Here is another game where White takes risks in a complex position to seek advantage - something he should not be able to do, but does. Success is sweet.
Wall, Bill - Shatskov
lichess.org, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+
A complicated idea, giving up one of Black's pieces, one which we return to again and again in Bill's games.
7.c3 Bxc3+
The sharpest and best move seems to be 7...Qh4!?
Things ended quickly after 7...Be7 8.dxe5 Nh6 9.Qf3+ Ke6 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.Qf5 checkmate, Wall,B - ChrSav, FICS, 2010.
8.Nxc3 Ng6
Or 8... Nc6 9.d5 (9.O-O Qf6 10.e5 Qg6 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Nb5 Kd8 13.Qf8+ Qe8 14.Qxe8+ Kxe8 15.Nxc7+ Ke7 16.Nxa8 Nxd4 17.Bg5+ Ke6 18.Nc7+ Kxe5 19.Rae1+ Kd6 20.Bf4+ Kc6 21.Rc1+ Kb6 22.Nd5+ Kb5 23.Rxc8 Ne6 24.a4+ Kxa4 25.Ra1+ Kb3 26.Be5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Caynaboos, FICS, 2011) 9...Ne5 10.f4 Ng6 11.h4 Nxh4 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qxh4 Qxh4+ 14.Rxh4 Nf6 15.e5 Ne8 16.Be3 c6 17.O-O-O d6 18.e6+ Ke7 19.g4 Nf6 20.f5 gxf5 21.gxf5 cxd5 22.Bg5 a6 23.Nxd5+ Kf8 24.Bxf6 Rg8 25.Rxh7 b5 26.Be7+ Ke8 27.Nf6 checkmate, Wall,B - ChessFlower, PlayChess.com, 2012.
9.O-O Nf6
Or 9...N8e7 10.f4 Re8 (10...Rf8 11.f5 Nh8 12.Bg5 Kg8 13.Qb3+ Nf7 14.f6 gxf6 15.Bxf6 d5 16.Nxd5 Re8 17.Qg3+ Kf8 18.Qg7 checkmate, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016) 11.Qb3+ d5 12.f5 Nf8 13.Bg5 c6 14.f6 gxf6 15.Bxf6 Kg8 16.exd5 cxd5 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.Nxd5 Be6 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.Rae1 Qd6 21.Rxf8+ Rxf8 22.Qxe6+ Qxe6 23.Rxe6 Rf7 24.d5 Rd7 25.d6 Kf7 26.Re7+ Rxe7 27.dxe7 Kxe7 28.Kf2 b5 29.Ke3 a5 30.Kd4 Kd6 31.g4 h6 32.h4 b4 33.b3 Ke6 34.Kc5 Ke5 35.Kb5 Kf4 36.g5 hxg5 37.hxg5 Kxg5 38.Kxa5 Kf6 39.Kxb4 Ke6 40.Kb5 Kd6 41.Kb6 Kd7 42.a4 Kc8 43.a5 Kb8 44.b4 Ka8 45.Kc7 Ka7 46.b5 Ka8 47.a6 Ka7 48.Kc6 Ka8 49.b6 Kb8 50.a7+ Ka8 51.b7+ Kxa7 52.Kc7 Ka6 53.b8=Q Ka5 54.Qb3 Ka6 55.Qb6 checkmate, Wall,B - Jamato, lichess.org, 2017
10.Bg5
More directly: 10.e5 Ne8 11.f4 (11.Qf3+ Kg8 12.Qd5+ Kf8 13.Be3 a6 14.Rae1 c6 15.Qb3 d5 16.f4 Kg8 17.f5 Nh4 18.Qc2 g6 19.f6 Be6 20.Bg5 Qb6 21.Bxh4 Qxd4+ 22.Bf2 Qf4 23.Ne2 Qc4 24.Qd2 Qxa2 25.Nd4 Bf5 26.Nxf5 gxf5 27.Qg5+ Kf7 28.e6+ Kf8 29.Bc5+ Nd6 30.Bxd6+ Ke8 31.f7 checkmate, Wall,B - Boris, SparkChess.com, 2012) 11...Rf8 12.f5 Ne7 13.Qb3+ d5 14. exd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - FJBS, FICS, 2015.
10...d6 11.Qb3+ Be6 12.Qxb7
Another "punishable" action. Doesn't whoever take the b7 pawn wind up in the gutter?
Once again we see the Jerome Gambiteer doing something he shouldn't be able to do - and getting away with it. The psychological toll on the defender has to be measurable; it soon shows up in a slip.
12...Qd7 13.d5 Rhb8
Overlooking the fact that White's next move comes with check.
14.dxe6+ Qxe6 15.Qxc7+ Nd7 16.Rad1 Black resigned
White is only up a few pawns, but he has gotten away with his mischief, and Black has other things to to with his time.
?
I just stumbled over a web page by Mato Jelic titled "Is Jerome Gambit Sound?" which asks the eternal question, referencing a game that had appeared on this blog previously.
If you visit the page, you will find a video that no longer works - but there is a link to YouTube.com, however, so you can still check it out there.
Enjoy.
The following game, the latest from chessfriend Vlasta, shows White "getting away with" the kind of behavior that usually dooms the acceptor of gambit material, let alone the donor.
I can well imagine his online opponent yelling at the computer screen "He can't do that! Can he???"
Vlastous - cesarotiz
internet, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.d3
The main alternative is 7.0-0, going back to Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1/2-1/2, 29). Another early alternative was 7.c3 in Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd match, Mexico, 1876 (1-0, 43).
7...Qf6 8.O-O Nh6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Qe1 Kf7 11.d4 Bb6 12.f3 Bd7
White has an impressive pawn center, but he is behind in development - dangerous for a gambiteer.
13.a4 a6 14.Qg3 Rhf8 15.a5 Ba7 16.Qxc7 Rae8
Black can hardly believe his luck: his opponent's Queen is pawn-grabbing! So the "defender" develops his last piece and expects to take over the game. After all, he has an "extra" piece he can afford to give back, right?
17.Qxb7 Bb8 18.Qxa6 Kg8 19.Nd2 Qh4
This looks scary for the first player, but the computer already says he is better. Vlasta knows what he is doing.
20.e5 Rf7 21.Ne4 Rf5 22.Qb6
Because the solution to being behind in development is - a passed pawn?! Amazing!
22...Ref8 23.Rf2 Rh5 24.g3 Qe7 25.a6 Bf5 26.a7 Bc7 27.Qxc6
Black resigned
White is the exchange and 5 pawns (4 of them connected and passed!) better.
Pushing a Rook pawn can be wise or unwise; you can't always tell. A lot depends upon the position. A quick look will not always let you know. You might just reject such a move, on principle, only to learn later that it was best.
Wall, Bill - Szachowski
playok.com, 2017
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Nf6
7.dxe5 Bxf2+
I referred to this move as "interesting" in a previous post.
An alternative is the straightforward 7...Nxe4 8.Qd5+ Kf8 (8...Ke8 9.Qxe4 Bxf2+ 10.Kxf2 Rf8+ 11.Kg1 d5 12.exd6+ Kd7 13.Nc3 Qf6 14.Bf4 g5 15.Rd1 cxd6 16.Rxd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016) 9.Qxe4 d6 10.O-O Be6 11.Nc3 a6 12.Be3 Bb6 13.Rad1 d5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Rxd5 Qe7 16.Bxb6 cxb6 17.Rfd1 Qe6 18.Rd6 Qxa2 19.Qf5+ Qf7 20.Rd8+ Ke7 21.Qd7 checkmate, Wall,B - TenAndOnly10, lichess.org, 2016
Stockfish 8 prefers 7...Qe7.
8.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 9.Kg1 d5 10.Qf3+
On par with the earlier 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Qxc3 Be6 13.Be3 c6 14.Rd1 Rf8 15.h3 Qh4 16.Rd4 Qg3 17.Rd3 Qg6 18.Kh2 Kd7 19.Qb4 b5 20.Qd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - MyDrunkAccount, lichess.org, 2016.
10...Kg6 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.Qd3 Bf5 13.Nxd5 c6
Stockfish 8 suggests that Black would maintain a slight edge with 13...h6, which is not the kind of move one usually chooses against a gambit.
14.Nf4+ Kf7 15.Qc4+ Ke8 16.Be3 g5 17.Nh5 Bg6
The reinforcement arrives - just in time to face a forced checkmate.
18.Qe6+ Qe7 19.Ng7+ Kd8 20.Rd1+ Black resigned
Gambits are all about development and attack. Failing to defend against gambits is often about lack of development, and its consequences. Witness the following game.
Wall, Bill - WGMS
FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6
Again, a reasonable line. See "A Reasonable Line".
