Dear Rick,
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ...and related lines
(risky/nonrisky lines, tactics & psychology for fast, exciting play)
Dear Rick,
In the following game, Black is quite willing to accept the material that is given him.
In turn, Whites is happy to accept the opportunites given him to gain material and then construct a sacrificial attack, ending in an attractive checkmate.
Wall, Bill - Dasasary
SparkChess, 2024
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.Qc4
The two have also contested 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.h3 Be6 11.Nc3 a6 12.f4 Bf7 13.O-O Kd7 14.d4 Re8 15.f5 Ne7 16.e5 Nfd5 17.e6+ Kc8 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Qg3 Bxe6 20.fxe6 Rxe6 21.Qg4 Qe7 22.Bg5 Qe8 23.Rae1 Kd7 24.Rxe6 Qxe6 25.Rf7+ Ne7 26.Rxe7+ Black resigned,Wall,B - Dasasary, internet, 2023.
9...Nf6 10.d3 Qe7 11.O-O a6
12.f4 b5
As expected, but ill considered, as it creates a weakness White immediately pounced upon.
13.Qc6+ Kf7 14.Qxa8 Rd8 15.Qc6 Kg8 16.Be3 Kh8
17.Nd2 d5 18.Bd4 Rd6 19.Qc5 dxe4 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Nxe4 Rc6 22.Qd5 Qe6
23.Qd8+ Qg8 24.Qg5
White chooses to leave the Queens on the board. He now gives up a couple of pawns, to distract Black's pieces and focus on the enemy King.
24...Rxc2 25.Rac1 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Qxa2 27.Rxc7
27...Qa1+
This aggression hastens his doom, as there is now a checkmate in 11.
28.Kf2 Qxb2+ 29.Kf3 Be6
30.Rc8+ Bg8 31.Rxg8+
Of course. Destroying the last effective defender.
31.Kxg8 32.Qd5+ Kf8 33.Qd8+ Kf7 34.Ng5 checkmate
Very nice!
In a complicated position, White's attack breaks through.
Checking the notes, you can refer to a number of human + computer games. As I wrote in a post 6 years ago in "Jerome Gambit: Centaurs"
Recently Bill Wall sent me 16 of his Jerome Gambit games that were Human + Computer vs Computer encounters. Such teamwork is sometimes referred to as advanced chess, or cyborg chess, or centaur chess.
Wall, Bill - Tigi
SparkChess, 2024
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7. 4 Qf6 8.Rf1 g6 9.Qh3+ Ke7
9...Kf7 10.fxe5 Qxf1+ 11.Kxf1 d6 12.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall,B-Guest1690223, PlayChess.com 2012; and
9...Ng4 10.Qxg4+ Ke7 in Wall,B - Guest3164644, PlayChess.com 2013 (1-0, 20); Wall,B - Betarsolta, PlayChess.com 2015 (1-0, 12); and Wall,B - Gordy, SparkChess 2024 (1-0, 19).
10.Nc3
Varying from 10.fxe5 that he played in Wall/Stockfish - Crafty, Palm Bay, FL 2018 (1-0, 23).
10...d6
Or 10...c6 11.fxe5 Qxe5 12.d3 Bd4 (12...Nf6 13.Qh4 Bd4 14.Bg5 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 Qxc3+ 16.Ke2 Qxc2+ 17.Bd2 Qb2 18.Rxf6 Qxf6 19.Bg5 Rf8 20.Bxf6+ Rxf6 21.e5 Black resigned, Wall,B - XCCY, FICS 2011 [1-0, 21] )13. Qh4+ Ke8 14. Bd2 Qg7 15. O-O-O d6 16.Rf3 Be6 17. e5 Bxe5 18. d4 Bxd4 19. Bf4 d5 20. Rxd4 Qxd4 21. Qe1 Kd7 22. Be5 Qg4 23. Bxh8 Qxg2 24. Rf2 Qg4 25. Be5 Re8 26. Rf4 Qg5 27. h4 Qd8 28. Rb4 b6 29.Ra4 Qa8 30. Qe3 Qb7 31. h5 gxh5 32. Qf3 b5 33. Rd4 Bg4 34. Qf7+ Re7 35. Qf4 Qc8 36. a4 a6 37. axb5 axb5 38. b3 Ke8 39. Bd6 Re6 40. Kb2 Rf6 41. Qh2 Ne7 42. Bc5 Ng6 43. Nd1 Qe6 44. Nf2 Qe5 45. Nxg4 hxg4 46. Qxh7 Kd8 47. Qg8+ Nf8 48. Ka2 Kc7 49. Rxg4 Rf1 50. Qg7+ Nd7 51. Qxe5+ Nxe5 52. Rg7+ Kc8 53. Bd6 Nf7 54. Bc5 Nd8 55. Rg6 Kd7 56. Rd6+ Kc7 57. Rg6 Rf7 58. c4 dxc4 59. bxc4 bxc4 60. Rg4 Ne6 61.Rxc4 Rf5 Draw, Fritz 12 - Wall/Houdini, Palm Bay, FL 2018;
Or 10...Kd8 11.fxe5 Qxe5 in Wall,B - Amyan engine, Palm Bay, FL 2015 (1-0, 25) and Wall,B - Abrok chess engine, Palm Bay, FL 2015 (1-0, 20).
