A Choice of Checkmates

An enjoyable game, the following contest ends up with White having the choice of three different ways of delivering checkmate, depending which piece he wants to use!

Wall,B - Guest5541035 
PlayChess.com, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Qf6

A nice change from the "annoying defense" 7...d6. 

The first example that I have of 7...Qf6 in my notes is from NM Eric Schiller's Unorthodox Chess Openings (1998). Calling 6...Ke6 "the real test of the opening" he notes, after 7.f4

White will win back one of the sacrificed pieces. Black should react calmly by developing and protecting the king. It is useful to keep in mind that for an attack to succeed the attacker usually requires greater force than that which defends the king. Here the Black king is surrounded by pieces, and White has only the queen and a pair of pawns. The Black king can retreat to e7, but this would confine the Black queen. Therefore the correct move [7...Qf6] suggests itself.

8.Rf1

This seems stronger than Schiller's recommended 8.Nc3.

The Database has 9 game examples with 8.Nc3, with Black (including Wall, once) winning 6 of them (White scores 33%). This is opposed to 52 games with 8.Rf1, with White winning 32 (scoring 62%).

Bill warns against 8.fxe5? Qf2+ 9.Kd1 Qxg2. 

8...g6 

Or 8...Ne7 9.fxe5 Qxe5. 

9.Qh3+

Threatening 10.fxe5. 

Not 9.fxe5? Qxf1+ 10.Kxf1 gxh5 or 9.Qd1? Qh4+ 10.g3 Qxh2 11.fxe5 Qxg3+ 12.Rf2 Qxf2#.

9...Ke7 

Two alternatives: 

9...Kf7? 10.fxe5 Qxf1+ 11.Kxf1 d6 12.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1690223, PlayChess.com. 2012;

9...Ng4 10.Qxg4+ Ke7 11.Nc3 d6? 12.Nd5+ Wall,B - Guest3164644, PlayChess.com 2013 (1-0, 20).

10.Nc3

Threatening 11.Nd5+ forking King and Queen. White could also grab back a piece with 10.fxe5.

10...d6

Less tricky, but perhaps a bit more prudent, is 10...c6 as seen in Wall,B - XCCY, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 21)] 

11.Nd5+ Kf7 

Better is 11...Kd8, as long as Black doesn't slip like 12.Qg3 Qe6 13.fxe5 dxe5 14.d4 Ne7? as in Wall, B - Aburasian, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 33).

Of course not 11...Ke8? when 12.Nxf6+ gains Black's Queen with check.

12.Qb3 Qh4+ 

It was time to give some material back. Not 12...Qe6? 13.fxe5+ Kg7 14.Nxc7; but maybe 12...Nf3+ 13.Rxf3 Qh4+ or even 12...Nd3+!?.

13.g3

Simplest. As Bill notes, if 13.Kd1? Bg4+; and there is no need to protect the h-pawn with 13.Qg3 Qxg3+ 14.hxg3 Nc6 when Black retains his two extra pieces.

13...Qg4

Maybe Black now saw that 13...Qxh2 would be well-answered by 14.fxe5+. If so, it is a shame that he didn't press further to find 13...Nf3+!? 14.Qxf3 Qxh2 (about even) or 14...Qh5!?

Now White takes over. 

14.fxe5+ Kg7

Retreating elsewhere brings disaster. 

15.d3 

Taking care of business, first. Instead, 15.Nxc7?? is a horror show after 15...Qxe4+.

15...dxe5 

Instead, 15...c6? can boomarang, for example: 16.Qc3 cxd5 17.e6+ Nf6 18.Qxf6+ Kg8 19.Qf7# 

16.Nxc7 

Bill shows that the alternative, 16.Qc3, looks pretty trappy and good for White after 16...Bd4 17.Qxc7+ Bd7 18.Rf5!? gxf5 19.Qxd7+ Kg6 20.c3. 

