Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Chaos

Applying the Jerome Gambit strategy to an opening gives White wild attacking chances, at the risk of blowback if play stalls. An attacker who is comfortable in such complex situations is more likely to be successful.

The following game turns chaotic, and it is only after the first player overlooks a forced checkmate that the second one is able find mate himself. 

Surikov, Ilsur  - Papizzhe, Mikola

internet, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

Over the years, I have enjoyed the BSJG and have actually scored 90% in 46 games.

That said, White now has several playable alternatives, including 4.Nxd4, 4.c3, 4.d3, and 4.0-0. Black is hoping for chances after 4.Nxe5 Qg5.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

6.f4 

Protecting the Knight and introducing a pawn into the mix. This move appears in 498 games in The Database, with White scoring 49%. 

More main line is 6.c3.

6...Qh4+ 

This is the problem with 6.f4 - it allows Black's Queen to invade White's Kingside. For the record, 6...Qh4+ only appears in 28% of those 6.f4 games in The Database.

7.g3 Qh3

8.c3

Instead, White can get rid of the pesky Knight and cover the g2 square with 8.Nf3 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3. That would leave Black with an extra piece against White's extra two pawns.

8...Nc6

This is a calm, but incorrect, withdrawal.

Stockfish 14.1 prefers 8...Qg2 9.Rf1 d6 10.f5+ Ke7 11.cxd4 Qxe4+ 12.Qe2 Qxe2+ 13.Kxe2 dxe5 14.dxe5.

9.Nf3 

The thing is, instead White has a checkmate: 9.Qb3+ d5 10.Qxd5+ Ke7 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Nc4+ Kc5 13.Qd5#.

9...h6 10.d4 Kf7 

The broad pawn center puts the game in balance.

11.d5 Nd8 12.Ne5+ Ke8 13.Qb3

White would have done well to try 13.Qf3, keeping the enemy Queen out of g2, or 13.Nd2 followed by 14.Ndf3 to  work on his development.

13...d6 14.Ng6 

Abandoning his King for some treasure.

14...Ne7 

Momentarily setting aside his plans on infiltrating the enemy Kingside.

15.Nxh8 Qg2 

16.Rf1 Qxe4+ 17.Kd1 

This brings an end to the game. Instead, 17.Kf2 Qh7 18.f5 Qxh8 19.Kg1 Kf7 20.g4 Kg8 reaches a somehow reasonable position that Stockfish 14.1 says is still better for Black.

17...Bg4+ 18.Kd2 Qe2 checkmate

BSJG: Generosity Rules

The following Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game shows that generosity by the attacker can have rapid results - in this case, a miniature.

Tran Nguyen Duy Tung - PAGunko

10 0 blitz, internet, 2021

1.e4  e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. White now has several playable responses, including 4.Nxd4, 4.c3, 4.d3, and 4.0-0. He should avoid what Black wishes, 4.Nxe5 Qg5.

Of course, those familiar with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) might want to "Jerome-ize" the opening.

4.Bxf7+ 

As I posted earlier

To learn about the line, it is useful to progress through the following blog posts, in order, from oldest to more recent: "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit 2", "Why, I oughta...", "Clearly Unclear", "Untangling Lines of Play", " 'Even' does not mean 'safe' ", "Whose Territory Are We Fighting On?", "Starting Over", "Not-So-Instant Victory", "More Updating", "A High Level of Danger", "Blackburne Shilling Gambit: Don't Feed the Greed", and "Caught Out".

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5 

And, again, from an earlier post

If you are going to play 6.Qh5, here are a few guidelines from past posts: "Read This Blog", "Scared to Death" ,"Greed Is Not Good" and "Is Still Not".

My preference is 6.c3, and I am surprised to see that Stockfish 14.1 now prefers 6...Nc6 instead of 6...Kxe5.

However, White intends to offer further material, and in a blitz game, when things are unclear and analysis can go only so deep, it is often tempting to grab stuff. 

6...Nxc2+ 

With 6...Nf6 Black would be clearly better (up 2 pieces) and although White could cloud the situation with 7.Qf7+ Kxe5 8.f4+, but it should not work.

7.Kf1 

Stockfish 14.1 much prefers 7.Kd1, with a strange line of play that limits White's deficit: 7...Nf6 8.Qh3+ Kxe5 9.d4+ Kd6 10.e5+ Kc6 11.Qc3+ Kb6 12.Qxc2 c6 13.exf6 Qxf6.

