Jerome Gambit: Speeding It Up Again

After a close look at a couple of "slow" over-the-board tournament games - where there is time for assessment and planning - it is time to switch to checking out another lightning game, where confidence, intuition and blink-fast decision-making are key.

Welcome back, Cliff Hardy.

Notes are primarily by Hardy [I have added a few comments in blue - Rick] 

Cliff Hardy (2176) - NN (1842), 

1 0, Lichess, 2018

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

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Kf8 

[The Jerome Variation of the Jerome Gambit, played by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome against David Jaeger in correspondence, 1880. - Rick]

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.Nc3 Be6 10.0-0 Ke7?

[The King does not belong on the e-file, and White needs to find a way to demonstrate this. In a slow game, that would be not much of a challenge. When you have 1 or 2 seconds per move - now that's a challenge - Rick]

Stockfish found that White could take the g-pawn here with the very strong 11.d4!! Bxd4 12.Qxg7+ Bf7 13.Bg5 c6 (or 13...Rg8 14.Bxf6+ Bxf6 15.Nd5+! Ke6 16.Qxh7 ++-, when Black's king would be perilously placed on e6) 14.e5!! Bxe5 15.Rae1 ++-, when White would be threatening to take the knight for free on f6 or to attack the pinned bishop with 16.f4, but I would never have been able to find this line in 1 0 chess (nor in a full-length game 😉).

11.d3? Rf8?! 12.Be3?

Rather than go for Morin's c3, d4 approach [see Morin - Guipi Bopala, Quebec Open, 2018 - Rick] to blunting Black's dark-squared bishop, I chose to blunt it with my own bishop, in an attempt to advance my pinned f-pawn. But since Black has still left his g-pawn vulnerable, Stockfish prefers 12.Na4 Bb6 13.Nxb6 axb6 14.Qxg7+, though Black would then have had a slight advantage after 14...Rf7.

12...Bb6?

12...Bxe3 would not have lost time in retreating and would have yielded Black a winning advantage here.

13.d4 

By now the time for White to capture the g-pawn had well and truly past, since from here on it would just lose time with the queen for White and open the g-file for Black to use in attacking the white king.

13...Qe8 14.f4 Qh5 15.f5 Bc4 16.Rf4 Rae8 17.b3 Ba6 

18.Re1? 

Getting the Jerome pawns mobilised immediately with 18.Rh4 Qf7 19.e5 ++-, while Black's king is still sitting on e7, would have been much better.

18...Kd7 19.Bf2 Qf7 20.e5 dxe5 21.dxe5 Nd5?? 

The final losing move. 21...Nh5 would actually have been winning for Black, since then 22. e6+ Kc8 23. exf7?? would have been met with 23...Rxe1 mate!

22.e6+ Rxe6 23.fxe6+ and white won on time, though Black is lost in any case.

Yes, The Jerome Gambit Is Playable (Part 2)

[continued from previous post]

Morin, Louis (1900) - Guipi Bopala, Prince Eric (1900)
Quebec Open, Quebec, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes

So far, we have seen a few surprises. First, White played the Jerome Gambit in a serious over-the-board tournament. Second, Black, a youngster, has been holding his own - until a bit of a surprising (second-and-a-half?), if "scientific", return of the sacrificed material.

As the game progresses, I am reminded of some points made by Dennis Monokroussos, of the chess blog The Chess Mind, in a review of Hannes Langrock's The French Defense: The Solid Rubinstein Variation (2014). The perspective can be helpful in understanding "slow" Jerome Gambits.

A couple of practical drawbacks for [those playing the variation]: if you win, it’s going to take you at least 40 moves and possibly longer. That’s not so bad if you’re playing in a civilized tournament, but here in the U.S. at least you might be playing two full-length games in one day. If you’re young and full of energy then go for it (though if you’re young and full of energy you should play sharp openings instead!), but otherwise it may be a dubious tournament strategy. It’s also not very satisfactory if you’re in a must-win situation, unless you’re a big believer in your technical abilities or your opponent’s technical shortcomings... 