But if Black answers solidly, instead, with 16...Bd6, then White has only 17.Nxc7, when 17...Nf6!? might come as quite a shock. Houdini says then that after 18.Nxa8 Qh5 19.h4 Bh3 20.Rf2 Rxa8 Black's two pieces will balance out White's Rook and two pawns.

Tricky play!

But, now Black blunders.

16...Rb8?? 

17.Ne8 checkmate.

Or 17.Qf7 checkmate.

Or 17.Rf7 checkmate

Happy Birthday! (the Completion of a Hysterical/Historical Jerome Gambit, Part 3)

                               [Continued from New Year's Day.] 

perrypawnpusher - spince
blitz, FICS, 2013

11.f4 Qf7 12.f5 Bd7 13.Bg5 

Putting pressure on f6 was a good idea, but this was better achieved by 13.Bd4!?, e.g. 13...Kg8 (it is too late for 13...c5 because of 14.f6, anyway) 14.f6 gxf6 15.Rxf6 Bc5 16.Rxf7 Bxd4+ 17.Kh1 Kxf7 when White would have a Queen and two pawns for a Rook and two Bishops - but Black's less stable King might give White an edge. 

13...Ke8 

An alternative was 13...h6 14.Bxe7+ Bxe7 15.e5 Be8 when White's advancing "Jerome pawns" balance things out. 

14.f6 

Thematic, but too soon.

I did not realize how "too soon" it was until after the game, when I asked Houdini's opinion, and it suggested a patient line somewhat more exciting that watching paint dry - but which might lead to a slight edge for White: 14.d4 h6 15.Bh4 g5 16.Bf2 Rf8 17.Qe2 Bb4 18.Nd1 Kd8 19.Ne3 Bd6 20.Nc4 Qe8 21.Ne5 Kc8 22.c4 Ng8 23.Nxd7 Qxd7 24.Be3 b6 25.e5 Be7 26.Qf3 Kb7 27.Rad1 Rae8.

analysis diagram






14...Ng6 

This gives up the exchange, but Black did not want to pursue 14...gxf6 15.Rxf6.

15.fxg7 Qxg7 16.Bf6 Qf8 17.Bxh8 Qxh8 18.Qf3

Also possible was 18.d4.

White has a Rook and two pawns against Black's two Bishops.

Unfortunately, the next handful of moves is spoiled by mutual Amaurosis scacchistica - chess blindness. 

18...Kd8 19.Rf2? Kc8? 20.h3? b6 21.Raf1? Kb7 22.Qf7? Rd8 

Black has worked hard to safeguard his King, missing opportunities to win the exchange with ...Bc5, and, later, to launch a strong attack with ...Qe5.

Now he misses his last chance, although he still may maintain a small edge.

Speaking of "small", alas, that begins to refer to the amount of time that Black has remaining on his clock.

23.Qf6 Be5 24.Qxh8 Bxh8 25.Rf7 Be6 26.Rxh7 Bxa2

An unfortunate time slip.

27.Nxa2 Bd4+ 28.Kh1 Nh4 29.c3 Black forfeited on time

The Blackmar - Jerome Gambit?!

I noticed that the "Improving Chess Player" blog, in its not-too-long-ago "Feeling Ornery - Play the Traxler" presented the game Reinisch v. Traxler (1890) - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nd4+ 7.Kd3 b5 8.Bb3 Nxe4 9.Nxd8 Nc5+ 10.Kc3 Ne2+ 11.Qxe2 Bd4+ 12.Kb4 a5+ 13.Kxb5 Ba6+ 14.Kxa5 Bd3+ 15.Kb4 Na6+ 16.Ka4 Nb4+ 17.Kxb4 c5 checkmate - and gave Traxler's notes which indicate that the line "somewhat resembles the Blackmar-Jerome gambit".

As I've puzzled before, what is the link, if any, between Armand Blackmar (of 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.f3) and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)?

I left a mesage at the website to see if blogger Glenn Mitchell could enlighten me. However, I got a quick email in response - no, he does not know the history of the "Blackmar-Jerome gambit".


