Jerome Gambit: A Battle (Part 1)

After a series of Jerome Gambit games where either my opponent or I (once, both) blundered away our Queens (I will spare Readers, but include the games in The Database), I played the following exciting adventure.

As the nursery rhyme goes (the two characters can also be found in Lewis Carroll's chess-themed Through the Looking-Glas and What Alice found There)

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
    Agreed to have a battle...  

After playing almost 500 Jerome Gambit games, I again found myself in quite a battle. 

perrypawnpusher  - vermifugo
blitz, FICS, 2014

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

Black was looking to hold on to both extra pieces.

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 g6 

This is not Black's best play, even if it conjurs up visions of the venerable Blackburne Defense (6...g6). Yet it leads to largely unexplored territory, and play can become very uncomfortable for White if he is not careful. It is worth exploring more in depth.

9.Qxe5+ Kc6 10.Qxh8 

At this point, the game UNPREDICTABLE - zaboulef, blitz, FICS, 2010 ended with Black's resignation. 

The earliest game (of four) that I have with this variation in The Database is perrypawnpusher - spontex, blitz, FICS, 2009 (½-½, 59), where White bypassed capturing the Rook and went after the Black King, instead, with 10.Qd5+. As I noted in "The Opponent",

It was better to take the Rook, although play remains complicated, if in White's favor.

10...d6

The more aggressive 10...Qh4+ (also reminiscent of Blackburne's play in his 1885 game) was seen in Ghandybh - DVBLTTN, Online chess, 2009 (1-0, 17). As I noted,

The problem is that Black's Kingside will fall apart faster.

Best for Black seems to be 10...Qe7.

11.Qxh7

What to do?

I have found my Queen at h8, early in the game after grabbing a Rook, about 25 times, and I have always feared it getting trapped, and eventually captured (see the introductory note to this game, although they refer to different lines of play). My first thought has always been to get Her Majesty out of confined spaces!

One lesson I should have learned from a closer look at Blackburne's Defense is that White's Queen often escapes through the middle of the board (after a well-timed Qd8) - or after blocking the diagonal of Black's dark-squared Bishop with d2-d4.

In the current game, White's best was 11.d4.

Yet, that is not the end of the discussion, as Black has several possible replies, including the straight-forward 11...Bb6, seen in UNPREDICTABLE - farhadk, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 21).

What is more fun to look at is 11.d4! Bh3!?, when Black continues to play in Blackburne style. Can White actually then take the Bishop with 12.gxh3 ?  If he does, he can face, among other things, the energetic counter-attack 12...Qh4+ 13.Kd1 Nf6!? 14.Qxa8 Qh5+

Analysis diagram





Here, Black has sacrificed a couple of Rooks for a couple of pawns, but it is hard for White to escape a draw - while avoiding checkmate (remember, this is a blitz game). 

