Method In't

Playing the Jerome Gambit - or any other opening, as far as I am concerned - in bullet (1 minute, no increment) chess is madness; but, as the following game from lichess.org shows, as was said by Hamlet, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't"

obamaGANDON - JAVAD76
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7

Listed in lichess as "Bishop's Opening, Jerome Gambit" but referred to on this site as the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit". For a recent discussion, see "Alert!"

4.Qh5+ g6 

One advantage for the attacker in bullet chess is if the defender does not know the best opening moves, the game can be over very quickly due to an early blunder. Here, for example, Black's best move is 4...Kf8, with an advantage.

On the other hand, this is a bullet game, and anything can happen.

5.Qxe5 d6

The only other game that I have with this line in The Database  continued 5...Qe7 6.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 7.Ne2 Qxg2 8.Qxh7+ Kf8 9.Rf1 d6 10.d4 Bxd4 11.Nxd4 Qe4+ 12.Ne2 Bg4 13.Nbc3 Qxc2 14.Bh6+ Nxh6 15.Qxh6+ Kg8 16.Qxg6+ Qxg6 17.Rg1 Nd7 18.h3 Re8 19.Rxg4 Kf7 20.Rxg6 Kxg6 21.Nd5 Ne5 22.Nxc7 b5 23.Nxb5 a5 24.Nxd6 Re6 25.Nf4+ Black resigned, burraburra - grechy, FICS, 2011. 

Best, according to Houdini, is 5...Bxf2+ (getting a pawn for the endangered piece) 6.Kxf2 Nf6 when White has an edge, a pawn up.

With the text, Black may be remembering the Blackburne Defense to the regular Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6) but the Rook sacrifice does not work here.

Up the exchange and two pawns, White "only" has to make normal moves and watch his clock.

6.Qxh8 Be6 7.Nf3 d5 8.Qxh7+ Kf8 9.Qxg6 Bf7 10.Qf5 Nh6 11.Qf4 Ng8 12.exd5 c6 13.0-0 cxd5 14.Ne5 Black forfeited on time 

eroM mehyaM

More reversed mayhem from Philidor 1792.

guest241 - Philidor 1792
3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 

4...Qe7 




Or 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 Ng4+ 6.Kf1 d6 7.d4 c6 8.dxe5 Qb6 9.Qe2 dxe5 10.h3 Nf6 11.Bb3 Nh5 12.Be3 Ng3+ 13.Kf2 Nxh1+ 14.Rxh1 Qc7 15.Bc5 b6 16.Ba3 c5 17.Nb5 Qe7 18.Bd5 a6 19.Bxa8 axb5 20.Bd5 0-0 21.b3 b4 22.Bb2 Ba6 23.Qe3 Nd7 24.Qg5 Qxg5 25.Nxg5 h6 26.Nxf7 Rxf7+ 27.Bxf7+ Kxf7 28.Rd1 Ke6 29.Ke3 Nb8 30.a3 bxa3 31.Bxa3 Nc6 32.c3 Bb7 33.Rf1 Na5 34.b4 Nc4+ 35.Kd3 Nxa3 36.bxc5 Ba6+ 37.c4 Bxc4+ 38.Kc3 Bxf1 39.Kb3 bxc5 40.Kxa3 Bxg2 White resigned, ghazaleh_little - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com, 2014; 

