It has been fun following the games of many Jerome Gambit players, including, recently, DANNYALBERTO at the online site FICS. In the following game, he forgets the best line that he had once discovered - but manages to pull off a win in under a dozen moves, anyhow, proving, once again, that "Jerome Gambit + blitz chess = exciting play".
DANNYALBERTO - boggus
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
The Database has 69 with DANNYALBERTO playing White in the position; he scores 64%.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Qg5
Black plays the thematic move in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit! Best, however, even with the increased risk to his King, was to take the Knight, 6...Kxe5.
7.cxd4
A bit too casual was 7.O-O, which was followed by an uneven game: 7...Qxe5 8.cxd4 Qxd4 9.d3 Bb4 10.Qb3+ Ke7 11.Be3 Qd6 12.d4 Ba5 13.e5 Qb6 14.Bg5+ Ke8 15.Qc4 h6 16.Bh4 Ne7 17.a3 Qc6 18.Qd3 Qd5 19.b4 Bb6 20.Rd1 d6 21.Nc3 Qf7 22.exd6 cxd6 White lost on time, DANNYALBERTO - Steftcho, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2016.
7...Qxg2
Black's Queen threatens mayhem on the Kingside!
The game is soon to be over - but not as Black plans.
8.Rf1
Forgetting this from last year: 8.Qb3+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc6 11.Qd5 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - boggus, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019.
He had also played the very reasonable 8.Qf3, which brought victory after 8...Qxf3 9.Nxf3 Nf6 10.Nc3 c6 11.d3 d5 12.Ng5+ Ke7 13.b3 h6 14.Nf3 Bg4 15.Ne5 Bh5 16.Rg1 g5 17.Ba3+ Ke8 18.Bxf8 Rxf8 19.exd5 cxd5 20.Kd2 Ke7 21.Rae1 Kd6 22.Nb5+ Ke7 23.Ng6+ Kf7 24.Nxf8 Rxf8 25.Nd6+ Kg6 26.Nxb7 Rb8 27.Nc5 a5 28.Re6 Kf5 29.Rxf6+ Kxf6 30.Nd7+ Kf5 31.Nxb8 Kf4 32.Rg3 Bg6 33.Nc6 h5 34.Ne7 Bh7 35.Nxd5+ Kf5 36.Ne7+ Kf4 37.Nc6 h4 38.Rg1 g4 39.Nxa5 Bf5 40.Nc4 Kf3 41.Ne3 Bd7 42.Nxg4 Bxg4 43.a4 Bc8 44.Rg7 Kxf2 45.d5 h3 46.d6 Be6 47.b4 Bd5 48.a5 Bg2 49.d7 Kg1 50.d8=Q Kxh2 51.Qd6+ Kh1 52.Qg3 h2 53.Qxg2, checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - fluters, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019.
He also experimented with (got away with) the dangerous 8.Qh5: 8...Qxh1+ 9.Ke2 Qxe4+ 10.Kd1 Nf6 (10...Qxd4 11.Nf3 Qf6 12.Nc3 d5 13.Qxd5+ Ke7 14.d3 c6 15.Qb3 Qxf3+ 16.Kc2 Qxf2+ 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Re1+ Kd6 19.Qf7 Qf5 20.Ne2 Be6 21.Bf4+ Kc5 22.Qxb7 Bd6 23.Be3+ Kd5 24.Qb3+ Ke5 25.Bd4 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - boggus, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2016) 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Nc4+ Kc6 13.Ne5+ Kb6 14.Qb3+ Ka6 15.Qa4+ Kb6 16.Nc4 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - fluters, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019.
8...Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2
Material is even, and White has an advantage in development, but his pawn structure is a mess. Komodo 10 gives Black about a pawn advantage, provided he addresses his need for development.
Instead, Black sees the opportunity to go pawn hunting with his now relatively safe King - but he has overlooked something.
10...Kd5 11.Nf7 Black resigned
I have added to The Database some more Jerome Gambit (and Jerome-ish) games played online at FICS from the first quarter of 2020. Making my way through some of them, I came upon a small mystery.
Here is the game. By the way, drumme is well-versed in the Jerome Gambit, having 589 games in The Database, scoring 55%.
drumme - talyprossoneri
4 0 blitz, FICS, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nx6 hxg6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.d3 Black resigned
Black's resignation is puzzling. He has two extra pieces for four pawns - perhaps a practical challenge in a 4-minute game (for the record, in the 45 games in The Database with this position, Black won only 16, and drew 2) - an advantage that Komodo 10 assesses at about a pawn and a half.
Maybe the outside world intruded to call him away.
If the reason was chessic, I can make a guess. Suppose talyprossoneri was intending on playing the pawn capture and fork 9...Nxc2+, followed by 10.Kd1 Nxa1 - when he suddenly realized that his opponent would then have 11.Bg5+, as in paddjaa - vlas, blitz, FICS, 2011, which would lead to checkmate after 11...Nf6 12.Qxf6+ Ke8 13.Qg6+. Ouch.
analysis diagram
However, Black did not have to go after the poisoned Rook, as he had at least two other reasonable moves to consider.
The first was 9...Ne6, although, after 10.Bg5+ Nxg5 11.Qxg5+ Black still has to solve the problem of the f6 square and the d8-h4 diagonal. A 1-minute game, jollygeoff - brouchek 1 0 lightning, FICS, 2016, finished things off from that position with 11...Kf7? 12.Qxd8 and Black resigned a few moves later. The proper response was 11...Nf6, as after 12.e5 Kf7 13.exf6 Qxf6
analysis diagram
Black's two Bishops (one, the extra piece) are probably better than White's three extra pawns.
The second choice for Black is the somewhat stronger (according to Komodo 10) 9...Nf6, as long as the defender meets 10.e5 with 10...Ke6!? (Instead, 10...Ne8? was seen in KingAsh - NightEagle, 1 0 lightning, FICS, 2015 [1-0, 40, time forfeit], when the game should have continued with 11.Bg5+, again leading to checkmate). Best, then, for White would be 11.exf6 Qxf6, as opposed to 11.0-0, from GOH - gruzanin, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 42, time forfeit).
Analysis position
In club play, of course, in both cases, White might have some practical chances with his three passed, connected passed pawns against the enemy Bishop. Especially, as we have seen in some of the example games, time appeared to be on the attacker's side.
There are many refutations to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and its relatives, but that does not mean that every defense will be successful.
In the following game, White is headed for the Jerome, when his opponent takes a sideline - and, then, another. It is time to administer the "Jerome cure" to Black, although the patient did not survive.
hastrman - KingRuffus
FICS, 2020
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.Nc3 Na5
Black's position can tolerate either his 3rd or his 4th move, but the combination of the two spells disaster, as White quickly points out.
5.Bxf7+
The Database has 88 games with this move. White scores a healthy 86%.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Kf6
Black's best move was 6...Ke6, but his King would still be in great danger after 7.Qh5. White's Knights would have many brutal forks after the second one joined in at d5, definitely a position worth exploring.
White now has a forced checkmate, and his opponent ends the game quickly.
7.Qh5 Qe7 8.Qf5 checkmate
