Jerome Gambit: Uneven (Part 1)

The following Jerome Gambit game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is an uneven affair, showing White gaining more from his opponent's play rather than his own strength. It is redeemed, in small part, by the checkmate combination at the end.

I have added a number of links to related games, for those would like to read more about the early lines of play.

perrypawnpusher - dmarkg

"Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 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 d6 9.Qe3 Be6 

10.O-O 

 Years ago, I got away with the alternative 10.f4, in perrypawnpusher - Kingsmeal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 25) and perrypawnpusher - GabrielChime, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 33), but Black's more enterprising 10...Qh4, as in perrypawnpusher - udofink, blitz FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29) was persuasive enough to move me to the text, as in perrypawnpusher - nmuffjgp, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22),  perrypawnpusher - OverwiseMan, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24), perrypawnpusher - dirceu, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 16)  perrypawnpusher - magza, blitz, FICS, 2011  (0-1, 40) and perrypawnpusher - Papst, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2017 (1-0, 61).

(Amazing. Is that last game one I neglected to post on this blog? I will have to remedy that quickly.)

10...Nf6 

Solid development. A bit more active was 10...Qh4. Black still has to deal with the threat of f2-f4-f5.

11.f4 Ne7 

The Knight on g6 or the Bishop had to move. The text is probably best.

12.d4 

Here we have the "Jerome pawns" versus Black's pieces.

12...Ng6

A slip. Perhaps he was anticipating 13.d5 or 13.e5. He winds up returning the sacrificed piece for a pawn.

Stronger was 12...d5, as in perrypawnpusher - nmuffjgp, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22).

I have also seen 12...Kd7, as in  perrypawnpusher -Krisstianes_017, Chess.com,  2018 (1/2 - 1/2, 43) 

13.f5 Bxf5 

After the game, Stockfish 11 suggested that Black could wrigle with 13...Bc4 14.Re1 Ne7 15.b3 Bf7 16.Bb2 Kd7 but it still preferred White's position.

14.exf5+ Ne7 15.Nc3 Qd7 

16.Qf3 h6 

Rightly deciding that capturing the b-pawn would be a waste of time for White, he prevents Bg5.

17.Bd2 c6 

Black's King is still in the center, and White has the e-file to work with, assisted by his pawn at f5. It is time to apply some pressure.

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, White's Queen goes on a rampage, single-handedly destroying the defense. As Dr. Banner, The Hulk's alter ego, said, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry".

fungeg - Starkiller619

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

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

 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qd5+ 

An interesting idea (there are only 4 other games in The Database with this move), posing the question: Can Black get away with 8...Be6, giving up the b-pawn? Black decides to move his King, instead. 

8...Ke7 9.d4 Bb4+ 

Too hopeful. Safer was 9...Bb6. Even better was 9...Nf6 10.Qc4 Be6 11.Qd3, when the dark square Bishop can either check or retreat, each with a small advantage - a piece for two pawns, and the Bishop pair.

10.c3 Bc5 

It wasn't too late for 10...Nf6, this or the next move, although after 11.Bg5 Bxc3+ 12.Nxc3 h6 13.Bxf6+ Kxf6 14.0-0 White would be up a pawn, with a safer King.

11.dxc5 dxc5 12.Qxc5+ 

The Queen takes over the attack. Hulk smash!

12...Kd7 13.Qd5+ Ke8 14.Qb5+ Qd7 15.Qe5+ Qe6 Black resigned

White's Queen is going to capture the Rook at h8, and her counterpart cannot do equal damage, e.g. 16.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 17.Be3 Qxg2 18.Qxg8+ Kd7 19.Qxh7+ Kc6 20.Rf1. White's King's position would be a little messy, but he would have an extra Rook, Knight and pawn to comfort him.

Jerome Gambit: Attention Please

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Black is so focused on his counter-attack that he overlooks the safety of his own King - and Queen.

Wall, Bill - VKMH

FICS, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6 

Simpler (and stronger) was 6...Bxd4, but Black already has his counter-attack in mind.

7.dxe5 Qh4

Simply threatening checkmate, but he has to be careful.

8.Qf3+ Ke6 

Careful would have been 8...Ke8 with the routine advantage of a piece for two pawns.

9.Qf5+ Ke7 10.Bg5+ Black resigned

The adventurous Black Queen is lost.

Jerome Gambit: It's Also About Attitude

 

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is about many things: sacrifice, attack, surprise, discovery, courage, foolishness... but most of all, attitude.

If you are going to play an opening which has several refutations, and which is regarded by some players as "garbage" - and you expect to win - you are going to have to have the right attitude.

Part Bashi-Bazouk, part standup comedian, part psychologist.

Ben_S_Chess has just released a YouTube video, "How To Destroy Black in 3 Minutes | The Jerome Gambit" that provides an introduction to the basic lines of play in the Jerome, as well as the proper attitude to help you play the game.

It's a bit irreverent, but that's the whole point. If you can't laugh, you probably shouldn't be playing the Jerome Gambit, anyhow.

Check it out.  

