A Whole Lot of Chess in Three Minutes

The following game is a roller coaster ride of chess. Hang on, there's whole lot of chess in this 3-minute game!

Philidor 1792 - Bojokrupanj1
blitz 3 0, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7 Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6

This line must be considered inexact, as it transposes with an extra move (f2-f4)  to the 6...Ng6 defense, as in Philidor1792 - jenskun, Russia Central Federal District vs Phil, Chess.com, 2015 (1-0, 27).

9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qg5+ 

Stockfish 6 likes this move better than 11.Qe3, which appeared in a lot of my games; although it prefers 11.Qa3 the most.

11...Kd7 12.Qg4+ Ke8 13.Qg3 

There is only one other game in The Database with this position, Leonas - amec_pt2005, ChessHere.com, 2009 (0-1, 30) which now continued 13...Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4.

13...Nf6 14.Nc3

14.d3 was correct; now things become more difficult for White.

14...Nh5 15.Qf3 Nhxf4 16.0-0 Rf8 17.d4 Nh3+ 18.gxh3 Rxf3 19.Rxf3 Qh4

White may have lost his Queen for a Rook, but he has not lost his fighting spirit.

20.Be3 Be6 21.Raf1 c6 22.Bf2 Qh5 23.Bg3 Kd7 24.d5 cxd5 25.exd5 Bxd5 26.Rd3 Bc6 27.Rxd6+ Ke8 28.Re6+ Kd7 29.Rd6+ Kc8

Black declines allowing a draw by repetition. This gives his opponent more chances to concoct devious notions.

30.Rf7 Qxh3 

Time is growing shorter. Black grabs a pawn and eyes the White King.

31.Kf2

Both players overlooked 31.Nd5!? Bd7 32.Rxg6 hxg6 33.Rf8+ Be8 34.Rxe8+ Kd7 35.Rxa8 and White would have ample material for his Queen. 

31...Qg2+ 32.Ke3 Qg1+ 33.Ke2 Qg2+ 34.Rf2 Qh3 35.Rf7 Qg4+ 36.Ke1 Be8 

White's King has proven elusive, much to Black's dismay. Time is almost up, and White continues combining.

37.Rc7+ Kxc7 38.Rxg6+ 

Here Black's flag must have fallen, as after 38...Qxg3+ 39.Rxg3  Bg6 the position would have been about even.

Winning Fast or Losing Fast?

Knowing your chess opening and what you and others have played previously is a powerful weapon in a contest.

Bill Wall's games show up over 365 times in The Database; he has a lot of experience with the Jerome Gambit - usually a whole lot more than his opponents. (As a reference, The Database's  over 51,500 games is useful, too.)

It is no wonder that the following game ends quickly. 

Wall,B - Guest4240618
PlayChess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf6 

8.Qxc5

MrJoker and I have explored 8.d4: perrypawnpusher - whitepandora, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 41); mrjoker - Taj, Internet Chess Club 2009 (1-0, 9); perrypawnpusher - tjaksi, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 16); and perrypawnpusher - alvarzr, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 21).

8...d6

Not 8...Qe7 9.Qf5#  perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010. 

9.Qc3+

As opposed to the retreat 9.Qe3 seen in  perrypawnpusher - useche, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22); perrypawnpusher - wbrandl, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 28); MrJoker - ipon, Internet Chess Club, 2011 (1-0, 33); and MrJoker - vicwill, Internet Chess Club 2011 (1-0, 12).

Now Bill is on his own, as there are no other examples of this move in The Database; but his opponent immediately helps him out.

9...Ne5 10.f4 Black resigned

Take My Pieces, But Take My Word, Too

Sometimes the recipient of a gambit is skeptical. Free material? Why not grab all I can get?? The gamiteer adds: It will cost you.

In the following game Black happily receives a Bishop and then a pawn. When offered a Knight, he scarcely resists the temptation.

White then shows that his "generosity" should have been taken seriously, as well.

Philidor 1792 - NN
2015

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3

Combining Jerome Gambit ideas with the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit!

