The Best Jerome Gambit Game of the Year (Part 2)

We continue from the previous post, considering a game that has lept to the top of the heap for Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games this year.

As indicated, Readers are encouraged to dispute my assessment by sending in other great Jerome Gambit games...

Wall, Bill - Guest871838
PlayChess.com, 2014

8.Qxh8 

Of the offer of the Rook with 7...d6, Blackburne wrote in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), "Not to be outdone in generosity." The cost to White of taking the Rook is to have his Queen locked out of the action, at a time when Black's pieces begin to swarm the Kingside.

Blackburne's book also contained the following: "NOTE. I used to call this the Kentucky opening. For a while after its introduction it was greatly favoured by certain players, but they soon grew tired of it."

A resonable explanation of the reference to the "Kentucky opening" has appeared previously in this blog (see "A New Abrahams Jerome Gambit" for a summary). 

As for the "certain players" who "greatly favoured" the Jerome Gambit, it is difficult to identify them by games played, as I have discovered the games of only a dozen or so players (other than Jerome, himself) who played the opening between when it was introduced in 1874 and the publication of Blackburne's book in 1899. Andres Clemente Vazquez, of Mexico, has four games in The Database, while E.B. Lowe, of Great Britain, has three.

Blackburne might well have been referring to authors who included analysis of the Jerome Gambit in their opening books, in which case George H.D. Gossip, of Theory of the Chess Openings (1879) and The Chess Player's Vade Mecum (1891) ; William Cook, of Synopsis of Chess Openings (1882, 1888); E. Freeborough and C. E. Rankin of  Chess Openings Ancient and Modern (1889, 1893, 1896);and Mortimer of The Chess Player's Pocket book And Manual of the Openings (1888 - 1906); are all likely suspects. Certainly, more research is still needed.

8...Qh4

This is Blackburne's counter attack, threatening 9...Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 Bg4 mate.

9.O-O

Munoz and Munoz, in their notes to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, in the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, suggested "He should have attempted to free his pieces by P to Q4 [d4] before castling." 

The move 9.d4 received a good look in "Updating the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)", including references to L. Elliot Fletcher’s energetic Gambit’s Accepted (1954), an internet article on Amateur - Blackburne (not currently available) by Brazil's Hindemburg Melao, and some musings and analysis from Bruce Pandolfini, in his 1989 Chess Openings: Traps & Zaps !

9...Nf6

The door closes on White's Queen.

10.Qd8

Melao mentioned that Idel Becker, in his Manual de xadrez (1974), attributed the move 10.d4 to Euwe (source not mentioned). Melao was skeptical about the move, giving Black’s counter-attack 10…Bh3 11.gxh3 Rxh8 12.dxc4 Qxh3 13.f3 g5 14.Rf2 g4 15. Bf4 gxf3 16.Bg3 h5 17.Nd2 h4 18.Nf3 Qg4 with advantage for Black. He preferred 10.Qd8 - another suggestion (without further analysis) by Munoz and Munoz in the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, August 1885, who opined "The only hope he had was 10.Q to Q8 [10.Qd8], thus preventing the deadly  move of Kt to Kt5 [...Ng4]."

Bill Wall mentioned that 10.d3 loses to 10...Bh3 11.Qxa8 Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 as was brutally demonstrated in RevvedUp - Hiarcs 8, 2 12 blitz, 2006 (0-1, 12).

10...Bd7

Most consistent for Black is 10...Bb6, covering the c7 pawn and enforcing the embargo on the Queen. White should return a pawn to free Her Majesty with 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3 as in Wall,Bill - Foo,Nathan, Palm Bay, FL, 2010 (1-0, 33). 

[to be continued]

The George J. Dougherty Club

Vera Menchik (1906 - 1944), the world's first women's chess champion, also competed in chess tournaments against men.

In 1929, Albert Becker jokingly suggesting that any player that she defeated in tournament play should be granted membership in "The Vera Menchik Club".

Of course, Becker became the first member of the "club", which came to include such noted players as C.H.O.D. Alexander, Edgar Colle, Max Euwe, Harry Golombek, Mir Sultan Khan, Jacques Mieses, Philip Stuart Milner-Barry, Karel Opočenský, Samuel Reshevsky, Friedrich Sämisch,  Lajos Steiner,  George Thomas, William Winter,  and Frederick Yates.

I mention this bit of chess history because of a current discussion of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) taking place at Chess.com, where members have weighed in with various levels of skepticism:

There is very little chance of succeding with that gambit

I suggest you find something better

White has nothing

the gambit is completely unsound

not a variation to take anyone's game forward

simply throws away two minor pieces

unless your opponent is a child and you are playing a bullet game on Halloween, it doesn't look like a wise opening choice

an unsound gambit

You may surprise some in bullet, that's all

Those were the polite comments, mind you.

Anyhow, I thought it was time for me to inaugurate "The George J. Dougherty Club".

In the March 1877 American Chess Journal, Alonzo Wheeler Jerome reminisced that he had first played his gambit (successfully, too) against G.J. Dougherty of Mineola, New York, "a strong amateur".

That makes it interesting to recall that while it was in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal that Jerome's "New Chess Opening" was first announced, the very next month's Journal carried this notice

Chess Challenge

George J. Dougherty, of Mineola, Queen's County, New York, hereby respectfully invites John G. Belden, Esq., of Hartford, Conn., to play him two games of chess by Postal Card, at his convenience, Mr. Belden taking the attack in one game and Mr. Dougherty in the other; the object being to test the soundness of Jerome's Double Opening, published in the April No. (50) of this Chess Journal. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

Mr. Dougherty, it seems, was willing to see what he could do to add other players to the growing list of those who had lost to the Jerome Gambit.

