Some commentators have suggested that Emanuel Lasker would purposely play "bad" moves in order to upset his opponents, making it easier for him to win a game. As someone who plays the Jerome Gambit, I guess I understand that argument.
It is also possible that Lasker won because he understood, better than his opponents, the positions that he played, both "bad" and "good".
The following game has several times when I can not understand what was going on - only that Bill understood the positions better than his opponent, and that was enough to fashion a win.
Wall, Bill - Guest4919498
PlayChess.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Qd2
Okay, I don't get it. I would suggest "mouse slip", but Bill has played the move before. Given that there's about a 500 rating point difference between him and me, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and continue to try to figure it out.
8...Nf6
Bill has also faced 8...Be6 9.O-O Nf6, in Wall,B - Guest477, ICC, 2017, (1-0, 25).
9.Nc3 c6 10.f4 Ng6 11.O-O
Bill has suggested that here, and the next few moves, he could have played Qd3. This re-positioning suggests that 8.Qd2 might have been a search for novelty, as he had seen the position after 7...d6 in over 70 games.
11...Re8 12.Re1 b5
When you have the advantage, you are obliged to attack, said Wilhelm Steinitz.
So, once again, the Jerome Gambiteer tests the attacking prowess of the defender.
13.a3 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Ng4 15.h3 Nf2+
16.Kh2 d5 17.exd5
17...Rxe1
Bill points out that 17...Bf5 was stronger.
18.Qxe1 Bd7
Stockfish 8 gives a mind-numbing, attacking, alternative: 18...Bxh3!? 19.Kg3!? Nd3 (the piece was lost, any way) 20.cxd3 Bf5 21.Qe3 Qd8 22.Kh2!? cxd5 23.Nxb5 Bd7 24.f5 Kg8!? 25.Kg1!? Nh4 26.Nd4 Qf6 27.Bd2 Re8 28.Qf2 Nxf5 29.Bc3 Qg6 30.Nf3 Bb5 31.a4 Ba6 32.Ne5 Qb6 33.d4 Qf6 34.b4 with an even position. Um, sure.
19.Be3 Ng4+
Black has to give up his advanced Knight, but at least gets to dent White's pawn structure.
20.hxg4 Qc7 21.Kg3
The King has to help out on defense.
21...Qd8
Eyeing h4.
22.Qh1 Qe7 23.Re1 Qf6
Now Black's game crashes. He had better chances of survival after 23...Kg8 24.dxc6 Bxc6 25.f5 Qe5+ 26.Kh3 Nf4+ 27.Bxf4 Qxf4 but White would still have the advantage.
24.Ne4 Qd8 25.Ng5+ Kf6 26.Bd4+ Black resigned
Black faces checkmate, the quickest of which is 26...Ne5 27.Rxe5 Bxg4 28.Re6+ Kf5 29.Qxh7+ g6 30.Qxg6 checkmate. Ouch!
The latest game from Vlasta Fejfar shows that even when Black plays one of the most dangerous defenses against the Jerome Gambit, he can lose - and lose quickly. A better and deeper understanding of the Jerome often outshines its "refutation", as the following crush shows.
vlastous - dogfish
internet, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7
Whistler's defense. Although both lines are complicated, when White faces the Blackburne defense (7...d6) he can take the Rook at h8 and survive, while doing so against Whistler's defense runs a much greater risk.
8.Qf4+ Nf6
This is certainly a solid move, although it is already a step off of the "best" path. Black does best to play 8...Qf6, forcing White to again move his Queen.
9.e5 Bd6
Following in the footsteps of Jerome,A - Jaeger,D, correspondence,1879 (0-1, 45), but again not "best". Black should pressure the e-pawn, but more efficiently, i.e. 9...Re8.
10.d4 Kg7
Stepping out of the pin on his Knight and accepting the loss of a piece with 11.Qxf6+ Qxf6 12.exf6+ Kxf6 which would leave his King safe - but a pawn down.
