It looks like the Chess.com 2020 Jerome Gambit Championship has been cancelled.
I have contacted the intended Tournament Director, E4fortheL, for further information.
It looks like there will be a chance for a 2021 Jerome Gambit Championship!
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Friday, November 27, 2020
Jerome Gambit: Head Spin
Anonymous - Anonymous,
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Seen recently: 8.Qf5+ Qf7 9.Qxc5+ Ke8 10.Qxc7 Qe6 11.O-O Qxe4 12.f3 Qd4+ 13.Rf2 Qa4 14.Qe5+ Ne7 15.Qxg7 Rg8 16.Qxh7 Qa5 17.Re2 Qg5 18.Rxe7+ Qxe7 19.Qxg8+ Qf8 20.Qxf8+ Kxf8 Black resigned, Anonymous - Anonymous, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020.
8...Nxe7
Alternatively, and about equal in strength: 8...Bxe7 9.O-O d6 10.d4 Bd7 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.f4 g6 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Kg7 15.exf6+ Bxf6 16.Be3 Rhe8 17.Bf2 Re7 18.Rae1 Rae8 19.Rxe7+ Rxe7 20.Nd5 Rf7 21.Nxf6 Rxf6 22.d5 Ra6 23.a3 Bf5 24.c4 Ra4 25.Rc1 Kf6 26.Bd4+ Ke7 27.b3 Rxa3 28.Bc5+ Kd7 29.Bxa3 Black resigned, Anonymous - Anonymous, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
9.c3 d5 10.d4 Bb6 11.e5 c5
White has established his pawn center, with a protected passed pawn at e5; Black immediately attacks it.
12.Be3 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nf5 14.Nc3 Be6 15.O-O-O Nxe3 16.fxe3 Ke7
Black's two Bishops look dangerous, while, for the time being, White's center has stalled.
17.Rhf1 Rhf8 18.Rf4 g5 19.Rf3 Bg4 20.Rxf8 Rxf8 21.Rd2 Be6
Okay, who's got a plan?
22.Kc2 Ba5 23.a3 Bc7 24.b4 a5 25.Kb3 axb4 26.axb4 h5 27.e4
Working for a mobile center, at last.
27...dxe4+ 28.d5
The center looks troublesome, but, with a lot of time on his clock, Black could find a way for his Bishops to tame it. The problem: he never has a lot of time on his clock.
28...Bf5 29.d6+ Bxd6 30.exd6+ Kd7
Black's Bishop and passed pawn would seem to give him the edge over White's Knight and blockaded passer, but the game is about even.
White's next move is an error, but neither he nor his opponent notice. The clock is pushing things at a rapid pace and the players are moving more quickly.
31.Rd5 Rf6 32.Nb5 g4 33.Kc3
Fixing things.
33...Be6 34.Rxh5 Rf2 35.Re5 Rxg2 36.Rxe4 Rxh2 37.Nd4
A tense position, but still in balance.
37...g3
A slip. With the safe 37...Bd5 38.Rxg4 Rh3+ 39.Kd2 Kxd6 the game would still be even.
38.Rxe6 g2 39.Rg6 Rh4 40.Rxg2 Rxd4 41.Kxd4 Kxd6 42.Rg6+ Black resigned
Whew! Black trusts his opponent can find the checkmate in time.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Jerome Gambit: A Game of Survival
The following game is not only a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it is a game of survival and a race against time. After White's 32nd move, Stockfish 11 rates his opponent as over 7 Queens ahead... That's a whole lot of trouble. Certainly the Jerome has been kinder to him on many other occasions. But that is not the whole story. A player wins a chess game if he checkmates his opponent, if his opponent resigns - or if his opponent runs out of time.
I could make reference here to the movie "Forest Gump" and the "Run, Forest, Run!" meme, but I prefer the high speed chase sequences between the cartoon characters Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner, that often lead off a cliff...
(I saw another chess player complain about another opponent the other day: He's not strong, he just moves quickly. Well, then don't play blitz...)
