Readers of this blog have seen a lot of creative and historical coverage of the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, and related openings, such as the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+. In addition, there have been explorations of "proto-Jerome Gambits" - earlier lines of play that might have inspired Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to create his opening.
One such Jerome Gambit "relative" was showcased in "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1 & 2)", highlighting the game Albin,A - Schlechter,C, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament Vienna, 1914. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, which easily could have been a transposition from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6, a "modern" (no 5.Nxe5+) Jerome Gambit.
White's 4th move was anticipated at least by James Mason, who, in the August
1895 British Chess Magazine, gave a game “played recently by
correspondence between Brandfort and Bloemfontein, South Africa” which went
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qe2 d6. Mason suggested the move 4…Nf6, because
“there would be plenty of time to play the Pawn - perhaps two squares instead of one. For, as the
Cape Times remarks, if White adopts the ‘Jerome Gambit’ 5.Bxf7+ Black
replies 5…Kxf7 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4 with advantage.”
The Salvio Gambit (see"The Salvio Gambit??" and "The Salvio Gambit?? [more]"), from analysis from the early 1600s, is related: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 and now 3.Qe2 Nf6/Nc6 4.Bxf7+.
It is probably timely to reiterate that I refer to 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ as the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" (see "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" Part 1 & Part 2), not because Alonzo Wheeler Jerome ever played the line, nor Abrahams, as far as I know, but because it was referred to as the Jerome Gambit in The Chess Mind (1951) and The Pan Book of Chess (1965), by Gerald Abrahams.
It is hard to overlook another possible precursor: the game Hamppe - Meitner, Vienna Club, 1872, which begins a little bit like a reversed Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+ and is covered in "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Endnote)".
Another opening with themes akin to the Jerome - with an initial Knight sacrifice at f7 - which may have caught Alonzo Jerome's eye - is the Sarratt Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 usually followed by 5...Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7. Similar (although I occasionally mix them up) is the Vitzthum Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 followed by 6.Qh5. A good review can be found in the post "Capt. Evans Faces the Sarratt Attack".
Then, of course, there was the rumor that culminated in the post, here,"A GM plays the Jerome Gambit??", followed by "Here, have a Bishop..." and "Here, have another...".
That was topped by the rumor that Alexander Alekhine had defended against the Jerome Gambit - see "The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 1 & Part 2)"; and then, sadly "Much Ado About... Nothing".
Oh, oh, oh... Can we get back to the time when a modern, 2700+-rated Grandmaster didn't play the Jerome Gambit??
[to be continued]
Well, the Jerome Gambit continues to spread globally...
I do not think that this will affect the current Carlsen - Caruana match for the world chess championship, but I think it could mean more fun for the average chess player.
Just ran across the Twitter feed for Urdu Chess (@UrduChess), "Chess News from Pakistan", that, in turn, links to the "Jerome Gambit Trap" at ChessOnly.com, previously mentioned on this blog.
It only stands to reason that if players are going to learn about the Jerome, they should start with the refutation. I'm just saying...
(p.s. I tried to explain the Jerome Gambit and this blog to a non-chess-playing psychologist the other day - quite unsuccessfully, as it turns out.)
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4!? - has one really risky response from White - 4.Nxe5?! - but several very acceptable responses for the first player: 4.Nxd4, 4.d3, 4.0-0 and 4.c3. So, why engage with 4.Bxf7!?, the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit? As we have seen recently, the move can be a surprising, unsettling challenge to Black, who had high hopes to be the one attacking.
The following game, played online at GameKnot.com, and recently retrieved, is a brutal example of White quickly wresting the game from his opponent.
xuam - maiden_coritiba
League division D2
GameKnot.com, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+
I have long referred to this as the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, with a knowing smile. Although the Bishop sacrifice - often followed by a Queen move - is typical Jerome play, there is actually no evidence that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome actually played it. On the other hand, there is no evidence (beyond assumption) that Joseph Henry Blackburne played "his" Shilling Gambit, as well.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5
White shows an interest in finishing off Black's King, quickly, even if the thematic move is risky.
It is interesting to note that "book" is 6.c3 Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Ke6
with a balanced game, although Black's King has to be feeling uncomfortable. Indeed, White has scored 12 - 3 in games in The Database. Stockfish 9 recommends the followup 8.O-O Kf7 9.Qf3+ Qf6 10.Qb3+ Qe6 11.Qf3+ Qf6 with a draw by repetition.
6...Nxc2+
It is tempting to go after White's Rook at a1, and this move has been a bit more successful for the second player, who has scored 19 - 17 - 1 in The Database. The "boring" but upright alternative is 6...Nf6!?.
7.Kd1 Nxa1
Black has the Rook. One indication that he may have been hasty in doing so (a "deep sacrifice" by White, that often occurs in the BSJG) is that The Database shows Black's results dipping a bit, to 12 - 15 - 1.
Another indication is that Stockfish 9 now rates White as being almost a Rook ahead.
(Take a second to ponder the difference between club play, as represented by The Database, and "objective reality", as represented by the computer.)
8.Qf5+
Oh, dear. Given that Black's "best" response is now 8...Kd6 9.Nf7+, giving up his Queen, White has been amply rewared for his aggression.
8...Ke7
Find the checkmate.
9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc5 11.b4+
Or 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.a3+ Ka4 13.b3+ Nxb3 14.Nc3#
11...Kb5 12.Nc3+ Kxb4 13.Ba3 checkmate
Every once in a while I stop by the online site GameKnot.com, to see what Jerome Gambit games I can pick up. Here are a couple of quick ones.
gocubs2004 - maleeniets
chrusage's mini-tournament IIII
GameKnot.com, 2005
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. Tricky - but White does well as long as he avoids the temptation of 4.Nxe5?!.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. It is quite effective when it comes as a surprise.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Nb5
This is a bit unusual ("book" is 6...Kxe5), but there are 16 previous examples in The Database, where White scores 13 - 3. Since Black's position remains "objectively" better, I suspect the lopsided score in favor of the first player is due to the second players' unfamiliarity with the BSJG.
I think White, in this game, suspects his opponent is adrift, and goes for the jugular.
7.d4 Nd6 8.d5+ Kxe5 9.Qd4 checkmate
Ouch.
byzantine1453 - x-filez
Let's Play Chess
GameKnot.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+
Here we go again: the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Nc4
Again, this is not main line, but there are 167 games with it in The Database, with White scoring 54%.
6...Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.d4 d5 9.e5 dxc4 10.exf6 Kxf6
Black's King looks a bit exposed, but, at this point, it is on White's shoulders to prove compensation for the sacrificed material.
11.Qf3+ Kg6 12.O-O Bd6 13.Nd2 Rf8 14.Qd5
The Queen seeks sancturary from the attack by the Rook, but this move brings her into even greater danger.
14...Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Qxd5 White resigned
Double ouch.