I have only seen this once, mentioning the idea in a note in an earlier post about an earlier Philidor 1792 game, referencing Jirotka,S - Super Expert, 1990; but The Database is incomplete concerning 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+.

We have seen 5.Nxe5+ in a number of White's games: Philidor 1792  -guest2044, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 45); Philidor 1792 - guest213,www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 41); Philidor 1792 - guest564, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 56); and Philidor 1792 - guest45, www.bereg.ru, 2013 (1-0, 28). 

5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 d6 

A typical mistake against the B-K.

7.Nxe5+ Ke6 8.0-0 Kxe5 

I was not being frivolous, thinks White, believe me.

9.Qh5+ Ke6 10.Re1+ Kd7 11.Bg5 Black resigned

Been There, Done That, Have the Points to Show It

As I play through new (to me) Bill Wall games, I am surprised at how many people throw the Blackburne Shilling Gambit back at his Jerome Gambit. Maybe they really expect him to play 4.Nxe5?!. Maybe they don't know about the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The fact is, when it comes to the BSJG, Bill's been there - and has the points to prove it.

Wall, Bill - Amoex
PlayChess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Ke8

There are other choices, as Bill has encountered:

5...Kf6 6. f4 (for variety: 6.Ng4+ as in Wall,B - GYHZ, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 36] and Wall,B-Darksquare, www.Chess.com,  15 0, 2010 [1-0, 23]) 6...g6 7.c3 Ne6 8.O-O Ne7 9.Ng4+ Kg7 10.f5 Nc5 11.f6+ Kg8 12.d4 Ne6 13.f7+ Kg7 14.Bh6 checkmate, Wall,B - Mora, E, Chess.com, 2010; or

5...Ke6 as in Wall,B - apollyon, 2010, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 12) 

6. Qh5+ 

A bit stronger is 6.c3 which Bill has also played 6...Ne6 (6...Nc6 7.Nxc6 dxc6 8.Qh5+ Ke7 (8...g6 9.Qe5+ Qe7 10.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 11.Kd1 Qxg2 12.Re1+ Ne7 13.d3 Qxf2 14.h3 Bf5 15.Bg5 Qf3+ 16.Kc1 Kd7 17.Qxh7 Re8 18.d4 Qg3 19.Bd2 Bxh3 20.Na3 Bf5 21.Nc4 Kd8 22.Ne5 a6 23.Qh1 Kc8 24.Rg1 Qf2 25.Rg2 Qxg2 26.Qxg2 Nd5 27.Nxg6 Bxg6 28.Qxg6 Re7 29.Qf5+, Black resigned, Wall,B - Apple, Chess.com, 2010) 9.d4 Nf6 10.Qf3 Kf7 11.e5 Bg4 12.Qf4 Qe8 13.Be3 Bd6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Qxd6 Ne4 16.Qc7+ Kf8 17.Qxb7 Rb8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2 19.Qa3+ Black resigned, Wall,B-Verrsili, Chess.com, 2010) 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.Qxh8 Nh6 (9...Nf6 10.d3 Qe7 11.Be3 d6 12.O-O b6 13.Bh6 Kd7 14.Bxf8 Nxf8 15.Nd2 Ba6 16.Qh3+ Ne6 17.Nb3 Qh7 18.Qxh7+ Nxh7 19.c4 Rh8 20.f4 Rg8 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Toyong, Chess.com, 2010) 10.O-O Nf4 11.Qe5+ Ne6 12.Qg3 Qg5 13.Qxg5 Nxg5 14.d4 Nhf7 15.Nd2 Be7 16.f4 Ne6 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Neg5 19.g4 Bf6 20.h4 Nh7 21.Nf3 Nd6 22.Bf4 Ne4 23.Bxc7 d5 24.c4 Bd7 25.cxd5 Kf7 26.Ne5+ Bxe5 27.dxe5 Bb5 28.Rfe1 Nd2 29.e6+ Ke7 30.d6+ Ke8 31.d7+ Bxd7 32.exd7+ Kxd7 33.Rad1 Kxc7 34.Rxd2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Klevic, PlayChess.com, 2014.