4...d6 5.d4 (5.h3 Nf6 6.d3 Be6 7.Bxe6 fxe6 8.Rf1 c5 9.Kg1 Nc6 10.c3 0-0 11.Bg5 Qb6 12.b3 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Kh1 Nh5 15.Bh4 e4 16.dxe4 dxe4 17.Qd5+ Kh8 18.Ng5 Rxf1+ 19.Kh2 Qc7+ 20.g3 Raf8 21.Qxe4 R8f2+ 22.Qg2 h6 23.Ne4 Rxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Re1 25.Ned2 g5 26.g4 Nf4+ 27.Kh2 gxh4 0-1. 0-1 Guest131089 - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com 2014) 5...Nf6 6.dxe5 Ng4+ 7.Kf1 0-0 8.exd6 cxd6 9.h3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Bb3 Qb6 12.Bg5 Nh5 13.Bh4 Nc6 14.Bf2 Qa6+ 15.Qe2 Qa5 16.Qe3 Qa6+ 17.Kg1 Rad8 18.Nd5 Rfe8 19.Qg5 Bxd5 20.exd5 Nf6 21.dxc6 bxc6 22.Kh2 Ne4 23.Qh4 d5 24.Bd4 c5 25.Bg1 Qd6+ 26.g3 Nxg3 27.Qxg3 Re2+ 28.Bf2 Rxf2+ 29.Kg1 Qxg3 checkmate, Guest835012 - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com. 2014 

5.d4 

5.Rf1 Qc5+ 6.d4 Qxc4 7.Nxe5 Qe6 8.Bf4 d6 9.d5 Qe7 10.Nxf7 Qxf7 11.Kg1 Nf6 12.Nc3 0-0 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Qg6 15.Qd4 Bh3 16.Rf2 Nbd7 17.Bg3 Bf5 18.Raf1 Bxc2 19.Ne2 Ne4 20.Nf4 Qg4 21.Rxc2 Nxg3 22.hxg3 Qxg3 23.Rcf2 Nf6 24.Ne6 Rf7 25.d6 Qxd6 26.Qxd6 cxd6 27.Ng5 Rd7 28.Rd2 d5 29.Rfd1 Rad8 30.Rd4 Rd6 31.Nh3 Kf7 32.Nf4 g5 33.Nd3 Ke6 34.Nc5+ Ke5 35.Nxb7 R8d7 36.Nxd6 Rxd6 37.Ra4 Ne4 38.Rxa7 d4 39.Rxh7 d3 40.Re7+ Kf4 41.Rf1+ Ke3 42.Rxe4+ Kxe4 43.g4 d2 44.Rd1 Ke3 White lost on time,  Guest394059 - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com, 2014; 

5.Qe2 Nf6 6.c3 Ng4+ 7.Ke1 c6 8.b4 0-0 9.d3 h6 10.h3 Nf6 11.Be3 d5 12.Bc5 Qe8 13.exd5 cxd5 14.Bxf8 dxc4 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 17.Nxe5 cxd3 18.Kd2 Bf5 19.Re1 Nc6 20.g4 Bh7 21.Na3 Ne4+ 22.Kd1 Nxe5 23.Nb5 Nf3 24.Rxe4 Bxe4 25.Nd6 Bg6 26.a4 Rd8 27.Nxb7 Re8 White resigned, Guest269333 - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com, 2014; 

5.d3 Nf6 6.h3 (6.Rf1 Qc5+ 7.Kg3 Nh5+ 8.Kh3 d5+ 9.g4 dxc4 10.d4 exd4 11.Qxd4 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 Nf6 13.Bf4 c6 14.Nc3 Nxg4 15.Kg3 h5 16.h3 h4+ 17.Kg2 Nf6 18.Bg5 Be6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rxf6 Ke7 22.Raf1 Nd7 23.Rf7+ Kd6 24.Rd1+ Kc5 25.Rdxd7 Rhg8+ 26.Rg7 b5 27.a3 Raf8 28.e5 a5 29.Ne4+ Kb6 30.Rb7+ Ka6 31.Nc5 checkmate,  Kotarrak - Philidor1792, Chess.com, 2014) 6...c6 7.a3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.Ba2 e4 10.Nh2 exd3 11.Qxd3 Ne4+ 12.Kf1 Be6 13.g4 0-0 14.Kg2 Qc5 15.Rf1 Nc6 16.b4 Qd6 17.c4 Ne5 18.c5 Qc7 19.Qe2 Ng6 20.Qd3 Qe5 21.Nc3 Qxc3 22.Qxc3 Nxc3 23.Nf3 Nxa2 24.Rxa2 Rfd8 25.Nd4 Ne5 26.Re2 Nc4 27.Nxe6 fxe6 28.Rxe6 d4 29.Rd1 d3 30.Re4 b5 31.cxb6 Nxb6 32.Re3 Rac8 White resigned, guest123 - Philidor 1792, Peshka.me 2014; 