However, if White wants to convince Black that White's opening has failed and he is in panic, this move does the job.

7...Nxa1 

White is now better and actually has a forced checkmate. He misses the most direct line, but - with the help of his opponent - gets to checkmate another way.

8.Qf5+ 

Strong enough. Even more generous would have been 8.Qf7+ Kxe5 9.d4+ Kd6 10.Na3 c5 11.Bf4+ Kc6 12.Qd5+ Kb6 13.dxc5+ Bxc5 14.b4 Qf8 15.bxc5+ Qxc5 16.Nc4+ Ka6 17.Qxc5 b6 18.Qa3+ Kb7 19.Na5+ bxa5 20.Ke2 Nc2 21.Rb1+ Nb4 22.Qxa5 Kc6 23.Rc1+ Nc2 24.Rxc2+ Kb7 25.Qb5 checkmate

8...Ke7 

Leads to checkmate.

Of course, 8...Kd6 would lose the Queen to 9.Nf7+ Ke7 10.Nxd8.

9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc5 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.a3+ Kb3 13.Qb5+ Kc2 14.Nc3 c6 15.Ne3+ Kxc1 16.Ke2 checkmate

Very pretty.

Jerome Gambit: Be Skeptical

Not too long ago, I posted "Jerome Gambit: Why Would He Play That?", as a reminder that chess players often need to examine what might be behind an opponent's move, before responding to it, in order to avoid certain dangers.

The following game, from a 2020 Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, revolves around that question, and the defender's lack of skepticism at the offer of a "free" pawn.

Huber, Karl - Koenig, Wolfhart

Jerome Gambit thematic, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8

Also seen in the tournament: 7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qd4 (9.Qe3 Qe7 10.d4 Nf6 11.Nc3 Bd7 12.O-O Kf7 13.Qd3 Rhf8 14.Bg5 Kg8 15.Rae1 Qf7 16.h3 Rae8 17.f4 a6 18.e5 Nh5 19.f5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Bxf5 21.Qd2 Rxe5 22.Rxe5 dxe5 23.Ne2 Nf4 24.Bxf4 exf4 25.Rxf4 Qxa2 26.c3 Qb1+ 27.Kh2 Qd3 28.Qxd3 Bxd3 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Nf4 Be4 31.g3 Ke7 32.Kg1 Kf6 33.Kf2 Ke5 34.Ke3 Bd5 35.Nd3+ Kd6 36.h4 h6 37.Nf4 c5 38.Nh5 g5 39.hxg5 hxg5 40.Nf6 b5 41.Nh7 b4 42.cxb4 cxb4 43.Nxg5 a5 44.Ne4+ Bxe4 45.Kxe4 a4 46.Kd4 a3 47.bxa3 bxa3 48.Kc3 Ke5 49.Kb3 Kf5 drawn, Hof,A - Robers,F, Jerome Gambit thematic, 2020) 9...Nf6 10.Nc3 Be6 11.d3 Rf8 12.Bg5 Qd7 13.O-O-O Kf7 14.f4 Kg8 15.Bxf6 Rxf6 16.e5 dxe5 17.Qxd7 Bxd7 18.fxe5 Rf2 19.Rde1 Re8 20.d4 a6 21.g3 Bf5 22.Re2 Rxe2 23.Nxe2 Be4 24.Rf1 Rf8 25.Nf4 Nxf4 26.gxf4 g5 27.Rg1 Rxf4 28.Rxg5+ Kf7 White resigned, Koenig,W - Robers,F, Jerome Gambit thematic, 2020 

8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.O-O Kf7 11.d4

 

White often has the choice: advance the d-pawn or the f-pawn? In this case, it might have been a bit better to advance the f-pawn.

11...Re8 12.Qb3+ Kf8 

Also playable was 12...Be6, as capturing the b-pawn would lead the White Queen astray. This is another reocurring question in different lines in the Jerome. 

13.Nc3 

White could also have protected his e-pawn with 13.f3. Why didn't he? Both moves are about equal. Maybe White wanted to focus on piece development.

13...Nxe4

Stockfish 14.1 suggests that Black relieve the pressure on his b-pawn by playing 13...c6 14.Bg5 Qb6 with an exchange of Queens.

The defender should have been skeptical about the offered pawn. 

14.Nxe4 Rxe4 15.Qf3+ Black resigned

White's Queen comes back into play to fork the enemy King and Rook. 

Jerome Gambit: "Too Creative"

Sometimes I will post a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game because it has an interesting line of play - even if I have posted similar games previously.