Of course he has also done well with 6.f4 Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.O-O Bc5+ 9.d4 Bd6 10.Qb3 Bxe5 11.fxe5 d5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.exd5 Na5 14.Qb5+ c6 15.Qe2+ Qe7 16.Qh5+ Kd8 17.d6 Qxd6 18.Rxf6 Qd5 19.Bg5 Kd7 20.Rf7+ Ke6 21.Qh6+ Kxf7 22.Qf6+ Kg8 23.Bh6 Qf7 24.Qd8+ Qe8 25.Qxe8 checkmate, Wall,B - JoeNine, Chess.com, 2010; and

6.O-O Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.d4 d6 10.Qf3 Bg4 11.Qg3 Qd7 12.Nd2 h5 13.h3 h4 14.Qe3 Bh5 15.e5 Nd5 16.Qe4 Qe7 17.c4 Nb4 18.a3 d5 19.Qb1 Na6 20.f4 Be2 21.Qg6+ Kd8 22.Qxc6 Bxf1 23.Qxa8+ Kd7 24.Nxf1 dxc4 25.d5 Nc5 26.Be3 Nd3 27.e6+ Kd6 28.Qc6 checkmate, Wall,B-Garri, Chess.com, 2010. 

6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 

Or 7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.O-O Qe7 11.f4 Ng4 12.Qh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - DSLC, FICS, 2013; or

7... Qf6 8. Nxh8+ Kd8 9. Nf7+ Ke7 10. d3 Nxc2+ 11. Kd1 Qxf2 12. Bg5+ Nf6 13. Nd2 Nxa1 14. e5 Bg7 15. Bxf6+ Bxf6 16.
exf6+ Qxf6 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Ng5 d6 19. Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Sharkia,A, Chess.com, 2010; or

7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nf6 (8...Nxa1 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Apple69, Chess.com, 2010) 9.Qe5+ Be7 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 Nxe4 13.Re1 d5 14.d3 Bf5 15.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Schlier,A, Chess.com, 2010. 

8.Qxg6+

White has two choices here, and two pieces of advice. The Database has 98 games with 8.Qxg6, with White scoring 58%; and
369 games with 8.Qxh8, with White scoring 52%. On the other hand, Stockfish recommends 8.Qxh8  and after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 gives Black the edge.

As is often the case in club chess, the player who knows better what is going on in the game has the advantage - as the following moves show.

8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8

White gathers in the Rook, after all. He has a Rook and four pawns against Black's extra two pieces.

Still, Black races to take advantage of White's "sidetracked" Queen and attack the enemy King, only to wind up dropping a piece in the process.

11...Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6

Or 13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010. 

14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned

I Don't Know How He Does It

Sometimes I play over the games of the top Jerome Gambit players and shake my head in wonder, admitting I don't know how he does it... So many times Black seems to be better - until he loses. Clearly, the Jerome is not only a study in the psychology of error, it is a school for learning about (successful) chess struggle. 

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

The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.

3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.d4

It is interesting to note a couple of FICS games with a player with a similar name to White's, which give alternative responses:

6.Qxe7+ Nxe7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 c6 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Re1 Be5 13.Bg5 Bxc3 14.b3 h6 15.Rad1 hxg5 16.Re2 d5 17.Re3 d4 18.e5 Nd7 19.Re4 Nd5 20.Rd3 Nf4 21.Rxf4+ gxf4 22.Kg2 Nxe5 23.h3 Nxd3 24.cxd3 g5 25.Kf1 Kf7 26.Kg1 Rhe8 27.a4 Re2 28.b4 Rd2 29.h4 Re8 30.Kh2 gxh4 31.b5 Rxf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rxd3 34.Kxf4 Rh8 35.Kg4 Re3 36.Kf5 cxb5 37.Kf4 bxa4 38.Kf5 a3 39.Kf4 Kg7 40.Kf5 Rf8+ 41.Kg4 Re4+ 42.Kh5 Rf5 checkmate, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006; and 

6.d3 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Nd5 Na6 12.Nf4 Qe8 13.h3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 h6 White forfeited on time, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006.

