Jerome Gambit: Full-Bodied Defense

Jerome Gambit players are familiar with the "negative halo effect" -

When people notice a good trait in a person, they often assume other positives. With the Jerome Gambit  often a negative "halo effect" occurs – if the early moves are bad, many of the other ones must be bad, too.

So - our opponents misjudge our play, and go down in flames.

In the following game, a superficial assessment of Black's chess skill - and, therefore, his prospects in the following game - can be made, based upon his 8th move. That would be a mistake, as, thereafter, Black presents a full-bodied defense and battles White all across the board.

In the end, Black loses, but only after a quite memorable game.

Wall, Bill - Maxx
chess24.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe8 

This novelty is an odd move, one which looks like a mouse-slip for 7...Qe7. It is as if Black looked forward to ...Qxe4+, without acknowledging the fact that White, first, can capture, with check, as well.

8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qb4 

White has his sacrificed pieces back, and is a couple of pawns up, something he could cement with the routine 9.Qe3. Instead, he opts to make the game interesting - and is rewarded, fully.

9...Qg6 

If you give this game to a computer, it will claim an edge for White for most of the game. Black is not concerned about that, here - he wants to make things as uncomfortable as possible for his opponent.

10.Kf1 Nf6 11.Nc3 c5 12.Qc4 a6 

13.f4

This is a thematic Jerome Gambit move, but the pawn is usually backed by a Rook at f1.

13...Qg4 14.Ne2 b5 15.Qb3 Nxe4 

Whoa! White has a problem that usually plagues Black: his d-pawn blocks his Bishop, which, in turn entombs his Rook. Black has the freer development, as well - and he plans to sacrifice a piece, to keep things uncomfortable for his opponent. 

16.Qd5 Bb7 17.Qxb7 Re8 18.Qd5 Qxe2+ 19.Kxe2 Nf6+ 20.Kf3 Nxd5 

White is hanging in, and the computer still counts his pawn advantage (plus a small bonus for the Bishop vs the Knight), but, the question is: how does he continue?

He moves to open the a-file for his Rook.

21.a4

Komodo 10 doesn't like this move, opting for small pawn advances like c2-c3, g2-g3, d2-d3, with White eventually doubling Rooks on the e-file, for an edge.

21...b4

Black doesn't want to cede the a-file, but this move seems to help White. The computer's suggestion leads to an unbalanced Rook + pawns vs Rook + pawns endgame, and I am not sure that I am comfortable with its equal assessment: 21...Nb4 22.axb5 axb5 23.c3 Nd3 24.b4 Ke7 25.Ra5 Kd7 26.bxc5 dxc5 27.Ba3 Ra8 28.Rxa8 Rxa8 29.Ke3 c4 30.Bb4 Nxb4 31.cxb4 Kc6 32.g3 Kd5 33.Rb1 Ra3+ 34.Kf2 Rb3 35.Ra1 Rxb4 36.Ra7 Ra4 37.Rxg7 b4. 

analysis diagram





22.b3 h5

To develop the other Rook. 

23.Bb2 h4 24.Rad1 Rh6 25.Rhe1 

White looks much more comfortable.

25...Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Rg6 27.d4 cxd4 28.Bxd4 Nc7 

White now demonstrates that there are too many things loose in his opponent's position.

29. Bb6 Nd5 30.Bd8 Rh6 31.Bg5 Rh7  32.Re6 h3 33.g4 Nc3 34.Rxd6 a5 35.Bd8 Black resigned

A nice finish. Black's Queenside pawns will fall.