To his credit, he acknowledges early on some of the criticisms readers might offer; indeed, he relates asking the very strong German grandmaster Georg Meier if he isn’t concerned about the drawish tendencies of this line. Meier’s reply was that he has been able to win many kinds of endgames with it. And that’s the key: you have to have good technique and be willing to grind out points over the long haul. Meier is young and a great technician who is able to defeat lesser lights with remarkable regularity in this opening. Our mileage may vary, but by learning the types of endings that can arise via this opening we can replicate some of his successes in our own games. 

Now: back to our game.

34.Nd4 Rb7 35.Rfe1 Rxe1 36.Rxe1 Kf7 37.Re6 Be7

Perhaps the Bishop would be better placed at f6.

38.Nc6

Louis points out that, in time trouble, he missed the winning move, 38.f5! It looks like Black must avoid taking the pawn, as 38...gxf5 39.Nxf5+ leads to the fall of Black's d-pawn. On the other hand, after 38...g5, White's Rook can go after the h-pawn, i.e. 39.Rh6 g4+ (isolating White's f-pawn) 40.Kg2. Then, the computers like 40...a4 41.Rxh6 axb3 42.axb3 when things are still pretty complicated, but White has that extra pawn.

The computers also recommend 38.g4!?, which seems counter-intuitive, opening lines for the enemy Bishop, but, after 38...hxg4+ 39.Kxg4 it becomes clear that Black's minor piece is stuck in place, and 39...Rc7 might be the best chance, pursuing activity, even at the cost of a pawn after 40.Nxb5.

Remember, though: time trouble had reared it's fearsome head. Plus: even after the text move, White is better. And: the endgame is a difficult one.

38...a4 39.b4

Continuing to cramp the enemy Bishop, although 39.bxa4 bxa4 40.g4!? might have been playable, similar to the previous note. 

39...Rc7 40.f5 gxf5 

The first time control has been reached, and White's well-posted Knight dominates Black's troubled Bishop. The extra pawn means nothing. The game is even. (It is important to remember that in difficult situations, "even" does not equal "drawn".)

41.Rh6 Bf6

The Bishop can breathe! Also, the move limits the actions of White's Rook.

42.Rh7+ Bg7 43.Rxh5 Kg6 

44.Rh4

Possibly better was 44.g4!?. taking the chance to liquidate the Kingside pawns and preparing to hang on for the draw. Of course that's easy for me to say, as I was not playing the game.

44...Bf6 45.Rf4 Rh7+ 46.Kg2 Kg5 47.Rf3 Be5 48.Re3 f4

49.gxf4+

Reasonable, but it should allow Black's King to creep closer. Tougher was 49.Re1!? keeping it all in balance.

49...Bxf4

Keeping it even. Dizzying. Tick tock!

50.Rh3

According to the computers, this is the losing move, but how would I know? It makes perfect sense to me to exchange off the major pieces, but apparently this allows Black's King greater activity. On the other hand, 50.Re8!?, which supposedly leads to the half point after mad complications, would require incredible vision.

50...Rxh3 51.Kxh3 Kf5 

The problem is that while White can trade pawn-for-pawn, Black's King gets into the action, while White's is left out.

52.Nd4+ Ke5 53.Nxb5 Bd2 54.Na7 

Black has the game in hand. Impressive.

54...Kxd5 55.b5 Kc5 56.Kg2 Bb4 57.Kf3 Kb6 58.Nc8+ Kxb5 59.Ke4 Bc5 60.Ne7 Kb4 61.Kd3 Ka3 62.Kc2 Kxa2 63.Nd5
Ka3 64.Kc3 Bf2 65.Nf4 Bg3 66.Kc2 White resigned

Hats off to young Prince Eric Guipi Bopala, for playing such a fine game!

Yes, The Jerome Gambit Is Playable (Part 1)

Is the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) playable?

