And Yet Wilder Still...

From Edward Winter's A Chess Omnibus (2003):

Back-rank mate

A bizarre game:

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke6 7.Qxg4+ Kxe5 8.d4+ Kxd4 9.b4 Bxb4+ 10.c3+ Bxc3+ 11.Nxc3 Kxc3 12.Bb2+ Kxb2 13.Qe2+ Kxa1 14.Kf2 mate.

Seven [sic] consecutive captures by the black king and the option of giving mate by castling at move 14. Indeed, page 120 of Robert Timmer's Startling Castling! stated that White played 14.0-0 mate. That source gives White's name as F.C. Spencer, with no other details. When the game appeared on page 158 of the May 1894 Deutsche Schachzeitung White was identified as J. Spenser of Minnesota. Giving the score (also with 14.Kf2) on page 200 of its July 1917 issue, the BCM offered no players' names or occasion, but the score was said to be derived from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News of 1894. It appeared in the 1895 book of Chess Sparks by J.H. Ellis, headed only 'Played at Mineapolis [sic] Chess Club about 1894'

Wildest!

Here's a Wild Muzio, presented in Edward Winter's 1996 Chess Explorations (source British Chess Magazine, September 1903, page 392):

Blackburne, J.H. - Amateur

simultaneous exhibition

Canterbury, 1903

(notes by Blackburne)

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4

On this occasion, to follow the fashion, I offered the King's Gambit wherever I had the chance; and to my utter astonishment, nearly allwere accepted. 'That's the way to learn chess', said I.

3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+

An almost obsolete variation. Some 40 years ago or more, I frequently played it, but came to the conclusion that it did not lead to such a lasting attack as the ordinary Muzio.

When I sacrificed the bishop, one of the lookers-on asked what Gambit I called that, pointing to the next board. 'That', I said, 'is the Bishop's Gambit, and this is the Archbishop's'. The Archbishop was present at the time.

5...Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke8

The only move. Any other loses immediately.

7.Qxg4 Qf6

The correct reply is 7...Nf6

8.d4 Bh6 9.0-0 Qg7 10.Qh5+ Ke7 11.Bxf4 Bxf4 12.Rxf4 Nf6 13.Qh4 d6 14.Nc3 c6 15.Raf1 Rf8 16.Nf7

16.Nxc6+ would equally have won, but I could not resist this; it is the sort of move sure to intimidate the ordinary amateur. Anyway it somewhat non-plussed my opponent, for he immediately exclaimed, 'What have you taken?'

16...Rxf7 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Nbd7 19.exf6+ Nxf6 20.Ne4 Be6 21.Nxf6 Kf8 22.Nxh7+ Kg8 23.Rxf7 Bxf7 24.Nf6+ Kf8 25.Qb4+

How's that, umpire?

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, Wizard of Draws

Wilder!

Taking the lead from Pete Banks (see "Wild!") I stopped by the Lolli Gambit (aka Wild Muzio) tournament on Chessworld.

He was right: I found a number of quick wins for White, including ten (so far) that followed the same line: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7 Kxf7 6. Ne5 Ke8 7. Qxg4 d6 8. Qh5 Ke7 9. Qf7 checkmate.

There was another game that was even shorter: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7 Kxf7 6. Ne5 Ke6 7. Qxg4 Kd6 8. Nf7 Black resigns.

Obviously the Wild Muzio has some "shock and awe" impact.

It's also pretty double-edged, as I noticed some quick wins by Black, in 11, 13 and 14 moves.

Clearly this opening and the Chessworld site are worth a closer look.

In the meantime, here's a bit longer Lolli Gambit win from my database, between two players from the Ukraine:

Nasikan - Pasemko
12th Stepichev Memorial
Kiev, 2004

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke8 7.Qxg4 Nf6 8.Qxf4 d6 9.Nf3 Bg7

Better is 9...Rg8, according to Polerio – and Fritz 8.

10.0-0 Kf8

This idea seems a bit extravagant and leads to an equal game, whereas 10...Nc6 seems to hold Black's edge.

11.d4 Kg8 12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Nd5 14.Qg3 h6 15.c4 Nb6 16.b3 Nc6 17.Bb2 Be6 18.Nc3 Bxc4

Playing with fire. Wiser was 18...Kh7.

19.Rad1

Why not simply 19.bxc4 ?