7.dxe5 Ne7
Not the only line Bill has faced, to wit -
7...Qh4 8.Qf3+ Ke7 (8...Ke8 9.Nc3 Ne7 (9...Bxf2+ 10.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 11.Kxf2 Nh6 12.Nd5 Ng4+ 13.Kg3 Kd8 14.Bg5+ Nf6 15.exf6 h6 16.fxg7+ Ke8 17.gxh8=Q+ Kf7 18.Rhf1+ Kg6 19.Qxh6 checkmate, Wall,B - Shillam, lichess.org, 2016) 10.g3 Qh3 11.Be3 d6 12.Bxb6 cxb6 13.exd6 Ng6 14.Nd5 Qd7 15.Nc7+ Kd8 16.Nxa8 Qxd6 17.Rd1 Ne5 18.Rxd6+ Ke7 19.Qc3 Kxd6 20.Qd4+ Ke6 21.Nc7+ Kf7 22.Qxe5 Rd8 23.Nb5 Bg4 24.Qf4+ Kg8 25.Qxg4 a6 26.Qe6+ Kh8 27.Nd6 Rb8 28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Nh6+ Kh8 30.Qg8+ Rxg8 31.Nf7 checkmate, Wall,B - Itboss, lichess.org, 2016) 9.Nc3 Nh6 10.Nd5+ Kd8 11.O-O Bd4 12.g3 Qh3 13.Bg5+ Ke8 14.Nxc7 checkmate, Wall,B-Guest6766281, PlayChess.com, 2017;
7...d6 8.O-O Be6 9.Qf3+ Ke8 10.Nc3 a6 11.Be3 dxe5 12.Qh5+ Bf7 13.Qxe5+ Qe7 14.Qxg7 Qf6 15.Bh6 Bd4 16.e5 Qg6 17.Qf8+ Kd7 18.Qxa8 Qxh6 19.Rfd1 c5 20.Qxb7+ Ke8 21.Qb8+ Ke7 22.Ne2 Bh5 23.Nxd4 Bxd1 24.Nf5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - TenAndOnly10, lichess.org, 2016; and
7...Qe7 8.Qf3+ Ke8 9.Nc3 Qxe5 10.O-O Nf6 11.Bf4 Qh5 12.Qg3 d6 13.Qxg7 Rf8 14.Nd5 Qf7 15.Bh6 Nxd5 16.Qxf8+ Qxf8 17.Bxf8 Kxf8 18.exd5 Bf5 19.c3 Re8 20.Rfe1 Be4 21.Rad1 Kf7 22.Kf1 Re5 23.f3 Bg6 24.Rxe5 dxe5 25.Ke2 e4 26.b4 exf3+ 27.Kxf3 Bh5+ 28.g4 Bg6 29.c4 a6 30.d6 cxd6 31.Rxd6 Bb1 32.Rxb6 Bxa2 33.Rxb7+ Ke6 34.Rb6+ Kd7 35.c5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.
8.Qf3+ Ke8 9.O-O Rf8 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qxh7 g5 12.Qh5+ Rf7 13.Bxg5
Despite Black's dogged Kingside defense, it is likely that White's four pawns are worth more than Black's extra piece.
13...c6 14.Nd2 Qc7
Getting out of the pin on the Knight, but Black needed the freedom that would come with 14...d5.
15.Nc4
Targeting the d6 square, which Black overlooks.
15...a5 16.Nd6+ Black resigned
Black can avoid mate only by giving up his Queen.
The classic development problem for Black in the Jerome Gambit is to have his d-pawn stay unmoved, which blocks in the light-squared Bishop, which keeps a Rook at home. The following game shows an interesting variant: a Knight retreats to the back row, un-developing, keeping the Rook out of play. The result is an exciting sacrificial attack on Black's King. The defender can return material, but the imbalance that would result would favor White - enough so that Black resigned.
Wall, Bill - Number555777
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd3
A novelty, according to The Database, which is a bit of a surprise.