5.Nc3 Qc5+ 6.d4 Qxc4 7.Nxe5 Qe6 8.Rf1 Nf6 9.Kg1 0-0 10.Bg5 Ne8 11.Nd5 f6 12.Qf3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 dxc6 14.Nc3 Qg4 15.Bf4 Qxf3 16.Rxf3 Bg4 17.Rf2 Rd8 18.d5 cxd5 19.Nxd5 c6 20.Ne3 Bc8 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Nxd1 g5 23.Be3 Nd6 24.Nc3 b6 25.b3 Kg7 26.h3 Kg6 27.Bd4 h5 28.e5 Nf5 29.Ne2 Rd8 30.Bc3 Rd1+ 31.Kh2 fxe5 32.Bxe5 Be6 33.c4 Rd2 34.Nf4+ gxf4 35.Rxd2 Kg5 36.Rf2 Ne7 37.Bxf4+ Kg6 38.Be3 Bf5 39.Bd4 Bb1 40.a3 Nf5 41.g4 hxg4 42.hxg4 Nxd4 43.Rd2 Nf3+ White resigned, Ccm - Philidor1792, PlayChess.com, 2014 

5...Nf6 6.Re1 











6.Nc3 Ng4+ 7.Kg1 d6 (7...Nc6 8.Nd5 Qd8 9.h3 Nf6 10.Bg5 d6 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Qxd8+ Nxd8 14.Bxf6 Rg8 15.Bxe5 Be6 16.Bb3 c6 17.Nd4 Bxb3 18.Nxb3 Ne6 19.Rd1 Ng5 20.Re1 Nf3+ 21.Kf2 Nxe5 22.Nd2 Rd8 23.Nf3 Nc4 24.b3 Nd6 25.e5 Nf5 26.Rd1 Ng3 27.Rhe1 Rxd1 28.Rxd1 Ne4+ 29.Kf1 Ng3+ 30.Ke1 Ke7 31.Rd2 Ne4 32.Re2 Nc3 33.Rf2 Nd5 34.Kd2 Rd8 35.Kc1 Nf4 36.c4 Nd3+ White resigned, Guest130574 - Philidor 1792, PlayChess.com 2014) 8.h3 (8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bb3 Qc5+ 10.Nd4 exd4 11.Na4 Qe5 12.h3 Nf6 13.c3 Nc6 14.cxd4 Nxd4 15.Be3 Nxb3 16.Qxb3 0-0 17.Qc3 Qxe4 18.Nc5 Qc6 19.Bd4 Nd5 20.Qg3 Qg6 21.Qxg6 hxg6 22.Kh2 c6 23.Rhe1 b6 24.Ne4 Be6 25.Rad1 c5 26.Bf2 Nf6 27.Ng5 Bxa2 28.Re7 Bb3 29.Rd3 Bc4 30.Rc3 Nd5 White resigned,  Kotarrak - Philidor1792, Chess.com 2014) 8...Nf6 9.Bg5 c6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Kh2 Nbd7 12.Rf1 h6 13.Be3 g5 14.Qe2 b5 15.Bb3 g4 16.Ng1 gxh3 17.Nxh3 Bb7 18.a3 0-0-0 19.Rad1 Rdg8 20.Rd2 Kb8 21.Qf3 Bc8 22.Kh1 Rg6 23.Ne2 Rhg8 24.Rg1 Nf8 25.Bf2 Bg4 26.Qd3 Bxh3 27.gxh3 Rxg1+ 28.Bxg1 Ne6 29.Bh2 Nh5 30.Bxe6 Qxe6 31.Qd6+ Kb7 32.Qxe6 fxe6 33.Rd7+ Kb6 34.Bxe5 Rf8 35.Kg2 Rg8+ 36.Kf3 Rf8+ 37.Ke3 Rf1 38.b4 c5 39.bxc5+ Kxc5 40.Nd4 Re1+ 41.Kd3 Rd1+ 42.Kc3 a5 43.Nb3+ Kb6 44.Rxd1 b4+ 45.axb4 a4 46.Rd6+ Kb7 47.Nc5+ Kc8 White resigned, Kotarrak - Philidor1792, Chess.com 2014




