Jerome Gambit: No Automatic Moves, Please

There are many ways to refute the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), but none of them occur by accident. Black has to pay attention, think things through, and avoid making moves automatically, on the presumption that they have to be "good".

Wall, Bill - Guest3174027
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.a4 

Bill likes to experiment. You might think that this move is a novelty, but, according to The Database, it has been played before - by Bill. Will a Bishop go to a3? A Rook? Or is this more of Jerome Gambit "psychology"?

8...Nf6 

Previously 8...h6 was seen: 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3 a6 11.f4 Nc6 12.Qd3 Rf8 13.Bd2 Kg8 14.Qc4+ Kh8 15.Rfe1 Bd7 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Ne7 18.Ba5 b6 19.Bd2 c5 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.Rxe7 Qxe7 22.Qxc6 Rac8 23.Qxb6 Rxc2 24.Re1 Qf6 25.Qe3 Qxb2 26.Rd1 Rfc8 27.f5 d5 28.h3 a5 29.Kh1 d4 30.Qd3 R8c4 31.f6 gxf6 32.Qg6 d3 33.Qxh6+ Kg8 34.Qg6+ Kf8 35.Re1 Black resigned, Wall, Bill - Guest7904333, PlayChess.com, 2018

9.Nc3 c5 10.Qd2 Re8 11.O-O Be6 

So far, Black has a piece for a pawn, and his development is better. He must stay away from "automatic" moves, however.

12.Rd1 d5

This move winds up dropping a piece, leaving White a pawn up.

13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Qxd5 16.Rxd5 Nc4 

White is a pawn up. He does not risk losing, but he still needs to be careful, in order to find the win. 

17.h3 Re1+ 18.Kh2 b6 19.b3 Ne5 20.Bb2 Re8 

A slip, but there was little hope in 20...Rxa1, 21.Bxa2 Nc6 22.Rd7+ Ne7 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Rxe7+ when White would simply be up a couple of pawns in the endgame.

21.Rxe1 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Another Zombie Attack

Here is the latest game from Cliff Hardy - a 1-minute, no increment, bullet game that has 60 moves. That's an average of 1 second per move, and Cliff not only won the game, he (of course) won it with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

The commentary is Cliff's. I have added a few diagrams. Have fun!

Hi Rick!

I'm sorry to be so shameless to inflict this 1 0 game on you but the Zombie Attack I got with my pawns in the game was so heart warming ☺. I'm so shameless I even stole the term "Zombie Attack" from your blog! 😉

Cliff Hardy (2212) - NN (2164)
1 0 bullet, Lichess, 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 Qe7 

9.Qe3 d6 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.0-0 Kf7 12.f4 Rf8 

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc6 15.Qd3 Kg8 16.Bg5 Qf7 17.Rae1

17...Qh5 18.Bxf6 Rxf6 19.Nd5 Rf7 20.c4 Qg5 21.g3 Qd8 22.g4? =

The zombies are moving! But moving a different zombie with 22.e5! would have yielded White a winning position.

22...Ne7 23.Nf4 Bd7 24.h4 Nc6 25.g5 Rf8 26.a3 Qe8 27.b4 a6

28.Qc3 Qf7 29.a4 

 The zombies have lined up right across the board and are walking (or maybe even dancing?) together down the board like that in the "Thriller" film clip.

29...b5 30.axb5 axb5 31.c5 Na7 32.d5 dxc5 33.bxc5 c6 34.d6 Rae8

35.Qd4 Qc4 36.Qxc4+ bxc4 37.Rf2??

The zombies shouldn't have stopped walking. After 37.e5!? Bxf5 38.e6!, White's zombies on d6 and e6 would have made up for bishop deficit, and led to a slight advantage for White.

37...Nb5??

Crushing for black would have been to take the free pawn with 37...Rxf5!

38.Rc2 Bxf5 39.Rxc4 Be6 40.Nxe6 Rxe6 41.e5 Rd8 42.Rce4 Na7 43.Kf2 Nc8 44.Kf3 Nxd6??

OK, with this Black hangs the knight. Now the standard of the game really goes down the tubes, as we both made a mad rush for the time limit.

45.Kg4?? Nxe4 46.Rxe4 Rxe5?? 47.Rf4?? Rd4?? 48.h5?? Rxc5?? 49.Rxd4

Lol, finally! 😃

49...Rc4?? 50.Rxc4 h6 51.Rxc6 Kf7 52.Rc7+ Ke6 53.gxh6 gxh6 54.Rh7 Kf6 55.Rxh6+ Kg7 56.Rg6+ Kh8 57.Kg5 Kh7 58.Rc6 Kh8 59.Kg6 Kg8 60.Rc8 checkmate

I only checkmated with 0.28 seconds left on the clock so it was a bit chaotic for the last quarter of the game! 😃

Bye,

Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3wmW3RZBok 

Jerome Gambit: Slowly Surrendering the Advantage

Part of the fun of playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) comes when the opponent collapses in his defense, and White can finish him off with a series of aggressive blows.

Sometimes, however, Black slowly surrenders the advantage that he has gained from accepting the sacrifices. Like the tide coming in, his risk grows and grows - until his game is under water.

The following game is a good example.

Wall, Bill - Alfred
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6 

"Reasonable," but not best.

7.dxe5 Nh6 

Again, reasonable, but not best. On the other hand, Bill has faced 7...Qh4 a half dozen times, and dispatched it just as many.

8.Nc3

Bill may have passed on playing 8.Qh5+!? (a novelty, according to The Database) because after 8...Kg8 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.f4 White's "Jerome pawns" would be advancing without the support of a Rook on f1, as Black's Bishop prevents White from castling. A move later, he decides on the move, any way.

8...Re8 9.Qh5+ Kg8 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.f4 d6 

Black still has an edge, but he has to be careful.

12.Nd5 dxe5 

This is one way of reacting to the threat of Nf6+, winning the exchange. Strongest, however, was 12...Kh8.

13.O-O-O

Safeguarding his King, and cooking up all sorts of mischief.

13...exf4 

Missing the threat.

14.Nxb6 Qe7 

15.Nxa8 c6 16.Rd6 Black resigned

Black gains nothing, now, from 16...Qxd6 17.Qxe8+, and when White's Knight escapes from the corner the defender will simply be down a Rook.