19...Qe7

Sealing his doom: withdrawing the en prise Bishop with 19...Bd5 was best.

20.bxc4 Nxc4

After this White either wins the Black Queen or checkmates his opponent.

21.Nd5 Qc5+

This allows mate. 21...Ne3 may be "best", as it "only" leads to the loss of the Queen

22.Kh1 Nxb2

Or: 22...Qxd5 23.Rxd5 Ne3 24.Rd7 Nf5 25.Qg6 Rh7 26.Qxf5 Rf8 27.Qg6 Ne7 28.Rxe7 c5 29.e6 Kh8 30.Bxg7+ Kg8 31.Bf6+ Rg7 32.Qxg7 checkmate

23.Nf6+ Kf7

Or: 23...Kf8 24.Nd4 Nxd4 25.Nh5+ Ke8 26.Qxg7 Kd8 27.e6 Qd6 28.Qxh8+ Ke7 29.Qf6+ Ke8 30.Ng7 checkmate

24.Nd7

Quicker: 24.Nh4 Nd3 25.Qg6+ Kf8 26.Nd7+ Ke7 27.Qxg7+ Kd8 28.Nxc5 Kc8 29.Qxh8+ Nd8 30.Rxd3 a6 31.Qxd8 checkmate

24...Qe7

"Better": 24...Rhf8 25.Nxc5 Nxd1 26.Rxd1

25.Nh4+ Ke8 26.Qg6+ Kd8 27.Nb6+ Nxd1 28.Rxd1+ Qd6 29.Rxd6+ cxd6 30.Qxd6+ Ke8 31.Nxa8

White has his win in mind, and so misses the faster: 31.Qe6+ Ne7 32.Nf5 Bf8 33.Nd6+ Kd8 34.Qd7 checkmate

31...Bxe5 32.Nc7+ Kf7 33.Qe6+ Kg7 34.Nf5+ Kf8 35.Qe8 checkmate

Wild!

A discussion started in "London Calling... Seven Months of Blog", (is there another totally obscure and disreputable tactical opening line or gambit that I could go digging for information about, while I'm researching the Jerome Gambit?) eventually led to a comment by chessfriend and Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") to the post "Worth a Second Look... (Part 1)"

Rick,

I've just started a Lolli Gambit (aka Wild Muzio) tournament on Chessworld. It's similar to the Jerome in that a Bishop is sacced very early on f7. 1.e4 e5 2.f4 ef 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7ch?! It seems to have more potential for quick wins than the Jerome. there have been several wins for White in under 10 moves already.

Pete

Now that's wild!

I did some quick research to learn more about Pete's suggestion, and ran into this game attributed to Greco:

Greco,G - NN, Europe, 1620
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke6 7.Qxg4+ Kxe5 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 Bg7 10.Bxf4+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Bf6 12.e5 Bxg5 13.Qxg5+ Ke8 14.Qh5+ Ke7 15.0-0 Qe8 16.Qg5+ Ke6 17.Rf6+ Nxf6 18.Qxf6+ Kd5 19.Nc3+ Kxd4 20.Qf4+ Kc5 21.b4+ Kc6 22.Qc4+ Kb6 23.Na4 checkmate

Anyone whose King has been hounded to death while facing the Jerome Gambit will sympathize with poor NN, above.

From http://wapedia.mobi/en/Giambattista_Lolli:

Giambattista Lolli (1698 in Nonantola, Italy- 4 June 1769) was an Italian chess player. Lolli was one of the most important chess theoreticians of his time. He is most famous for his book Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli scacchi (English: Theoretical-practical views on the game of chess), published 1763 in Bologna. It contains analyses of chess openings, in particular the Giuoco Piano. In the King's Gambit the variation 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7+ is designated after Lolli. It illustrates the Italian masters' style of uncompromising attack, which clearly differs from the rather more strategic considerations taken by, for example, the French chess player Philidor. In addition, the book contain listings of 100 chess endgames. One of these positions was used by Wilhelm Heinse in his novel Anastasia und das Schachspiel (English: Anastasia and the game of chess).

W. John Lutes' fantastic Cunningham Gambit (1980) (anything written by Lutes is fantastic - he was a relentless researcher) has an in-depth history of the King's Gambit, and it's worth tracing the Wild Muzio a bit.