Anonymous - Anonymous,
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
An interesting idea, taking advantage of Black's King in the center of the board. It is relatively rare: The Database has 7 previous games with the move, with White soring 21%. (In bullet chess, just about anything goes.)
11...Kxe4 12.d4 Bd6 13.O-O Nf6 14.Bg5 b6 15.Na3 Bb7
Except for Black's hyper-developed King, his position looks very good.
16.Nb5 Kd5 17.Rac1 Kc4
White is interested in checkmating the enemy King. Black is skeptical.
18.a4 Kb3 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Rxf6
Grabbing a pawn while it is available.
21...Kxa4 21.c4 Raf8
Swapping Rooks is a good, forcing, defensive plan.
22.Rxf8 Rxf8 23.h3 Bg3 24.Rc3 a6 25.Rxg3 axb5 26.Ra3+ Kb4 27.cxb5 Kxb5
So far Black had defended well, and his extra piece gives him a winning edge.
28.Rc3 Bc6 29.d5 Bxd5 30.Rxc7 Bc6 31.Ra7 Rg8 32.Ra3
An unfortunate slip, quite understandable when you are taking only a second - or less! - per move. 32.g4 was the only defensive try available.
32...Rxg2+ 33.Kf1 Rxb2
Black is clearly better, but can he checkmate his opponent before his flag falls? The fact that the game continues for 17 more moves shows that White is skeptical about Black's chances...
34.Re3 Kb4 35.Re7 Rb3 36.Rxh7 Rf3+ 37.Ke2 Rg3
38.Rh4+ Kb3 39.Kf2 Rg2+ 40.Ke3 Rh2 41.Rh5 Rh1 42.Kd4 Rd1+ 43.Ke5 Rh1 44.Kd6 Re1 45.Kc7
Catch me, if you can! A whole new idea in fortresses.
45...Rd1 46.Re5 Rh1 47.Rc5
Clearly, a race to the finish.
47...Rxh3
See?
48.Rb5+ Kc4 49.Rxb6 Kd5 50.Rb8 White won on time
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Jerome Gambit: At it Again
We recently saw his successful use of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in a practice game before joining his Canadian teammates playing in the 1st FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 
The Database shows that Louis has reached this position 20 times previously. Maybe he can't remember every single one of those games, but he probably was comfortable at this point in this game.
When in doubt, attack the enemy Queen.
I am not sure that grabbing the b-pawn was a good idea, but I am sure that the Knight should have retreated to f6, even if it was afraid of White's e4-e5.
22.Qe3
28.g4 Re8 29.Rce1 Qc7
Checkmate is unavoidable.
Captain of the Canadian team, FIDE master Richard Berube, recently wrote this about Louis
Most chess players say that the game encourages rational thinking, teaches us to respect some basic principles and shows that success can come only as a result of playing good practical moves. Louis Morin, member of team Canada at the DIS FIDE Online Olympiad, is probably not one of them. Louis believes mainly in psychological chess where an opponent is confronted with problems of different natures. In the fourth round of the DIS Olympiad, Louis had the «chance», for a second time, to play a very bizarre opening called the «Jerome Gambit», a catastrophic opening forcing the opponent to reconsider what he knows about the initial phase of the game. The result looks like this.
Morin, Louis - Mrunali, Pande
25 10 FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
10.d3 Kf7 11.O-O Rf8 12.f4 Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand and has the typical piece-for-two-pawns advantage.
13.Nc3 c6 14.Bd2 Ng4
This is not a bad move, but it does call to mind Master Berube's comment about "forcing the opponent to reconsider what he knows about the initial phase of the game". It is likely a sign that Black is confronting the notion, What do I do next?
He might have played the move he had just prepared, 14...d5.
By the way, 14...Ng4 had previously been seen in mrjoker - drstrangemove, 2 12 blitz ICC, 2008 (1-0, 53).