The following game is drawn from the 2020 thematic Jerome Gambit tournament mentioned in the previous post. 

Wessel, Rudolf - Robers, Frank

Jerome Gambit thematic, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4  Ng6 

Some reflections -

from "Superpippo!"

This move, despite the soundness of the basic idea – save one piece and return another – is too "creative" and leads to an even game. With a regular opening, having Black reach equality this early is an accomplishment for the second player, but in the Jerome Gambit – where White spots his opponent two pieces – it is a sign that something has already gone wrong for Black. 

from "Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's Dream"

The kind of move - withdrawing a piece from attack - that someone unfamiliar with the Jerome Gambit might make quickly. (Best was 7...Qf6). 

My guess is that at this point Bill got out his psychic micrometer, measured the apparent depth of his opponent's experience with (or understanding of) the opening, and chose a line of play that was most efficacious against an unschooled or uneasy opponent. 

from "Jerome Gambit: The Way It Is"

With more time to consider - the whole point of playing the Jerome Gambit... is that Black does not have much time to consider - Black would have found the less sensible (but stronger) 7...d6, 7...Nd3, 7...Qf6 or 7...d5.

8.f5+ 

Leading to an even game would have been the straight forward 8.Qxc5, but Wessel is happy to again trouble the enemy King, right away.

8...Ke7 

Headed for safety.

9.fxg6 Nf6 

How soon people forget. King safe, Attack enemy Queen.

But that overlooks something.

With 9...d6 Black could have protected his Bishop. Then it would have been White's turn to try to complicate, according to the computer, with something like 10.e5 Qe8 11.d4 Bb6 12.Qg5+ Kd7 13.gxh7 Ne7, although Black would still be technically better.

10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qc3 Be6 

12.gxh7 Rxh7 13.d3 Kd7 14.Nd2 

14...c6 

The text move is too routine. Stockfish 14.1 suggests 14...Qh8 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.Bg5 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Rxh2 18.Rg1 Rf8 19.O-O-O Kc8 as a way to stir things up a bit.  

15.Nf3 Qe7 16.Bf4 Rf8 17.Qb4 

White could have simply castled Queenside, as ...Bxh2 would not lead to anything, but he decides to apply pressure on Black's position, relying on the fact that his King could actually castle in either direction, if need be.

17...Kc8 

A slip. After 17...b6 White could continue building his attack, with a safe King and two extra pawns. 

18.Bxd6 Qf7 19.Bxf8 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit Thematic

 

Looking over games at the ChessBase online database, I found a collection of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games from a 2020 Jerome Gambit thematic tournament.

First place was achieved jointly by Karl Huber and Rudolf Wessel, with a score of 7 wins out of 8 games - losing only to each other, once.

They were followed by Atila Hof, on tiebreaks, at 2 wins and a draw out of 8 games; and Frank Robers, also at 2 1/2.

Rounding out the group was Rudolf Koenig, with a win in 8 games.

Jerome Gambit: Race to the Finish

hamedbehruzi - Neomala

2 1 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 g6 

Blitz - and even moreso bullet - is made up of threats: make a threat and your opponent has to respond.

More to the point, however, was 7...Qf6 or the "annoying defense" 7...d6.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxh8 

White is happy to grab the Rook, but perhaps he was not expecting to. Oh, well, in a 2-minute game there is not a lot of time for reflection.

10...Qf6 

A move late. Now something like 9...Qh4+, bringing the Queen to the h-file to protect the pawn at h7 and delay White's Queen's escape, was in order. Still, White would be better. 

10.Qxh7+ Kf8 

The position is suddenly quite complicated. Both Kings are at risk.

11.g3 

White protects the f-pawn. He would have done better with 11.d3, allowing the helpful development of his Knight to d2, and which leads to some clanging and banging before he can feel comfortable, for example 11...Bd4 12.Nd2 Bxb2 13.Bxb2 Qxb2 14.O-O

11...Qd4 

This is what the first player overlooked. Had he played 11.d3, he could have met 11...Qd4 with 12.Qxg6 Qf2+ 13.Kd1 d5 14.Nd2 followed by Rf1, if need be. That is a lot to see in a little time.

12.Rf1 

This is not enough.

12...Qxe4+ 13.Kd1 Qg2 14.Re1 

Can you figure out Black's best play from here?

Hint: Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, 40 0, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 14)

14...Qf3+ 15.Re2 Qf1+ 16.Re1 Qf3+ 17.Re2 Qf1+ 18. Re1 Qf3+ 19. Re2 Qf1+ 20.Re1 Qf3+ 21. Re2 Qf1+ 22.Re1 Qf3+ drawn by repetition of position.

