Jerome Gambit: A Better Outcome

In Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, Joseph Henry Blackburne famously gave up a Rook to lock in White's Queen and pursue an attack on White's King. The game featured a beautiful Queen sacrifice, and is probably the best known example of the Jerome Gambit.

Attackers today still take the Rook and brave the complications, hoping for a better outcome.

My notes below accompany some of those by the website's computer "coach".

perrypawnpusher - torrefish

3 d/move, Giuoco Piano Game, Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

Chess.com's coach commented when we reviewed this game

You are losing material this way. This is the Giuoco Piano opening. You've played this opening 70 times, with a 73% win rate.

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 

Blackburne's defense. I have a solid 13 - 1 record against it, but that is a bit misleading. (See perrypawnpusher - MrScrumps, blitz, FICS, 2011, [0-1, 11].)

The Database has 1,130 games with the Blackburne defense, with White scoring 70%.

Believe me, it is more complicated that those numbers would suggest.

By the way, the Chess.com "coach" is quite harsh here, giving 7...d6 a "??" and calling the move a blunder.

This gives away a free piece. Only one move worked there - and this wasn't it.

I don't agree with the poor assessment of 7...d6, although I do agree that 7...Qe7 is best here. 

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O 

I played the alternative, 9.d4. in another Jerome Gambit game this round. 

The "coach" agrees with that choice, giving 9.0-0 a "?".

9...Nf6 10.Qd8 

The Queen seeks escape, for the moment also pinning Black's Knight. "Great move," says the "coach".

10...Bd7 

I gave this move and an alternative a look in "Updating the Blackburne Defense (part 2)"

...The core game continued 11.Qxc7 (instead, 11.Qxa8? Nxe4? [Black should finish Blackburne-style: 11...Ng4 12.h3 Bxf2+ 13.Kh1 Qg3 14.Rxf2+ Nxf2+ 15.Kg1 Nxh3+ 16.Kh1 Nf4 17.Qf8+ Kxf8 18.d3 Qxg2#] 12.d4 Bxd4 13.Be3 Bxb2 14.Qxb7 Bxa1 15.Qxc7 Nf6 16.Qxd6 Kg7 17.Qc5 Ne4 18.Bd4+ Bxd4 19.Qxd4+ Kh6 20.f3 Black resigned, UNPREDICTABLE - choron, FICS, 2009) 11...Bb6? (instead, 11...Rc8 12.Qxb7 Ke7 is "gloriously obscure" according to Dr. Andrew Walker, University of Nottingham, personal communication, 2001. Probably 13.Qb3 with the idea of Qg3 is White's answer - not 13.Nc3? Ng4 when Black mates)  12.g3?! (12.Qxd6) 12...Qh3 13.Qxd6? Bc6 14.g4 Qxg4+ White resigned, Harris,S - Quayle,E, Los Angeles, CA, 1944.

Certainly solid, and Rybka's recommendation, is 10...Bb6. White should spring his Queen with 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3. The earliest reference that I have seen to this line is from The Art of the Checkmate by Renaud and Kahn (1953), which says White has the advantage. This proved true in Wall,B - Foo,N, Palm Bay, FL, 2010 (1-0, 33).

11.Qxc7 Ke8 12.d4 

Another "great" move. Thanks, "coach".

12...Rc8 13.Qxb7 Bxd4 14.Nd2 Black resigned

White's Knight will move to f3 to protect his Kingside, and in the meantime his Queen is free and he is up the exchange and 3 pawns.

It might be worthwhile to see how things would go if we were playing a blitz game, but with a time control of 3 days / move, my opponent probably decided to invest his time elsewhere - like beating me in our game where he had the White pieces..

Jerome Gambit: An Insidious Idea

In the following game, when Black constructs a porous defense, it looks like he is headed for a loss. However, he keeps his wits about himself, and creates a drawing chance which catches his opponent by surprise.

Even when the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is rolling toward victory, it is nessary for White to remain aware of possible surprises along the way. 

Littleplayerparis - Bogdan20090131

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

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.

8.Qxh8 Qf6 

Possibly Black thought: This move threatens both the exchange of Queens - ending White's attack - and the crushing ...Qxf2+. This is correct as far as it goes, but there is more to the position.