15.Qg3
Anticipating ...Qh4. In light of his later plans to advance his Kingside pawns, he might have considered keeping the Queen out of the way with 15.Qe2.
15...Qb6+ 16. Kh1 Qxb2 17.Rac1 Nh6
I am not sure that grabbing the b-pawn was a good idea, but I am sure that the Knight should have retreated to f6, even if it was afraid of White's e4-e5.
18.f5 Ne5
Natural, but a mistake. Black misses the point that it is time to return some of the sacrificed material with 18...Bxf5 19.exf5 Nxf5 when he could maintain an edge.
19.Bxh6 Rf7 20.Bd2 Bd7 21.h3 Qb6
I am not sure that White needs to exchange Queens. If I were to guess, however, I would suspect that Louis assesses that his opponent will want to keep his Queen and keep it active. In effect, White gets to reposition Her Majesty for free.
22...Qd8 23.Kh2 Qh4 24.Qg3
If so, this is a change of plans.
24...Qd8
Consistent.
25.Bg5 Qa5
I suspect his team captain will want to have a word with him after the game.
26.d4 Nc4 27.Qd3
Repositioning the Queen almost for free.
27...b5
To hold up the advance of the e-pawn.
30.Bf4 Kh8 31.a4 a6 32.axb5 axb5
33.g5 Rg8
The defense is difficult, especially since 33...Kg8 would be met by 34.f6, and then 35.e5, but that was the way to go.
34.Qg3 Qb8 35.g6 Re7
36.Qh4 Rge8
Or 36...h6 37.Bxh6 Rge8 38.Bg5+ Kg8 39.Qh7+ Kf8 40.Qh8#
37.Qxh7 checkmate
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Jerome Gambit: Defending His Way to Victory
The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game shows White on the defensive in the beginning, as Black tries to use his advantage - but not successfully. By the time White is done with his quiet moves, he has a better game, and then goes on to victory.
amazinggamer99 - Kunalkant
2 1 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Black's King is relatively safe on f8. His Bishop at c5 prevents easy castling by White, putting a Rook on f1 to stare at His Majesty.
9...Be6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Ng4 12.Qd2 Qh4
13.Nc3 h5
Aggressive blitz play.
14.h3 Rh6
An interesting Rook lift, but over-estimating the power of the current pin on White's h-pawn: things can change.
15.g3 Qe7 16.hxg4 Bxg4
17.Qe3 Rf6 18.Nd5 Qf7 19.Nxf6 Qxf6 20.f3 Qxb2
This threat can be dealt with - by not castling.
21.Kd2 Be6 22.Rab1 Qxa2 23.Qg5 b6 24.Qxh5 Qa5+
White's Queen looks like trouble, so Black exchanges it off, but the problems do not stop.
25.Qxa5 bxa5 26.Rb7 a4 27.Rh8+ Bg8 28.Kc1 a3 29.f4 a5
Black's passed a-pawns are not going to amount to anything, especially after White closes down the a2-g8 diagonal.
30.c4 a4 31.Kb1 g6 32.Rxc7 Rb8+ 33.Ka2 Rb3
He might as well try to distract his opponent and hope for help from the clock.
34.g4 Rxd3 35.Rc8+ Ke7 36.Rhxg8 Re3 37.e5 dxe5 38.fxe5 Kd7 39.Rgd8+ Ke6 40.Re8+ Kd7 41.c5 Rxe5
Clock or slip? Doesn't matter.
42.Rxe5 g5 43.Rb8 Kc7 44.Rb6 Black resigned
Monday, November 23, 2020
The Brutal Jerome Gambit
I just finished visiting ChessTerra.com, where I watched the video "The brutal Jerome Gambit (And how to destroy it!)"
Stjepan Tomić does a good job of analyzing the Jerome. I encourage Readers to take a close look. It is important for Defenders to know what they will be facing, and it is important for Attackers to know what they might come up against.
Is the video wrong? No.