One such series of Italian manuscripts were written by the brilliant analyst and player, Giulio Cesare Polerio, around 1590. He had accompanied Leonardo da Cutri to Spain in 1575 and had first-hand knowledge of the opening analysis done by the Spanish players. As well, his recorded variations and comments show that he had both played and analyzed the King's Gambit for some time.

Polerio discusses the King's Gambit at considerable length and a few examples are necessary to illustrate the extraordinary depth of his play... 1.e4 e5 2.f4 ef 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke6 7.Qxg4+ Kxe5 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4... ["And although he has lost two pieces, yet he will win the game by force from the given position, provided he knows how to go on with the attack. If Black observes the loss of the game after 6...Ke6, and does better, perhaps by 6...Ke8!, then 7.Qxg4 Nf6 8.Qxf4, and seeking to Castle, White will have the best attack, despite having lost a piece for severals Pawns, as Black can no longer Castle."]

In a footnote, Lutes adds

5.Bxf7+ is presently known as the Lolli Muzio Gambit, from its having appeared in the Osservazioni Teorico-pratiche sopra il Giuoco degli Scacchi; ossia Il Giuoco degli Scacchi..., 1763, written by Giambatista Lolli.

Polerio's observation that the best defense is 6...Ke8! 7.Qxg4 Nf6! (7...Qf6 was Lolli's idea) was borne out by extensive analysis by Zukertort (1868), Schmid (1886), Alapin (1889), and Savenkoff (1897). The main line runs: 8.Qxf4 d6 (8...Bd6 [Zukertort, 1868] 9.0-0 Rf8! 10.d4 Nc6 11.Qh6!, gives White a strong attack. Analysis by Paul Bohl, 1884; Alapin, 1899; and Savenkoff, 1897) 9.Nf3 (9.Nc4 Nc6 10.0-0 Bg7 11.d3 Be6 12.Qg3 Qe7. -/+. Allgaier, 1802) Rg8! 10.e5 de 11.Nce5 Bd6 12.0-0 Bh3 13.Re1 Bc5+ 14.d4 Bxd4+ 15.Be3 Rxg2+ 16.Kh1 Rg4! -/+. Dr. C. Schmid: Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1886, p. 325.

The Lolli connection shows up later, after several authors, including Greco

With Greco, the King's Gambit became a fearsome weapon of attack. He whipped together the best analysis of the old Italian masters and hammered out a system of uncompromising assault on the enemy f7 square; sacrificing as many Pawns or pieces as necessary to achieve this objective...

According to Lutes,

Lolli took Ercole del Rio's bare analysis from the Sopra il giucco delgi Scacchi..., 1750, and added copious notes and explanations; as well as a few well chose contributions. The following variations from Lolli are of interest: (A) 1.e4 e5 2.f4 ef 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke8! 7.Qxg4 Qf6 8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Nf7 Qxf7 10.Qe5+ Qe6 11.Qxh8 Nf6 12.b3 Nc6 13.Bb2 Ne5 14.Nc3 c6 15.0-0-0 (K at b1 and QR at e1) Qf7 16.Nd5+ cd 17.ed Bg7 18.Rxe5+ Kd6 19. Qd8 b6 20.d4 Bb7 21.Ba3 mate...

Again, playing through the analysis, it's hard not to see themes that show up in the later Jerome Gambit.

London Calling... Eight Months of Blog

Dear Jerome Gambit Gemeinde,

As this blog continues its daily march toward post #250, I occasionally ask myself "Why bother with the Jerome Gambit? (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)"

The answers (there are many) are easy to come by.

I love chess: the play of it, its history, its games, and its analysis. Not just the well-known "stuff" but the arcane and even the "useless" stuff.

There's also the joy of the interaction with other similarly-minded chess players: face-to-face, via email, online and through the printed word.

I like receiving games and sending them out.

And the Jerome Gambit itself, in all its weirdness, notoriety and fame: there's a chance that it's improving my chess, after all... Here's a recent online blitz game of mine - not a Jerome, mind you, but a Danish - and you'd almost believe that I understood my opponent's gambit, figured out some tactical counterplay (although I missed some easier mates), and stayed in the game until he cooperatively handed it over to me.

