Jerome Gambit Declined: Still Grumpy

I'm still feeling grumpy about the Jerome Gambit Declined (see my previous post, "Jerome Gambit Declined: Table Turned"), but it's an even-handed grumpiness. Let me show you what I mean.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Ke7

This is how my most recent opponent played. Declining the offer of the Bishop is rare, and doing so by moving the King to e7, instead of f8, is even more rare.

5.Bxg8

This was a suggestion from my last post, and it should be considered, if only because it "solves" the issue of where, otherwise, to retreat the Bishop.

5...Qxg8

The correct recapture, but only seen in 1 of 8 games in The Database. The problem with 5...Rxg8, seen as early as Drewbear - AAlekhine, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2007 (1-0, 33) is that White replies 6.d4, threatening to skewer Black's King and Queen with 7.Bg5+, thus winning a piece.

Alas, only two players responded correctly to 5...Rxg8 - Drewbear, in 2007, and Bill Wall, in 2015 - the latter, the game ended after 10 moves.

As for the text, I have only one game to guide me, a lightning game from 2008. We can follow that for a bit.

6.d4

This is kind of funny. Stockfish 10 prefers 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nd5+ Kd8 8.d4 exd4 9.Bg5+ Kd7 10.0-0, giving up a pawn to do - what? He develops his Bishop, forcing Black's King to block Black's light-squared Bishop, which, in turn, blocks Black's Rook... Certainly a Jerome Gambit strategy if ever there was one.

6...exd4 

7.Bg5+

Striking at the King, although, with the Black Queen at g8, the move is not as strong. Probably 7.c3 was better, when Black could try 7...dxc3 or 7...d5. White would have the safer King, but he would be playing quite a different game than the usual Jerome Gambit.

7...Kd8 8.0-0

Reasonable, although the computer recommends 8.c3. 

8...Be7

Simply allows White to recover his pawn.

9.Bf4

Fine, but 9.Bxe7 Kxe7 10.Nxd4 was hard to argue with. 

9...Qf7

Now a tactical skirmish advanced White's game.

10.Bxc7 d6 11.Nxd4 Kd7 12.Nxc6 Kxc7 13.Nxe7 Qxe7 14.Re1 Rf8

Here, the clock seemed to step in.

15.e5 Qh4 16.Qe2

Instead, 16.Qxd6 was checkmate, but, remember, this was a bullet game. White won at move 32.

[This is blog post #2,750. Thanks for reading!]

Jerome Gambit Declined: Table Turned

The Jerome Gambit Declined - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7 - is beginning to annoy me. 

Some of it has to be psychological. Instead of grabbing the Bishop at move 4, and preparing to accept another piece the next move, Black says "No, thank you" and creates a bit of a gambit, himself. So, Black exchanges the opportunity for a "won" game with the chance to be a pawn down, with little objective compensation.

Huh?

perrypawnpusher - PrestonRFD
Italian Game Classic", Chess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Ke7 

The Jerome Gambit Declined, and probably not in the best way.

The Database has 49 games with this position, with White scoring 70%, including perrypawnpusher - walkinthe spirit, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 24) and perrypawnpusher - walkinthespirit, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 34).

Stronger appears to be 4...Kf8, which appears 312 times in The Database, and against which White has scored 56%.

By comparison, based on almost 14,500 games in The Database, White scores only 46% with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7.

So - Black gives up something by refusing to accept the sacrifice, but the lesson of Geoff Chandler's "blunder table" is that the pawn Black offers in return is not much of a loss on his part. In the meanwhile White is forced to create a plan.

5.Bb3 

Certainly 5.Bxg8, instead, is worth a look: it scores 8-0 in The Database. I gave it a glance before moving my Bishop, but was needlessly worried about 5...Qxg8, with two heavy pieces backing two pawns aimed at the future home of my King.

If the Bishop is not exchanged, where should it go? On any given day, computers seem to prefer 5.Bd5 or 5.Bc4, although I can not figure out what advantage those moves have over the full retreat to b3.

The Database confirms that Black has succeeded in one of his goals, that of confusing White. The eleven 5th move responses include 5.Bb3, 5.c3, 5.Bc4, 5.d3, 5.d4, 5.Bd5, 5.Nxe5, 5.0-0, 5.Ng5, 5.Bxg8 and 5.Bh5.

5...Nf6 

Sensible, predictable and, according to the computer, wrong.

6.Nc3

I know that I am supposed to know all about the Jerome Gambit, so it is a bit embarassing to see this is at least a small error, as well. White should grab the pawn at e5, initiating the "fork trick": 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 when he will get back either the piece at c5 or the one at e5. (I can console myself that there are no game examples of 6.Nxe5 in The Database. I should add this move to my "Jerome Gambit Secrets" posts.)

6...d6 7.h3

This is a boring move, designed mostly to prevent ...Bg4 as an aid to a possible ...Nd4. It was disappointing to come to grips with the realization that my advantage in the game was mostly the extra f-pawn, which wasn't going to advance any time soon. So, my plan became: small moves, small ideas, let him take the leap.

7...Re8 8.d3 Kf8 9.O-O Be6 

After the game, Stockfish recommended now that White play 10.Bxe6 Rxe6 11.Ng5 Re8 12.Nd5, with a complicated tactical line.
No matter. After

10.Bg5 

Black lost on time. 

I am not sure why. Perhaps: the real world.

Strange game, right to the end.

Tournament: Italian Game Classic

I have moved to a 7 - 0 score, with one game incomplete, in the first round of the Chess.com "Italian Game Classic" tournament. That score includes two wins with the Jerome Gambit - one, admittedly on time, which, nonetheless has its educational points, and which will be posted shortly. 

(As I mentioned, one of the players who fell before the Jerome tried it for himself, and was rewarded with a win.)

As all the other players in my group have at least 3 losses, I can count on moving on to the next round, with more Jerome Gambit opportunities.

This is a large tournament - 20 groups of players each - so, who knows how many Jeromes I will be able to rack up?

Win, lose, proud or embarassed - I will share them all.