A Jerome Addiction

Bill Wall sent me his first Jerome Gambit of 2015 with the following note.

I just can't help myself.  As soon as I see 3...Bc5 I just have to play 4.Bxf7.  I told myself not to play it and work on other Italian variations.  But oh no.  I see 3...Bc5, I have to play 4...Bxf7+.  It must be a Jerome addiction.
Anyway, I played a nice Jerome on FICS, my first Jerome of the year.  He got his knight trapped, forgetting to make an exit for himself, and I later mated him.  He had a good game up to 16...c6, blocking a pawn I might have taken, but overlooking his knight can't move anywhere safe after 17.h3.

Wall,B - CMSK
FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

The Jerome Gambit, Jerome variation, first outlined in the Dubuque Chess Journal, July 1874.

Three of Bill's games continued 7...d6: Wall,B -GoldCoinCollector, Chess.com 2010 (1-0, 17); Wall,B - GuestZCLK, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15); and Wall,B - Schichua,S, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 22).

8.Qf4+ Nf6 

Instead, Black continued with 8...Qf6 in Wall,B - Guest340293, PlayChess.com, 2012, (1-0, 41),  Wall,B - Josti, PlayChess.com, 2013, (1-0, 26),  and Wall,B - Guest4644930, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 26).

9.d3 d6 10.Nc3 Be6 11.0-0 h6

12.Be3 g5

Black is feeling aggressive!

13.Qf3 Kg7 14.e5 

Bill notes better may be 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.e5 Nd7 16.Qxb7. 

14...Ng4 15.Bxc5 

Not 15.Qxb7? Nxe3. 

15...dxc5 16.Rae1

 Still, Bill cautions,16.Qxb7?! Rab8 17.Qxa7 Rxb2.

16...c6? 

As Bill mentioned in the note above, this strands the Black Knight. Better: 16...Rhf8 17.Qe2 (17.Qxb7 Rab8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2) 17...h5; 
16...h5 17.Qxb7 Rab8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2 19.Re2. 

17.h3 Raf8 18.Qg3

Or 18.Qd1 Nxf2 19.Rxf2 Rxf2 20.Kxf2 Rf8+ 21.Kg1. 

18...h5

If 18...Nxf2 19.Rxf2 Rxf2 20.Qxf2 Rf8 21.Qe3. 

19.hxg4 h4 

Black's attack looks dangerous, but it will become clear that White is in control.

20.Qh3 Qd7 21.Ne4 Bxg4 22.Qe3 Rh5 

Admitting his Kingside pawn structure needs reinforcing, but this allows a fork.

23.Nf6 Rxf6 24.exf6+ Kxf6 25.Qxc5

25...h3 26.Qf8+ Kg6 27.Re7 hxg2 28.Qf7+ Kh6 29.Qg7 checkmate

A Jerome Gambit Database

Scouring the internet with Google the other day, I ran across A Jerome Gambit Database set up by an anonymous creator who appears to have knowledge of Bill Wall's games, Rev. Tim Sawyer's blog, and this site as well. Feel free to check it out. If you have any more information about the site or author, please let me know.

This Is Your Last Chance

After the previous post on the Jerome Gambit Declined, here is a fun example (or three: also see my two games against walkinthespirit: #1 and #2).

HauntedKnight - bozidaranas
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kf8 6.Bb3

Transposing to the main Declined line, 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.0-0. Black, given one, only, and his last chance to accept one or two pieces, shows that he wants no part of White's goofy attack - and strikes back

6...d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nxe5

White responds with the "fork trick".

8...Nxe5 9.d4 Be7 10.dxe5 Nb4

It is too late to quibble that 10...c6 was stronger.

11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Qf7+ Kd7 13.Rd1+ Black resigned

All or Nothing! notebook (1)

Working on my book, All or Nothing!, The Jerome Gambit, has forced me to take a better look at variations that I have generally dismissed.

