In recent posts I have been sharing Jerome Gambit and related games played at GameKnot.com. I recently received the following message there.
izscha2014: I've seen your Jerome Blog and I can't believe this is a sound opening, altough it certainly is fun Do you want to try ?
With a record of 46 wins, 1 loss and 7 draws, izscha2014 is rated 200 points higher than me.
Of course I accepted. After all, what was there to lose? A refuted opening??
I went to GameKnot.com, and played
1.e4
I met with several condtional moves, and we were off!
1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
I will share the game when it is completed.
We return to the Jerome Gambit treatment of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit to make a point. Even when you come out of the opening with an advantage, it pays to be alert to danger.
majorminor - JavyCT
standard, FICS, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.c3 Qg5
This line was mentioned in the notes of the recent post featuring mr_kill - syiedan86, Team match, GameKnot.com, 2014, and was last covered in the post "Go Ahead and Do Your Worst!".
At first glance it looks like Black has gotten to play the thematic BSG Queen move after all. True - but not necessarily to his advantage.
7.cxd4 Qxg2 8.Qf3
majorminor, who has about 50 games in The Database, finds the proper response to Black's Queen sortie. He has recovered his sacrificed piece, and will be a pawn up, with an edge.
In all fairness, though, there is disappointment to be shared. Black does not have his expected wild counterplay, and White does not have his crazed attack on the King. Still, a pawn is a pawn, even if it is doubled.
8...Qxf3 9.Nxf3
9...Bb4 10.a3 Ba5 11.Rg1 d6 12.b4 Bb6 13.Rxg7 Nf6
Black has enough counterplay and tricks up his sleeve that White must remain diligent.
For example, if White now shores up his center with 14.d3, Black has 14...Bg4, which attacks the f3 Knight and threatens to lock in the g7 Rook. After 15.Nbd2 Kf8 16.Rg5 h6 17.Rg6 Kf7 18.Nh4 Bxd4 19.Ra2 Rag8 20.Rxg8 Rxg8 White has finally eliminated the problem, at the expense of a pawn.
The move White chooses instead has its own issues.
14.e5 dxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxd4
Here, losing a piece, White forfeited on time.
Many people play the Jerome Gambit for a very simple, straight-forward reason: it is fun. Imagine how much enjoyment Bill experienced in the following game, where he delivers wreckage and ruin upon the enemy King.
Wall, Bill - Guest3157671
PlayChess.com, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5
Of course, 7.Qd5+, "the nudge", is also played by Bill:
Wall,B - Quack, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22)
Wall, B - Vijay, V, Chess.com, 2010, (1-0, 22)
Wall,B - LC, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 20)
Wall,B - guest154187, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 22)
Wall,B - Boris, SparkChess.com 2012 (1-0, 32)
Wall,B - Guest4149739, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 30)
Wall, B - guest3797656, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 40)
Wall, B - guest392045, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 33)
Wall,B - Guest198654, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 21)
Wall, B - Guest428245, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0,20)
7...d6 8.Qd5+
Ah, "Nudge 2.0", another Wall specialty.
8...Ke7
Or 8...Ke8 as in Wall,B - Seven11, Chess.com, 2008 (1-0, 51)
Or 8...Kf8 as in Wall,B - Chung,J, Chess.com 2010 (1-0, 25).
Or 8...Be6 as in Wall, B - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23) and Wall,B - Guest249301,PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 30).
9.O-O
Or 9.d3 as in Wall,B - Guest4395, Internet, 2001 (1-0, 18).
9... Nf6
10.Qg5 Be6
Despite the awkward placement of his King, Black is feeling comfortable with his lead in development. All he has to do is take care of that pesky White Queen, and it will be smooth sailing, he reassures himself.
11.f4 Bf7 12.d4
Indeed, and how can White expect to prevail when he is only moving his Queen and his pawns? (Ah, the eternal Jerome Gambit question!)
12...h6 13.Qg3
Bill suggests 13.Qb5 and 13.Qf5 as alternate possibilities.
13...Re8
It looks risky for Black, but Bill's suggestion of 13...Nxe4 14.Qe1 d5 15.f5 Nf8 has merit.
14.f5 Nf8
This position reminds me of the kind of thing that my old "Chess Challenger 7" computer used to do - leave its King in the center of the board, surround it by pieces, and consider the position to be good. Often it would continue with the advance of a Rook pawn.
15.e5
Of course, Bill advances his "Jerome pawns" and plans to open up the center to get at the enemy King.
15...dxe5
Things are already dire for the defender, as Bill points out: 15...Nh5 16.Qh4+ Nf6 17.Bxh6 and 15...Nd5 16.Qxg7.
16.dxe5 Nd5
Or, fast and furious, any of the following: 16...Nh5 17.Qa3+ Kd7 18.Rd1+ or 16...Qd4+ 17.Be3 or 16...Ne4 17.Qh4+ Kd7 18.Qxe4.
17.Qxg7 Nd7 18.e6
18...N7f6 19.exf7 Rf8 20.Re1+ Kd6
21.c4 Nb6 22.Rd1+ Kc5 23.Rxd8 Raxd8 24.Be3+
As the loss of Black's Queen is not enough to cause him to strike his colors, Bill brings out some more pieces to enforce checkmate. Bill also notes that 24.Qxf6 leads to mate as well.
24...Kxc4 25.Na3+ Kd3 26.Bxh6 Ne4 27. Rd1+ Ke2 28. Qg4 checkmate
The following game - another recent one from GameKnot.com - allows a closer look at an interesting, more-positional variation of an otherwise wild, attacking opening.
mr_kill - syiedan86
Team match, GameKnot.com, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
There are a number of ways to safely meet the BSG, including 4.Nxd4, 4.0-0, 4.d3 and 4.c3. Black wants to see 4.Nxe5?!, so he can respond with the thematic 4...Qg5!?
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. As a Jerome Gambit fan, I like the move. Also, it has been good to me - I have scored 91% in 41 games. (The Database* contains 4,452 BSJG games;White scores 56%.)
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.c3
This move shows up 398 times in The Database, scoring 55% for White. The major alternative is 6.Qh5+, which appears in 1,376 games, and with which White scores 61%.
Houdini 3 shows a slight preference for the text move, which doesn't surprise me, as 100% of my games contain the alternative.
6...Ne6
This move appears in 157 games, while the alternate retreat, 6...Nc6, appears 92 times. The challenging 6...Qg5 appears in 95 games. All score the same, plus or minus a percentage point or two.
7.d4
Here Houdini shows a slight preference for 7.Qh5+, leading to an even game.
7...d6 8.Nd3 Nf6
This is a balanced position. (It must be remembered that Black cannot castle, as he has moved his King.)
A couple of ideas for White now include 9.Nd2, seen in the game GmCooper - Mazetov, lightning, FICS, 2001 (1-0, 28); and 9.d5 Nc5 10.Nxc5 dxc5 11.O-O, which is the choice of chess engines Houdini, Rybka and Stockfish.
9.e5 dxe5 10.Nxe5 Bd6 11.Qe2
Stronger might be 11.f4
11...Qe7
In this tense position, White inexplicably dropped a piece, and the game was over.
12.Bg5 Nxg5 White resigned
[*A word about statistics. In any database devoted to a particular opening, the success of the line will be inflated, as partisans and publishers tend to show off successes, not abject failures. I have corrected for this somewhat, in that about 90% of the games in The Database are drawn from play at FICS, over a 12-year period - all the wins, losses and draws in each particular opening. Statistics in The Database, thus, largely reflect the results of "average" club players in an "average" online game environment.]