My current hypothesis - complete speculation at this point - is that Traxler, writing in the October 11, 1892, chess column of Golden Prague, recalled the infamous Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 Jerome Gambit game and wanted to credit the successful master; but, in drawing up his note for Reinisch - Traxler, he erroniously attached "Blackmar" - instead of "Blackburne" - to "Jerome Gambit".  

That would solve another "naming" problem, the first one being Blackburne referring to the Jerome Gambit as the "Kentucky Opening" - see "The Kentucky Opening Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4".

A Nice, Friendly Game of Chess

Dave Black (see "Exploring the Evans Jerome Gambit", "Boris Isn't So Hot", "Smooth Sailing", "The Seventeenth Man" and "Influence") sends along another fun game of his - what a great way to start off the New Year!

Mr Black - Guest4570603
Friendly Game, 5 2 blitz, Café, 2014

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

The Jerome Gambit - not necessarily "nice" or "friendly".

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7

9.0-0 d6 10.Qe3 Be6 11.f4 Bc4 12.d3 Bb5

Either Black is feeling over-confident or under-cautious.

13.c4 Bc6 14.b4 b6 15.Bb2 Kf7 16.Nd2 Rf8

It looks as if the second player is planning to castle-by-hand, a prudent strategy, even if his Kingside will come under pressure.

17.f5 Ne5 18.d4 Ng4

Again, Black over-estimates his chances, or under-estimates White's. Instead, 18...Nd7 seems more prudent.

19.Qg5 Nh6 

Perhaps wanting to avoid 19...Nf6 20.e5, or even planning ...Kg8 followed by ...Nf7, but the move proves too friendly towards his opponent.

20.d5 Rg8 21.dxc6 Nxc6 22.f6 Ne5 23.fxg7+ Black resigned

The Knight on h6 is a goner, and White's Queen, Rooks, and Bishop all combine in a fierce attack. 

[If I'm counting right, this is blog post #1800. The mind reels.]

Jerome Gambit-Inspired Play (Part 8)

You might think that there are a whole lot of notes attached to this 3-minute game, but they're all a lot of fun, in another fun opening outing from Philidor 1792.

Philidor 1792 - guest564
3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 

This move was mentioned in a note to the game Philidor 1792 - guest1063 - see "Jerome Gambit-Inspired Play (Part 4)".

4.Bxf7+

Instead, 4.Nc3 would lead to the Boden-Kieseritsky Gambit (suggested by Lionel Kieseritzky in 1848, analyzed by Samuel Boden in his Popular Introduction to Chess in 1851).

I have managed to scrape up a few games and posts with this line, starting with "Wasn't Me!" and " 'I nearly smacked him on the back of the head!' ".

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ 

White made a feint towards the Boden-Kieseritsky Gambit in the entertaining Jirotka,S - Super Expert, 1990:  5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.Nxe5+ Ke6 7.Qf3 Kxe5 8.O-O Nd5 9.c4 Nf6 (now mate follows) 10.Re1+ Kd4 11.a4 Bb4 12.Qe3+ Kxc4 13.d3+ Kb3 14.Qe2 Bxe1 15.Qxe1 Ne4 16.Bd2 Nxd2 17.Qxd2 a6 18. Ra3 checkmate.

Alternately, Black raced to destruction after 5.d3 in Wall,B - 3xp7s, Chess.com, 2010: 5...Ke8 6.dxe4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Ba5 8.Bg5 Black resigned. 

5... Kg8 

Black's King is most secure here.

Instead, 5... Ke8 6. Qh5+ g6  (equal game) 7.Nxg6 Nf6 (7... hxg6 8.Qxh8 Qf6 9.Qxf6 Nxf6 was equal in  Slimani, A. - Nouali, N., ALG-ch U12, 2000 [1/2-1/2, 32]) 8. Qe5+ Kf7 (8...Be7? 9.Nxh8 Nc6 10.Qg3 d5 11.O-O Bd6 12.Qg7 Bf5 13.Qf7 checkmate,  frankenstein - Bayartulga Batjargal, blitz, InstantChess.com, 2011) 9.Nxh8+ Kg8 10.O-O Kxh8 11.d4 Bg7 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qg3 Nh5 14.Qf3 Bxd4? (14...Nf6) 15.Qxh5 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Qf6 17.Qe8+ Kg7 18.Rb1 Bf5 19.Bb2 Bxc2 20.c4 Qxb2 21.Rxb2 Black resigned, frankenstein - Dadang Kartika, blitz, InstantChess.com, 2012 

