A bit of chess advice from C.J.S. Purdy: Examine moves that smite. In the following game my opponent shows some familiarity with the Jerome Gambit, and smites hard at my position - alas, at one point losing his footing, with less than successful results.
perrypawnpusher - constipatedguru
5 5 blitz, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+
Black ignores the (lack of) safety of his King as well as his attacked Knight, and plays a smiting move that is often dangerous to White.
9.g3 Nf3+
Again, a strong, attacking move.
10.Kf1 Nxh2+
Black can get away with this, but it is not best.
11.Kg2 Ne7
But here he slips, although a number of my opponents have lost their way in the past as well:
11...Qe7 as in perrypawnpusher - intssed, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 12);
11...Qh6 as in perrypawnpusher - JTIV, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 32);
11...Qg4 (best) as in perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 68);
11...Nf6 as in perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 12); and
11...Qf6 as in perrypawnpusher - IlToscano, Chess.com, 2016 (1-0, 18).
12.Qe5+ Kc6 13.gxh4 Ng4 14.Qc3 Kb6
Black has two pieces for his Queen. It is not enough.
15.d4 Bd6 16.e5 Nd5 17.Qb3+ Bb4 18.Qxd5
You have to know that if Bill Wall were playing the White pieces he would have played something like 18.Nc3!?
18...d6 19.c3 c6 20.Qf3 Black forfeited on time
Why does Bill Wall continue to play the Jerome Gambit, an opening that has many refutations? Probably because of games like the following, that almost seem to play themselves...
Wall, Bill - Facundo
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+
Black keeps playing this move, so White needs to keep aware.
7.c3
Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 Ng6
The Knight went to c6 in Wall,B - Caynaboos, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - ChessFlower, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 27).
9.O-O d6
Or 9...N8e7 as in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org 2016, (1-0, 18) and Wall,B - Jamato, lichess.org, 2017 (1-0, 55);
or 9...Nf6 as in Wall,B - Boris, SparkChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 31) and Wall,B - FJBS, FICS, 2015 (1-0, 14).
10.f4 Nh6
A novelty, keeping the Black Queen's diagonal open - but an error.
11.f5 Ne7 12.Qh5+ Kg8 13.f6
13...Ng6 14.Bxh6 gxh6 15.Qxh6 Kf7 16.Qg7+ Black resigned
I have not played a Jerome Gambit game at blitz speed since last year, so when I recently had the opportunity, I looked quite rusty. In the endgame in time trouble, I repeated the position, suggesting a draw - but my opponent, who might have been miffed at facing such a disreputable opening, declined, with a losing continuation.
It is not so much a game to be "proud" of as one to have survived. I provide it for historical reasons.
perrypawnpusher - Compani
5 5 blitz, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Bb6
Fascinating. There are only two other games with this line in my 55,000+ game Database.
8.d4
An immediate slip by me. Much better was 8.d3 as played in perrypawnpusher - Urumpel, blitz, FICS, 2011, (1-0, 23)
8...d6 9.Qf4+ Qf6 10.c3
I was not happy to see the Queens go off the board.
10...Qxf4 11.Bxf4 Kf7
White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece, but he will have to work hard to get something going in this Queenless middlegame.
12.Nd2 Nf6 13.O-O-O Rf8 14.Bg5
Thematic, but to be considered was 14.f3, with the idea of challenging Black to make something out of his advantage, by attacking White's solid center.
14...Ng4 15.Bh4 Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand and is better.
16.Rdf1 c5 17.h3 Nf6 18.d5 a5 19.f4
Putting my faith in the "Jerome pawns" after all.
19...Bc7 20.g4 b5 21.Bg3 Re8 22.Re1 b4 23.c4 a4
Black doesn't seem to mind that my Queenside pawns keep slipping by his. It is time for my center pawns to get moving in response.
24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Nd7 26.d6 Ba5 27.e6 Nf6 28.d7 Bxd7 29.exd7 Rxe1+ 30.Rxe1 Nxd7
31.Re7
The "Jerome pawns" have won back the sacrificed piece, and White may even be a bit better here. As will become clear, however, both I and my opponent were getting low on time.
31...Nb6 32.b3 axb3 33.axb3 Rd8 34.Bc7 Ra8 35.Re6
Here 35.Be5 was the right move.
35...Nd7
Better was 35...Nxc4
36.Bxa5 Rxa5 37.Kb2 Ra8 38.Ne4 Rf8
The position is even. It is always possible to misplay an ending, however.
39.Rd6 Rf4 40.Rxd7 Rxe4 41.Rd3 Kf7 42.Kc2 Ke6 43.Kd2 g5 44.Rd8 Kf7
Better than this retreat was 44...Rf4 keeping things even.
45.Rd7+
45.Rd5!?
45...Kg6 46.Rd6+ Kf7 47.Rd7+
47.Rd5!?
47...Kg6 48.Rd6+ Kf7 49.Rd7+ Kg8
My opponent does not want to settle for a draw through repetition of position, but this retreat further puts his King out of play and gives me a winning advantage, as a pawn will fall.
Remember, we were moving quite quickly at this point.
50.Rd5 h6 51.Rxc5 Rf4 52.Re5 Rf2+ 53.Re2 Rf3 54.Re3 Rf4 55.Kd3 Kf7 56.c5 Rf6 57.Kc4 Rc6 58.Kxb4 Re6 59.Rxe6 Kxe6 60.Kb5 Black resigned
When I mentioned the video "Is Jerome Gambit Sound?" April 5, a few posts ago, I neglected to list the three other Jerome Gambit videos that Mato Jelic had posted earlier at YouTube.
They were pointed out to me by Roland Kensdale at the English Chess Forum.
"Must See Jerome Gambit" concerns the game "NN vs Blackburne, England, 1880" - the best-known and most exciting Jerome Gambit. (As we have only very recently learned, the year was more likely 1884).
Check out also "The Birth of Jerome Gambit", focused on "Alonzo Wheeler Jerome vs William A Shinkman, correspondence 1874". This is the earliest game that I have a score of, although Jerome, himself, said he first played his gambit against G.J. Dougherty.
The "Practical Application of Jerome Gambit" features the game "Bill Wall vs Itboss , Online, 2016"
All of Mato Jelic's videos are great fun and well worth viewing.