6...Qxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3

There are other ways to hold onto the pawn:

8.Bf4 Nd4 9.Kd1 Ne6 10.Bg3 Ne7 11.c3 Ng6 12.Nd2 Ke7 13.Nh3 d5 14.exd5 Nd8 15.b4 Bb6 16.Nf4 Nxf4 17.Bxf4 Rf8 18.Bg5+ Kf7 19.e6+ Kg8 20.Be3 Re8 21.Bxb6 axb6 22.f4 c6 23.c4 b5 24.f5 bxc4 25.Nxc4 cxd5 26.Nb6 Rb8 27.Nxd5 Nc6 28.b5 Nd4 29.Nc7 Re7 30.b6 Nxf5 31.Rf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke1 Nxf1 33.Kxf1 Bxe6 34.Nxe6 Rxe6 35.Rb1 Rc8 White resigned, guire - givemeabreak, FICS, 2014;

8.f4 Nge7 9.Nf3 d6 (9...Ng6 10.Nc3 d6 11.f5 Ngxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 Bd7 14.Bxe5 dxe5 15.O-O-O Bc6 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 Bd6 18.c4 b6 19.a3 a5 20.Rhd1 Kf7 21.g4 Rhd8 22.h4 Rd7 23.g5 Rad8 24.h5 Ke7 25.b3 Bxa3+ 26.Kc2 Rxd5 27.cxd5 Bd6 28.Kc3 Bb4+ 29.Kc4 Bd6 30.Kb5 Ra8 31.Rc1 a4 32.bxa4 Ra5+ 33.Kc6 Rxa4 34.Kb7 Rb4 35.Rf1 Kf7 36.f6 gxf6 37.Rxf6+ Kg7 38.h6+ Kg8 39.Kc8 Rxe4 40.Kd7 Rf4 41.Re6 Rf7+ 42.Kc6 Rd7 43.g6 Re7 44.gxh7+ Kxh7 45.Rf6 Black forfeited on time, ripples - Cihan, FICS, 2009) 10.exd6 cxd6 (10...Bxd6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.e5 Bb4 13.Bd2 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nd4 15.O-O-O Nxf3 16.Ne4 Bxd2+ 17.Nxd2 Nxd2 18.Rxd2 Kf7 19.Rf1 Rad8 20.f5 Rxd2 21.Kxd2 Rd8+ 22.Ke3 Nd5+ 23.Ke4 Nb4 24.Rf2 Nxa2 25.c3 b5 26.c4 bxc4 27.h4 c5 28.h5 Rd4+ 29.Ke3 Rh4 30.e6+ Ke7 31.b4 cxb3 32.Rb2 c4 33.Kd2 Rxh5 White resigned mfenaux - ikac, FICS, 2008) 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Ke2 Nd4+ 13.Kf1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nxc2 15.Rb1 Nd4 16.Kg2 Ng6 17.f5 Ne5 18.Rd1 Rd8 19.Na4 h6 20.Nxc5 dxc5 21.Bf4 Nec6 22.Rbc1 Ke7 23.Rxc5 b6 24.Rc4 Rd7 25.Kg3 Rhd8 26.Rdc1 Ne2+ 27.Kg4 Nxc1 28.Rxc1 Black forfeited on time, ripples - zsifkovitspeter, FICS, 2009.

8...d6

A couple more ideas:

8...Nd4 9.Nxd4 Bxd4 10.f4 Ne7 11.c3 Bc5 12.b4 Bb6 13.a4 a5 14.b5 Bc5 15.Nd2 d6 16.Nb3 b6 17.Nxc5 dxc5 18.O-O Kf7 19.c4 Rf8 20.f5 Kg8 21.Bb2 c6 22.e6 cxb5 23.axb5 Bb7 24.Rf4 Rad8 25.Rg4 g6 26.f6 Nc8 27.e7 Rd2 28.exf8=Q+ Kxf8 29.Bc3 Rc2 30.Be5 Rxc4 31.Bc7 Rxe4 32.Rxe4 Bxe4 33.Re1 Bd3 34.Re3 Bxb5 35.Re6 Bc4 36.Rc6 Kf7 37.Bxb6 Nxb6 38.Rxb6 a4 39.Rc6 a3 40.Rxc5 Be6 41.Ra5 Kxf6 42.Rxa3 Black resigned, mfenaux - BobTheBeginner, FICS, 2009; and

8...Nge7 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Ng6 11.Nc3 Ngxe5 12.Nd5 Nc4 13.O-O Nxb2 14.Nd4+ Kg8 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Ne7 checkmate, idiom - lochsa, FICS, 2003.