6.Qf3 

There is a lot of study material here:

6.O-O d6 (6...Qh4 7.c3 Bd6? 8.Qb3+ Kf8 9.Qf7# frankenstein - Rob Mackey, blitz, InstantChess.com, 2010; 6...d5 7.d3 Nf6
8.Bg5 Be7 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.Nb5 a6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Nd4 Bd7 14.Qf3 Kf7 White resigned, Valderrama,L - Perrine,G, corr, ICCA 1948;  6...Nf6 7.d4 d5 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.Re1 Be7 10.Nc3 Nf8 11.Qf3 c6 12.b3 N8d7 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nxd5 Nxe5 15.Nxf6+ Qxf6 16.Qh5 Ng6 17.Re8+ Nf8 18.Rae1 Qg6 19.Qc5 Qf7 20.R1e7 Qf4? [20...Qd5] 21.Qc4+ Qf7 Black resigned, Excessive_Force - Mrchess, PlayChess.d, 2002; 6...Nc6 7.d4 [7.Qf3 Nf6 8.Nc4 d5 9.Ne3 d4 10.Nd1 Qd5 11.Qb3 Bf5 12.c4 Qe6 13.d3 Nd7 14.Nd2 Nc5 15.Qb5 a6 Potter,M - Signes,S, LSS 2006 {0-1, 25}] 7...d5 8.Qf3 Qe8 9.Be3 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Qxe5 11.Bf4 Qxb2 12.Nd2 Qc3 13.Nxe4 Qxf3 14.gxf3 dxe4 15.fxe4 c6 Bauermeister,J - Harper,R, IECC 2004 {0-1, 33}) 7.Qe2 (7.Qf3 dxe5 [7...Qf6 8.Qxe4 dxe5 9.Qd5+ Qe6 10.Qe4 Nc6 11.Nc3 Qf5 12.Qc4+ Be6 13.Qb5 Rb8 14.d3 Nd4 15.Qa4 Bc5 16.Ne4 Bb6 17.Ng3 Qg4 18.c4 h5 19.Qd1 Qg6 20.Be3 Rf8 21.b4 c5 22.b5 h4 23.Ne4 h3 24.g3 Bg4 25.f3 Rxf3 26.Rxf3 Nxf3+ 27.Kh1 Nd4 28.Qb1 Bf3+ 29.Kg1 Bxe4 30.dxe4 Kh7 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32.Qd3 Rf8 33.Rf1 Rxf1+ 34.Kxf1 Qf6+ 35.Ke2 Qg5 36.Kf1 Qc1+ 37.Ke2 Qb2+ 38.Ke1 Qxh2 39.Qf3 Qg1+  White resigned, Gonzalez, Yaribeth -  Matoussi, Amina, Chess Olympiad (Women) Turkey, 2012; 7...Ng5 8.Qb3+ Be6 9.Qxb7 dxe5 10.Qxa8 Bd5 11.Qxa7 Nf3+ 12.Kh1 Qh4 White resigned,  Dave_evans - Yakimesha, PlayChess.de, 2002] 8.Qb3+ Black resigned, Robinson, G - Davie, C, 1916; 7.Nc4 Nc6 8.d3 Nf6 9.Bg5 d5 10.Ne3 d4 11.Nc4 Qd5 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Nbd2 Kg7 14.Ne4 Bf5 15.Re1 Bb4 16.c3 Rhe8 17.cxb4 Bxe4 18.Qg4+ Bg6 19.Qg3 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Rc8 21.a3 Qf5 22.Re4 Qg5 White resigned, ABE - Harijs, PlayChess.de, 2005) 7...dxe5? 8.Qc4+ Black resigned, Zulkifli, Tg - Lai, Wendy, Kuala Lumpur open 1992. 

