Another Puzzler

As previously mentioned, the top scorer in the 2nd Jerome Gambit Race at Chess.com was RRustyy1, with a score of 6 wins and two losses, clearly ahead of oleppedersen and Jordi-I, each with 4 wins and 4 losses. Curious was one of the losses the leader experienced: take a look, as it is interesting to see what each player saw (and overlooked), and it is unclear what White observed at the end.

RRustyy1 - oleppedersen
2nd Jerome Gambit Race, Chess.com, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Nf6 

This apparently knee-jerk reaction will cost Black two pieces.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 

10...Re8

It is interesting that here and in none of the games in The Database did Black snap off the e-pawn with 10...Nxe4. To protect against this move, Houdini 2 suggests an odd line of play instead of 10.Qe3 for White: 10.Qb5 a6 11.Qb3+ Be6 12.Qf3 Bg4 13.Qg3 h5 14.d3 h4 15.Qf2 h3 16.Nc3 Qe7 17.Bd2 c5 18.Rg1 Rae8 19.gxh3 Rxh3 20.Rg3 Rxg3 21.Qxg3 Qd7 22.Be3 Kg8 23.f5 b5 with advantage to the first player.

11.d3 b6  12.Nc3

Running similar risks with the Queen and King on the same file. Prudent was 12.0-0 Kg8 13.Qg3.

12...Kg8 

Finding safety for his King. Stronger was 12...d5, taking advantage of the pin on the White e-pawn.

13.Bd2 c5

There was still time for 13...d5 and an equal game.

14.0-0-0 

14...d5 

Still good.

15.Qf3 

Played too quickly, as Black shows.

15...Bg4 16.Qg3 Bxd1 17.Rxd1 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.dxe4 Rxe4 

White has a pawn for the exchange. The game is roughly equal.

20.Bc3 Qe7 21.Be5 Re8 22.Qf3 Ra4 

23.b3 White resigned.

It is difficult to explain White's sudden capitulation, unless he was upset over having missed 23.Qb3+, winning Black's Rook. In the game, even after 23...Rxa2, White would not be worse.

Update: Old Dog Can Still Bite

Most chess players, if they have ever heard of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), know of the game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, where the British master dismantled the opening and then destroyed it with a Queen sacrifice. They have a pretty good assessment of the Blackburne Defense, 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6!?, giving up the Rook to distract, and, eventually trap out of play, White's Queen.

Players more familiar with the Jerome Gambit may have seen analysis that indicates that White, not Black, is better in this line.

Players very familiar with the Jerome Gambit may have seen analysis that indicates Black can draw, or force a draw, in a very, very complicated position.

All of which suggests that White can be happy when facing the Blackburne defense - if he knows what he is doing. Otherwise, that old dog is likely to bite, as in the following game.

burraburra  - rsiemon
blitz, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.g3

White's Queen-escape line is, instead, 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3.

This seems a lot saner than 9.d4, e.g. 9...Nf6 (or 9...Qxe4+) 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.0-0 Be6!? when there is plenty of madness in the position after 13.Nf3 (or 13.Qxa8 Bd5 14.Qc8 Ng4 15.Qxc7+ [15.Nf3 Bxf3 16.Qxc7+ Kg8 17.Qc4+ Kf8 18.Bh6+ Qxh6 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Qc7+ etc] 15...Ke8 16.Nf3 Bxf3 17.Bf4 Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qh3 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Bg5+ Kf7 21.Qxg4 Qxg4 22.Rxf2 Qxg5 23.Rxf3+ Kg7 24.Re1) 13...Bxf2+ 14.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 15.Kxf2 Rxh8 16.Nxe5+. The game is even, if White survives.

However, the text in the game, 9.g3 wins - for Black.

9...Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Qxh1+

Or 10...Bh3+, Black resigned, facing 11.Kg1 Qg2# as in LukeWarm - blackburne, Jerome Gambit Thematic, 2010.

11.Ke2 Qe4+ 12.Kd1 Bg4+ 13.f3 Bxf3 checkmate

graphic by The Wizard of Draws

A Head Scratcher

The following game caused a bit of head-scratching here at jeromegambit.blogspot.com...

Doctoroldhead - chesstux
standard, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.c3 Qg5 

Now, White forfeited by disconnection.

It is hard to know if White simply lost his connection to FICS at this point. If he did, maybe he was not able to log back in and continue the game. Or, maybe his opponent had set his "noescape" variable so that any disconnection would be treated as a forfeit.

It is also possible that White saw Black's last move - thematic to the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (and its relations) - and figured his Jerome Gambit strategy had failed. So, why play on?

I checked The Database for games with the final position. There were 80 of them, including efforts (with White) by well-known Jerome Gambit Gemeinde members GOH, GmCooper, Darrenshome, DragonTail, drumme, sTpny and jfhumphrey. White scored 54%.

In those 80 games, White's average rating was about 47 points higher than Black's average rating, consistent with White's edge in scoring. Also, Houdini 2, at 20 ply depth, rated White's position to be about 2/3 of a pawn better - again, consistent with the scoring of the games in The Database.

Conclusion: no need for White to despair.

