Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Jerome Gambit: An Old Favorite Returns (Again)



I have been having fun playing over some of williamnorge's Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games at the online site lichess.org. His name came up in a Reddit post where it was pointed out that he had scored well recently against some significantly higher-rated opponents.

First, though, I wanted to share the most recent example of a defensive "ooops!" that happens when players are moving quickly - too quickly. One of the culprits is the 5-minute time control, but I suspect another is the general disruption that the disreputable Jerome Gambit causes. 


williamnorge  - manker

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 d6 

Blackburne's defense. It can lead to complicated and exciting play that should tilt toward White, but probably eventually - at least in the eyes of the computers - should lead to a draw.

8.Qxh8 

Fortune favors the bold.

8...Nf6 Black resigned


I can imagine Black running quickly through a mental checklist: 

Develop piece? Check

Protect h-pawn from attack by enemy Queen? Check

Prepare to destroy White a la Blackburne? Check

First move Queen out of the way ? Oooops.

In all fairness, there are 18 examples of this slip in The Database.


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