6. c3 Qf6 7.Qb3+ Qe6 8.Qxe6+ dxe6 9.f3 Nf6 10.d4 Bd6 11.Nc4 Kf7 12.Bg5 Nc6 13.Nbd2 b5 14.Nxd6+ cxd6 15.O-O Bb7 16.Rfe1 Rhe8 17.Nb3 Rac8 18.Rad1 Ne7 19.Bxf6 Kxf6 20.Rd2 Ng6 21.Rde2 Bd5 22.Nd2 a5 23.Re3 a4 24.a3 Re7 25.g3 Rce8 26.f4 Kf7 27.Kf2 h5 28.Rc1 h4 29.c4 hxg3+ 30.Rxg3 Bxc4 31.Rcg1 Bd3 32.Rxd3 Nxf4 33.Rdg3 Kg8 34.Ne4 Rf8 35.Ke3 e5 36.dxe5 dxe5 37.Nd6 Rd7 38.Nxb5 Rb8 39.Nc3 Rxb2 40.Nxa4 Rb3+ 41.Ke4 Rxg3 42.hxg3 Nh3 43.Rb1 Rd4+ 44.Kxe5 Rxa4 45.Rb3 Ng5 46.Kf5 Ra5+ 47.Kg6 Ne6 48.Rb8+ Nf8+ 49.Rxf8+ Kxf8 Caro Garcia, Jose Luis - Ruiz Lacalle, Antonio, Malaga-ch, 2005 (0-1, 66)

6.Nc3 Nxc3 7.dxc3 Qe7 8.Qe2 d6 9.Nd3 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Be7 11.h4 Kf7 12.Bg5 Re8 13.Kd2 Nc6 14.Nf4 h6 15.Bxe7 Rxe7 16.Nd5 Rd7 17.f4 b6 18.Rhf1 Bb7 19.g4 Ne7 20.Ne3 Nd5 21.Nf5 Re8 22.g5 Ba6 23.Rf2 hxg5 24.fxg5 Kg8 25.h5 Rf7 26.h6 g6 27.h7+ Kh8 28.c4 Bxc4 29.b3 Ba6 30.c4 Rxf5 31.Rxf5 gxf5 32.g6 Nf6 White resigned, Ozbek vs. Okus, Izmir 2006 . 

6.Qe2 d5 7.d3 Nf6 8.Bg5 Nc6 9.Nc3 Nd4 10.Qd2 c6 11.O-O Bd6 12.f4 Ne6 13.Bh4 Qc7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Ng4 Qg7 16.Rf3
h5 17.Nf2 Kf7 18.Ne2 Qh6 19.Nh3 Ke7 20.Re1 Kd8 21.Ng3 Nd4 22.Rfe3 Bd7 23.c3 Bxh3 24.gxh3 White resigned, Romano,Claudio - Colabrese,C, 1st Int Open, Perugia ITA, 2009. 

6.Qh5 Qe7 (6...g6 7.Nxg6 Nf6 8.Qg5 hxg6 9.Qxg6+ Bg7 10.d3 Qe7+ 11.Be3 Nc6 12.Nc3 d6 13.O-O-O Ne5 14.Qg3 Nfg4 15.h3 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Be6 17.Rdf1 Rf8 18.d4 Rxf1+ 19.Rxf1 Nf7 20.Ne4 Rh6 21.a3 d5 22.Nf2 Rf6 23.Kd2 Nd6 24.Ke2 Qf7 25.Ng4 Bxg4+ 26.Qxg4 Rxf1 White resigned, Pantakrator -JMD PlayChess.de, 2003) 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qf5 Nc6 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.Qf3 Qe5 11.d4 Qxd4 12.Rd1 Qg4 13.Rd8 Qxf3 14.gxf3 Kf7 15.Bf4 Ba3 16.Rxh8 Bxb2 17.Be5 Bxe5 18.c3 g5 19.a4 Nd5 White resigned, Harrell,B - Helm,S, WCCF Email, 2000;  

