One More Time

Right now, the second largest group of readers of this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) blog is from Brazil. I was therefore not surprised to find at the centraldoxadrez website the famous Blackburne game against the Jerome Gambit.

It's worth showing again (with notes translated from the Portugese) because it's such a fun game. Plus, it's a good reminder to those who play Black how to carry out the Blackburne Defense (see "Having said A...")


Jerome - Blackburne
London, 1890

The name of the player of the White pieces is an error: Alonzo Wheeler Jerome never visited London, nor did he ever get to play his favorite opening against him. I think the mistake began in one of Eric Schiller's books – I contacted him with a correction.


Also, the year "1890" is an odd slip. Blackburne refers to the game taking place "about 1880" in his Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), although a contemporary source – the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle – gave the date as 1885.


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

As incredible as it seems, this madness has a name. It is the Jerome Gambit, played here by its author! Analysis of this line has appeared on the Internet. What idleness is capable of generating!

4… Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

Blackburne did not want to be on the defense after 6… Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6, but even so the sequence 8.f4 Qf6! provides a great advantage to Black.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8
White loses numerous tempos moving the Queen to capture the Rook. Meanwhile, Black mobilizes his pieces and looks to uses his enormous advantage in development.

8… Qh4

Threatening … Qxf2+ and defending the h7-pawn. In this way, the Queen has joined the attack without loss of time.

9,0-0 Nf6 10.c3?
The idea was to play 11.d4 cutting to the action of the Black Bishop along the c5-f2 diagonal. However, the correct move would have been 10.Qd8 that pins the Black Kinght at f6 and hinders the Black attack.

10… Ng4!

The Knight is brought into the attack. Black threatens … Qxh2 checkmate.

11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1
Or 12.Rxf2+ Qxf2+ 13.Kh1 Qf1 checkmate

12… Bf5!

Another Rook is sacrificed so that the Bishop quickly enters the game.

13.Qxa8
13.exf5 Rxh8 gains the Queen and the game.

13… Qxh3+! 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate