Steve Wall is back with another investigation into the Jerome Gambit.
Wall,S - Guest658246
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
Just about everyone who plays the Jerome Gambit faces this "bail out" variation at one point or another. Black manages to exchange Queens at the cost of returning a piece, and with the prospect of playing on, a pawn down. White can no longer play "his" attack; but he also no longer has an "objectively" lost game.
White, in The Database, scores 69% across 90 games.
8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 10.Nc3 Kg7
Surprisingly - for such a reasonable move - Black's last is the first example in The Database.
11.d3 Rf8 12.Ke2 d6 13.h3 Nh5 14.Kd1 Ng3 15.Rg1 Bd7 16.b3 Rf7 17.Bb2 Kg8 18.Nd5 Raf8
19.Nxc7 Rf1+ 20.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 21.Kd2 Rf2+ 22.Kc3 Ne2+ 23.Kc4 Rxg2 24.Kd5 Nf4+
White's material advantage and better developed King make the difference.
25.Kxd6 Bxh3
The alternative capture, 25...Rxc2 26.Kxd7 Rxb2 allows 27.d4, and White's center pawns will cost Black his Knight. Still, it would probably have been a stronger defense.
26.Be5 g5 27.Bxf4 gxf4 28.Nd5 f3 29.Nf4 Rg3 30.Nxh3 Rxh3 31.e5
Darn those Jerome pawns!
31...f2 32.Rf1 Rf3 33.e6 Kf8 34.Kd7 Black resigned
Recently, Bill Wall, who has had many of his Jerome Gambit games appear on this site, introduced his brother, Steve, to our wacky gambit. It was not long before defenders had another wall to run into.
Wall,S - Guest648596
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6
How ironic: if this is Steve's first Jerome Gambit, here he gets immediately hit with the "annoying defense". The only thing "funnier" would be if he were to face the Blackburne Defense.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3
I was surprised, upon consulting The Database, to see that this is a TN. When you play an opening which is almost entirely "wilderness" it is not surprising to find that, quite early, you are on your own.
9...g6
Denying f5 to White's Queen.
10.Qe2 Bb6
Safeguarding the Bishop.
11.Qc4+ Ke7 12.Nd5+ Ke8 13.d3 Be6 14.Nxc7+ Bxc7 15.Qxe6+ Qe7 16.Qb3 Bb6
White's two pawns for his sacrificed piece, plus the uneasy placement of Black's King, minimizes Black's advantage.
17.Rf1 h6 18.Bd2 Nf6 19.0-0-0 Qf7
Of course, exchanging Queens would relieve Black of any worries of attack on his King. Now White starts putting pressure on f6.
20.Qb5+ Kf8 21.Qxe5 Kg7 22.Bc3 Bd8 23.Rf2 Re8 24.Qd4 Qe6 25.Rdf1 Rf8 26.Qb4 b6 27.e5 Nd7 28.Rxf8 Bg5+ 29.R8f4 Rf8 30.Kb1 Bxf4 31.Rxf4 Rxf4 32.Qxf4 g5
After the skirmishing, White is up 3 pawns, and that is too much for Black to deal with.
33.Qe4 Nc5 34.Qa8 a5 35.Qa7+ Kg6 36.Qc7 Qg4 37.Qxb6+ Ne6 38.b3 a4 39.bxa4 Kh5 40.h3 Qd1+ 41.Kb2 Nf4 42.g4+ Kh4 43.Qxh6+ Kg3 44.Qxg5 Qf3 45.e6 Qb7+ 46.Ka3 Qc6 47.Be1+ Kf3 48.e7 Qxc2 49.e8Q Qc1+ 50.Kb3 Qd1+ 51.Kb2 Nxd3+ 52.Ka3 Nxe1 53.Qf6+ Kg2 54.Qe4+ Nf3 55.Qfxf3+ Qxf3+ 56.Qxf3+ Kxf3 57.g5 Black resigned
Ever hear of the light-hearted saying "everything goes better with bacon?" In the game below we learn that Philidor 1792 might well be of the opinion that "everything goes better with Bxf2/7+!" - at least in 3-minute blitz games. The ghost of the Jerome Gambit visits, and mayhem ensues...
guest343 - Philidor 1792
3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2013
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 Bxf2+
5.Kxf2 d6 6.Nf3 Be6 7.e4 g5
8.d4 g4 9.Ng5 g3+ 10.hxg3 Ng4+ 11.Kg1 Qf6
12.Qf3 Qxd4+ 13.Be3 Nxe3 14.Nxe6 fxe6
15.Qh5+ Kd7 16.Qf7+ Kc6 17.Nb5 Qb6 18.Kh2
Despite the risk of a discovered check, Houdini suggests that White's King stay put, and that he progress to a winning endgame with 18.c5 Kxc5 19.Qf2 Kc6 20.Rc1+ Nc4 21.Rxc4+ Kd7 22.Rxc7+ Kd8 23.Rhxh7 Rxh7 24.Rxh7 Qxf2+ 25.Kxf2 I suppose that's easy to see if you're a computer.
18...Ng4+ 19.Kh3 Nd7 20.Be2 Raf8 21.Qxe6 Nf2+ 22.Kh2 Ne5 23.Rhf1 Rf6 24.Qd5+ Kd7 25.Rad1
White collapses, without knowing it.
25...Rh6+ 26.Kg1 Rh1 checkmate
