Wednesday, December 7, 2022

JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 12)

 


JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 12)   

  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

 

Here I continue to develop the modern theory of the variation 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ of the Jerome gambit (JG), although my invented attacks with 7.Qh3+! are much stronger. My previous inventions after 7.Qf5+ Kd6 were published mostly in the posts: Jerome Gambit: Article (2020), JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 4) (2020), Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 4) (2022). 

 

Let’s consider my new attacking way after 7…Kd6 8.d4 (the Tonetti variation). Thus, after 8…Bxd4! White can play 9.0-0!? AN. Of course, an Italian castling is forbidden by modern chess rules, but players of old times could use the more strong move 9.0-0 (Kh1, Rf1)!? AN (I have mentioned an Italian castling in my recently published analytical research Who is the 1st inventor of JG in chess - A.Jerome or G.Tonetti? The new approach (Part 1)’) with the plans which are very similar to those ones which you’ll see below. 

 

After the recent castling incident at the FR Chess Championship 2022 with the reigning World Champion the following question is interesting: is it possible to meet attempts of an Italian castling in the modern chess practice? Let me tell one short story about myself. Approximately in 1999, when I have had the 1st Category in chess, I have been a participant of the simultaneous exhibition in Moscow against dear “FIDE Master Mr. Nosov”, according to dear organizer’s words. My strong opponent has started the game with the King’s gambit: 

 

FM (?) Nosov  –  1st Cat. Yury Bukayev 

 

Moscow, simul., 1999 

Result:   0 : 1 

 

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Bb5+ c6 6.dxc6 Nxc6 7.0-0 (Kh1, Rg1)  . 

 

I was shocked, but quickly attracted Mr. Nosov’s attention to his forbidden move. He apologized and corrected it by the modern castling, because it was his only possibility to correct it 

 

7.0-0  . 

 

Of course, I have used opponent’s blunder: 

 

7…Qb6+  ,  

 

and then Black plays 8…Qxb5 with an easy win. It is notable that players in old times might play 7.0-0 (Kh1, Rg1)!? here, and this move was normal. 

 

This story shows that it is possible to meet attempts of forbidden Italian castling in the modern chess practice (please, be attentive including in non-web bullet Jerome gambit games), even at enough high level, although it is a museum-piece only. 

 

Let’s return to our Jerome gambit topic of the modern opening theory. After White’s castling Black’s “most natural” response is 9…Qf6!? and the strongest response is 9…g6!. After  

 

I)9…Qf6!? 10.Qh5!  

 

the risky position of Black’s King permits White to get a certain chance. For example, the move 11.Kh1 could be a wonderful start of an attack or (more often) an initiative which is also a psychological weapon for chess practice: 

 

A)10…Nf3+ 11.Kh1! 

 

B)10…Ke6 11.Kh1! 

 

B1)11…g6 12.Qd1! Bb6!?, and White’s possible ways are: 

B1a)13.a4!? 

B1b)13.Bd2!? Nc6 14.a4 

B1c)13.f4 Nf7 [13…Nc6?! 14.f5+] 14.Bd2!? Bd4 15.f5+!? Ke7 16.fxg6 Qxg6 17.Bb4+ d6 18.Qxd4 c5 19.Bxc5 dxc5 20.Qxc5+ Ke8 21.Nc3 with the attack 

 

B2)11…d6 12.Qd1! Bb6!? 13.f4 Nf7!? 14.e5 

 

B3)11…Bb6 12.f4   . 

 

Here is Black’s strongest move:  

 

II)9…g6! [After 9…Ne7!? 10.Qh5! White gets an initiative too.] 10.Qh3, and Black can start to hide his King with the large advantage after the serious fight. 

 

These are first analytical steps in the variation 9.0-0!? AN only. 

 

Of course, ‘the Fantastic Star Jerome Gambit Deferredand ‘the Triumphant Jerome Gambit Deferred (these are my most strong deferred lines of JG, real parts of JG, they were invented and published in 2022 in my article ‘Lose Never with a Strong Deferred Jerome Gambit! (Part 2)) will be much more attractive for a lot of experts of the modern chess opening theory than the standard line of JG. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Jerome Gambit to the Rescue



I recently returned to playing blitz at the online FICS site. 

Longtime readers of this blog will remember that the early Jerome Gambit games of mine that were posted here were almost all blitz games played at FICS.

In the last few years I have moved to playing more correspondence style games at Chess.com, with time controls of two or three days per move (though I usually moved faster).

In any event, my return games were quite bad. There's no other way to describe them. Tactical oversights. Strategic blunders. Losing "won" games.

