Jerome Gambit: My Opponent Knows What He Is Doing (Part 1)

While it looks like I am headed for a 3rd place finish (out of 6) in the 3rd round of the "Italian Battleground" tournament at Chess.com, I will at least have some Jerome Gambit tales to tell from the experience.

I have already shared my 3rd round game perrypawnpusher - Abhishek29, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 35) - my second win in this tournament against that opponent, having defeated him in in Round 1 - see perrypawnpusher - Abhishek29, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 19).

The current game is a rematch with an opponent that I faced in Round 2 - see perrypawnpusher - warwar, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 39). I was a bit concerned, the way "real" chessplayers are concerned about "real" chess openings: how much had he learned about the Jerome Gambit in the meantime?

It turned out to be an interesting battle between the "Jerome pawns" and the defender's extra piece, but, most of all, between someone who had prepared the opening and someone who had to improvise in the middlegame and endgame.

perrypawnpusher - warwar
"Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

When the game was over, the Chess.com site offered to do a quick computer analysis. Not surprisingly, this move was labelled a blunder.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

warwar adopts the Jerome Defense, first suggested by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in his analysis in an article in the Dubuque Chess Journal of July, 1874. It was first played in Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (1-0, 40).

Interestingly enough, Abhishek29 was playing the same defense against me in the same round, too. My record, at that point, against the line was 25 - 6 - 3, a decent 78% score.

7.Qxe5 d6

As I wrote in the article that I had prepared for Kaissiber (unfortunately, never published)

The defenses 6…Kf8 and 6…Ng6 have had their supporters and detractors, depending on how each evaluated the alternatives – was it better to hold onto a little material and avoid complications, or to enter them confidently, knowing that they would turn the game even more in your favor? 

Jerome (DCJ 7/1874) first suggested 6…Kf8. He followed it with 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.c3 Kf7 10.d4 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Re8 13.0-0 Kg8 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Bh6 “and White has a pawn ahead.” (Actually, the game is even; but Jerome missed that earlier his 11.e5 was premature, as after the pawn exchange 12…Qd3 would be crushing – Paul Keiser, personal communication. The alternative 8…Ke8 was seen in 5 games in the Yetman – Farmer 2008 match.) 

As Sorensen (NS 5/1877) did not mention 6…Kf8, it was not touched upon by other writers until Freeborough and Rankin (COAM, 1889) suggested that it led to a safe game for Black, giving the line 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.Nc3 d6 10.Qf3 Qf7 (or 10...Nf6!) 11.Qe2 Nh6 (or 11...Ne7 or 11...Nf6) with “a superior position or game” to Black. 

A hundred years after Jerome, Harding, in his Counter Gambits (1974), varied, after 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 with 9.d3 Kg8 10.Nc3 Qe8 11.Be3 Bb4 12.0-0 Be6 13.Ne2 Qh5 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.c3 Bc5, advantage to Black. His comment in The Italian Game (1977) was that after 7…d6, White was left “without genuine compensation for his piece.” He sagely recommended the 6…Kf8 line as “other lines would allow White to attack the exposed black king or to win back the sacrificed material.”

8.Qg3 

I experimented with Jerome's 8.Qf4+ in perrypawnpusher - Capt. Mandrake, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic tournament, ChessWorld.com, 2008 (1-0, 9) and perrypawnpusher - LeeBradbury, "Italian Game" Thematic, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 36).

I also tried 8.Qc3 in perrypawnpusher - Raankh, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 22).

There is not much difference in the strength between these two moves and the text, or even 8.Qh5, if Stockfish 9 is to be believed.

8...Nf6 9.Nc3 Kf7 

Abhishek29 chose 9...Be6 in our Round 3 game.

Years ago, perrypawnpusher - klixar, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33) continued 9...Ng4.

perrypawnpusher - truuf, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 32) continued with the text move.

[to be continued]

BSJG: Warped Reality

Bullet chess - games played at a 1 minute, no increment, time control - warps reality. It is a challenge to the minds and nerves of those who play it. It doesn't always make sense. 

What to make of the following game? Black is "winning", right up to the point when he is checkmated by his lower-rated opponent.

angelcamina - Skhokho1507
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5 

White's strongest move here is 6.c3, but any Queen move has to be scary for Black, and takes up thinking time to figure out how to deal with it.

6...Qf6 7.Qe8+ Be7 8.Qh5 

I don't know if White has achieved anything on the board with his Queen moves, but I am sure that he has made progress on his opponent's clock.

Now Black goes after more material - which is fine, as long as he is careful.

8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.f4 Qxf4 11.Nd3 

11...Qf6 12.Qd5 checkmate

*Ouch*

Jerome Gambit: Outrunning the Predator

There is that old joke about two men walking in a forest, when they are suddenly spotted by a large predator. One of the guys starts to change into his running shoes. "You'll never outrun that beast," says his friend. "I don't have to," says the first guy, "I just have to outrun you."

And so it is with the chess clock, especially at short time controls, such as 1 minute, with no increment, as is the case in the following game. Black not only has to defend against the Jerome Gambit, he has to outrun White when it comes to the predator clock. 


angelcamina - pippol7
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qe7 

Black is doing well, so far.

10.Nc3 Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 12.d4 Re8 13.f3 Kg8

14.Qf2 Qf7 15.Bg5 Ne7 16.Rae1 Qg6 

17.Bc1 Nh5 18.f4 Nc6 19.f5 Qf7 20.Qf3 Nf6 21.Bf4 Qc4 

Black is still doing well - but at what cost? The game now becomes a scramble to beat the clock.

22.e5 dxe5 23.dxe5 Nd7 24.f6 g6 25.Bd2 Ncxe5 26.Qd5+ Qxd5 27.Nxd5 Nf7 

The advantage has gone back and forth, but here Black hands his opponent a checkmate in 3 moves. White, however, doesn't need it.

28.Ne7+ Rxe7 29.fxe7 Black lost on time