6...Nc6 7.dxe5 

7.d5 Qc5+ 8.Be3 Qxc4 9.dxc6 dxc6 10.Nxe5 Qe6 11.Nf3 0-0 12.e5 Ng4+ 13.Kg1 Nxe3 14.Rxe3 Qc4 15.b3 Qc5 16.Qd4 Qxc2 17.Nc3 Be6 18.Rd1 h6 19.Rd2 Qf5 20.Qb4 b6 21.Nd4 Qg5 22.Rde2 c5 23.Nxe6 Qxe3+ 24.Rxe3 cxb4 25.Nxf8 bxc3 26.Nd7 c2 27.Rc3 Rd8 28.Rxc7 c1Q+ 29.Rxc1 Rxd7 30.Rc2 Kf8 31.Kf2 Ke7 32.Ke3 Ke6 33.Ke4 f6 34.exf6 Kxf6 35.h4 Rd6 36.g4 g5 37.hxg5+ hxg5 38.Rf2+ Kg6 39.Ke5 Rc6 40.Rd2 Rc5+ 41.Kd6 Ra5 42.a4 b5 43.Rd5 Ra6+ 44.Kc7 bxa4 45.b4 a3 46.Rd1 a2 47.Ra1 Ra4 48.b5 Kf6 49.Kb7 Ke5 50.b6 axb6 51.Kxb6 Kf4 52.Kb5 Ra8 53.Kb4 Kxg4 54.Kb3 Kf3 55.Kc2 g4 56.Kc3 g3 57.Kd4 g2 58.Ke5 Kf2 59.Rxa2+ Rxa2 60.Kf4 g1Q White resigned, q-zma - Philidor1792, www.bereg.ru, 2014. 

7...Ng4+ 8.Kf1 Qc5 9.Qe2 Ncxe5 10.Nxe5 

10.Bb3 b6 11.Nbd2 Ba6 12.c4 d5 13.exd5 0-0-0 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.Bf4 Rxd5 16.Kg1 Rhd8 17.Bxe5 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Rxe5 19.Qg4+ f5 20.Qh3 Kb8 21.Qxh7 fxe4 22.Re3 Qc5 23.Rae1 Rd3 24.Qh8+ Kb7 25.Qh3 Bxc4 26.Bc2 Rxe3 27.Rxe3 Bd3 28.Bb3 Qc1+ 29.Kf2 Qf1+ 30.Kg3 Rg5+ 31.Kh4 Qf4+ 32.g4 Rg6 33.Rxd3 Rh6 checkmate,  guest32 - Philidor 1792, www.bereg.ru, 2014. 

10...Nxh2 checkmate

emoreJ tibmaG

Here is a Reversed Jerome Gambit game from the highly creative and always aggressive Philidor 1792. For those who believe that the Jerome is "not playable" - what will they think now?

AmirKenchenbayev  - Philidor 1792

Russia Central Federal District vs Team Kazakhstan

3 d/move, Chess.com team match, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bxf2+

Reversed Jerome Gambit!

5.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Bxd5

An improvement over 7.Nxe5 dxc4 8.d4  from another reversed Jerome Gambit, guest88 - Philidor 1792, Peshka.me, 2014 (0-1, 37).