For example, exchanging Queens with 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 would deprive Black of any counter-attacking chances, leaving White up the exchange and two pawns.

Furthermore, as the game continuation shows, White has an even better choice of moves.

9.Qxh7+ 

Blackburne's defense is based upon both trapping White's Queen after she captures the Rook and attacking White's King. This escape undoes both plans.

9...Kf8 10.O-O Bg4 

11.Nc3 Bh5 12.Qxc7 Re8 13.d3 Bf3 

An insidious idea. Black is lost, but, as the saying goes, You can only lose a game once.

14.Be3 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Qh4 16.Bxc5 

Precisely the move Black was hoping for. Ahead a Rook, a Bishop, and three pawns, White overlooks the defensive 16.h3 - not unusual in a blitz game.

16...Qg4+ 17.Kh1 Qf3+ 18.Kg1 Qg4+ 19.Kh1 Qf3+ 20.Kg1 Qg4+ 21.Kh1 draw

The repetition of position saves Black half a point.

Jerome Gambit: The Kitchen Sink

In the following game, Trankuilizer, playing at lichess.org, gives "Jerome Gambit odds" to his opponent, and then begins to throw everything at him, including the kitchen sink.

Trankuilizer - casutanta123

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.O-O 

This is a calm start to what will become a wild attack. Trankuilizer has gone this way over 20 times.

5...Nf6 6.d4 

This is a 3-minute game, and material does not matter as much as initiative and attack.

6...Bxd4 7.Bg5 Qf8 

Moving the Queen out of the pin. Black is feeling the pressure of the coming attack, and so passes on the win of more material 7...Bxb2 8.Nbd2 Bxa1.  

8.c3 Bb6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nh4 

White opens the d1-h5 diagonal for his Queen.

Stockfish 15 sees Black as better, but human players feel the heat more than computers do.

10...Rg8 11.Nf5 Ke8 12.Qh5+ Rg6 13.Nd2 d6 14.Nf3 

White's second Knight joins the fray - it has to, objectively, and the danger builds.

14...Bxf5 15.exf5 e4 

Black strikes back - and causes himself great pain. This is the kind of thing that happens in fast blitz game, when your opponent is amping up the attack. Boring, but safe, was 15...Qh6, initating the exchange of Queens and taking the pressure off of the Kingside.

16.fxg6 exf3 

According to plan. There was little attraction in 16...hxg6 17.Qxg6+ Qf7, playing on while down the exchange and some pawns.  

White now wraps things up.

17.g7+ Qf7 18.g8/Q+ Ke7 19.Qhxf7 checkmate

Brutal.

Jerome Gambit: Battle!

I recently received a Jerome Gambit game that richly illustrates its attractiveness to club players. The play is not perfect, and occasionally provokes some head-scratching, but it is a battle that sees the attacker prevail with a nice checkmate. 

samsanit - francoir_buldog

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 

Black's move protects his Rook, but allows White to grab the Bishop, putting him a couple of pawns ahead.

8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qc4+ Be6 10.Qd4 c5 11.Qd3 Qb6 

White's development is lagging, but his position is compact, and he remains better.

12.O-O Rac8 13.b3 g5 14.Bb2 Qc6 15.Nc3 b5 

Black's buildup on the Queenside risks his King's safety.

16.Nxb5 Nxe4 17.Qf3+ Nf6 

The Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal cooperates nicely with the Queen; checkmate is now possible.

18.Qe2 

Missing the opportunity, but he grabs it next move.

18...a6 19.Qf3 Qxb5 

Exchanging Queens would have safeguarded his King, although he would still be worse.

20.Qxf6+ Ke8 21.Qxh8+ 

Grabbing the Rook. There was also 21.Qxe6+ Kd8 22.Qxd6+ Qd7 23.Bf6+ Ke8 24.Rfe1+ Kf7 25.Qxd7+ Kxf6 26.Re6+ Kf5 27.Qf7+ Kg4 28.Re4 checkmate. That is a lot to calculate in a 3-minute game, but it would be possible to find the first two moves and figure out the rest, as things progressed.

21...Kd7 22.Qg7+ Kc6 23.Qxg5 Qe2 24.Rfe1 Qxd2 25.Rxe6 

An oversight, but one that White quickly overcomes.

