Jerome Gambit: Her Majesty, As She Will

As if sacrificing two pieces was not enough to mark the Jerome Gambit as a seriously suspect opening, White often follows up with early moves of his Queen, prompting many opponents to reflect "Certainly, this cannot be good".

The following game is an enjoyable example. Follow White's Queen, asn she goes where she will...  

Wall, Bill - Guest10755845
PlayChess.com, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd2 

8...Nf6 9.Nc3 d6 10.O-O Bg4 11.b3 Re8 12.Bb2 Kg8 

13.Rae1 Nb4 14.a3 Nc6 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Rxe1 17.Qxe1

17...Ne5 18.f4 Ng6 19.f5 Nh4 20.Qe6+ 

20...Kh8 21.Qh6 

21...Nxf5 22.Rxf5 Bxf5 23.Qxg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: King of the Hill

Experienced Jerome Gambit players may well tell themselves "I have seen everything" when it comes to our favorite opening. The following game, however, recently played by "Cliff Hardy" may test that point of view.

I mean, have you ever used the Jerome in a blitz speed "King of the Hill" game? Enjoy. But maybe after a cup of coffee.

Notes are (mostly) by Cliff.

This Jerome Gambit game was played in a Lichess "King of the Hill" tournament ("King of the Hill" is a chess variant where a player wins either with checkmate or by getting their king to one of the 4 central squares - e4, d4, d5 or e5).

Cliff Hardy - NN

King of the Hill, 3 0, Lichess.org, 2018

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

Unfortunately, Stockfish dislikes this move more in "King of the Hill" than in a normal game as it helps Black to get his king towards the centre and it rates this as -3.7 pawn advantage for Black. (Lichess has a function where Stockfish can actually annotate the game, even though it is a "King of the Hill" game)!

4...Kxf7 5.Nxf7+ Nxf7+ 6.Qh5+ g6!

A good defence, though 6...Ke6!, getting the king towards the centre squares, is also strong. Both moves give Black around a -6 advantage, so 6.d4 (avoiding this) was a technically better move.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8?

In a normal chess game, White would have a winning advantage in this particular position. Conversely though, this line is actually very strong for Black in King of the Hill (-11) as Black has good chances of getting his king to the centre, so retreating the queen with 8.Qg3 was a much better attempt for White.

8...Qf6

OK (-3.5), but the Blackburnesque 8...Qh4! (-11) was much stronger.

9.Qxh7+??

In a normal chess game, this move would be fine in this position but actually Black has a forced win in 5 moves in "King of the Hill".

9...Ke6!

Black now threatens to win the game on the spot by getting his king to one of the central squares with 10..Ke5!

10.d4 Bxd4??

Black had a forced win in 3 moves, using a brilliant "King of the Hill" tactic here with 10...Qxf2+!! 11.Kxf2 (11.Kd1 Qxd4+! 12. any Ke5 0-1!, as black's king has reached one of the 4 central squares) 11...Bxd4+ 12. any Ke5 0-1!

11.f4

To stop black winning immediately with ...Ke5.

11...d5??

Black should have thought of normal chess and just saved his knight with 11...Ne7 +-.

12.Qxg8+ Kd6 13.Nd2??

We keep being confused by this variant and missing simple moves that work just as well as in a normal chess game - 13.Qxd5+ kept a winning advantage for white here.

13...Qxf4??

14.Nc4+! dxc4 15.Bxf4+ Kc5 16.Qd5+ Kb4 17.a3+ Ka4 18.b3+ cxb3 19.cxb3 mate

(Wow. The game reminds me of a heavyweight boxing match, where one pugilist is behing on points and has only one chance for success - a knockout. In this case - a checkmate. Like I have said before, you can't take "Uncle Jerome" anywhere - even a King of the Hill game - without him causing a disturbance. - Rick)

Jerome Gambit Secrets #6

It is not often that an International Master makes a recommendation in the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.

Yet, that is what this post is all about.

Let's take a look at a line of play mentioned in a blog post on this site, 9 years ago, "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

You might think from the title of the blog post that the IM is a little bit late to the party - who hasn't refuted the Jerome Gambit?

Actually, IM Gary Lane has been supportive of the Jerome, covering it - with whimsey - in his The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008) and a couple of times in 2012 in his "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com. (I do not think that the Chess Cafe site currently works.)

Let's see some of what he has to say.

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6

I have called this the "annoying defense" (because it is) or the "silicon defense" (because of the affinity computer chess programs have for it). It was first seen in D'Aumiller - A.P., 1878 and figured in six of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's games against S.A. Charles in their unfinished 1881 correspondence match.

Lane:

I think this is the best way to defend: allowing one of the extra pieces to be taken, and in return obtaining a solid position with extra material.