11.Nd5+ Kd8
A stronger response than 11...Kf7 seen in Wall,B-Guest5541035, FL, 2014 (1-0, 17).
12.Qg3 Qe6
Stronger was 12...Nd3+ as in Wall,B - BBchess engine, Lahore 2015 (1-0, 51).
13.fxe5 Ne7
Not 13...dxe5 14.d4 as in Wall,B - Aburasian, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 33).
14.d4 Bxd4 15.Qh4 Kd7 16.Rf6
The position is getting complicated, as White attacks.
16...Nf5 17.Rxe6 Nxh4 18.Re7+ Kd8 19.Bg5
19...Nxg2+ 20.Kd2 h6 21.Rh7+ hxg5 22.Rxh8+ Kd7 23.e6+ Kxe6 24.Rh7 Ke5
His Rook will outplay Black's two Bishops, and it looks like White will wrap things up - but not yet.
25.Re7+ Be6 26.Nxc7 Be3+ 27.Kc3 Nf4
Black's chances for survival lay in pinning White's Knight to White's King: 27...Rc8 28.Rxd6+ Kf4 29.Rf1+ Kb4 30.Re7 Bb6 31.Rff7 Bg1 32.Kb4 Bxh2 and White will work hard to take the full point.
28.Nxa8 d5 29.Rd1 Kf6 30.Rxb7 dxe4 31.Nc7 Bxa2 32.b3 Black resigned
A pawn capturing a Rook while promoting to a Queen - that is pretty powerful stuff. When the Queen leaves the board, it is almost like it magically reappears on the other side, to further trouble the enemy King.
Below, Bill Wall shows how it is done.
Wall, Bill - Zulfikar
SparkChess, 2024
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.Qh5
9...Qe7
9...Nf6 10.Qe2 Kf7 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1475978, Sofia, 2013 (1-0, 28).
10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Qe2 Bg4 12.f3 Be6
But his still needs a plan.
13.O-O Nf4 14.Qe1 Qf7 15.d4
15...Qg6
The kind of slip that makes me wonder what the time control for this game was.
16.Bxf4 Bh3
Aggression easily dealt with.
17.Bg3 Bd7 18.Rd1 Nh5
19.Nd5 Kd8 20.Bh4+ Nf6 21.e5 c6
22.exf6 cxd5 23.fxg7+
The capture comes with check.
23...Kc7 24.Qa5+ b6 25.gxh8=Q
25...Rxh8 26.Qxa7+
Those Queens!
26...Kc6 27.Rd3 Rg8
Threatening checkmate, but it is too late.
28.Rc3+ Kb5 29.Qxd7+ Black resigned
Readers will remember the post "Jerome Gambit Song", with the bright chess song by Yury V. Bukayev, posted several weeks ago.
