Was The Immortal Draw (1872) Inspired By The Jerome Gambit Win (1863)??

I have spent a lot of time looking for the earlier games or analysis that inspired Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to invent his gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.  

I recently received an email from chessfriend Yury V. Bukayev that suggests that I may have been getting things backward.   

Dear Rick, good morning!

I suggest you to create the publication "Was Immortal Draw (1872) Inspired By Jerome Win (1863)?" Thus, you have published on your blog the following: "Jerome Gambit: Startling Discovery"

The "startling discovery" was of the accurate date of the game Tonetti - Ruggieri, Rome, 1863, a "Jerome Gambit" almost a dozen years before Jerome published his analysis. I had originally dated it after Jerome.

I suggest to compare it with the game Hamppe - Meitner (1872) which is known as the Immortal Draw. Thus, the early opening stages of these games have a lot of common ideas:

1863: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.d4....

1872: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.Ke3 Qf4+ 6.Kd3 d5.....

Moreover, the blow Bxf7+ (Tonetti) and the blow ...Bxf2+ (Meitner) are not strong theoretically, we know today. Probably, Mr. Tonetti and Mr. Meitner also have understood that they make a not strong move, but with a bright psychological effect. The problem is the following: was the game of 1863 known to Mr. Meitner in the moment of this his game of 1872?

Yours sincerely,

Yury 

 I have looked at the Immortal Draw - see "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit" Part 1, 2, 3 and Endpiece as well as "Hamppe - Meitner Revealed" - but always from the perspective as an inspiration for the Jerome.

Yury raises a good question: can Hamppe - Meitner be traced back to the ideas of Jerome gambit?

Jerome Gambit: What Else?

It can be educational to follow the games of a particular chess player, to see what lines he likes, and how he confronts different defensive strategies.

The following blitz game is an interesting example.

Arisaaa - YM_30

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 9.Qc3 

Instead of retreating his Queen to e3, White places it on the a1-h8 diagonal where it can manace the pawn on g7. Should Black protect the pawn, or should he let it go? Arisaaa's opponents have tried different ideas.

9...Kf7 

Also:

9...d6 10.Qxg7 (the Rook is protected, so Black sees this move as a minor inconvenience) Be6 11.d4 d5 12.Nc3 c6 13.O-O Qc7?! 14.g3 (14.f4) 14...Kd7 15.Na4?! Rag8?! (15...b6) 16.Nc5+ Kd6? 17.Bf4+ Nxf4 18.Qe5 checkmate, Arisaaa - TreinoLevaAperfeito, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021; and

9...Rg8 (this does not disrupt castling, as this disruption has already happened) 10.O-O d6 11.Re1 Be6 12.d4 d5 13.Qb3 b6 14.f4 Nf8?! 15.f5 Bf7 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Qxd5 Bxd5 18.Bg5 h6 19.Rxe7+ Kd8 20.Nc3 Bxg2 21.Rxg7+ hxg5 22.Rxg8 Ke7 23.Kxg2 Black resigned, Arisaaa - Diee24, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021. 

10.f4 Rf8 11.f5 Nh8 12.O-O Kg8 13.b3 

Black has castled-by-hand. Undaunted,White plans an attack along the a1-h8 diagonal.

This is a 3-minute game and things happen quickly.

13...Nf7

Preparing the Knight to return to the battlefield; but the Rook needed to be able to go to f7, for example 13...d5 14.Bb2 Rf7.

14.Bb2 g6 15.Qg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Sillycon Persists

I am still having problems with the "sillycon defense" to the Jerome Gambit. Here is the latest example that I have discovered.

abyputera - JIUYAN

6 5 blitz, lichess.org,  2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Kc6 

9.Qxe5 d5 

Stockfish 14.1 likes this move, although it likes 9...Nf6 better. 

10.d4 Bb6 

Alternately, 10...Bf8 11.c4 Nf6 12.cxd5+ Kb6 13.Nc3 a6 14.Qg5 Ka7 15.O-O c6 16.e5 Nxd5 17.Qxd8 Nxc3 18.bxc3 Rb8 19.Rb1 Ka8 20.Be3 Bb4 21.Qb6 Bxc3 22.d5 c5 23.Bxc5 Black resigned, penguingim1-sutcunuri, lichess.org, 2020.