8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3

Lane, again:

This is the right time for White to offer a draw, but if the offer is declined you should remember that it is frowned upon to cry at the board.

Funny guy - but wait! I finished up that blog post with

I was pleased to see that 9.Nc3 was not in my Jerome Gambit database – but if that is the move IM Lane sees as best for White, I will add it to my repertoire!

So - whatever happened to 9.Nc3  ?

A quick look at The Database (and then, this blog) shows that later in 2009, the Scacchi64.com website held a computer vs computer Jerome Gambit tournament. Comet B48 played the move 9.Nc3 four times, winning twice and losing twice.

Also, Steve Wall played 9.Nc3 once in 2013, while his brother, Bill, played it once in 2015 and once in 2017 - all told, with a win, a draw, and a loss.

A handful of computers and a couple of brothers - that's almost keeping 9.Nc3 a "secret". Here's one of Bill's games, so you can decide what you think for yourself - it's long and complicated, and a Jerome Gambit loss for Bill is pretty rare, so afterwards you might decide you want to keep the line a secret, after all.
  
Wall, Bill - Guest446794, PlayChess.com, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.Na4 Qd4 12.Nxc5 Qxc5 13.d3 Bg4 14.Be3 Qb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Rhd8 17.Kc3 Be6 18.h3 b6 19.a4 Rf8 20.a5 Nh5 21.Rhf1 Ng3 22.Rfe1 Kd6 23.b4 Bd7 24.Kb3 Nh5 25.c4 Nf4 26.Ra2 g5 27.Kc3 Rg8 28.d4 exd4+ 29.Bxd4 c5 30.bxc5+ bxc5 31.Be3 Kc6 32.Rd2 Rae8 33.Bxc5 Bxh3 34.Bxa7 Bxg2 35.e5 h5 36.Rd6+ Kb7 37.Rd7+ Kc6 38.Rd6+ Kc7 39.Rh6 Rh8 40.Rf6 Kd7 41.Rd1+ Kc8 42.Rb1 Rh7 43.Rb8+ Kd7 44.Rd6+ Ke7 45.Rb2 Rc8 46.Rbd2 Rf7 47.Be3 Bf1 48.c5 Rf5 49.Rd7+ Kf8 50.Rf2 Bb5 51.Rh7 Be8 52.Kd4 Ne6+ 53.Kc4 Rxf2 54.Bxf2 Nc7 55.e6 Nxe6 56.a6 Ra8 57.a7 Nd8 58.Be3 Kg8 59.Rh6 g4 60.Bd4 Kf8 61.Rh8+ Ke7 62.Rh7+ Bf7+ 63.Kb5 Ne6 64.Be5 Rxa7 65.c6 Ra2 66.b6 Rc2 White resigned

Jerome Gambit Secrets #5

Time to look at a couple more "secrets".

Ten years ago I played a Jerome Gambit game that started off

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 

Black then played a relatively weak move that had showed up only once before in The Database.

8...Ne7

When I posted the game on this blog, back then, I recommended, instead, 8...Qh4!?, which had been played a number of times before - as early as a supposed 1899 telephone game - and which continued to be played, year after year. (So: 8...Qh4 isn't much of a "secret".)

9.Qxe5+ Kc6

As a measure of the imbalance of the position, in one of my games, Black resigned at this point.

10.d4

In my blog notes I recommended as better 10.Qc3!?. Curiously, of the 5 subsequent games with that move in The Database, 4 were played by me - and only once did I remember my improvement, but not the proper followup.

The idea, of course, is 10.Qc3 b6 11.b4 and White wins back his piece after either 11...d6 or 11...d5.

So, 10.Qc3 is still enough of a "secret" that private eye "Cliff Hardy" overlooked it in a Jerome Gambit game of his this year - although, since he was playing "blindfold", perhaps "overlook" isn't the right word...

After 10.d4, however, only 2 games in The Database have Black's proper response, 10...d6!? - an almost "secret" move that caught me by surprise, although I was still able to deliver checkmate in 20 moves. The Jerome Gambit is like that, folks.

Stockfish 9 suggests my game should have gone 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5!? 12.exf5 Rg8 13.Qxh7 Bd4 with Black for choice - despite being down material, and despite having his King on c6.

Cliff Hardy noted in assessing his own game that after 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5 12.exf5 Qe8+ 13.Kd1 Bxf5 "...if anything, Black has an edge, despite his two-pawn deficit. Note that 14.dxc5? now would be crushed by ...Qh5+. Instead White should try the sharp 14.d5+!? when Black would be prudent to reply 14...Kb6, with in an unclear position where White's King is in more danger than his counterpart, and Black's 2 Bishops and better Rooks give him the more threatening prospects."

There you go: 10.Qc3!? and 10.d4 d6!?, two secrets for the price of one.