The first line to get more attention is one that I have thought little about, the Jerome Gambit Declined.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 

In the broader sense of things, it seems odd that Black would give up an "objectively" won game (White has sacrficed one piece and may sacrifice a second) to be down material, all at move 4.

In fact, the line is rarely played: of 10,670 games in The Database that have White's first four moves, above, only 245 - roughly 2% - contain 4...Kf8. Less than 1/2 % contain 4...Ke7.

Yet, Black may have his reasons, if only based in psychology. For starters, he does not give White the wild play he is looking for - in fact, Black becomes the gambiteer, offering a pawn and position for slightly better development. White must take further risks if he want's to challenge that situation.

White's best move in response to Black declining the Bishop is to play 5.Bb3 (or the similarly-motivated 5.Bc4 or 5.Bd5) settling for a solid pawn plus and eventual play against Black's displaced King. Also good for White is 5.Bxg8, exchanging rather than retreating the Bishop.

It is quite possible that Black declines the Jerome Gambit in hopes that White will continue to offer the piece with 5.Nxe5!? or 5.0-0!? with the plan to transpose into the Jerome Gambit accepted, where Black eventually takes the Bishop, having taken two moves to do so, instead of the usual one. This is convoluted thinking, that White, having been spared a losing game, will want to persist in seeking his attack/disadvantage, rather than settle for an advantageous non-Jerome Gambit position...

The Jerome Gambit: it has its own logic!

Not What Was Expected

In the following game Bill Wall played the Jerome Gambit, retreated his Queen to an odd square, allowed it to be exchanged off - and, later won. All in all, not what was expected for a "refuted" opening, played loosely - but what did you expect? Bill goes on to win in the endgame.

Wall,B - Guest10254637
PlayChess.com, 2014

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3

A more usual retreat is 8.Qg3, but Bill likes to experiment. 

8...Qf6 9.0-0 

A small caution: 9.Qb3? Qxf2+ White resigned, GeniusPawn - satori, FICS, 2000. 

9...Qxc3 

Also seen was 9...Bd4 10.Qxc7 Bxb2 11.Bxb2 Qxb2 12.Qxd6+ Ne7 13.Nc3 Kf7 14.Qf4+ Ke8 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Kd8 17.Rfe1 Qxc2 18.Qg5+ Kc7 19.Rac1 Qxc1 20.Rxc1+ Kb8 21.Qe5 checkmate, guest714 - guest1041, Internet Chess Club, 2003.

10.Nxc3 

White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece.

10...Nf6 11.d3 Kf7

Black did not castle-by-hand in Abijud - djinmaster, FICS, 2005:  11...Bg4 12.a4 a6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nd5 Bd4 16.c3 Be5 17.f4 Be2 18.fxe5 Bxf1 19.Rxf1 dxe5 20.Nxf6 Ke7 21.Nd5+ Kd7 22.Rf5 c6 23.Nb6+ Ke6 24.Nxa8 Rxa8 25.Rh5 Rh8 26.Kf2 Rh7 27.Ke3 Kf6 28.g4 b6 29.h4 c5 30.Rf5+ Ke6 31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 Rh3+ 33.Kd2 Rh2+ 34.Kc1 Black forfeited on time. 

12.Re1

Bill points out two alternatives: 12.Na4 Bb4 13.a3 Ba5; and
12.Be3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 c6. 

12...Rf8 13.h3 Bd7 14.a4 Rae8 15.Be3 Bb4

I suspect that Black felt good about this move, taking advantage of the fact that the Bishop cannot be kicked away by a2-a3. The fact is, though, that White can now spring his "Jerome pawns".

16.f4 a6 17.Re2 Bc6 18.Rf2 Bxc3 19.bxc3

Black will now give back his piece to fracture White's pawns.

19...Bxe4 20.dxe4 Nxe4

The rest of the game is interesting, as White's pawns are not as weak as they appear - or the pawn structure gives chances to White's pieces. The game is balanced - for a while.  