7...Qxd5 8.d3 0-0 

9.Rf1 Nc6 10.Kg1 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qe1 f5 13.Nc3 Qd6

14.a3 Rae8 15.Qh4 Bxf3 16.Rxf3 Nd4 17.Rf2 Qb6 18.Kh1 f4

White is still better, but all of Black's pieces are in play, while White's Bishop and Queen's Rook are still at home.

It is not a good time for White to relax. Imperceptibly, he does.

19.b4 Nf5

Suddenly Black is winning! His most blatant threat (besides attacking the Queen) is ...Ng3+, cutting support off for White's Rook.

White can try the counter-attack 20.Nd5, but after 20...Qd4 both of White's Rooks are vulnerable, and after 21.c3 Ng3+ 22.Kg1 Qxd5 White is up material, with better development and more threats.

20.Qg4 Qxf2 21.Nd5 Qd4 White resigned

Black wins the Knight and remains with the better position and continued threats.

RHP JG Tourney Round 1 Games (2)

In the ongoing RedHotPawn.com Jerome Gambit thematic tournament previously mentioned, a couple of kinds of players need to be mentioned: those who join because the opening looks new and interesting or challenging or fun; and those who join because they have some knowledge of the opening, and want to test their understanding against others.

The following two games feature at least one player who has Jerome Gambit experience, and, as a result, theory gets a boost..

We have seen rigidwithfear's games before (#1 and #2)

rigidwithfear - SeinfeldFan91

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4 7.dxc5 (7.0-0 is better, but Black still would have the advantage) Qxe4 8.Be3 Qxg2 9.Kd2 (a TN; 9.Qh5+ has been played before, but White is still worse) Nf6 10.Kc1 d5 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Rg1 Qxh2 13.b3 Bg4 14.Rxg4 Ne5xg4 15.Bd4 Qf4 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Rab1 Nxf2 18.Qf1 Re3 White resigned

Swiss Toni - bikingviking

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Bd6 (recently seen in Philidor 1792 - Guest839182, 3 0 blitz, PlayChess.com, 2014 [1-0, 16] ) 8.fxe5 (good, but 8.Qf5+, as in Wall - xChristopher, FICS, 2010, [1-0, 13] was even stronger) Bxe5 9.Qf5 Kd6 10.d4 Qh4+ 11.Ke2 Bxd4 12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Bg5 (an improvement over 13.Qxd4 of mrjoker - russiamacedo, 2 12 blitz, ICC, 2009, [0-1, 33]) Black resigned

Swiss Toni advances to the next round.

RHP JG Tourney Round 1 Games (1)

In the ongoing RedHotPawn.com Jerome Gambit thematic tournament previously mentioned, a couple of kinds of players need to be mentioned: those who join because the opening looks new and interesting or challenging or fun; and those who join because they have some knowledge of the opening, and want to test their understanding against others.

The first kind can quickly come undone, as sacrificing a piece or two is very risky, if it only leads to an "unclear" position. The second kind can stretch the knowledge of the opening - especially if they are paired against each other.

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

We have seen earlier games by Red House in a RHP Jerome Gambit tournament (1,  2).

Red House - jecidi

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1

4...Kxf7 5.d3 h6 6.O-O a6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Na4 Ba7 9.c3 Rf8 10.Re1 d6 11.b4 Kg8 12.Be3 Bd7 13.d4 exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Bxd4 16.cxd4 Re8 17.Nc3 c6 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Nh7 20.f4 Bf5 21.Qf3 Qd4 22.Kh1 Qxb4 23.a3 Qe7 24.Ne4 Bxe4 25.Rxe4 Nf8 26.a4 Rad8 27.h3 Ne6 28.f5 Ng5 29.Qe2 Nxe4 30.Qxe4 Qxe5 31.Qc4 Qd5 32.Qf4 Qe5 33.Qg4 Qxa1 White resigned

bikingviking - Swiss Toni

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1
4...Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O Kg8 7.Nc3 Be7 8.Nh4 d6 9.f4 Bg4 10.Qe1 Nd4 11.Qf2 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Bxh4 13.g3 Bf6 14.Be3 Nf3 15.Kh1 exf4 White resigned

