Reader Jordan Taylor recently let me know that Grandmaster Aman Hambleton has played another Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)!
Visitors to this blog site are probably familiar with the Canadian GM, in large part because of his hilarious video (see "Jerome Gambit: All In Good Fun") concerning the Jerome - and this blog, and me. In it, he tries to make sense out of the opening, and of someone who would actually spend so much time on it - and then blog about it.
The video was responsible for a massive spike in visitors to this site, and continues to introduce players to the Jerome Gambit. I much appreciate it.
(I hope it would not surprise the GM too much to learn that chess, in general, and writing, in particular, are my main hobbies, not just the Jerome Gambit. In 1988, along with Riley Sheffield, I wrote the book The Marshall Gambit in the French and Sicilian Defenses. My stories have appeared in Chess Life, Chess Life Kids and School Mates. Anyone looking really hard would find my profile of Russ Chauvenet in Deaf Life magzine; I also edited and published "The Silent Knight", the newsletter of the United States Chess Association of the Deaf, for 14 years. It would probably take The Wayback Machine, but it should also be possible to find my book reviews and stories - over 100, each - at the now defunct Chessville.com website.)
I thought it would be fun to share GM Hambleton's most recent Jerome Gambit game, as well as earlier ones that he he has played.
KNVB (2713) - CzechmVIII (2265)
3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5
It is necessary to take a detour, already, to include a couple of games that started out with the Two Knights Defense: 3...Nf6 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
6...Bd6?! (6...Nc6 was stronger, but Black caved quickly in another game 7.e5 Nd5?! 8.Qf3+ Kg8? 9.Qxd5 checkmate, ChessBrah - kevvvvvvv, 5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020) 7.dxe5 Bxe5 8.f4 Re8?!
Giving back the second sacrificed piece and setting up pressure along the dangerous e-file, but it turns the advantage over to White.
9.fxe5 Rxe5 10.O-O Rxe4 11.Nc3 Re6 12.Bg5
White has compensation for his pawn.
12...Qe8? (breaking one of two pins) 13.Nd5 Qd8 (back again) 14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Nxf6+ Rxf6 17.Qg5+ Kf7 18.Rxf6+
Up the exchange, it looks like White is trading down to a better endgame - but there is more in the position.
18...Qxf6 19.Rf1 Qxf1+ 20.Kxf1 d6 Black resigned, KNVB - boringhard, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020
4.Bxf7+ Kxf7
We have to side-step again, for a Jerome Gambit declined, 4...Kf8: dontcallmelab - ChessBrah, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com 2021 (0-1, 30)
5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5+
No comments:
Post a Comment