Of course, he needs to find the right idea, which is to capture the Black Knight with 7.cxd4, and after 7...Qxg2, find 8.Qf3. Black then has nothing better (and a lot, worse) than exchanging Queens with 8...Qxf3 9.Nxf3.

analysis diagram

White has an edge, thanks to his extra pawn. That is certainly nothing to give up on, unless things beyond the chessboard were more pressing.

More Musings

There is a nifty game over at Chris Torres' Chess Musings website (mentioned here earlier at "The Most Violent Chess Game Ever Played!" and "Another Lesson in the Jerome Gambit"). The post is titled "Useful Junk: The Jerome Gambit" which has the correct take on the opening:

Below is another interesting game where I played the Jerome Gambit against my student, Iddo Zohar. The Jerome Gambit is an unsound specialty of mine which I like to categorize as “useful junk.” Iddo Zohar is a very talented junior chess player who you will definitely here more about in future posts.

Check it out!

Toss 'Em in The Database

With some time available recently, I've downloaded more Jerome Gambit (and related) games from the FICS database, making The Database current through July 2012. That's still not "up to date," but I'm working on it...

Bill Wall is pulling together a database of his games for the year, and there's usually a few Jerome Gambits hiding there. The more, the merrier!

Also, I just caught up with the results of the 2nd Jerome Gambit Race at Chess.com. (The 1st Race was covered on this blog earlier this year.)

Rrustyy1                 6-2-0

oleppedersen           4-4-0

Jordi-I                     4-4-0

quixote                    3-4-1

DeDrijver               2-5-1

I hope to present games from this tournament soon.

(I noticed that DeDrijver played in the Chess.com "Play the Jerome Gambit Quad" posted about earlier.)


graphic from the Wizard of Draws

Turn About is Fair Play

I was doing some online research at the Chess Archaeology website when I ran into an interesting game (a cross between the Italian Game and the Petroff Defense) in the "Chess" column of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat for June 24, 1877

Amateur - Jos. N. B.

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 5.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 6.Kf3 d5 7.Bd3 

At this point Black announced mate in two

Of course, I like the Bishop sacrifice theme (it is interesting to think of the game coming out of a Petroff, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Bc5!? 4.Bc4; or even a Busch-Gass Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5!? 3.Nxe5 Nf6 ), even if it is performed this time by Black. 

Has this line appeared in a post in this blog before? I looked up 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 and ran across it in "Not Quite the Jerome Gambit". Figures.

(By the way, Black does better to 4...0-0, and White should choose the safer 6.Kg1.)

Persistence

I met JoseSoza in the first round of our Chess.com tournament. I played the Jerome Gambit. He beat me.

I recently met JoseSoza in the second round of our Chess.com tournament. I played the Jerome Gambit again. He beat me again.

I am waiting to see if I will make it to the third round of our Chess.com tournament. I already know that JoseSoza will advance. If I meet him again, I will play the Jerome Gambit again.

perrypawnpusher - JoseSoza
"Italian Game" Thematic, Chess.com, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

The same answer LeeBradbury offered in my other Jerome Gambit game in this round.

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3 d6 

I decided not to play the Queen exchange this time.

After 9...Bd6 I was able to outplay my opponent in  perrypawnpusher - molerat, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23).

10.Nc3 

Instead, Bill Wall was successful with 10.c3, in Wall,B - Guest340293, Playchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 41). 

10...Ne7 11.d3 Be6 12.0-0 Qg6 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 a6 

JoseSoza has beaten my Jerome Gambit before, so he is not terribly concerned in this game. Still, he has allowed me to exchange off his dark-squared Bishop, keep my Queen, and prepare for f2-f4. Black's piece-for-two-pawns gives him an advantage, but the game is not unfamiliar to a Jerome Gambit player with white. 

15.f4 Bf7 16.Rae1 Qe6 17.f5 Qd7 18.e5 

The game is effectively over at this point.

That may surprise you.

What happened is that I spent hours and hours with my pocket chess set, looking at 18.f6!? I then studied the position further, and decided that I could play the text move first, as long as I followed it up properly.

So I played the text.

Then I realized that I had not written any of my analysis down, and I could not remember any of it at all! I played the rest of the game like a zombie.

For the record, after the game Rybka suggested that after 18.Rf2 Kg8 19.Ref1 Rf8 20.Qg3 Qe8 21.b3 h6 22.f6 Ng6 23.d4 Rh7 24.Qe3 White would have a tiny edge.

18...dxe5 19.Qxe5 Nc6 20.Qc5+ Qd6 21.Qxd6+ cxd6 

Exchanging Queens was not a good idea. Black now has a slight advantage, and he outplayed me the rest of the game.

22.f6 Re8 23.fxg7+ Kxg7 24.Ne4 Rd8 25.a3 Rhe8 26.Ng5 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Rd7 28.Nxf7 Kxf7 

29.c3 Re7 30.Kf2 Rxe1 31.Kxe1 Ke6 32.Ke2 Ke5 33.Ke3 d5 34.d4+ Kf5 35.a4 Na5 36.b4 Nc4+ 37.Kf3 b6 White resigned