The Jerome Gambit: Perhaps the best chess advice that I ever read...

Friday, March 5, 2010

Perhaps the best chess advice that I ever read...

...was that if your opponent attacks one of your pieces, don't hurry to move it away. First, see if there is an attack that you can make, one that is more serious than his, one that can allow you to ignore your opponent's threat while he pays attention to yours.

My opponent's play in the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game shows that he was aware of that gem of knowledge, as well.

perrypawnpusher - perama
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010

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

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

According to the updated New Year's Database, 6...Ng6 is the most popular reaction to the Queen check, followed by 6...Ke6, with 6...g6 and 6...Kf8 about equally third. All, of course, are considered refutations of the Jerome Gambit.

7.Qd5+ Ke8

According to the Database, this move (first seen in Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, USA,1875) is about twice as popular as the reply 7...Kf8 (first see in Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd Match, Mexico, 1876).

8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 N8e7

Keeping the Knight out of danger, and preparing for ...Rh8-f8.

10.0-0 Be6

This move gives me a chance to complicate things.

Since Black has nothing to "prove" – he is comfortably ahead in material – he could rely on simple development and castling-by-hand to maintain his advantage: 10...Nc6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8

analysis diagram

11.f4 d5

Black's Bishop needed to move.

12.f5 d4

White attack's Black's pieces. Black, in turn, attacks White's Queen. In general, this is an admirable strategy, but in this particular case, to my good fortune, White's Queen can escape while maintaining threats.

13.Qg3 Bc4

Again: White threatens a piece, so Black threatens a Rook.

After the game Rybka suggested that Black could keep White's advantage to less than a pawn's worth with: 13...d3 14.cxd3 Qd4+ 15.Qe3 Qxe3+ 16.dxe3 Rd8 17.fxe6 Rxd3