The last game of the quartet of selected Jerome Gambits, by CasualGames4ever
Last but not least and techinqually first! My first clash with this opponent set the tone for the rest of our match, we reach the middle game with him still being better, yet I can easily continue whereas he struggles to find decent moves. This quickly leads to a beautiful checkmate, although I would say the first game had the best check mate
CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
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
A standard Jerome Gambit position, where White has pawns to advance - and Black needs a plan.
10.O-O Bd7 11.Nc3 Bc6 12.d4 Qe8 13.d5 Bd7 14.f4 c6
So far, Black is doing fine, and has a small edge. The game is not over yet.
15.f5 Ne5 16.b3 cxd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qf7
Attacking White's d-pawn. Black must always be careful, however, when his King and Queen are lined up on the f-file, facing White's Rook.
19.Bb2
Giving the pawn up, as bait. Thematic was 19...f6, as played later.
19...Qxd5 20.Rad1 Qb5 21.Rxd6 Nf7
The kind of double-threat move (defends, attacks) that comes obviously, in a 3 minute game, but is often insufficient.
22.f6 g6
Black can't take the Rook, but he can't escape checkmate, either.
23.Qe7+ Kg8 24.Rxd7 Rf8 25.Qxf7+
A Queen sac finishes the game off.
25...Rxf7 26.Rd8+ Rf8 27.f7 checkmate
Very pretty!
As I mentioned previously, I received an email and some games from CasualGames4ever
So recently, just now, I played a nineteen game match against a similarly rated opponent in 3+0 blitz. As white in all but one game I played the jerome gambit, linking them all would make this email ridiculously long, so I will only link the ones I thought are the best.
Unlike the other two this one demonstrates the attacking potential of this opening rather than the positional ideas. I quickly launch the d, e, and f pawns in a brutal assault towards my opponent's king. This proved immediately fatal.
CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.O-O d6
Varying from the 2 earlier games we have seen, where Black captured the Knight at e5.
7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.d4 Bb6
9.f4 Ne7 10.f5 Ng8
I was surprised to see that Komodo 10 agreed with this move.
11.Nc3 Qf6 12.Be3 Ne7 13.Qd3 h5
Hoping to let the Rook work from home.
14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Qxe5
The pawn was off limits, as White shows.
16.Bxb6 axb6 17.Qd8+ Kf7 18.Qxh8
19...c5 19.Qxh5+ Kg8 20.Qe8+ Kh7 21.Rf3 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Nxf5 23.Rh3+ Nh6
24.Rxh6+ Kxh6 25.Qc6+ Qd6 26.Qxa8 Bf5
27.Qh8+ Kg6 28.Qe8+ Kh7 29.Rf1 Bxc2 30.Rf8 Kh6 31.Rh8+ Bh7
Different Rook check, different piece block, same result.
32.Qe4 g6 33.Qh4+ Kg7 34.Rxh7+ Kg8 35.Rh8+ Kf7 36.Qh7+ Kf6 37.Ne4+ Ke5 38.Nxd6 cxd6 39.Re8+ Kd4 40.Qxg6 d5 41.Qg4+ Kd3 42.Qf3+ Kc2 43.Qc3+ Kb1 44.Re1+ Kxa2 45.Qa3 checkmate
Here is another Jerome Gambit game by CasualGames4ever. As he mentioned in a recent email
So recently, just now, I played a nineteen game match against a similarly rated opponent in 3+0 blitz. As white in all but one game I played the jerome gambit, linking them all would make this email ridiculously long, so I will only link the ones I thought are the best
My opponent managed to get a very strong position out of the opening seemingly with a piece for two pawns, yet despite the lack of queens his king proved very unsafe, an aspect I quickly exploited and soon I won material and quickly converted.
CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8
Like the game in the previous post. The move is as old as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1/2-1/2, 29).
6.O-O Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qf6
The same threat to win White's Queen as we have seen.
9.Qc5+ Qd6 10.Qxd6+ cxd6 11.f4 Nc4
11...Nf7, as we have seen earlier, but which was actually played later, is safer.
12.b3 Nb6
13.Ba3 Kf7 14.Bxd6 Nf6 15.Nc3 Re8
Black has an extra piece (for two pawns) but White's Bishop block's his pawn, which blocks his Bishop, which hems in his Rook...
16.Rae1 a5
One way to activate the Rook.
17.e5 Nfd5 18.Ne4 h6 19.f5 a4 20. Bc5 axb3 21.Nd6+ Kf8
22.Nxc8+
This works. 22...f6 was even more explosive.
22...Kg8 23.Nxb6 Nxb6 24.Bxb6 Rxa2
Black misses his chance to make things a bit muddy with 24...bxc2.
25. cxb3 Rb2 26.Re3 d6 27.Bd4 Rd2 28.Bc3 Rc2 29.e6 d5 30.Rd1 b5 31.Rxd5 Rc1+ 32.Kf2 Ra8
33.e7 Kf7 34.Rd8 Ra2+ 35.Kg3 Rg1 36.Rf8 checkmate
?????
