Sometimes the recipient of a gambit is skeptical. Free material? Why not grab all I can get?? The gamiteer adds: It will cost you. In the following game Black happily receives a Bishop and then a pawn. When offered a Knight, he scarcely resists the temptation. White then shows that his "generosity" should have been taken seriously, as well. Philidor 1792 - NN 2015 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3
As I play through new (to me) Bill Wall games, I am surprised at how many people throw the Blackburne Shilling Gambit back at his Jerome Gambit. Maybe they really expect him to play 4.Nxe5?!. Maybe they don't know about the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The fact is, when it comes to the BSJG, Bill's been there - and has the points to prove it.
White has two choices here, and two pieces of advice. The Database has 98 games with 8.Qxg6, with White scoring 58%; and 369 games with 8.Qxh8, with White scoring 52%. On the other hand, Stockfish recommends 8.Qxh8 and after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 gives Black the edge. As is often the case in club chess, the player who knows better what is going on in the game has the advantage - as the following moves show. 8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8
White gathers in the Rook, after all. He has a Rook and four pawns against Black's extra two pieces. Still, Black races to take advantage of White's "sidetracked" Queen and attack the enemy King, only to wind up dropping a piece in the process. 11...Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6 Or 13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010. 14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned
Sometimes I play over the games of the top Jerome Gambit players and shake my head in wonder, admitting I don't know how he does it... So many times Black seems to be better - until he loses. Clearly, the Jerome is not only a study in the psychology of error, it is a school for learning about (successful) chess struggle. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
The Abrahams Jerome Gambit. 3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.d4
It is interesting to note a couple of FICS games with a player with a similar name to White's, which give alternative responses: 6.Qxe7+ Nxe7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 c6 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Re1 Be5 13.Bg5 Bxc3 14.b3 h6 15.Rad1 hxg5 16.Re2 d5 17.Re3 d4 18.e5 Nd7 19.Re4 Nd5 20.Rd3 Nf4 21.Rxf4+ gxf4 22.Kg2 Nxe5 23.h3 Nxd3 24.cxd3 g5 25.Kf1 Kf7 26.Kg1
Rhe8 27.a4 Re2 28.b4 Rd2 29.h4 Re8 30.Kh2 gxh4 31.b5 Rxf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rxd3 34.Kxf4 Rh8 35.Kg4 Re3 36.Kf5 cxb5 37.Kf4 bxa4 38.Kf5 a3 39.Kf4 Kg7 40.Kf5 Rf8+ 41.Kg4 Re4+ 42.Kh5 Rf5 checkmate, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006; and 6.d3 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Nd5 Na6 12.Nf4 Qe8 13.h3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 h6 White forfeited on time, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006. 6...Qxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3
Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit endgame, with the "Jerome pawns" vs Black's extra piece. "Objectively" the edge is to the second player, although it is his responsibility to show it.
17.Rd3 Ng5 18.f3 Rhd8 19.h4 Ne6 20.Rhd1 Ne8 21.Bg3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Rd8 23.Kd2 Nf6 24.b3 Nh5 25.Bh2 Ke7 26.Ke3 h6 27.Rxd8 Kxd8 28.Be5 Ke7 29.f4 b5
Black's King successfully blockades the central "Jerome pawns", his b-pawn restrains White's Queenside, and even though he has given up a pawn, he seems to have stymied the first player's momentum.
Except for one move.
36.c4 White's game now becomes dyamic on the Queenside.
36...bxc4 37.b5 Nb8 38.b6 Nf6 This slip allows White to clarify things quickly with the win of a piece. 39.Bd4+ Kd6 40.e5+ Black resigned