Here is an update
Dear Rick,
I think, everyone remembers my new invented way (the post of September 25, 2024) of how to popularize your blog. Once again, here is a text of a popular song 'Japanese Girls' by the music collective 'Joy'. Now let me show my up-dated version of my own text for my analogous song 'Oh, Jerome Games!' with the same melody.Here is the song by 'Joy':Japanese Girls ('Joy')Japanese girls living in a landSo far and lovelyJapanese girls they have set my soul on fireJapanese girls they're always in my mindAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJapanese girls make me wonderYou are my Japanese girlI need you soJapanese girls make me feel goodYou are my Japanese girlI love you soJapanese girls lovely as a dreamIt's like a visionJapanese girls make me feel so goodJust like in heavenJapanese girls they're always in my heartAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJapanese girls make me wonderYou are my Japanese girlI need you soJapanese girls make me feel goodYou're my Japanese girlI love you soJapanese girls they're always in my heartAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJapanese girls make me wonderYou're my Japanese girlI need you soJapanese girls make me feel goodYou are my Japanese girlI love you so(The source of this text is the same.)And here is my own song (the 2nd version):Oh, Jerome Games!Oh, Jerome games living in chess landSo bright and lovelyOh, Jerome games! They have set my soul on fireOh, Jerome games! They're always in my mindAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJerome chess games make me wonderOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need it soJerome chess games make me feel goodOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need you soOh, Jerome games lovely as a dreamIt's like a visionOh, Jerome games make me feel so goodJust like in heavenOh, Jerome games! They're always in my heartAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJerome chess games make me wonderOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need it soJerome chess games make me feel goodOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need you soOh, Jerome games!..Oh, Jerome games!..Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my heartAnd carry on, carry on, carry onJerome chess games make me wonderOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need it soJerome chess games make me feel goodOh, let's play Jerome gambit game -I'll need you so
(Copyright (c) Yury V. Bukayev 2024)
Dear readers, thank you a lot for your letters! Feel free, please, to contact the author again: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru !
In the following game, Black hopes to avoid the excitement of the full Jerome Gambit by avoiding capture of the second offered piece - until White quietly castles, when the second player cannot resist the bait.
Bill Wall has trod these roads before, as his play quickly shows.
Wall, Bill - Angouba
SparkChess, 2024
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8
Seen as early as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875, (1/2 - 1/2, 29).
6.O-O
Bill has also played the straight-forward 6.Nxc6 dxc6 (or 6...bxc6 as in Wall,B - Guest709079, PlayChess.com 2017 [1-0, 30]) 7.d3 h6 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nd2 Bg4 10.Nf3 Qe7 11.e5 Nd5 12.d4 Bb6 13.c4 Nb4 14.a3 Na6 15.b4 Rd8 16.c5 Nxc5 17.bxc5 Bxc5 18.Bb2 Kg8 19.Qb3+ Kh7 20.Qc2+ g6 21.dxc5 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Rd5 23.a4 Rhd8 24.Rfd1 Rxc5 25.Qxc5 Qxc5 26.Rxd8 b5 27.Rd7+ Kg8 28.e6 bxa4 29.e7 Kf7 30.Re1 Qg5+ 31.Kh1 Black resigned, Wall,B - WMXW, FICS 2012;
And 6.d4 Nxd4 7.Be3 as in Wall, B. - Guest757851, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 42) and Wall,B - Guest6399506, PlayChess.com 2015 (1-0, 24).
6...Nxe5
Returning to the main line.
Bill has also faced 6...Qf6 in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - Computer-level 6/chess.com 2017 (1-0, 44); and 6... d6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 in Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B-Guest399227. PlayChess.com 2016 (1-0, 17).
7.d4
7...Bd6
Logical, although a bit better was 7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 as in Wall,B - Mazanbaku, lichess.org 2017 (1-0, 15) and Wall,B-Guest1442, ChessTempo.com 2017 (1-0, 21)
8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd6 10.Nc3 Bc5+
11.Kh1 c6 12.Qd3 d6
Black is careful, and this encourages White.
13.f5 Qe7
14.Bf4 Nf6 15.Rae1 Ng4 16.Na4 Ne5 17.Bxe5 Qxe5 18.Nxc5 Qxc5
The exchange of pieces has left White with an advantage in development that he quickly uses. Open lines will lead to the enemy King.
19.e5 dxe5
It is true that 19...d5 would have been met by 20.f6, while the obsequeous 19...Qd5, hoping to exchange Queens would have been met by 20.Qg3.
20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Qxh8 Black resigned
Black's King remains unsafe, and he is down the exchange. Also, it will take a couple moves to be able to develop his Bishop and Rook.