Just like in the Jerome Gambit.

josephandrew - perrypawnpusher

rated blitz game

FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 Nc6 11.Ngf3 Bg4 12.0-0 Rae8 13.Rfe1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 (better: 14.Nxf3 since 14...Nxe4? 15.Rxe4 Rxe4 16.Ng5+ +-) 14...Rhf8 15.Rac1 Kg8 16.Kg2 Nd7 17.Rg1 Nde5 18.Kg3 Nd3 19.Rc2 (19.Rb1) 19...Nxb2 ( 19...Ncb4 20.Rxc7 Nxb2 21.Rxb7 Rd6) 20.Rxb2 b6 ( 20...Nd4 21.Re1 Re6 22.Kg2 Rg6+ 23.Kf1 b6 24.Re3 c5-/+) 21.Rc2 Re6 (21...Nd4!) 22.Nb3 Rg6+ 23.Kh3 Rxg1 24.Rxc6 Rxf3+ 25.Kh4 Rxf2 26.h3 Rf4+ 27.Kh5 g6+ 28.Kh6 Rh4 checkmate

Tic Tac Toe

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be compared, perhaps unkindly, to the childhood game of tic tac toe, a pasttime which, as most adults know, has been solved: the player who moves first can win or tie, and need never lose. The second player, however, need only know which first moves to avoid to gain the tie and avoid the loss.

Likewise, with so many refutations of the Jerome Gambit available, the player of the Black pieces need only choose one of them – and the full point arrives gift-wrapped.

Well, sometimes...
Consider the following blitz game that I recently played on the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS):

perrypawnpusher - BronxBoyIIFICS rated blitz game 10 3, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4

An earlier game against the same opponent continued: 8.d4 Bxd4 9.Na3 Ne7 10.Bg5 Nxf5 11.Bxd8 Bxb2 12.Rd1+ Kc6 13.exf5 Rxd8 14.Nb5 Kxb5 15.Rb1 Nc4 16.0-0 Rf8 17.Rfe1 Rxf5 18.Re4 d5 19.Rxc4 Kxc4 20.Rxb2 Kc3 White resigns, perrypawnpusher-BronxBoyII, FICS blitz game, 2008

8...Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3
Black is playing very well. What should he be thinking about now?

As pointed out "In The Beginning...", Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's first analysis of his gambit, appearing in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, noted of White's move: "Compelling either K or Q to move as White threatens Bf4; or Black can play ...g5".
Alas, my opponent must have missed that post – and with it his chance to score a second win against me and the Jerome Gambit.
11...Rf8 12.Bf4
12...Nxe4

This move looks good – at first, rapid glance, only.
13.Bxe5+ Kc6 14.Qxe4+ d5 15.Qxh7 Re8 16.Qh5
Here 16.Qxg7 was also possible, and after 16...Bd7 then 17.Kd1 (avoiding the trap 17.Nc3 Rxe5+ 18.Qxe5 Re8 19.Qxe8 Bxe8 which allows Black to recover some of his missing material).

16...d4
Better was 16...Bd7, as in the note above.
17.Qxe8+ Bd7 18.Qxa8 Black resigns

Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (28)

Shredder 8 comes up with a new move in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and while it doesn't lead to any kind of advantage, it helps complicate things – and in a computer vs human battle, that's often enough. In that regard, being able to spot every tactical opportunity in the Jerome is a great advantage.

Shredder 8 - RevvedUp
blitz 2 12, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qe2
A new move in this position, although it was seen a move later in Fritz 8 - RevvedUp and RevvedUp - Hiarcs 8.
9...Nf6 10.Qc4+ Kd6 11.b4

A major theme in the Jerome Gambit is for White to bring pressure – psychological, if not tactical – against the Black King. Although RevvedUp's monarch isn't any more insecure on the Queenside than on the Kingside (or in the center), Shredder 8 has to play it that way.

11...Bb6 12.Nc3 Be6 13.Qe2 c6

Nothing accomplished, yet.

14.Na4 Qe7 15.Nxb6 axb6 16.0-0 Rhf8 17.a3 Kc7


18.Bb2 Bg4 19.Qe3 h6 20.d4


Looking for some kind of play.

20...exd4

A slip: better to have reinforced the center with 20...Nd7.

21.Qg3+ Kd7 22.e5


Suddenly Shredder 8 has an active (if even) game, and all for the cost of a tiny pawn... All Jerome Gambiteers should have this good fortune.

22...Be2 23.exf6 Rxf6 24.Rfe1 Raf8

Keeping things in balance was 24...c5.

25.Bxd4 Black resigns