Bill has played a couple of other Queen moves:
8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Qc4 d6 11.O-O Ne5 12.Qb3 c6 13.f4 Nf7 14.Be3 Qe7 15.Rae1 Be6 16.Qb4 a5 17.Qd4 Ng4 18.Bc1 c5 19.Qd3 h5 20.h3 Ngh6 21.f5 Bd7 22.Nd5 Qd8 23.f6 g6 24.Ne7 Ne5 25.Qxd6 Nhf7 26.Qxc5 b6 27.Qd5 Be8 28.Bf4 Qxd5 29.exd5 Bb5 30.Rf2 Nd7 31.Nxg6+ Kg8 32.Nxh8 Kxh8 33.Re7 Kg8 34.Be3 Rc8 35.b3 Nde5 36.Bxb6 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest7503555, PlayChess.com, 2017; and
8.Qc4+ Ke8 (8...Kf8 9.O-O Qf6 10.Nc3 Qd4 11.Qe2 Nge7 12.Nb5 Qb6 13.Be3 Qa5 14.c4 a6 15.Bd2 Qb6 16.Qf3+ Kg8 17.Qb3 axb5 18.c5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest526975, PlayChess.com, 2016) 9.O-O d6 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.Re1 Ne5 12.Qd4 c5 13.Qd2 Nf6 14.f4 Nc4 15.Qe2 Be6 16.e5 Bg4 17.Qxc4 Black resigned, Wall,B-Kas55, lichess.org, 2016.
8...Nf6 9.Nc3 d6 10.O-O h6 11.f4 Re8 12.Bd2 Kg8 13.Rae1 a6
Black has wisely safeguarded his King by castling-by-hand. The moves of his a- and h-pawns, however, all in the name of defense, could eventually prove troublesome if development becomes an issue.
For now, the defender still has the better position.
14.Nd5 Be6 15.Bc3 Bxd5 16.exd5 Nb8
How suddenly things change! The retreat allows White to attack.
17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qg6+ Kf8 19.Qxh6+ Kg8 20.Qg6+ Kf8 21.Re5
Very nice! When your opponent can play a move like this, you know you are in deep trouble.
21...dxe5
Or 21...Rxe5 22.fxe5 dxe5 23.Rxf6+ Qxf6 24.Qxf6+ Ke8 25.Qxe5+, etc as the Queen dominates the opponent's two pieces; or 21...Qe7 22.Rxe7 Rxe7 23.Rf3 and the other Rook penetrates.
22.fxe5 Nd7 23.exf6 Black resigned
Black will have to give up Knight and Queen for White's Rook, and then White's Queen plus three extra pawns should outplay Black's two Rooks.
Sometimes a player will find a path through the forest that is the Jerome Gambit. Later, others will clarify the way. In the following game, Bill Wall makes the way a bit clearer.
Wall, Bill - Nikelin
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
7.dxe5 Bxe5
The best response was 7...Bb4+.
8.Qh5+ Ke6 9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Na3
This is right, the Knight should go to a3, not c3, as we shall see.
10...Qf6
In HauntedKnight - VSRajput, FCIS, 2015, White had the right idea in responsing to 10...Bf6, but then lost his way: 11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Bf4 d6 13.Qb5 Qe8 14.O-O-O Qxb5 15.b3 Be6 16.Ne3 Qb4 17.g4 Qa3+ 18.Kd2 g5 19.Bg3 h5 20.h4 gxh4 21.Bxh4 hxg4 22.Bxf6+ Nxf6 23.Rxh8 Rxh8 24.f4 gxf3 25.Rf1 Nxe4+ 26.Kd3 Ng5 27.c4 Qxa2 28.Re1 Qxb3+ 29.Kd2 Ne4+ 30.Kc1 Qc3+ 31.Nc2 Nf2 32.Kb1 Kf6 33.Rf1 Rh1 34.Rxh1 Nxh1 White resigned
11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Bg5
White missed his chance after 12.Qxe5+ Qxe5 13.Nxe5 d6 14.Bg5+ Ke6 15.Nc4 b5 16.Ne3 h6 17.Bh4 g5 18.Bg3 Nf6 19.f3 b4 20.b3 Ba6 21.O-O-O Bb5 22.h4 Nh5 23.Be1 Nf4 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.Rxh8 Rxh8 26.Bxb4 Rh2 27.Rg1 Ne2+ 28.Kd2 Nxg1 29.Bc3 Nxf3+ 30.Kc1 Rh1+ 31.Kb2 Nh4 32.g3 Ng6 33.Nd5 c6 34.Ne3 Rh3 35.Nf5 Ne5 36.a4 Be2 37.Nd4+ Kd7 38.Nxe2 Rh2 39.Nd4 c5 40.Nf5 Nd3+ 41.Ka3 Nb4 42.Bxb4 cxb4+ 43.Kxb4 Rxc2 44.Nd4 Rg2 45.e5 dxe5 46.Nf3 Rxg3 47.Nxe5+ Ke6 48.Nc4 Rg4 when White forfeited on time, noatun - Papaflesas, FICS, 2008.
12...d6 13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qf3 Black resigned
