Here is the latest over-the-board Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) from Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne"). Pete is the strongest player I know of who plays the Jerome in "real" games where rating points (and the esteem of his clubmates) are on the line.
In this game, Pete introduces his young opponent to chess-the-way-it-can-not-be-played-anymore. All of Black's modern "tools", however, fail to crack the code...
The annotations are by the winner, from his post at: http://www.halesowenchessclub.org.uk/pbcollect.htm
P Banks, Halesowen - M Ferguson, Birmingham Checkmates
Dudley League division 2
October 2011
As the game started I knew that my opponent was graded about the same as me, and as a junior he was likely to be stronger than his grade. He's probably also been coached in 'correct' chess. Therefore I'm going to have to play something unusual that he might not have encountered before. I also try to look as much like an evil grandad as possible and growl at him during the pre-match pleasantries. Intimidation helps against kids.
1.e4 e5
Now, shall I play King's Gambit or Nf3? I'm tempted to play f4 because I like the positions you get if Black responds classically. The trouble is a lot of people now play an early...d6 which leads to a more closed game. I think this was Fischer's idea. Anyway...
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5
I can't believe my luck! This allows me to play the Jerome Gambit. If he'd played 3...Nf6 I'd have gone for the Fried Liver Attack.
4.Bxf7+
Bingo! He'd obviously never seen this before, and thought for a long time. This in itself almost justifies the sac because it is a rapid-play finish, and though I'm a quick player, juniors are sometimes even quicker, so any advantage on the clock is a real bonus.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+
He hadn't been expecting this either - the 'Classical' Jerome. Two pieces sacced in the first 5 moves. Another long think by my opponent.
5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6
This is all a standard line, and he's found all the right moves though it's taken a long time. I've effectively sacced a piece for two pawns and exposed his king, but now comes the downside of this opening. I have to try to develop and consolidate before I can attack any more.
8.Qe3 Nf6 9.d3 Re8 10.0-0
I couldn't allow ...d5 while my king was in the middle. My opponent dominates for the next spell.
10...Ng4
After 10 moves, I've used 3 minutes against 25 by him. The game is only 75+15minutes, so I'm pleased with that.
11.Qf3+
I think this is a mistake. I should have played Qg3. I was afraid of 11....Qh4, but in the end it comes to the same thing. I've just wasted a move.
11...Qf6 12.Qg3 Qh4
If I go h3, he'll swap and my pawns are messed up. If I go f3, he could go back to f6, and it's either a draw by repetition or I swap queens. Might as well do it now, though I think I'm losing.
[Pete's opponent was probably very pleased with himself. He had remembered his coaching and used the time that he needed to deal with two opening surprises that otherwise might have caused him to blunder. True, he might run short of time later, but if he goofs up early, there won't be a later... Returning a piece rather than hanging onto both of the gifts was a practical, even scientific, decision. Now Black disables White's attack by swapping Queens. If need be, in the future, he can even return his extra piece for some pawns. Science vs Alchemy, Q.E.D. - Rick]
13.Qxh4 Nxh4
I need to get pieces developed, but also push the famous 'Jerome pawns' as soon as possible. If I can make immediate threats at least I get back some initiative.
14.f4 Ng6 15.Nc3 c6 16.f5 N6e5 17.h3 Nf6 18.g4
18...Nfxg4
That's a surprise, and possibly a mistake, but I can see why he did it. He returns the material, but gets a passed pawn.
19.hxg4 Nxg4 20.Rf4 Nf6 21.Bd2 d5 22.Re1 dxe4 23.dxe4
I'm feeling a bit more confident now. I've got a passed pawn as well, my development is (finally) better, and my king is in front of his dangerous pawns.
23...h6 24.Rf3 b6 25.e5 Nd5 26.Nxd5 cxd5
I think he's beginning to lose it. He's now got an isolated pawn, and my two look pretty dangerous.