Jerome Gambit: GM Video

 

Chess friend Yury Bukayev pointed out a video by GM Larry Christiansen, titled "Julian Hodgsen: A modern Blackburne" and containing

ECO: C50, A45: Giuoco Piano: Jerome gambit, Trompowsky attack (Ruth, Opocenský opening)
Players: Blackburne, Hodgson, Martin

Reading through some of the promotional material, I found

The never-to-be-forgotten ‘perfect checkmate’ unleashed by attacking pioneer Joseph Blackburne. Get a Knight and Queen near the enemy King and this is on! 

Christiansen's videos appear to be collections of annotated games.

The above quote refers to the lesson for month 8, day 3, in Christiansen's "Attacking Chess Mega Bundle" of chess videos. The title of the lesson is "Attacking Pioneer Joseph Blackburne".

Clearly it is referring to the Jerome Gambit game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884.

Still, it might be fun to see what the GM has to say about the line.

By the way, back in 2011 I posted "A GM plays the Jerome Gambit??" about Christiansen.

 

Jerome Gambit: Outplayed, Alas (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - ZlikoM

"Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2020

Here I looked at a couple of Jerome style moves, 16.Bg5 and 16.h3. I eventually rejected both, because of 16...Nxe4 in each case, but that was largely due to poor analysis.

After the game, I had Stockfish 11 do a blunder check. After 16.Bg5 Nxe4 17.Rae1 Black had 17...Qxg5 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 h5 20.h3 Rae8 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.hxg4 Re4 when White will lose one pawn quickly, and another a few moves later. Black also could have played 17...Ngf6 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 and White will have trouble capturing the beleagured Bishop, e.g. 19.d5 (to prevent the supportive ...d5) Rhg8 (to attack White's Queen after he exchanges his Bishop for the supportive Knight) 20.Qc3 Nxd5 21.Bxe7 Nxc3 22.bxc3 Bxc2 and although White has captured a piece, Black would be better. 

A better choice from the diagram would have been 16.h3, as 16...Nxe4 was not much of a threat, as 17.Nxe4 Bxe4 18.hxg4 Rae8 looks even. Black would do better to answer 16.h3 with 16...Rae8 17.hxg4 Nxe4 18.Nxe4 Qxe4 when his better development and safer King would give him an edge. Also interesting would have been 16...h5 as 17.hxg4 Nxe4 18.Nxe4 Qxe4 would transpose.

16.e5 

This move simply drops a pawn. Inexcusable, given the time limit of 3 days per move.

16...dxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5 18.Bf4 

Looking for something that is not there, as Black shows with his next move.

18...Qc5+ 19.Kh1 Rae8 

There's not a lot for White to work with here, as even a Rook check to the King would only allow him to retreat to c8.

20.Rae1 Kc8 21.h3 h5 

Very nice. White dare not capture the Knight now.

22.Rxe8+ Nxe8 23.Qe1 Qc6 24.Qe6+ Qxe6 25.fxe6 Ngf6 

The checkmate threat has been dealt with, but the material deficit is still a big problem for me.

26.Rd1 Ne4 27.Nxe4 Bxe4 28.c3 Bf5 29.e7 g6 30.Be5 Rg8 31.Rd8+ 

Hoping to tie the pieces up. My opponent untangles, however.

31...Kb7 32.Kg1 Kc6 33.Kf2 Be6 34.a3 Bf7 35.Ke3 g5 36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Rg6 White resigned

The passer on e7 was doomed, and the endgame, a piece down, did not appeal to me.

Jerome Gambit: Outplayed, Alas (Part 1)

When you get out-played in a chess game - as I was in the following Jerome Gambit - it is still tempting to look for the one move that set you on the path to defeat. It is more likely, at least in my experience, that there are a number of mistakes, topped by one big one, that leads to a loss.

It is clear, in any event, that my opponent was the better player in this contest.

perrypawnpusher - ZlikoM

"Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 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 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

So far, pretty routine. The Database has 226 games with this position, going back to Charlick - Mann, correspondence, 1881 (1-0, 72).

10.O-O Qe7 

Pressure against the e-pawn. I had scored 8 - 1 - 1 against this move, previously. Komodo 11 prefers 10...d5, which has not yet showed up in The Database.

11.Nc3 

White has a number of Jerome-ish ideas available to him here, from reinforcing his e-pawn with either 11.d3 or 11.f3, or advancing one of those pawns with 11.f4. The last looks a little iffy, according to Stockfish 11: 11.f4 Nxe4 12.Re1 d5 13.d3 Nd6 14.Qf2 Be6 15.g4 Rf8 16.f5 Nxf5 17.gxf5 Rxf5.

I decided to sidestep all of that and reinforce the e-pawn differently.

11...b6 

The Database has 4 games with this position, including perrypawnpusher - navarrra, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 24), perrypawnpusher - alvarz, blitz, FICS, 2013 (0-1, 59), and perrypawnpusher - MarkHundleby1, "Italian Game" tournament, Chess.com, 2016 (1-0, 27).

12.f4 Bb7 13.f5 

A typical Jerome Gambit advance. Stockfish 11 prefers the more solid 13.d3, which I played against alvarz (above) and which transposes to perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 22).

13...Ne5 14.d4 Neg4

Withdrawing the Knight to f7 would have been more solid, but it is too much of a temptation to attack the White Queen. Certainly Black's pieces appear to be controlling the "Jerome pawns".

15.Qg3 Kd7 

Is Black's King safer on the d-file? What will happen when Black's Rooks enter the game? How should White proceed?

[to be continued]