But, you can see Tomić's appreciation of the Jerome
The Jerome gambit is absolutely mad and completely unsound, but... It creates such confusion in black’s position and it can end games in a matter of moves. Black goes a ton of material up but is at risk of getting mated straight away.
He rightly places White's chances as best in games with quick time controls
...blitz where you don’t have time to calculate and one mistake could cost you the game. The engine will win every time and if you have an hour on the clock you will win every time as well
But if you don't have that much time on the clock...
Also, when Tomić recommends a line for Black, ahead of some other ideas, he explains how White can play against those second-best choices. Nice.
Check it out.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Jerome Gambit: MrJoker As Sharp As Ever
Long time readers of this blog - or, newer readers who have done their research - are familiar with chess friend and Jerome Gambit investigator, Canadian Louis Morin, who has played online as MrJoker. He has also risked rating points and the occasional skeptical eye by playing the Jerome over-the-board, as well.
This weekend the FIDE Olympiad for the Disabled has started - online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Louis is playing for the Canadian team.
Of course, in a warm up, practice game, he had to play the Jerome Gambit. Take a look: his tactics are as sharp as ever.
Morin, Louis - Moran, Helmer Andras Orteg
25 10 online, FIDE Olympiad for the Disabled, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
The Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit, played at least as early as Jaeger, D - Jerome, A.W., correspondence, 1880, but already suggested in Jerome's 1874 analysis in the Dubuque Chess Journal. It is a solid defense, avoiding the risky-feeling 6...Ke6 and side-stepping the offer of a Rook with 6...g6.
7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 Qe7 10.O-O Be6 11.Nc3
Most games reach the point where the opening stage is complete (or almost complete) and the question is then: What now? Black has defended well, and it looks like he intends to castle-by-hand, a prudent decision.
11...Kf7 12.Be3 Bb4
I am not sure what this move is about. It would seem okay to exchange Bishops (When you are ahead in material, exchange pieces) even though it would open the f-file for White's Rook: 12...Bxe3 13.fxe3 Rhf8 14.e5 dxe5 15.Qxe5 Kg8. Black's King would be safe, the pressure along the f-file would largely be neutralized, and White' benefit would mostly have been exchanging his f-pawn for White's d-pawn. Black's next move shows what he might have been thinking.
13.f4 Ng4
Apparently there was no need for Black to exchange off his Bishop; he could just trade a Knight for White's Bishop, instead.
White has other ideas. It is time to attack.
14.f5 Nxe3
Counting on the fact that the Knight now attacks White's Rook, and so the Queen must recapture 15.Qxe3, after which there is the unsettling 15...Bc4. But Black overlooks the fact that the next move is a discovered double check.
15.fxe6+
It was safer for the King to run for cover with 15...Ke8. What would White have, then? That is an interesting question. After the simple 16.Qxe3 Qxe6 17.Nd5 it looks like White would be a pawn up, working to exchange his Knight for Black's Bishop. But White's lead in development, and Black's uneasy King, would encourage the first player to continue after, say, 17...Bc5, with 18.d4 Bb6 19.Rf4 Rf8 20.Raf1 Rxf4 21.Nxf4 when White would clearly be better, with attacking prospects.
However, if you have a good imagination - or a good sense of humor - you might choose to meet 15...Ke8 with 16.Nd5!?, a seriously Joker-like move, the point being that the natural 16...Nxd5 17.exd5 would give White a great supported outpost for his Rook at f7. Even active defense would be of limited use: 17...Bc5+ 18.Kh1 Rf8 19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 (or 19...Qxf8 20.d4 Bb6 21.Qd3) 20.Rf1+ Kg8 21.Rf7.
16.Qh3+
Do you think MrJoker has been reading and drawing inspiration from the articles on this blog by Yury Bukayev??
White now has a forced checkmate.
16...Ke5 17.Rf5+ Nxf5 18.Qxf5+ Kd4 19.Nb5+ Ke3 20.Qf2 checkmate
The game lasted, I am told, 5 minutes.