scored 29 out of 43 games, for 67%.)

Questions of tempo and pacing come up in a ChessWorld tournament, one of the benefits of which is, according to the site, a

Relaxed Pace. Games played on ChessWorld are an up-to-date version of traditional 'correspondence style' chess. We believe that our easy-to-use style encourages accurate and instructive play whilst, at the same time, providing you with an opportunity to exchange friendly messages and ideas with your Opponents.

What this means in a tournament like the Jerome Gambit Thematic, which has a 5-day-per-move time limit, is that games can last for months. This is great for developing play that expands the understanding of the opening; but it can be tough, emotionally, for those who like the cut-and-slash of the Jerome.

So, some players will move much faster, sometimes even finding their opponent online when they can play the equivalent of a few moves of blitz chess...

How else to explain the following examples?

Black has the typical piece-for-pawn advantage in a quiet "modern" Jerome Gambit line, until White decides to disrupt his plans to castle-by-hand: 9.Qb3+ Be6 10.Ng5+ Black resigned, as he will have to give back the piece, and then an exchange.

Here we have another "modern" variation, and White's full pawn center is part of his compensation for the sacrificed piece – as is Black's unsafe King. With moves similar to the previous example, White grabs the point: 8.Qb3+ Kf8 9.Ng5 Nxd4 10.Qf7 checkmate.

To complete the trio, we have the following

If you have been paying attention, the ending should not be a surprise: 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Qb3+ Black resigned. This outcome is doubly unfortunate for Black, as he overlooked the fact that 7...d5! would have prevented the checkmate at f7 and maintained the second player's advantage.

Finally, a bonus item:

This *yawn* ordinary position can be found over 75 times in The Database. What makes it relevant to our discussion is Black's next move (a TN), and White's reply: 8...Bh3 9.gxh3 and White resigned.

Un-Improvement

I seem to be pushing the boundaries of my own personal "Worst. Jerome. Gambit. Game. Ever." I thought that I had hit the wall a while back (see "SNAFU"), but the following game shows that there is lots of room for un-improvement.


perrypawnpusher - MrScrumps
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0

This is the part in the Blackburne Defense where Black slams the door on the White Queen with 9...Nf6!

9...Bg4

Actually, MrScrumps had a different idea.

10.Qc3

Extracting the Queen.

An alternative, equally as good, was 10.d4 as in MrJoker-submariner/Internet Chess Club 2011 (1-0, 24).

10...Be2

This move, attacking the rook that protects the f-pawn from the double attack by the enemy Rook and Queen, unnerved me.

It should not have: 11.d4 was an adequate response, as was the move that I played; both preserve White's advantage.

11.g3 Qh3

Now 12.Re1 would force one Bishop to retreat, 12...Ba6, when 13.d4 would force the other one to, as well.

But I didn't see the move.

The square f1 is doubly-attacked, and I could not see that moving the Rook would leave the square protected.

Instead: White resigned.

Only then did I remember the fresh-brewed pot of coffee in the room next door...

Now, that's sad.

(As it turns out, this was my second game – and my second loss – against MrScrumps. The earlier game was almost as weird, but even shorter. See "From Tragedy to Farce".)