25...Qxg5 26.Rd1 Qf5 27.Rdxd6+ Kb5 28.Rb6+ Ka5 29.Rxa6+ Kb4 30.c3+ Kb5 31.Reb6 checkmate

Very nice!

Jerome Gambit: Dunno

It can be enjoyable to watch grandmasters like GM Aman Hambleton and GM Hikaru Nakamura play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in blitz games for fun, but it is important to remember that the top players generally do not regard the opening as in any way sound.

A more representative view of grandmaster appreciation of the Jerome Gambit was presented in "A GM Weighs In on the Jerome Gambit", where Grandmaster Jonathan Speelman wrote 

What a splendidly purulent gambit 

although he hastened to continue

which nevertheless must be horrible to face in a five minute game and quite tough at slower time limits.

(In all fairness, it must also be remembered that GM Speelman analyzed two of my Jerome Gambit games in his "Agony Column #24" at chessbase.com, and we both had a good laugh at the results.) 

Most recently, Yury V. Bukayev sent me a link to a video clip from Grandmaster Gata Kamsky's twitch account. The 5-time U.S. champion, currently rated 2666, is pleasantly dismissive 

...[S]ometimes some line got the name of somebody. Who cares, guys? We all get it, right? Except when some people give me these obscure names. Like this Jerome Gambit. Who the hell is Jerome? I keep hearing this dude's name and I have no idea who the heck is that guy. All right, who the heck is Jerome? [shrugs]

I'm thinking of printing a t-shirt that says "Who the heck is Jerome?". It would compete with the "Jerome Gambit and Carry On" tee, but it would complement my Jerome Gambit sweatshirt (see "Happy Birthday to Me").

Unorthodox Openings Resource

 

I have mentioned the Unorthodox Openings Newsletter on several occasions (see "UON" as an example) as a helpful resource for those who play "unorthodox" openings - including the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

The latest issue is available, as well is the UON library of issues, and a list of links to the different openings covered in the issues. There are 4 Jerome Gambits played by Bill Wall, for example, in UON 37.

Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: Gambit Duel (Part 4)

 

[continued from the previous post]

wgraif (2525) - EricRosen (2591)

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

As the clocks tick down, the players scramble, intent on only one outcome.

38...Rxb2 39.Re7 Kf6 40.Rc7 Rb3 41.Kf2 Rxa3 42.Rxb7 Rxc3 43.Ra7 a3 44.Ra6 Kf5   

45.Kg3 

I have to laugh, here. Stockfish looks askance at the Jerome Gambit in general, and it often seems that it seeks out as "best" a line for White is a draw, even when White is better.

So, here it suggests 45.h4, because, I have to assume, then Black can play 45...Rc2+ and have a draw after 46.Ke3 Rc3+ 47.Kf2 Rc3+ etc.

45...Ke6 46.Kf4 Rd3 47.Kg3 Kf5 48.Rxc6 Rxd4 49.Ra6 Rd3

50.Kh4

Here the silicon wise guy suggests that 50.h4 was the best way forward. Of course, looking at a million positions a second, it would think that.

White's Kingside activity will ultimately prove unsuccessful.

 50...Rd2 51.g4+ Kf4 52.Ra4+ Kxf3 53.h3 Rd3 54.Kg5 Ke2 55.h4 d4 56.Kg6 Rb3 57.Kxg7 d3 58.g5 d2  59.Rd4 Re3 60.g6 Rd3 61.Re4+ Kf3 62.Kh7 d1Q

Only the clock can save White now. That is not to be.

63.g7 Rd7 64.Kh8  Kxe4  65.g8Q Rd8 66.Kh7 Rxg8 67.Kxg8 Qh5 68.Kg7 Qxh4  69.Kf7 a2 70.Kf8  a1Q 71.Kf7 Qd4 72.Kf8 Qg1 73.Kf7 Kf3 74.Ke8 Kg2 75.Kd7 Kh1 76.Kc7 Qhg3+ 77.Kc6 Qf3+ 78.Kd7 Qgf2 79.Kc7 Q2e2 80.Kd7 Qfd3+ 81.Kc7 Qec2+ 82.Kb8 Qa3 83.Kb7 Qab3+ 84.Ka8 Qca2 checkmate

Wow. Thank you FM Graif and IM Rosen!