6... Nf6 

Not 6...Qe7? 7.Qxe4 as in Karlsson,R - Mottershead,R, IECC 2000 (1/2-1/2, 29)

Also playable: 6...Ng5 7.Qb3+ d5 [7...Ne6 8.f4 c6 9.f5 Qf6 10.O-O Qxe5 11.d3 Bd6 12.fxe6 Qxh2+ 13.Kf2 Qg3+ 14.Kg1 Bc5+ 15.Kh1 White resigned, Anewcreation -BanzayFish, PlayChess.de 2002] 8.Nc3 Be6 9.O-O d4 10.Qxb7 Nd7 11.Nxd7 Bxd7 12.d3 dxc3 13. Bxg5 Qb8?14.Qd5+ Black resigned, Cosmo - Peter_Richard, PlayChess.de 2001;  

and 6...Nd6 7.Qb3+ (7.Qd5+ Nf7 8.Qxf7#) 7...Nc4 8.Nxc4 Qe7+ 9.Ne5+ d5 10.Qxd5+ Qe6 11.Qxe6+ Bxe6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Nd2 c5 14.Ne4 Bxe5 15.dxe5 Bd5 16.Nd6 Nd7 17.c4 Bc6 18.e6 Black resigned,  Lopez Suarez,O - Rodriguez Correa,A, FECAP 2002. 

7. g4 

7.O-O d6 (7...Nc6 White resigned, Van Bargen, Holger - Reichenberg, Thomas, Recklinghausen op, 1999; 7...Qe7 8.d4 d6 9.Nd3 Na6 10.Bg5 Qf7 11.Nc3 c6 12.Rfe1 Bg4 13.Qg3 Bf5 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Ne4 Bxe4 16.Rxe4 Nc7 17.Rf4 Qg6 18.Rg4 Qf5 19.Rf4 Qg6 20.Rg4 Qf5 draw, PhilipKaveny - RUDI, PlayChess.de) 8.Qb3+ d5 9.d4 c6 (9...c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bg5 Qb6 12.Qxb6 Bxb6 13.Nc3 Nc6 14.Rfe1 Nxe5 15. Rxe5 Bxf2+ 16.Kf1 Bd4 17.Bxf6 Bxe5 18.Bxe5 Be6 19.Rd1 Kf7 20.Nb5 Rhf8 21.Kg1 Kg8 22.Nc7 Bg4 23.Rd2 Rad8 24.Nxd5 Be6 25.c4 Bxd5 26.Rxd5 Rxd5 27.cxd5 Rf5 28.Bc3 Rxd5 29.Kf2 Kf7 30.Ke3 Rd6 31.g3 g6 32.Kf3 Ke6 33.Ke4 Ra6 34.a3 Ra4+ 35.Kd3 Kf5 36.h3 h5 37.Bb4 a5 38.Bc5 b5 39.b3 Re4 40.b4 axb4 41.Bxb4 h4 42.Bd6 hxg3 43.Bxg3 Ra4 44.Bd6 Rh4 45.Kc3 Ke6 46.Bf8 Kd5 White resigned, Winkler - Tippmann, 1990) 10.c4 dxc4 11.Qxc4+ Qd5 12.Qd3 c5 13.Be3 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Nc6 15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.Nc3 Be6 17.Rfe1 Bf7 18.Rac1 Bg6 19.Qh3 Qd7 20.Qh4 Be7 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Qb4 Bxc3 23.Qxc3 h6 24.Qg3 Kh7 25.Rc7 Qd2 26.Qe5 Rhg8 27.Re2 Rae8 28.Rxd2 Rxe5 29.f4 Rb5 30.b3 Be4 31.Kf2 Bc6 32.g4 Re8 33.h4 Rb4 34.g5 Rxf4+ 35.Kg3 Rf3+ 36.Kh2 Re4 37.gxh6 Rxh4+ 38.Kg1 Rg3+ 39.Kf1 Rf4+ 40.Ke2 Rg2+ 41.Kd3 Rf3+ 42.Kc2 Be4+ 43.Kc1 Rf1+44.Rd1 Rxd1+ 45.Kxd1 Kxh6 White resigned, Kornblum, Dittmar - Gruenberg, Marc Landesliga2 West 9900, 2000. 