11.Nc3 

Interesting is 11.c4. The pawns are strong. The computer will go on and on in an equal position. 

11...Ba5 

12.exd5+ Kb6 13.Bd2 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qe7 

Exchanging Queens is a good defensive strategy, although danger to the King is more of an issue right now.

15.Rb1+ Ka6 16.O-O Qxe5 17.dxe5 Ne7 18.c4 b6 

The "Jerome pawns are powerful.

19.Bb4 Nf5 20.c5 bxc5 21. Bxc5 Bb7 22.c4 Bc8 23. Rb3 Bd7 24.e6  Be8 25. Rfb1 Bg6 26. Ra3 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Giuoco Piano Game Tournament Update

Two players from each of twenty 5-player groups in the "Giuoco Piano Game" tournament at Chess.com will advance from the first round to the second round.

At this point, it looks that out of DocBrowne, ycarissan, jonmather, Ben_is_not10 and myself, DocBrown and I (the two highest rated in the group) will advance.

So far I have scored 3 - 0 with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). One game remains. It is complicated and at this point favors my opponent. We shall see...

Jerome Gambit: Why? Redux

It was not long ago that I posted "Jerome Gambit: Why Would He Play That?" warning those who play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) of a modest-looking defensive move that could have painful consequences if overlooked.

At the time I was concerned that I might be over-emphasizing something - but I recently looked at the latest batch of games sent to me by Dan Middlemiss (something he does regularly, e.g. "Jerome Gambit: Box Load of Fun") and I noticed the following game.

Surprises and bad things can happen in a blitz game.

EXEZO - nebras1

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 

7...d6 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bf4 Qf6 

The threat against White's Bishop disguises the major threat.

10.Bg3 Nf3+ White resigned

White will lose his Queen. 10.Qe3, 10.Ne2 or 10.Be3, for example, would have saved Her Majesty.

Merry Christmas 2021

 

Merry Christmas. May all your gambits be accepted.

Jerome-Evans Gambit

It can be fun to combine the Evans Gambit with the Jerome Gambit, although the result can be even more chaotic.

The following game shows White gaining an overwhelming advantage, only to lose it - and then regain it in time to administer checkmate.

valish24 - silvergrey06

5 5 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 

The Evans Gambit.

4...Nxb4 

Usual is 4...Bxb4.

5.Bxf7+ 

The Evans-Jerome Gambit. We have looked at this before, e.g. "The Evans Jerome Gambit", "Exploring the Evans Jerome Gambit", "The Evans-Jerome Gambit Returns (Parts 1 & 2)", "Another Evans-Jerome Gambit" and "And Another (Evans-Jerome Gambit)"

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke6  

The King decides to take a hand in dealing with the enemy Knight. Certainly safer was 6...Kf8. 

7.d4 Bb6 

Black is in deep trouble.

8.Qg4+ Ke7 

You know that you are in trouble when Stockfish 14.1 recommends, instead,  8...Kd6 9.Nf7+ Ke7 10.Nxd8, giving up the Queen.  

9.Bg5+ 

This move is regularly played in the Jerome Gambit, and in a blitz game it might be the first thought that comes to mind. It leaves White with a small advantage. The line 9.Qxg7+ Kd6 10.Nf7+ Kc6 11.Nxd8+ Kb5 12.Na3+ Ka6 13.Qxh8 was crushing.

9...Nf6 10.O-O  

White opts for safety. 

The computer suggests that White push and push: 10.Bxf6+ gxf6 11.Qg7+ Ke6 12.Qf7+ Kd6 13.Nc4+ Kc6 14.d5+ Kb5 15.Nca3+ Ka6 16.d6 Qg8 17.Qh5 Nxc2+ 18.Nxc2 Ba5+ 19.Nd2 Qxg2 20.O-O-O b5 21.a4 c6 22.Rhg1 Bxd2+ 23.Kxd2 Qxf2+ 24.Kd3 Kb7 25.axb5 Rb8 about even

10...Bxd4 11.Bxf6+ 

White plays as in the note above, but his Knight is no longer defended.