The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) revolves around the question: Is Black's King actually safer at d8? For a while, the surprising answer seems to be Yes, but quickly - this is a 1 0 bullet game - a resounding No takes its place.
angelcamina - traan
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3
Recently, White avoided the retreat, with two different outcomes:
9.Qxe7+ N8xe7 10.O-O Kf7 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.d3 Kg8 13.Bg5 Nc6 14.Nd5 d6 15.Nxc7 Rb8 16.Nd5 Nd4 17.c3 Nc6 18.f4 Bg4 19.d4 Be2 20.Rf2 Bc4 21.b3 Bxd5 22.exd5 Nce7 23.c4 Nf5 24.Re1 Nxd4 25.Be7 Nxe7 26.Rxe7 Nf5 27.Re6 Rbe8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.g4 Re1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke2 Nxg4 33.b4 Nxh2 34.c5 dxc5 35.bxc5 Ng4 36.c6 bxc6 37.dxc6 Nf6 38.c7 Kf7 39.c8=Q Nh5 40.Qc7+ Kg6 41.Qxa7 Nxf4+ 42.Kd2 h5 43.Qa6+ Kg5 44.Qa5+ Kg4 45.a4 h4 46.Qa8 h3 47.Qh1 Kg3 48.a5 Ne6 49.a6 Nc7 50.a7 g5 51.Qb7 h2 52.Qxc7+ Kg2 53.a8=Q+ Kg1 54.Qc1+ Kf2 55.Qf8+ Kg3 56.Qfa3+ Kg2 57.Qc6+ Kg1 58.Qg3+ Kf1 59.Qcf3 checkmate, Anonymous - Beatboxer47, 3 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; and
9.Qxc7 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Nf4 11.Rg1 Qe2 checkmate, ianfencer - Evern, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
9...Nf6
Or 9...d6 10.O-O Nf6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8 14.b3 c6 15.Ba3 d5 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 17.e5 Ng4 18.Qg3 Nh6 19.d4 Nef5 20.Qd3 g6 21.h3 a6 22.g4 Ne7 23.Rae1 Be6 24.Na4 Kh8 25.Nc5 Bc8 26.f5 gxf5 27.gxf5 Bxf5 28.Rxf5 Nexf5 29.e6 Rg8+ 30.Kh2 Rg3 31.Qe2 Rag8 32.Qe5+ R3g7 33.Rg1 White won on time, angelcamina - albatronus, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
10.Nc3
Or 10.d3 d5 11.O-O dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxe4 13.Qa3+ Qe7 14.b4 Be6 15.Re1 a5 16.c3 Kf7 17.Be3 axb4 18.Qb2 bxc3 19.Nxc3 Rhe8 20.Bg5 Qa3 21.Qd2 Rad8 22.Qc2 Bc4 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.Ne4 Bd3 25.Qxc7+ Qe7 26.Qxe7+ Rxe7 27.Rad1 Red7 28.Nc5 Rd5 29.Nxb7 Ba6 30.Nxd8+ Black resigned, Atti0130 - smarlny, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.
10...d6 11.O-O
Alternately, 11.d4 Kf7 12.O-O Re8 13.f4 Nxe4 14.f5 Nf8 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Qb3 Kg8 17.Nf6+ Black resigned, croc_master - Krog, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.
11...Ke8
Black believes his King will be safer on d8. He plans to bring his Rook to e8 to pressure White's e-pawn.
12.d4 Kd8 13.f4 Re8 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5
15...Ng4 16.Qg3 Qc5+ 17.Kh1 h5
Black pushes his attack, even as his King sits on an open file.
18.h3 h4
Following the advice, If someone attacks one of your pieces, attack one of his, a more valuable one if possible.
19.Qf3 Nh6 20.f5
The "Jerome pawns" are on the march.
20...Nxf5 21.Qd3+ Bd7 22.Rxf5 c6 23.Rf7 Re7 24.Bg5
Black's King is no longer safe.
24...Nxe5 25.Bxe7+ Qxe7 26.Rxe7 Nxd3 27.Rxd7+ Kxd7 28.cxd3 Kc7
29.Rf1 Rd8 30.Rf7+ Kb6 31.Na4+ Kb5 32.b3 White won on time
Danger!
When facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) it can be relatively easy to wander into trouble, especially if you underestimate the attacker's chances in that "refuted" opening. In the following blitz game, Black's chances collapse when he overlooks the dangers to his King along the e-file.
baurke - PLGreen
10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qd4
White's centralized Queen cannot be chased away by Black's Queen's Knight, as it resides on g6. Kicking the Queen with ...c5 is possible, but it will leave Black's d-pawn backward.