9.Bf4 9.exd6 Bxd6 10.O-O Bg4 11.Nh4 g5 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 Nge7 14.f6 Nd5 15.Bxg5 Rg8 16.Bh4 Rg4 17.Bg3 Bxg3 18.fxg3 Nxf6 19.Rxf6+ Ke7 20.Rf1 Ne5 21.Nc3 Rd8 22.Rae1 Kd6 23.Ne4+ Kc6 24.Nf6 Rg5 25.h4 Rxg3 26.Rxe5 Rdg8 27.Rf2 Kd6 28.Ref5 Ke6 29.Nh5 R8g4 30.Nf4+ Kxf5 31.Nd3+ Kg6 32.Nf4+ Kg7 33.Nh5+ Kh6 34.Nf6 Black forfeited on time, enzop - Matan, FICS, 2004. 

9...Bg4 10.exd6 cxd6

Or: 10...Bxf3 11.gxf3 Bxd6 12.Bxd6+ cxd6 13.Nc3 Ke7 14.Rg1 g6 15.O-O-O Nf6 16.f4 Nh5 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Rhg8 19.Rge1+ Ne5 20.Nd5+ Kd7 21.f4 Nc6 22.Re6 Rae8 23.Rh6 Ne7 24.Nxe7 Rxe7 25.Rxh5 Rf7 26.Kd2 Rg2+ 27.Kc3 Rf2 28.Rd4 Kc6 29.Rh6 Rxf5 30.Rdxd6+ Kc7 31.Rde6 Rc5+ 32.Kd4 Rfxc2 33.Rxh7+ Kb8 34.Rd6 a6 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.Rh5 Ka7 37.Rb4 Rf7 38.Kd3 Rf2 39.Ke3 Rc2 40.h4 Re7+ 41.Kf3 Rh2 42.Rh6 a5 43.Rb5 Kb8 44.h5 Rd7 45.f5 Rh1 46.a4 Rf7 47.Rxa5 Rf1+ 48.Ke4 Re1+ 49.Kd4 Rd1+ 50.Ke5 Rf1 51.f6 Rg1 52.Rh8+ Kc7 53.Ke6 Rd7 54.Rc5+ Kb6 55.Kxd7 Kxc5 56.f7 Rd1+ 57.Kc7 Black resigned, VATICANO - caciuccoboy, FICS, 2014. 

11.Nc3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nd4 13.O-O-O Nxf3 14.Nb5 Nf6 15.Nxd6 Bxd6 16.Bxd6+ Kf7

Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit endgame, with the "Jerome pawns" vs Black's extra piece. "Objectively" the edge is to the second player, although it is his responsibility to show it. 

17.Rd3 Ng5 18.f3 Rhd8 19.h4 Ne6 20.Rhd1 Ne8 21.Bg3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Rd8 23.Kd2 Nf6 24.b3 Nh5 25.Bh2 Ke7 26.Ke3 h6 27.Rxd8 Kxd8 28.Be5 Ke7 29.f4 b5 

30.f5 Nc5 31.Bd4 Kd6 32.b4 Na6 33.a3 Nb8 34.Bxa7 Nc6 35.Bc5+ Ke5

Black's King successfully blockades the central "Jerome pawns", his b-pawn restrains White's Queenside, and even though he has given up a pawn, he seems to have stymied the first player's momentum. Except for one move.

36.c4

White's game now becomes dyamic on the Queenside.

36...bxc4 37.b5 Nb8 38.b6 Nf6

This slip allows White to clarify things quickly with the win of a piece.

39.Bd4+ Kd6 40.e5+ Black resigned