11...gxf6 12.Qg7+ Ke6 13.c3 Bxe5 

The game is messy, and the fact that it is played at blitz speed makes it even move challenging. Black wants things to settle down, and get his King to safety.

14.Qg4+ Ke7 15.cxb4 

A slip that drops the exchange.

15...Bxa1 16.Nd2 Be5 17.Nc4 d6 18.Qg7+ Ke6 19.f4 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 

Black is up a minor piece and a Rook. His King is relatively safe. He decides to eject the enemy Queen.

20...Rg8 21.f5 checkmate

A Video Joins The Fray

 

I have looked at the Jerome Gambit-ish Two Knights Defense variation (Jerome-Knight Gambit? Impatient Jerome Gambit?) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+ a number of times, most recently in the series "Jerome Gambit: Facing Up to 4.Bxf7+ in the Two Knights" Parts 1, 2 and 3; and "Jerome Gambit: Jerome-Knight Gambit".

I recently encountered a fun YouTube video titled "When I Played TAL!! (4.Bxf7+) | How Will This END??" which presents a game (not the 'real' Tal, of course) where it is Black who is successful.

Check it out. 

Jerome Gambit: A Sudden Mis-Step

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Black is on his way to repeating the immortal destruction of the opening attack when he takes a mis-step which undoes all of his hard work. 

Sometimes it can be harder than you think to refute a refuted opening.

Cavete - mjmb

5 8 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

This can lead to Whistler's defense (7...Qe7) or Blackburne's defense (7...d6).

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O 

Black is on the road to the crush of the Jerome Gambit, best shown in Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (0-1, 14).

9...Qxe4 

The two parts of Blackburne's defense are the attack on the White King and the trapping of White's Queen. This pawn grab addresses neither.

Almost a decade ago I touched on this move in "Commit It To Memory". Apparently not everyone has.☺

Things fall apart quickly for the defender.

10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.d3 Qe2 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Ke7 14.Nc3 Black resigned

White's Queen has escaped, and he is ahead the exchange and 2 pawns. Black's Queen and King are in grave danger.

The Miniature Chess Games By Yury V. Bukayev

 

I enjoyed Yury Bukayev's blog post Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1) and I thought I would present the games, with the final positions.

Bukayev, Yury - Karpov, Anatoly (boy)

2021 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Ke7 5.Nh4 Kd6 6.Nf5 checkmate

Karpov, Anatoly (boy) - Bukayev, Yury

2021 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nf3 Qxf2 checkmate

Bukayev, Yury - Karpov, Anatoly (boy)

2021 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nd3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxg2 8.Qe8 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: As Advertised (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

13.Rhg1

I overlooked immediate chances against my opponent's King, as Stockfish 14.1 pointed out after the game was over: 13.Bh6! Ke6 14.Rhe1+ Kd7 15.dxc5 Qxf2 16.cxd6 Kc6 17.Re7 Kb5 18.Qd8 c5 19.Re3 Qxe3 20.Bxe3 and White is winning.

13...Qh3 14.Qd8

This is how I planned my Queen's escape.

14...Ne8 15.Qg5 

The wandering Queen is free.

15...Bb4 

Backing away from capture, if only for a moment. White can, of course, respond with 16.c3, and if 16...Ba5 then 17.b4 - but there is something better.

16.Qd5+ Qe6 17.Qxa8 Qxa2 18.Qxc8 

Why not?

18...Bxd2+ 

One last chance: now either 19.Bxd2 or 19.Rxd2 would be met by 19...Qa1 checkmate!

19.Kxd2 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: As Advertised (Part 1)

My most recent Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game in the ongoing Giuoco Piano tournament at Chess.com featured a line of play that I had looked at, but had only tried once before. It led to a complicated game - but, also a win.

If you want to know more about the variation, be sure to check out the links in the notes.

perrypawnpusher - DocBrowne

3d/move, Giuoco Piano tournament, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

Black is not just blocking the check and kicking the White Queen. This move leads to complications that include sacrificing the Rook at h8 - see "What About the Rook?"