It is fitting that we name a "club" after him.

A Question of Theory and Practice

"Theory" and "practice" in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be light-heartedly summed up as: the leading theory is not to practice the opening.

Yet, we persist.

Today's game highlights an area of theoretical controversy – that is to say there would probably be a controversy, if enough people played the Jerome Gambit to be aware of it.

In typical Jerome fashion, White loses the theoretical battle, wins the game handsomely, nonetheless – while the rest of the world refines the 18th (or 28th) move of Sicilian Najdorf theory...

mrjoker - annicks
2 12 blitz, ICC 2000
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

Munoz and Munoz wrote in the August 1885 Brooklyn Chess Chronicle

In the American edition of Cook's Synopsis K-K3 [...Ke6] is given as the best defence, but Mr. Blackburne's ingenious counter sacrifice in the present skirmish would seem to show that the text is at least as good.

7.Qxe5 d6

This move is usually given a "!" because the offer of Black's Rook led to a smashing finish in Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885; but, in truth, it deserves a "?!". The best move, instead, is 7...Qe7!, Whistler's Defense, when the Rook is then truly poisoned.

After White captures the Rook in the current game, his biggest "risk" is in allowing Black chances to draw.

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Again, the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle

He should have attempted to free his piece by P to Q4 [d4] before castling.

My database has three examples of the recommendation, although none were available at the time this game was played: 9.d4 Nf6 ( 9...Bb4+ 10.c3 Qxe4+ 11.Kf1 Qd3+ 12.Ke1 Bg4 13.Qxh7+ Kf8 14.f3 Re8+ 15.Kf2 Qe2+ 16.Kg3 Bf5 17.Bh6+ Nxh6 18.Qxh6+ Ke7 19.cxb4 Qxb2 20.Qg5+ Kd7 21.Nd2 Qxd4 22.Rhe1 Rh8 23.Qe7+ Kc6 24.Rec1+ Kb5 25.a4+ Kxb4 26.Ne4 Rh3+ 27.gxh3 Qh8 28.Nf2 g5 29.Qe1+ Kb3 30.Qe3+ Kb4 31.Qd2+ Kb3 32.Qd5+ Kb4 33.Qb5 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - bakker, FICS, 2007; 9...Qxe4+ 10.Be3 Bxd4 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.0-0 b6 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Qxg8+ Kd7 15.Qf7+ Kc6 16.Qf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 Bh3 18.Rd1 Re8 19.c3 Bc5 20.b4 Bxf2+ 21.Kxf2 Re7 22.Nd2 a5 23.a3 Rf7 24.Ne4 Bg4 25.Ng5 Rf6 26.Rd4 Kd7 27.Rxg4 d5 28.Rd1 c5 29.Rxd5+ Kc6 30.Rd8 axb4 31.axb4 cxb4 32.Rc4+ Kb5 33.Rxb4+ Kc5 34.Ne4+ Kc6 35.Nxf6 Kc7 36.Rd7+ Kc6 37.Be3 b5 38.Rd5 g5 39.Rbxb5 Black resigned, mediax - yorkypuddn ChessWorld.com, 2008) 10.Nd2 Bxd4 11.Rf1 Bh3 12.Qxa8 Bxg2 13.Qxb7 Bxf1 14.Qb3+ Ke7 15.Qg3 Qxg3 16.hxg3 Bg2 17.f3 Bh3 Black resigned, dj222 - invincible1,GameKnot.com, 2003

9...Nf6 10.d4

I have not seen a lot of analysis of this move. The earliest entry in my database is from J. du Mont, in his 1942 200 Miniature Games of Chess, where he only notes that 10.d4 Bxd4 11.c3 would lead back to the Blackburne game. Certainly there must be earlier references.

Hindemburg Melao, Jr., in a 2003 internet article about the Amateur - Blackburne game, at superajedrez.com, mentioned that Idel Becker, in his Manual de xadrez (1974), attributed the move 10.d4 to Euwe, although he did not give the source. In any event, the author was dismissive

but in this case Black could simply follow with 10...Bh3 11.gxh3 (11.Qxa8 Qg4 –+ ) 11...Rxh8 12.dxc5 Qxh3 13.f3 g5 14.Rf2 g4 15.Bf4 (15.fxg4 Qxg4+ –+ )15...gxf3 16.Bg3 h5 17.Nd2 h4 18.Nxf3 Qg4 –+ ...

...The best option seems to be 10.Qd8 after 10...Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3 is not clearly how the Black people can be successful. For example 12...Bf5 13.Qb3+ (13.Qg3 Qxg3 14.hxg3 Bxc2µ) 13...Kg7 14.d4 Rd8 15.Nd2 (15.dxe5? Qxf2+! 16.Rxf2 Rd1#) 15...Qxd4 16.c3 (16.Nf3? Qxf2+!) 16...Qc5 with compensation for the material

10...Bxd4 11.Qd8

The game Glameyer - Piske, www.freechess.de, 2006, continued unsuccessfully 11.Be3 Ng4 12.Qxh7+ Qxh7 13.h3 Bxb2 White resigned.

In our game Black has walked by his chance for advantage, allowing White's Queen to both attack c7 and pin the Black Knight. Best for the second player at this point is 11...Bb6, although White's Queen can still be released with 12.e5 dxe5 13.Be3 (or 13.Qd3).

11...Bf5

Quickly losing the thread of the game.

12.Qxc7+ Bd7 13.Qxd6

White has his choice of ways to win now.

13...Bb6 14.e5 Ng4

This only looks dangerous.

15.Qxd7+ Kg8 16.h3 Bxf2+

An attempt to swindle: 17.Rxf2? Qxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qf1 checkmate!

17.Kh1 h5 18.Bf4 Black resigned