7.d4 Qe8 8.O-O d6 9.Nd3 Nc6 10.d5 Nd4 11.Qd1 Nxd5 12.Re1 Be7 13.Nf4 Nxf4 14.Bxf4 Nc6 15.Qd5+ Qf7 16.Nc3 Kf8 17.Bg5 Qxd5 18.Nxd5 Bxg5 19.Nxc7 Bf5 20.Nxa8 Bd8 21.Re3 Kf7 22.Rf3 Ke6 23.Re1+ Ne5 24.b4 g6 25.Rc3 Kd7 26.Ra3 Nc6 27.b5 Na5 28.c4 b6 29.Rd1 Be7 30.Nxb6+ axb6 31.c5 Kc7 32.Re3 Bf6 33.Rxd6 Rd8 34. Rc6+ Nxc6 35.h3 Nd4 36.Rc3 Ne2+ White resigned,  Excessive_Force - Yioryos, PlayChess.de 2004. 

7...d6 

7...Qe8 8.Qb3+ d5 9.g5 Qxe5+ 10.Qe3 Qxe3+ 11.dxe3 Ne4 12.h4 Nc6 13.a3 Bd6 14.b4 Ne5 15.f4 Nc4 16.Rh2 Bf5 17.c3 Kf7 18.Nd2 Nexd2 19.Bxd2 Rae8 20.Kf2 Nxd2 21.Rd1 Ne4+ 22.Kf3 Nxc3 23.Rc1 d4 24.exd4 Nd5 White resigned, Rumagoso - Godzillainchains, PlayChess.de, 2003.

8.Qb3+ d5 9.g5 Ne4 10.Nc3 Nc5 11.Qxd5+ Qxd5 12.Nxd5 Nba6 13.d4 Ne6 14.Be3 c6 15.Nc3 Bd6 16.Nc4 Bc7

17.d5 cxd5 18.Nxd5 Bd7 19.O-O-O Bc6 20.Rhe1 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 Bf4 22.Bxf4 Nxf4 23.Rd7 b6

There is more involved here than the future of Black's b-pawn. To that end, he needed to look at 23...Nc5, with the idea that 24.Rc7 could be met with 24...Nce6, so that Black can answer 25.Rxb7 with 25...h5!? and then 26...Kh7, if allowed. If White tries 26.g6!?, Black will have 26...Rh6 and eventually he will gather in the pawn.

That's a whole lot of thinking in a 3-minute game, so it is best not to be too judgmental about Black's play.

24.Ree7 Nh5 25.Nd6 Nc5 26.Rc7 Kf8 27.Rf7+ Kg8 28.Nf5 Ne6 29.Rce7 Nc5 

He probably should have tried 29...Nxg5, with an even game. 

30.Nxg7 Nxg7 31.Rxg7+ Kf8 32.f4 a5 33.f5 Rd8 34.h4 Ne4 35.f6 Ng3 36.Rgf7+ Kg8 37.Rg7+ Kf8 38.Rgf7+ Kg8 39.Rd7 Rxd7 40.Rxd7 Kf8 

41.Kd2 

Instead 41.Rd8+ would finish up, but I am sure that time was short. 

41...Ke8 42.Rb7 Rf8 43.Rxh7 Rf7 44.Rh8+ Rf8 45.Rh7 Rf7 46.Rh8+ Kd7 47.Ke3 Ke6 48.Kf4 Ne2+ 49.Kg4 Nd4

50.h5 Nxc2 51.g6 Rxf6 52.g7 Ne3+ 53.Kg5 Rf5+ 54.Kg6 Rf6+ 55.Kh7 Rf7 56.Rf8 Black resigned

Quite a battle!