7.Qxe5 d6 

Most chess players, if they know anything at all about the Jerome Gambit, know about Joseph Henry Blackburne's destruction of the opening, in Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (1-0, 14).

Jerome Gambit theory has progressed a lot since then. Check out  the comprehensive "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 1)"

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.d4 

As I wrote earlier

I would like first to look at the under-investigated 9.d4. After all, if 9.0-0 leads to a draw, as Chandler and Dimitrov have argued, then 9.d4 might be the better chance for White to fight for an advantage.

Also, return to "Jerome Gambit Discovery" for more ideas on 9.d4. 

9...Qxe4+ 

Instead, 9...Bb4+ 10.c3 Qxe4+ was seen in  perrypawnpusher - bakker, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33).

10.Be3 Nf6 

The main plan for Black in the Blackburne defense is to attack White's King while trapping (and possibly winning) White's Queen. This move helps lock in the Queen.

Instead, 10...Qxg2 has been seen in 3 games in The Database, with White winning all 3 - although the position is complicated.

 

The earliest example I have of 9.d4 in The Database is Marfia,J - Stelter,J, Offhand Game, 1964 (1-0, 19) which continued 10...Qxc2 11.dxc5 dxc5 12.Qc3 when Black had failed in both of his objectives.

11.Nd2 Qxg2 12.0-0-0 b6

White is ahead the exchange.

After the game, I was shocked to see that Stockfish 14.1 assessed the first player as being almost a Queen better.

It is clear that Black's dark square Bishop is likely lost, and White's Queen has a way to escape imprisonment and avoid the threatened ...Bb7. A major factor in the imbalance has to be the difference in King safety, but I certainly wasn't sensitive to that while I was playing.

[to be continued]

Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1)

 Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1)   

  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

 

Dear reader, you know that usually I write about new theoretical inventions and psychology in chess openings on this blog, but sometimes I write here about notable chess games which aren’t very important for theory, but have some other importance.   

The Part 1 of this my work is about wrong Anatoly Karpov. Thus, it’s a story about my notable training Jerome gambit games against a little boy Tolya (Anatoly) Karpov in Moscow this year. Now he is a very weak chess beginner only, and his father told me about it and asked me to play against him. His father said me: “Dear Yury Vyacheslavovich, could you play, please, not strongly to make a game interesting for my son? Could you not punish him after his mistakes, please, by your winning responses?” I answered him: “Well, I’ll play not strongly on the first stage. I’ll not punish him after his FIRST mistake only”. Thus, here is our first game:  

 

Bukayev, Yury  –  Karpov, Anatoly (boy)   

 

                         Game 1 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Ke7 5.Nh4 Kd6 6.Nf5 checkmate. 

 

I understood that boy’s fear of my attack has caused this panic flight of his King. Tolya asked me then about the best White’s possible move after his possible 4…Kxf7, and I answered: “5.Nxe5+”. Tolya asked me to play more, and I turned the chess board. And I said to his father: “Well, in this game I’ll not punish him after his FIRST AND SECOND mistakes only”. 

 

Karpov, Anatoly (boy)  –  Bukayev, Yury 

 

                         Game 2 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nf3 Qxf2 checkmate. 

 

Tolya became enough sad, and I didn’t permit myself to beat him more that day. But during our next meeting he said me: “My dad said me that my move 6.Nf3 was too silly”. I asked him: “And what was his recommendation instead?” The boy answered: “My dad said only that some other moves could be possible, although my position couldn’t permit me to hope on a win”. I said him with a wide smile: “Let’s repeat that position, but I’ll have White pieces in our Game 3!” And we started to play again.      

 

Bukayev, Yury  –  Karpov, Anatoly (boy)   

 

                         Game 3 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nd3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxg2 8.Qe8 checkmate. 

 

I understood that all these games are notable. The two first of them have created a new record for the Jerome gambit. Thus, Rick Kennedy wrote in his post, where he summarizes the Jerome gambit practice (July 13, 2021), that there are no games with a checkmate at more early move than the 7th one. And all these games show us a rare situation for the practice of JG, where a checkmate is made while White’s Bishop is on f7. Thank you, dear Tolya and your dear father! Dear Tolya, your serious wins are in your future! It maybe, you will be a World Champion too!