I have been answering this question for over a decade - for example, see the early "But - Is this stuff Playable?? (Part I)" - and my response looks like this: in friendly games, in blitz games, in games where you are giving "Jerome Gambit odds" to a weaker player, it is playable.

Some adventurous players have not been content to leave it at that.

Years ago, I learned that English player Pete Banks ("Blackburne" online) was willing to attack with the Jerome Gambit in over-the-board games - risking his rating and the chance of teasing by his peers. See "Meet Jerome", "Jerome Gambit, Over-the-Board" and "The Pete Banks Annotated Collection" for examples.

Bill Wall, an unorthodox openings expert and Jerome Gambit afficianado in the U.S., has played some over-the-board games as well (if my records are correct). See "The Jerome Gam'",  and "Jerome Gambit: A Casual Stroll".

Of course, recently this blog has covered the escapades of Australian chess player Kevin Sheldrick (aka "Cliff Hardy"), including his effort at the 2017 Australian Open. See "Jerome Gambit: Cliff Hardy Revealed!"

It is important to not overlook the Jerome Gambit efforts of Louis Morin, of Canada, however. Anyone who has explored The Database knows that he was an early adopter of the opening, has played a truckload of games, appearing online as MrJoker (and, earlier, as a "guest"). Louis also played the Jerome Gambit at the 2015 Quebec Open. See "The Jerome Gam' again".

All of which brings us to a couple of Jerome Gambit games that Louis played at the 2018 Quebec Open.

Okay, so the Jerome Gambit is playable. But - how do you play it?


Morin, Louis (1900) - Guipi Bopala, Prince Eric (1900)
Quebec Open, Quebec, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes

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

Okay, this looks like the ideal time to unleash the Jerome Gambit. Black is an 11 year old - barely older than this blog. What could he know about Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's pet line?

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

A wise choice. Black avoids the discomfort associated with 6...Ke6, and ducks the tactical edginess of 6...g6 7.Qxe5. He simply wants to give back a piece and take his King out of the action.

On the other hand, White has over 80 games with this position in The Database. He knows what he is doing.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6

According to The Database, Louis is 12 - 4 - 2 against alternatives.

9.d3 

If you have played your share of Jerome Gambits, or explored games presentd on this blog, chances are that this move gave you a chuckle.

Why? Because sometimes White's strategy becomes a bit psychological - instead of racing ahead in some sort of wild attack, he signals that he will slowly and carefully work with his pawns (see "Jerome Gambit: In Pawns We Trust"). Like I wrote a couple of years ago

Steinitz said that the player with the advantage must attack, or risk losing that advantage. White prepares to face that attack, relying on solid "Jerome pawns" instead of planning an attack of his own with f2-f4.

Of course, if Black wants to protect his advantage, he has to take back the move 6...Kf8.

9...Kf7 10.O-O Rf8 11.c3 Kg8 12.d4 Bb6 13.f3 Qe7 14.Bg5 Qf7 15.Nd2 Bd7 

Black has the advantage of a piece vs two pawns, and his two Bishops are not to be discounted. Still, you can almost hear MrJoker saying "Hit me".

16.b3 a6 17.Kh1 Rae8 18.Rfe1 Be6 19.Rad1 Nh5 20.Qf2 Nf4
21.Qe3 c6 22.Bxf4 Qxf4 23.Qxf4 Rxf4

From a purely "objective" point of view, Black has to be smiling: he has escaped a tricky opening, the Queens are off the board, and there is no White attack in sight. On the other hand: what to do, what to do, what to do...

24.g3 Rff8 25.Kg2 a5 26.h3 Rf7 27.f4 g6 28.Rf1 h5 29.Nf3 Bd8 30.c4 b5

All this "doing nothing" is exhausting, even as White's pawns slowly advance like a pack of zombies. Black can hold back no longer.

31.d5 cxd5 32.cxd5 Bxh3+ 33.Kxh3 Rxe4

Argh. Black has returned his piece for a couple of pawns. He should not be too happy about his Bishop, as White's Knight will find outposts that will make it an equal game.

[to be continued]