27.e6+ Kf6 28.Bc3+ Ke7
There might be something clever here, but I just take the pawn. I'm not afraid of 29...Rg8 because of 30.f6
29.Bxg7 Kd6 30.Bxh6
I think this is won now. The clocks go back 15 minutes after his next move. I'll have 65 minutes left and he'll have 20 minutes. He's been looking anxiously at the clock for a long time now.
30...Rg8+ 31.Kf2 Rh8 32.Bf4+ Ke7 33.f6+
If 33.....Kxf6 34 Be5. This is about the cleverest manoeuvre I've made all game, and it's only one move deep. He glances at me for the first time in the game and I give a little half-smirk.
33...Kf8 34.Bd6+ Ke8 35.f7+ Kd8 36.f8Q+ Rxf8 37.Rxf8 checkmate
It's always good to keep kids in their place as long as possible. In a couple of years' time he'll probably thrash me.
If you are new to this blog, or new to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and its offshoots, you will probably pick up a lot of information simply by wandering around, moving backward and forward on the posts, choosing interesting links.
You could also challenge yourself by checking out a series of "Jerome Gambit Quizzes": 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7.
It stands to reason that in order for someone to lose to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), that player must make at least one big mistake, or put together several small mistakes.
White can win any number of ways. He can pressure Black until he loses his cool and falters, or collapses due to over-confidence. He can set tricks and traps and wait for Black to fall into one. He can play steady chess and bide his time, knowing that Black's next error will come before his own. In blitz play, all of these strategies can suddenly bring about the win.
Often the second player runs afoul of a move (or plan) that "seemed like a good idea at the time."
Bill Wall notes of the following game "I didn't think I was going to survive this 5 minute game, but got lucky in a nice swindle. Frank Marshall would be proud."
Wall - Maas
blitz 5 0, Chess.com, 2011
notes by Bill [and Rick]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
Waiting for a Jerome Gambit.
4.Nc3 h6
Not yet.
5.O-O Bc5
What do you think I am going to play?
6.Bxf7+
6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Bd6 9.dxe5 Bxe5 10.Nd5
[I have played 10.f4 a few times, but have seen 10.Nd5 played only one other time. It is probably the stronger move. - Rick]
10...c6 11.f4 Bb8 12.Nxf6 Qxf6 13.e5 Qe6 14.Be3
[Blood-thirsty players might try to counter Black's calm play with 14.f5!? - Rick]
14...d5 15.Qh5+ g6 16.Qh4 Bc7 17.Rae1 Bd8
[Black's Bishop glides to and fro, with hardly a care in the world. - Rick]
18.Qg3 Qg4
[After this "simple" attempt to exchange Queens and stem White's attacking efforts, the game is even; but Black does not settle for that. - Rick]
19.e6+ Bxe6 20.f5 Bxf5?? 21.Qxg4! and Black resigned
Every time I play a game that seems "good" to me, I turn it over to my friends Houdini, Rybka or Fritz and they tear it all apart.
Just this one time, let me keep the notes light and pretend that my Jerome Gambit's attack carried the day...
perrypawnpusher - yasserr
blitz, FICS, 2011
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
10.0-0 Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.f5
There are a number of games in The Database with 12.d3, including some by mrjoker and myself, but I think the text, properly followed up, is better.
12...Ne5 13.Nc3
Hesitating, when 13.d4 was the right move, from Vazquez - Carrington, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 (1-0, 34) to Wall -Vijay, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22) and perrypawnpusher - whitepandora, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 64).
13...b6 14.d4 Ned7 15.Qd3 Bb7 16.Bg5 Qc8 17.Rae1 Ba6
18.Nb5 Bxb5 19.Qxb5 Kf8 20.Qd3 a5
I think my 18.Nb5 surprised my opponent, and after he exchanged off the piece (perhaps not figuring out what else to do) I sent my Queen back to support the center.
Yasserr's pawn move is odd, and I am not sure what he intended.
I intended a killing attack, but, as often happens, it deflated slowly, like a baloon losing air...