Marko Krale - katella

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1

4...Kxf7 5.c3 Nf6 6.d3 Ng4 7.O-O Nxf2 8.Rxf2 Re8 9.Bg5 Ne7 10.d4 Bb6 11.Nxe5 Kg8 12.Nf7 Rf8 13.Nxd8 Rxf2 14.Kxf2 Ng6 15.Qf3 c5 16.Qf7 Kh8 17.Qe8 Nf8 18.Qxf8 checkmate


katella - Marko Krale

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2014
Round 1

4...Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.h3 h6 7.a3 Rf8 8.O-O Kg8 9.b4 Bb6 10.c4 Bd4 11.Ra2 a6 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Bb2 Ne6 14.Bxe5 d6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.c5 dxc5 17.bxc5 Nxc5 18.Nc3 Qxc3 19.a4 Qxd3 20.Qxd3 Nxd3 21.Rd2 Nb4 22.e5 Be6 23.g4 Nd5 24.Rd4 Rf3 25.Kg2 Ra3 26.f4 Nb6 27.f5 Bd5 28.Kh2 Rxa4 29.Rxa4 Nxa4 30.e6 Kf8 31.Re1 Ke7 32.h4 c6 33.g5 hxg5 34.hxg5 Ra8f8 35.Re5 b5 36.Kg3 b4 37.Kg4 b3 38.Kh5 b2 39.Re1 Be4 40.Kg6 b1=Q 41.Rxb1 Bxb1 42.Kxg7 Bxf5 43.g6 Bxe6 44.Kh6 Rf2 White resigned

Marko Krale (whose games we have seen before) advances to the next round.

RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Again!

Last year I reported on a couple of Jerome Gambit tournaments (#1 and #2) at the RedHotPawn.com web site. They were a mix of players apparently new to the opening with some who had a measurable knowledge of the main lines.

The first round of a new tournament is coming to a close, with names familiar and new. I think it will be fun, again, to share the games and choose a few for individual attention.

Stay tuned.

Sometimes it only takes a little bit...

The following game shows that sometimes it takes only a little bit of wandering off the path for Black's game in the Jerome Gambit to suddenly to bad. Philidor 1792 wraps up quickly thereafter.

Philidor 1792 - Guest388983
3 0 blitz, PlayChess.com, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 d6 11.0-0 Kf7

12.f4 Re8 13.f5 Ne5 14.d3 Bd7 15.Qg3 Kg8

Black has done well, castling-by-hand and hanging onto his piece for two pawns advantage. Suddenly, his game turns sour.

16.Bg5 Qf7

It is not automatically apparent that this move is wrong, but Black's game suddenly grinds to a halt.

17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Nd5 Qd8 19.f6

 Black's King is in danger, and his pieces are curiously ineffective here, as Houdini showed me. Probably he should try 19...g6, and when White threatens to bring his Queen to g7 for mate, he can answer 20.Qh4 with 20...h5. The continuation 21.Qg5 Kh7 follows the same idea, when White can then win the exchange with 22.Ne7 Rxe7 23.fxe7 Qg8 

analysis diagram



White can now put a full cramp in Black's position with 24.Rf4 Qg7 25.Raf1 Be8 26.Rf8 when it will take a lot of work to untangle Black, for example 26..Rb8 27.Qf6 Qxf6 28.R1xf6 Nc6 29.d4 a6 30.d5 Ne5 and White's bind still holds. 

19...Ng6 20.f7+ Black resigned

Black will be down only the exchange and a  pawn (after 21...Kf8 22.fxe8+/Q Kxe8), but his King will be at risk, and White will have the initiative.