There was only one thing left to do: trot out the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)!

A dozen moves later, I felt a whole lot better.


perrypawnpusher - stevebrown

3 5 blitz, FICS, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit upsets whatever sense of safety Black had due to his 3...h6.

According to The Database I have played this line 60 times with White, scoring 88%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6 

I have previously faced 7...Kf67...Kf8, 7...Ng6 and 7...g6.

8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 


Confident, but brash, following the suggestion Play'em like you got 'em. This move previously scored 10 - 2 - 2 for me.

9...Bxd4 10.Rd1 Qf6 11.Rxd4+ 


Scary, but it is not clear how White continues with success now after 11...Ke7.

11...Kc5 

A slip playing at blitz time control.

12.Rd5+ Black resigned


Black will lose his Knight at e5, giving White a material edge.

After the game I took a long look at the alternative 12.Qh3!?, which also would have been strong. Black would be checkmated if he took the Rook at d4 - 12...Kxd4 13.Qe3+ Kc4 14.Na3+ Kb4 15.Qc3+ Ka4 16.b3#.

Curiously, Black's strongest move after 12.Qh3!? is 12...Nf3+, but after 13.gxf3 he can still not touch the Rook, as 13...Kxd4 is solidly answered by 14.Qg3 (14.Be3+ is fine, too) which foreshadows Qg2 followed by Qf1, with Her Majesty joining the Kinghunt on the Queenside! 

Stockfish 15 prefers 12.Qh3!? Nf3+13.gxf3 Qg6+, but admits that after 14.Kh1 Kxd4 (one last try) 15.Nc3 d5 16.Qh4 Ke5 17.Nxd5 Nf6 18.Nxc7 White has ample compensation for his sacrificed Rook.

Seriously 19th century chess play!


Monday, December 5, 2022

Jerome Gambit: Savage Queen, Timid King


In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Bxf7+) game shows White's Queen plundering both the Queenside and the Kingside, bringing home the win against an enemy King that skitters this way and that  - all in a 1-minute game.


angelcamina - mvp_23

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 9.O-O 


angelcamina has also played 9.Qe3, i.e. 9...Rf8 (9...Nc6 10.O-O Qe711.f4 d6 12.d4 Kd7 13.Nc3 Rf8 14.b3 b6 15.Ba3 Bb7 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.e5 Kc8 18.f5 Nh8 19.e6 Rf6 20.Nd5 Rff8 21.Nxe7+ Nxe7 22.c4 Nxf5 23.Qg5 h6 24.Qg4 Ne7 25.Rxf8 Rxf8 26.Rf1 Nhg6 27.Rxf8+ Nxf8 28.Qxg7 Nfg6 29.c5 bxc5 30.dxc5 Bd5 31.cxd6 cxd6 32.Bxd6 Bxe6 33.Bxe7 Nxe7 34.Qxe7 Bf5 35.h3 White won on time, angelcamina - mcisak, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019) 10.O-O d5 11.e5  Bf5 12.f4 Bxc2 13.Nc3 Qd7 14.d4 Qf5 15.Bd2 Qd3 16.Qxd3 Bxd3 17.Rac1 Be4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.g4 Nd5 20.Rc5 Ndxf4 21.Bxf4 Rxf4 22.Rxf4 Nxf4 23.Rxc7 Ne6 24.Rxb7 Nxd4 25.Rxg7 h6 26.Rg8+ Kf7 27.Rxa8 Nf3+ 28.Kf2 Nh4 29.Rxa7+ Black resigned angelcamina - pede26, lichess.org, 2021

9...d6 10.Qb5+ 

Chasing the b-pawn. He has also retreated his Queen: 10.Qe3 Be6 11.f4 Bc4 12.d3 Ba6 13.Nc3 Rf8 14.f5 Ne5 15.Qh3 h6 16.Qh5+ Kd7 17.Bf4 N7c6 18.Nd5 Kc8 19.Rfe1 b6 20.c3 Bxd3 21.Rad1 Bc4 22.Bxe5 Nxe5 23.Nb4 Qg5 24.Qh3 Qg4 25.Qe3 Qg5 26.Qd4 Nf3+ 27.Kf2 Nxd4 28.Rxd4 Qh4+ 29.Kg1 Qxe1 checkmate, angelcamina - DHIEVS, lichess.org, 2021. 

10...Bd7 11.Qxb7 Kf7 


Preparing to castle-by-hand? An alternative was 11...Bc6.

12.Qb3+ Be6 13.Qf3+ Ke8 14.d4 Rf8 15.Qe2 


White's Queen has returned home safely.

