The Jerome Gambit: Blackburned! #1

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Blackburned! #1

He came. He saw. He conquered.

That was J.H. Blackburne in 1885 – see "Flaws (Part I)" and "Flaws (Part II)" – and the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Ever since, the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde has seen the Blackburne Defense – or parts of it, at least.

perrypawnpusher - Saveurking
blitz FICS, 2010

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

The good old Jerome Gambit. "Sound as a cracked bell," as Geoff Chandler has written.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

7.Qxe5

Now 7...Qe7, Whistler's Defense, is very strong, but not well known, while 7...d6, Blackburne's Defense, is not as strong, but much better known. Sort of.

Actually, I frequently run into opponents who play 6...g6 quickly and confidently... and then go into a long think.

7...Qf6

For the record, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 continued: 7...d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate.

Fantastic!

My opponent in this game, however, lets me take a two-pawn lead.

8.Qxc5 c6 9.Nc3

Other games that started out well for White: 9.0-0 d6 (9...Ne7 10.d3 d6 11.Qe3 Be6 12.f4 Rhf8 13.e5 Qg7 14.exd6 Nf5 15.Qe5 Bd5 16.Nc3 Rae8 17.Qxg7+ Kxg7 18.Nxd5 cxd5 19.Bd2 Nxd6 20.Bc3+ Kg8 21.Rae1 Nf5 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Kf2 a6 24.g3 Ne3 25.Re1 Ng4+ 26.Kg2 Rxe1 27.Bxe1 Ne3+ 28.Kf2 Nxc2 29.Ke2 Kf7 30.Bf2 Ke6 31.a3 Na1 32.d4 Nb3 33.Kd3 b5 34.Be1 Nc1+ 35.Kc2 Ne2 36.Kd3 Ng1 37.Ba5 Nh3 38.Ke3 g5 39.Bd8 gxf4+ 40.gxf4 Ng1 41.Kf2 Nh3+ 42.Kg3 Kf5 43.Kxh3 Ke4 44.Bb6 Kxf4 45.Kh4 Ke4 46.h3 Kf5 47.Kh5 Ke6 White resigned, UNPREDICTABLE - antoon, FICS 2009) 10.Qb4 Ne7 11.Nc3 Re8 12.d3 b6 13.Be3 c5 14.Qb3+ Be6 15.Qa3 a6 16.b4 Nc6 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.Qb2 Rab8 19.Qa3 Nd4 20.Bxd4 Qxd4 21.Ne2 Qb4 22.Qxa6 Rb6 23.c3 Qb2 24.Qa7+ Re7 25.Qa5 Reb7 26.c4 Qxe2 27.Qa8 Qxd3 28.Rfd1 Qc3 29.Rac1 Qe5 30.f3 Rb2 31.a4 Qf6 32.a5 Qg5 33.Rc2 Qe3+ 34.Kh1 Rb8 35.Qa7+ R2b7 36.Qa6 Qb3 37.Rcd2 Qxc4 38.Qxd6 Qb3 39.Qf4+ Kg7 40.e5 Rf7 41.Qh4 c4 42.Rc1 c3 43.Rdc2 Rd8 44.Rxc3 Rd1+ White resigned, Idealist - joffea, FICS, 2000.

9...Nh6

10.0-0 b6 11.Qe3 Ng4 12.Qg3 d6

This looks like an invitation for me to put my "Jerome pawns" into motion.

13.h3 Ne5 14.d4 Nc4 15.b3 Na5

16.Be3

Protecting the pawn at d4, but it is interesting to note that this was not necessary: if White played 16.Bg5 instead, and Black responded 16...Qxd4, 17.Qf4+ would have won a piece (17...Bf5 18.exf5) or allowed a sacrificial attack, say 17...Ke6 18.Nd5.

analysis diagram

Some day I would like to find this kind of move during a game, not after it. If 18...cxd5 19.exd5+ Qxd5 White's position is crushing afte 20.Rad1 and 21.Rfe1.

16...h5

Saveurking is not going to give up easily.

17.f4 h4 18.Qf3 Bb7

19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Qxf3 21.Rxf3+ Ke6

My opponent was happy to exchange Queens, but there is more to this position than just attacking the King: I still have two extra pawns, one of them passed; plus better development and open lines.

22.Rf6+ Ke7 23.Raf1 Raf8 24.Rxf8 Rxf8 25.Rxf8 Kxf8

Again, piece exchanges have snuffed out any danger to Black's King, but this is not all that is going on.

My first chess book was Reuben Fine's Chess the Easy Way – available in paperback these days, used, for under $5.00 – and it gave me the idea (rightly or wrongly) that much of chess can be boiled down to: win a pawn, exchange everything else, win the K + P vs K endgame...

I have missed a lot of exciting chess by following this imagined "guideline," and I have been "bought off" with material too many times to mention; but I am almost always ready to cooperate with my opponents' wishes to "simplify" the position and stifle my attack – if it brings me closer to that fabled winning K + P endgame.

26.Bg5 c5

This move hastens the end. Black could try 26...Bc8 instead, with the idea of pulling his Knight back to b7 and then putting it back into the game via d8 and e6.

27.d5