Another Delayed Declined Evans Jerome Gambit!?

For a 3-minute game, the following contest appears a bit "positional" but Philidor 1792 uses the strengths of his side more effectively than his opponent uses his strengths. 

Philidor 1792 - guest343
3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru,  2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 

The venerable Evans Gambit.

4...Bb6 

Declined.

5.b5 Na5 6.Bxf7+ 

An Evans-Jerome Gambit hybrid that Philidor 1792 has played before.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf8 8.Qf3+ 

An improvement over 8.d3 of Philidor 1792 - guest2019, 3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 33) and 8.0-0 of Thomas, H - Steve, H, Jackson, MI, prison m, 1992 (1-0, 44);

Best might be 8.Bb2!?. 

8...Qf6 9.Bb2 

Or 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.d3 as in Castled - perrypawnpusher, 3 0 bliz, FICS, 2008 (0-1, 42). 

9...Qxf3 10.Nxf3 Nc4 11.Bc1 d6 12.d3 Ne5 13.Nbd2 Nf6 14.Nxe5 dxe5 15.Nc4 Bd4 16.Rb1 Bd7

17.Be3 Bc3+ 18.Bd2 Bd4 19.Be3 Kf7 20.Bxd4 exd4 21.Ne5+ Ke6 22.Nxd7 Nxd7 23.f4 Rhf8 24.g3 Nc5

25.Rb4 Rad8 26.Kf2 g5 27.Kf3 b6 28.h4 gxf4 29.gxf4 Rg8 30.Rc4 Rd6 31.a4 c6 

Up to this point, White's two extra pawns have held their own against Black's extra piece. Now, with some inexact moves, the second player lets the "Jerome pawns" break through.

32.Ra1 Kf7 33.e5 Rh6 34.Rxd4 Rxh4 35.bxc6 Rh3+ 36.Kf2 Ke6 37.c7 Rc8 38.Rd6+ Kf5 39.Rf6+ Kg4 40.Rf7 Ne6 41.Rg1+ Black resigned

On top of the raging pawns, White also threatens checkmate.

Playing Cat and Mouse

It is always a good idea to keep track of who is the predator, and who is the prey. Witness the following game.

Wall, Bill - Guest249301
PlayChess.com, 2013

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5

Passing on playing his usual 7.Qd5+, the "nudge". 

7...d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Qxb7 Ne5

With 8...Be6, Black showed his skepticism about White's Queen moves, investing a pawn to back up his belief that the first player shouldn't be wasting time moving Her Majesty. Now he plans to play cat-and-mouse with his Knight, as the text move is the start of a plan to evict White's Queen from Black's position. I am reminded for the umpteenth time of the comment, Don't try to out-think me, just play the refutation.

Better was 9...Nh4, as in Wall, Bill - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23).

10.f4

10.d4 was also playable, e.g. 10...Ng6 11.f4 with a balanced game. 

10...Nd7 11.O-O Nc5 12.Qb4

Bill notes that 12.Qc6? Bc4 13.Rf3 Ne7 would trap the Queen.

12...a5 13.Qd4 Nf6 14.f5

Or 14.e5 dxe5 15.Qxc5.

14...Bd7 15.e5 Nfe4 16.e6+

Instead, 16.d3 traps the knight.

16...Ke8 17. exd7+ Qxd7 18.d3 Nf6

White has won his piece back, and has a couple extra pawns - plus lines of attack to Black's King.

19.Nc3 Kd8 20.Bg5 Kc8 21.Rae1 Re8 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Rxe8+ Qxe8 24.Qxf6 

Black's King will get to safety, but the cost in material is too much.

24...Qe3+ 25.Kh1 Kb7 26.Nd5 Qe2 27.Kg1 Qxc2 28.Qe7 Nxd3 29.Qe4

No 29.Qxh7? Qc5+!  and Black will mate! Instead, White has a nice tactic to share with his opponent.

29...Qc5+ 30.Ne3+ Black resigned.

The Knight is lost.