White's 3 extra pawns may balance Black's extra piece; Black's lead in development may balance his King's risky placement in the center of the board.

15...Rf7 

Preparing for a walk by his King.

Instead, Stockfish 15 recommends 15...d5 16.c4 dxe4 17.d5 Bf5 18.Nc3 Qd7 19.Nxe4 Kf7 20.f3 Kg8 and sees Black as better. 

Once again, the placement of the defender's pieces at e6 and g6 call forth the attacker's f-pawn.

16.f4 Nh8 17.f5 Bd7 18.Qh5 


White could have applied more pressure with 18.c4 or 18.Bg5, but this is a bullet game, and he goes for direct attack. 

18...Kf8 

It seems paradoxical, possibly opening up his Kingside, but the computer prefers 18...g6, assessing 19.Qe2 gxf5 20.Nc3 Kf8 21.Bg5 Qb8 22.exf5 Nxf5 23.g4 Qb6 24.Rxf5 Rxf5 25.gxf5 Qxd4+ 26.Be3 Qh4 27.Qe1 Qxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Nf7 as only a slight edge for White.

Now things begin to go to pieces.

19.Qxh7 Ke8 20.Qxh8+ Rf8 21.Qh5+ Rf7 22.f6 g6 

23.fxe7 gxh5 24.exd8=Q+ Rxd8 25.Rxf7 Kxf7 


White is up a piece and 3  pawns. His only danger is the clock.

26.Nc3 Bg4 27.h3 Be6 28.Bg5 Rg8 29.Rf1+ Kg6 30.h4 Kh7 31.Rf6 Bg4 32.Rf7+ Kg6 33.Rxc7 Rb8 34.b3 a5 35.Nd5 a4 36.Nf4 checkmate


Pretty!


Sunday, December 4, 2022

Jerome Gambit: Your Opponent Will Never Be Comfortable



Recently Nicolás Felgueras sent me a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game with the comment

I like to play chess aggressively, and this opening provides you a position in which your opponent will never be comfortable receiving permanent attacks. 

Let's see how he provides the discomfort.


felguetron - one526

10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

Here we have a position that has appeared almost 350 times in The Database, starting with Vazquez, Andres Clemente - Carrington, William, 2nd match, Mexico, 1876 (1-0, 34); White scores 66%.

10.O-O Qe7 11.Nc3 Be6 

Black does well to focus upon development, and it is perhaps this plan that allows him to overlook the more active 11...d5, moving the d-pawn a second time. The Bishop is not well placed and will soon have to move.

12.f4 Ng4 


Black's aggression should not be ignored, but White has adequate resources.

13.Qg3

White's threat to the Knight at g4 will grow stronger after f4-f5. 

13...Bd7 

My silicon friend Stockfish 15 shocked me twice, here. First, it did not like the text, assessing the position afterwards as being more than a Rook better for White, despite the fact that Black is ahead in material and development.

Also, it recommended that Black pursue the exchange of Queens - hardly an attacking motif - with 13...Qh4 14. Qxh4 Nxh4, as a way of trying to untangle things, even though the Knight on h4 will be lost.

14.f5 N6e5 15.d4 h5 

Seriously...

Black is ready to return a piece, and activates his Kingside Rook with the possibility of giving up his Knight at g4, to open the h-file.

Just who, exactly, is supposed to be uncomfortable?

16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Nd5 Qc5+ 18.Kh1 Bb5 19.Rf3 Qxc2 


This is a blitz game, a time control that often suggests that Anything Can Happen. Indeed, Black's aggression is beginning to look scary.

Despite my concern for White, here, I am reminded of the peasant's riposte in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "I got better".

White is actually doing quite well.

20.Bg5 Qxe4 21.h3 

A tough move to understand. Kicking the Knight? Creating luft?

Suddenly, White's position is worrisome.

The fork 21.Nxc7 was available.

21...Be2 

Complicating the situation further, when he would have done better to grab the Knight with 21...Qxd5

22.Re3 


Well played! Ignoring the plight of his Knight, he offers the exchange. How uncomfortable to have to sort this out while the clock ticks!

22...Nxe3

The Knight at d5 can no longer be taken for free, i.e. 22...Qxd5 23.Rxe2.

White now shows that the enemy pieces have advanced too far onto the battlefield, leaving their King undefended.

23.Be7+ Ke8 

It has come to this: 23...Kg8 instead would allow 24.Nf6+ forking King and Queen.

24.Qg6+ Kd7 25.Qe6+ Black resigned


It is checkmate next move.