Analyze with me (and Houdini): 15.Ke1 (Not 15.Kd2 Nxe4+ 16.Kd3 Qf3+ 17.Be3 [17.Kc4 d5#] 17...Nf2+ 18.Kd2 [18.Kc4 Qe2+ 19.Kb3 Qb5+ 20.Kc3 Qb4#; 18.Kc3 Qxe3+ 19.Kc4 d5#] 18...Ne4+ 19.Kd3 draw) 15...Qh4+ 16.Ke2! (16.Kf1 Bxd4 17.Ke2 Qf2+ 18.Kd3 Qf3+ 19.Kxd4 Qxe4+ 20.Kc3 Nd5+ 21.Kd2 Qg2+ 22.Kd3 Qf3+ 23.Kd2 draw; 16.Kd2 Qf2+ 17.Kd1 [17.Kc3 Qxd4+ 18.Kb3 Qb4#; 17.Kd3 Qxd4+ 18.Ke2 Qf2+ 19.Kd1 Qf3+ 20.Kd2 Nxe4+ 21.Ke1 Bf2+ 22.Kf1 Bg3+ 23.Kg1 Qf2#; 16.Kd1 Qh5+ 17.Ke1 Qh4+ 18.Ke2 as in the main line] 17...Qf3+ 18.Ke1 [18.Kd2 Nxe4+ 19.Ke1 Qxh1+ 20.Ke2 Qg2+ 21.Kd3 Qf1+ 22.Ke3 Qe1+ 23.Kf3 Qd1+ 24.Kxe4 Qxd4+ 25.Kf3 Qf2+ 26.Kg4 Qg2+ 27.Kh4 Bf2#] 18...Qxh1+ 19.Ke2 [19.Kf2 Nxe4+ 20.Ke2 Qg2+ 21.Kd3 Qf1+ 22.Ke3 Qf2+ 23.Kd3 Qxd4+ 24.Ke2 Qf2+ 25.Kd3 Qf1+ 26.Kxe4 Qe2+ 27.Be3 Qxe3#] 19...Qxh2+ 20.Kd1 Qg1+ 21.Ke2 Qg2+ 22.Ke1 Qxe4+ 23.Kd1 Qf3+ 24.Ke1 Bxd4 25.c4 a6-+) 16...Qh5+ 17.Kd3! Qf3+ 18.Be3! Qxe4+ 19.Kd2 (Not as strong is 19.Ke2 Bxd4 20.Re1 Qxe3+ 21.Kd1 Qf3+ 22.Kc1 Qxf4+ 23.Nd2 Be3 24.Rxe3 Qxe3 25.c4 Qe1+ 26.Kc2 Qxa1 27.Qf8 Qxa2 28.Qxf6 Qa4+ 29.Kc3 Qa5+ 30.Kd3 Qh5 31.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 32.Nxf3) 19...Qg2+ (19...Qxh1? 20.Nc3!? Qxa1 21.dxc5 Qh1 22.Qxa7 Qg2+ 23.Kc1 Qh1+ 24.Nd1) 20.Kc3 Qe2 21.b4! Qxe3+ 22.Kb2 Bxd4+ 23.c3 Qe2+ 24.Kb3 Qe6+ 25.Ka3 Qe3 26.Ka4! Nd5 27.Qg8 b5+ 28.Ka3 Bxc3 29.Qa8+ Kd7 30.Qxd5 Bxa1+ 31.Qb3 and it looks like White may survive. What a mess!

All of the above suggests that White should answer 11.d4! Bh3!? with the sober 12.0-0!, when his King will be safe, and all of Black's problems - down the exchange and two pawns, unsafe King, two Bishops hanging - will remain. The computer suggests 12...Nf6 13.Qxd8 Bxd4+ 14.Kh1 Rxd8 15.gxh3 Nxe4, but what fun is there in that?

11...Bg4?! 

Development toward the enemy King, but more to the point would have been 11...Qe8! and White would have to give back a couple of pawns to free his Queen - again, while negotiating some very complex play (without Houdini's help, which I had after the game) - 12.e5 (12.d3 Nf6 13.Qh4 Nxe4!? 14.Kf1 Bf2 [14...Nf2 15.b4 g5 16.Qh7 Bg4 17.Nc3 Bxb4 18.Qg7 Nxh1 19.Rb1 a5 20.a3 Bc5 21.d4 unclear, perhaps even] 15.g3 Bc5 16.h3 g5 17.fxg5 Qf7+ 18.Bf4 Qd5 19.Rh2 Bf5 20.g4 Bg6 21.dxe4 Qxe4 22.Nd2 Qxf4+ 23.Rf2 Qe5 24.Nf3 Qxb2 25.Re1 Qxa2 26.Rfe2 b5 even, whew!) 12...dxe5 13.f5 Bxf5 14.Qh4± but White is still uncomfortable, say after 14...e4 15.b3 Rd8 (15...Qe5 16.Nc3 Nf6 17.Bb2 Ng4 18.0-0-0 Bf2 [18...Nf2 19.d4] 19.Qg5 Bd4 20.Rhf1 Nxh2 21.Rf4) 16.Bb2 Qd7! 17.Qf4 g5 18.Qe5 b6 19.b4 Bxb4 20.0-0 Bc5+ 21.Kh1. 

[to be continued]