21.Bxf6 Nxf6 22.e5 dxe5 23.dxe5 Nd7 24.f6
24...g6 25.e6
After the game, my, er, friend, Houdini, suggested 25.Qh3 Kg8 26.f7+ Kg7 27.fxe8N+ Qxe8 28.e6 Nf6 29.Rxf6 Kxf6 30.Qc3+ Ke7 31.Qxc7+ Kf6 32.Qe5+ Ke7 33.Rd1 h5 34.Rd7+ Qxd7 35.exd7+ Kxd7 36.Qd5+.
25...Nc5 26.e7+
And here, 26.Qe3, with mate threats, is more brutal, i.e. 26...Nxe6 27.Qh6+ Kg8 28.Rxe6 Qd7 29.f7+ Qxf7 30.Rxf7 Kxf7.
26...Kf7 27.Qd5+
(Try 27.Qe3)
27...Ne6 28.Rf3 c6 29.Qb3
At least White will be able to exchange his "Jerome pawns" for the sacrificed piece.
29...Qd7 30.Rfe3 Kxf6 31.Rxe6+ Kf7 32.Rd6+ Black resigned
Years before starting this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) blog, I had researched the history of the opening and its inventor, and put what I had found into an article that I then brazenly submitted to Stefan Bücker, for his Kaissiber magazine.
Much to my amazement (and delight) Stefan showed interest. As I reported in the first week of JeromeGambit.blogspot.com, in "To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)"
Some time this year, perhaps in the fall issue, Kaissiber will publish an article outlining the history of the Jerome Gambit, based on my researches.
The idea of having an article published in the world's #2 chess magazine was not a complete pipe dream: Kaissiber 27 actually included my article on the game Alekhine - Marshall, Baden-Baden, 1925, which featured 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6!?.
Still, I probably amused and annoyed a lot of people with my predictions of publication.
In June of 2008, I was still optimistic about the Jerome Gambit article, as I mentioned in "Breaking News"
He's still interested in publishing an article on the Jerome Gambit, based on all the information I've been sending him. In the fall. In a much more succinct format than what I've written.
A couple of months later ("Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up") I could still report "Current speculation is there may be a short article in the October 2008 issue."
However, October came and went, and at the end of 2008 I could only report ("Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up") "I'm still hopeful."
Toward the middle of the next year, that optimism expired ("Jerome Gambit Blog: Still More Tidying Up")
I'm not hopeful any more. It's unlikely that my history of the Jerome Gambit will appear in the pages of Stefan Bücker's amazing chess magazine, Kaissiber. While the audacity of such an opening appealed to the editor, the story of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation is a history of questionable analysis and even more questionable play. Although Kaissiber does not shy away from creative chess notions, its focus on an accurate assessment of things would require massive corrections and/or footnoting – to start.
Will the Jerome Gambit ever get its due in the pages of Kaissiber? Some skeptics would say that if it is never, ever mentioned, that is what is due. (Occasionally, I am inclined to agree.)
Since then, though, Stefan has made occasional mentions in emails. He is probably just being polite.
But, hope has not completly vanished. (If it ever does, I'll probably switch to the Ruy Lopez, too.)
With almost 60% of the games in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament completed, it is possible to rule out a half of the players from the list of possible top scorer – but it is not possible to go much further than that. (A player with the score of 0-1 in a 28 game event could finish up 27-1.)
Two players continue to burn up the track: mckenna215, with 18.5 points out of 20 games; and AsceticKingK9, with 17 points out of 17 games. First place may come down to the outcome of the two games they play against each other.
White continues to score 39%.
We have seen an example of mckenna215 grinding out a difficult endgame ("A Not-so-Simple 'Simple Endgame' "). Here is AsceticKingK9, with White, finishing up an opponent who allowed his developmen to lag, fatally.
13.Rxf8+ Kxf8 14.Qf3+ Kg8 15.Rf1 d6 16.Qf8+ Kh7 17.Ngf6+ gxf6 18.Nxf6+ Kg6 19.Qg8 checkmate.
Surely there is more great chess to come!