21.Rf3 Nxc3 22.Bf2 Ne4 23.Bd4 d5 

24.Rb3 b6 25.Rd1 Kg8 

Completing castling-by-hand, but perhaps that was no longer necessary, in which case it is not a good use of tempo. 

26.Be5 Nc5 27.Rc3 c6

Bill points out the better 27...Rd8 28.Bxc7 Nxa4. 

28.a5 Nd7 29.axb6 Nxb6 30.Rxc6 Nc4 31.Rxd5 Ne3

Black misses his chance to exchange off White's Bishop and head toward  a R + Ps endgame where he has practical drawing chances, Bill notes: 31...Nxe5 32.fxe5 Rf5 33.Rxa6 Rfxe5 34.Rxe5 Rxe5.

32.Rd7 Rf7 33.Rxf7 Kxf7 34.Kf2 Nd1+ 35.Ke2 Nb2 36.Kf3 Na4 37.Rxa6 Nc5 38.Ra7+ Black resigned

Happy New Year!

Wishing Readers an exciting, healthy and hopeful 2015!

Alert! Alert!

In my last post I mentioned that I have a Google "alert" set for "Jerome Gambit". I griped that it rarely returned anything, and when it did, it mostly gave a link to one of the posts on this blog (not always a current one).

However, once again it linked me to a game at lichess.org. The contest is a one-minute, "bullet" game featuring the Jerome Gambit!

dwcgc at lichess.org is a player from the Netherlands with a taste for unorthodox chess openings - played very quickly (in the following game, slightly slower than a second a move). Take a look.

dwcgc- MorgailenkoBULLET
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Ng6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.f4 d6 10.f5 Ne5 11.Bf4 Qe7 12.Bxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.Nc3 b6 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bb7 17.Rae1 Rhe8 18.c4 e4 19.g4 Re7 20.Rf4 Rae8 21.Kf2 Kf6 22.Ke3 Kg5 23.Ref1 c5 24.Rh1 h6 25.h4+ Kf6 26.g5+ hxg5 27.hxg5+ Ke5 28.Rg1 Rf7 29.f6 Kd6 30.Rgf1 gxf6 31.gxf6 Rh8 32.Rf5 Rh3+ 33.Kd2 Rh2+ 34.R1f2 Rg2 35.Ke2 Rxf2+ 36.Kxf2 Bc8 37.Ke2 Bxf5 38.Ke3 Rxf6 39.Kf4 Bg6+ 40.Ke3 Rf3+ 41.Kd2 Bh5 42.Ke1 e3 43.Ke2 Rh3+ 44.Kd3 Rh2 45.Kc3 e2 46.Kb3 e1Q 47.Ka3 Qg3+ 48.b3 Black lost on time

I also found a recent game with dwcgc playing the Busch-Gass Gambit (see "Worth a Second Look... "Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), a sort-of "reversed Jerome Gambit."

DanDan2016 - dwcgc
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Nf6 5.Qe2 c6 6.Ng5 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.Bb3 Qb6+ 9.Qe3 Ng4+ 10.Ke2 Nxe3 11.dxe3 0-0 12.Rf1 Be6 13.Nc3 Nc6 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Qb5+ 16.c4 Qc5 17.Nxf7 Rxf7 18.Bxf7+ Kh8 19.Bd5 Ne7 20.b3 Nxd5 21.cxd5 Qxd5 22.Ba3 h6 23.Rad1 Qb5+ 24.Ke1 Qa5+ 25.b4 Qxa3 26.Rd7 Qxb4+ 27.Ke2 Qb5+ 28.Kd2 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Kh7 30.Rff8 Qb4+ 31.Kd1 Qa4+ 32.Ke2 Qg4+ 33.Kd3 Qxg2 34.Kc4 Qxh2 35.Kd5 Qg2+ 36.Kxe5 Qc6 37.Kf5 Qg6+ 38.Kf4 Qg5+ 39.Kf3 Qxd8 40.Kf2 h5 41.Rxd8 h4 42.Ra8 h3 43.Rxa7 h2 44.Kg2 h1Q+ 45.Kxh1 Black lost on time