Black beats the clock and splits the point.

Wait a minute...

If you found 15...d5 16.h3 Qh1+ 17.Re1 Bg4+ 18.hxg4 Qxh7 good for you.

Likewise, if you found 17...d5 18.h3 Qh1+ 19.Re1 Bg4+ 20.hxg4 Qxh7, good for you.

Or if you found 19...d5 20.h3 Qh1+ 21.Re1 Bg4+ 22.hxg4 Qxh7, ditto.

Also 21...d5 22.h3 Qh1+ 23.Re1 Bg4+ 24.hxg4 Qxh7.

But, let's be fair: your clock wasn't ticking at bullet speed, was it? Black's was, and he made a practical choice.

Jerome Gambit: It's A Blunderful Life

Often when I play over a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game I check in with a computer chess engine - Stockfish, Komodo, Houdini, Fritz, Crafty... They can catch tactical errors. The newer, faster engines can even give strategic direction.

However, it can be risky turning a "refuted" opening over to a silicon beast, as there is always the chance that the assessment of any - or every - move will be "Blunder".

Discovering a game full of blunders can be discouraging. 

Or educational.

Although often entertaining.

Because there can be a lot to discover in the notes.

Like in the game that follows.

SecretAccount270 - PMRF2004

5 8 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

 

Blunder, says the lichess.org computer.

Yes, we know, we know.

4...Kf8 

Blunder, says the computer again - but an interesting one.

Black's idea is purely psychological: if White wants him to accept the Bishop, then he won't. (See "Jerome Gambit Declined: ChessBrah" for one look.)

There is the possibility (the defender hopes) that all of White's opening preparation will now be worthless. 

The Database has 463 games with this position, with White scoring  61%, showing that he generally copes well with this surprise.

5.Nxe5 

Blunder, says the computer. Probably best is 5.Bb3, although 5.Bc4 and 5.Bd5 are also good, and even 5.Bxg8 has its merits.

I have always found the text move - showing up in 64 games in The Database, scoring 61% for White - interesting, if quirky. White continues as if Black has accepted the Bishop, knowing that if the defender does capture it later on, the game could transpose to regular Jerome lines with White a move up.

5...d6 

Blunder, says the computer.

Let's see: Black attacks the Knight which protects the Bishop, and, sure, and if the Knight now retreats, 6.Nf3 then 6...Kxf7 is a bit better for Black, as Black's loss of time with his King is balanced by White's loss of time with his Knight.

But that is not the whole story. White's Knight does not have to retreat, it can exchange itself with 6.Nxc6 - attacking the Queen - and after 6...bxc6 he can withdraw his Bishop to b3. Even if Black does not recapture, but temporarily leaves two White pieces en prise, with 6...Qh4!?, White can find his way to a better position with 7.Qf3 Bg4 8.Qg3 Qxg3 9.hxg3 Kxf7 10.Na5.  

The better choice for Black, instead of the text move, is the straight-forward 5...Nxe5. Let's not over-think the situation. Still, White can try 6.Bxg8, when 6...Qf6 (if 6...Rxg8 then 7.d4) is a good answer, e.g. 7.0-0 Kxg8 and White does not have 8.d4, because of 8...Bxd4 9.Qxd4 Nf3+, the trick we have seen earlier, e.g. "Jerome Gambit: Why Would He Play That?"

6.Bg6 

Blunder, the computer says.

I think that is a bit harsh. This is a blitz game, and White plans a Knight fork to win the Rook at h8.

Still, 6.Nxc6 is best, is in the note above, following the previous diagram.  

6...hxg6 

Blunder, says the computer.

That is because 6...dxe5 is better, e.g. 7.Bf5 (7.Bh5 Qh4) Bxf5 8.exf5 Qg5.

7.Nxg6+ 

7...Kf7 

Blunder, says the computer.

Now White can capture the Rook with check. Instead, after 7...Ke8 8.Nxh8 there could be 8...Qh4 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Ng6 Qg5 11.d3 Qxg6 12.Qd2 with a balanced game.

8.Nxh8+ Kf8 Black resigned

Regardless of what will happen to the Knight at h8 - it will probably be exchanged off, but could just escape - White will remain the exchange and some pawns ahead.

So, a warning - if you invite a computer chess engine to help you understand your game, be ready for a whole lot of insults along the way.