Also seen recently: 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 c6 11.O-O d5 12.e5 Nd7 13.d4 c5 14.Nxd5 cxd4 15.Qxd4 Qxe5 16.Qxe5+ Ndxe5 17.Nc7+ Kf7 18.Nxa8 Bf5 19.Nc7 Bxc2 20.Nd5 h5 21.Nf4 h4 22.Nxg6 Nxg6 23.h3 Ne5 24.Be3 a6 25.Rac1 Be4 26.Rfd1 Rg8 27.f3 Bc6 28.Bg5 Ng6 29.Rd8 Rxd8 30.Bxd8 Ke6 31.Kf2 Kf5 32.g4+ Kf4 33.Rc5 Bxf3 34.Rf5+ Ke4 35.Rxf3 Ne5 36.Re3+ Kd5 37.Rxe5+ Kxe5 38.Bxh4 Kf4 39.Be7 b5 40.Bf8 g5 41.Bh6 a5 42.h4 Kxg4 43.Bxg5 Kh5 44.Ke3 a4 45.Kd4 b4 46.Kc4 b3 47.axb3 axb3 48.Kxb3 Kg6 49.Kc4 Kf7 50.Kd5 Ke8 51.Kc6 Kf7 52.b4 Ke8 53.b5 Kf7 54.b6 Ke6 55.b7 Kf5 56.b8=Q Ke4 57.Qf4+ Kd3 58.Kc5 Kc3 59.Qe4 Kb3 60.Qc4+ Ka3 61.Kb5 Kb2 62.Qd3 Ka2 63.Qc3 Kb1 64.Qd2 Ka1 65.Kb4 Kb1 66.Kb3 Ka1 67.Qb2 checkmate, Eelco_Niermeijer - adb1993, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020
9...Nf6
Also reasonable was 9...d6 10.O-O Ne5 11.d3 h6 12.Nc3 Be6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Qf2 Bf7 15.Re1 Kd7 16.d4 Re8 17.d5 Nb4 18.Re2 b6 19.a3 Na6 20.b4 Nb8 21.Bb2 Nf6 22.Nb5 a6 23.Nd4 Qf8 24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Nxd5 26.e6+ Rxe6 27.Nxe6 Bxe6 28.Qxf8 Rxf8 29.Bxg7 Rg8 30.Bxh6 Kc8 31.Rxe6 Nf4 Black resigned, Cam531-dyarmolovich, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020.
10.O-O Nxe4
This capture is a mistake, but Black's next move compounds his troubles. He should have acknowledged the error with 10...Kd8, surrendering the Knight, hoping to play on, a pawn down.
11.Re1 Qh4
This move only works if White now captures with his Queen, as the subsequent exchange of Queens would limit White's advantage. However...
12.Rxe4+ Qxe4 13.Qxe4+ Ne7
Down a Queen for a Rook, Black's only chance is a time forfeit - which does not happen.
14.Qe5 Rg8 15.d3 d6 16.Qe4 d5 17.Qe2 b6 18.Bg5 Be6 19.Qxe6 Black resigned
When winning with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it is always tempting to attribute our success to the brilliance of the attack. Sometimes, however, the defender contributes as well. In the following game, Black does quite well - until he doesn't.
uwuweweosaas - HellBear
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.c3
Now 8...Nd3+ would cause the most problems.
8...g6
It is always attractive to attack the enemy Queen.
Also seen recently:
8...Bb6 9.d4 Nd3+ 10.Kd2 Nxc1 11.Rxc1 Qf6 12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Rf1 c6 14.Qe5+ Qxe5 15.dxe5 d6 16.f4 Nh6 17.h3 Rf8 18.Na3 dxe5 19.f5 g6 20.g4 gxf5 21.exf5 Bc5 22.Nc4 Nf7 23.f6+ Ke6 24.h4 Nd6 25.Nxd6 Kxd6 26.g5 Bh3 27.Rf3 Bg4 28.Rff1 Rae8 29.b4 Bb6 30.Rae1 c5 31.a3 cxb4 32.axb4 Kc7 33.f7 Re7 34.c4 Bd4 35.Re4 Rexf7 36.Rxf7+ Rxf7 37.Rxg4 Rf2+ 38.Kd3 Rf3+ 39.Ke2 Rc3 40.c5 Rc4 41.Kd3 Rxb4 42.h5 Bxc5 43.g6 Rxg4 44.gxh7 e4+ 45.Kc4 Bd4 46.Kxd4 Kc6 47.h8=Q Rg5 48.Qf6+ Black resigned, romansroad - Swan93, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020; and
8...Ne7 9.Qh3 c6 10.d4 Bb6 11.dxe5+ Kxe5 12.Qg3+ Ke6 13.Qg4+ Kd6 14.Bf4+ Kc5 15.b4+ Kc4 16.Qe2 checkmate, ibloodyuser - daughtdaught, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020.
9.Qf4 g5
It is always attractive to attack the enemy Queen. Oddly enough, Komodo 10 recommends, instead, that Black return his King to e6.
10.Qg3 Bxf2+
Rather than allow the pawn fork d2-d4.
11.Kxf2 Qf6+ 12.Ke2 Qf4
To exchange Queens, a sound strategy.
13.d4 Nc4
One of those kinds of oversights that happen in 3-minute games.
14.Bxf4+ gxf4 15.Qxf4+ Ke7 16.Rf1 Nd6 Black resigned