11.Qh6+ Kf7 12.O-O
White is not in a hurry to win a piece, and, instead, safeguards his King (putting his Rook on the same file as the enemy King in the process).
12...Ng8
Black is nervous about the enemy Queen, but this retrograde move is not the solution. His best option was to return a piece for a couple of pawns with 12...Bxe5 13.dxe5 Qxe5, when White would have a slight edge.
13.Qf4+ Nf6
This can not have been comfortable for Black - repeating the position from move 10, but with White to move. Perhaps the best defense, instead, was 13...Kg7 14.exd6 Qxd6 15.Qxd6 cxd6, leaving him a pawn down, with a fractured pawn structure.
14.Nc3
Of course. Another piece to add to the action.
14...c6
Keeping the Knight off of d5 - but not out of the action!
15.Ne4 Rg8
Preparing to advance his g-pawn to kick out the Queen. After the expected 15...Bb8 16.Nxf6 White would be up a couple of pawns, and a Kingside attack would be on the agenda.
Now White crashes through.
16.Nxd6+ Kg7 17.exf6+ Qxf6
Hoping for an exchange of Queens and a release of some of the pressure - in vain.
18.Qh6+ Kh8 19.Bf4 b6 20.Be5 Black resigned
White will win the Queen, with checkmate to follow. I particularly like 20...Qxe5 21.Nf7 checkmate.
I have been presenting some Jerome Gambit games recently played by Bill Wall, and it has been surprising how they have been linked to one another.
The following game includes a creative defensive solution that Black appears to have come up with on the spot. Instead of solving problems, though, it creates some new ones.
One of the attractions of the Jerome Gambit for club play is that it seems so bad that any kind of response should win. There are many players who have discovered, however, that this is not so.
Wall, Bill - Guest430769
PlayChess.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
According to The Database, Bill has reached this position over 250 times. He has encountered 14 different responses. He has scored 91%. It is not likely that he will be surprised.
6...Nf3+
An interesting and straight forward (if unsuccessful) way of dealing with the threat to two of his pieces. The Database has 5 previous games with this line; White scored 80%. In the one loss, White had a clear advantage until the ravages of time in a blitz game led to his downfall.
7.Qxf3+
I suspect that Black was hoping for 7.gxf3?!, counting on the fact that White would not want to capture with his Queen, as that would allow Black's Bishop to capture the pawn at d4. The glitch in this reasoning, of course, is that White's Queen arrives on f3 with check.
7...Nf6
Bill has also faced: 7...Qf6 8.dxc5 (8.Qb3+ d5 9.Qxd5+ Be6 10.Qxc5 Nh6 11.Qxc7+ Qe7 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.Bxh6 gxh6 14.f4 Rhg8 15.g3 Rac8 16.Nc3 a5 17.d5 Bg4 18.e5 Bf3 19.Rf1 Bg2 20.Rf2 Bh1 21.O-O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Gian, PlayChess.com, 2017) 8...Qxf3 9.gxf3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Re8 11.Nb5 Re7 12.Nxc7 Rb8 13.Bf4 b6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Bxb8 bxc5 16.Bd6 Re8 17.Bxc5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest151963, PlayChess.com, 2011.
8.dxc5 Re8
White is two pawns up.
9.Nc3 Kg8 10.O-O d6
And Black has little compensation for his sacrificed pawns... Wait a minute, isn't this an opening where White sacrifices? Ten moves in, something has gone terribly wrong for Black.
The defender now succumbs to pressure on f6 that leads to a tactical slip.
11.Bg5 Rf8 12.Nd5 Bg4 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qxg4+
14...Kf7 15.Rfd1 c6 16.Nb6
A nice shot. He can afford it. (He also had the quiet 16.Ne3 and the diabolical 16.Nxf6, but the text works just as well.)
16...axb6 17.Rxd6 Qc7 18.Rd7+ Black resigned
White wins the Queen.
