Jerome Gambit: Target King

The following game shows a quick and brutal checkmate of the enemy King. 

The attacker had a plan and executed it. It was so powerful, there were multiple ways to win the full point.

Which one would you have chosen?

GeorgeCool - RealHuman

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 Bxd4 5.Bxf7+ 

5...Kxf7 

Transposing to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 Bxd4.

White has invested an extra pawn to open the c1-h6 diagonal, especially making g5 available for his Knight.

6.Ng5+ Kg6 7.Qf3 

This is a blitz game. White goes for checkmate. Will Black find the proper defense?

7...Nf6

Reasonable developmant - and wrong.

He needed to confront the White Queen directly with 7...Qf6, and all would be well.

Now checkmate is coming.

8.h4 

This works. So does 8.Qf5+ Kh5 9.Nf3+ g5 10.Qxg5 checkmate. 

8...h6 

Stockfish 15 shows Black's best to still end up in checkmate: 8...Bxf2+ 9.Kd1 Kh6 10.Qf5 g6 11.Ne6+ Be3 12.Bxe3+ g5 13.Qxg5 checkmate 

9.h5+ 

White has a plan. An alternative: 9.Qf5+ Kh5 10.Nf3+ g5 11.hxg5 checkmate 

9...Nxh5 10.Qxh5+ 

Or 10.Qf5 checkmate, or 10.Qf7 checkmate 

10...Kf6 11.Qf7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Choices, Choices, Choices

There are many reasons to not take the Jerome Gambit seriously. However, if a lackadaisical approach to defense goes too far, Black can find himself making a series of ineffective move choices, quickly dropping the full point. 

tickally - thereluctant

15 15 classical, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

According to The Database, adding the White Knight at c3 and the Black Knight at f6 decreases White's chances: 24,524 games with the regular Jerome Gambit order, scoring 50% vs 2,985 games with the Four Knights order, scoring 39%.

Something for defenders to remember.

5...Kxf7 6.d4 

White wants open lines right away, so he veers from the more Jerome-ish 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4. He seems to be a believer in the philosophy Give your opponent a choice, and he is likely to make the wrong one.

6...Nxd4 

He would have posed more problems with the routine 6...exd4.

7.Nxe5+ Ke7 

Possibly thinking ahead to castling-by-hand with ...Re8 or ...Rf8 followed by ...Kf7 and ...Kg8. The move further whittles down Black's advantage to slim.

8.Nd5+ 

Preparing to give Black more chances to harm himself.

Instead, the tricky 8.b4 was for choice, with a chance for White to even the game. Stockfish 15 points out that 8...Bb6 9.Nc4 Nc6 10.b5 Bd4 (10...Nb8 11.e5 Ng8 12.Bg5+) d6 11. Bb2 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5+ Qxd5 14. bxc6 is even, as is 8...Bxd4 9.Qxd4.

The computer's response to 8.b4 is 8...d6, when 9.Nc4 Bxb4 10. Qxd4 Re8 11. Bb2 Kf8 12. O-O-O Qe7 13. Rhe1 Bc5 14. Qd3 Be6 15.Ne3 c6 16. f4 Kg8 would still be a bit better for Black.

8...Nxd5 9.exd5 

9...Re8 

Placing his Rook on the deadly e-file and preparing for ...Kf8, but overlooking White's main threat.

10.Bg5+ Kf8 11.Bxd8 Rxe5+ 12.Kf1 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Fortune Favors the Bold

As many Jerome Gambit (1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) players have learned, aggressive play can earn quick rewards - even when it is "objectively" inaccurate.

This is especially true in blitz and bullet games, where the defender has a limited time to assess situations.

Arman-Avdalyan - soner_iu

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ 

White continues aggressively. 

The alternative, 6.Nxc6, is considered a little better, but the game becomes complex after 6...Qh4.

6...Ke7 

Black avoids 6...g6, perhaps because of 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8.

This overlooks 6...g6 7.Nxg6 Nf6!? 8.Qxc5 hxg6 9.f3 Qe7 where Black would have an edge.

It also misses 6...g6 7.Nxg7 Bxf2+!? (getting a pawn in exchange for the threatened Bishop) 8.Kxf2 Nf6 9.Qh4 Rg8 which is better for Black. 

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: There Has to Be Something...

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is such an outrageous opening that defenders often tell themselves that There has to be something that they can do.

Of course, there is something. There are many somethings.

But in a blitz game, it can be hard to find that something.

And ocassionally those somethings turn out to be nothings.

The following game is a good example.

MSMDOIPE - letskijmaksim

10 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 

Black plays the Blackburne defense. Does he realize that he is following in the footsteps of the immortal game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884? Is he aware that he is offering a Rook?

8.Qxh8 Qg5 

Black targets White's Kingside with his Queen. This move is part of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, for example. It has to work, right?

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

(Actually, The Database has 22 games with this position, and White scores 91%.)

9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned

The menace of Black's Queen is not enough compensation for the loss of the exchange and three pawns.

Jerome Gambit: Trapped

The Jerome Gambit and its relatives present an exchange of material for weaknesses in the defender's position that can be taken advantage of. The King is at risk.

The following game is a textbook example. 

The ending is memorable.

Guest0679558022 - Guest4717316331

10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian opening.

4.Bxf7+ 

This is what I have referred to as an "impatient" Jerome Gambit, as White does not wait for ...Bc5 before sacrificing his Bishop. 

The Database has 2,654 game examples. White scores 42%.

There is shock value to this line, as Black's last move was designed to make his position safer. The sacrifice disrupts that.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Nc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.e5 

White has two pawns for his two sacrificed pieces; he puts them to use.

8...Qe8 

Black defends actively.

9.O-O Nh7 

Instead, Stockfish 14.1 recommends returning a piece: 9...Nxe5 10.Re1 d6 11.Bf4 Bg4 12.f3 Be6 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Rd8 when Black's King is still a bit uncomfortable, but his extra material clearly makes him better.

White focuses on the weakened light squares on Black's Kingside.

10.Nd5 Qd8 

11.Qf3+ Kg8 12.Qb3 

We have seen this kind of position before: Black's King is crowded into a space that only appears to be safe.

12...Ng5 

Black needed some breathing room with 12... g6. This is a blitz game, and sometimes things get overlooked.

13.Nf6 checkmate

Beautiful. The Knight check can be dealt with, the Queen's check can be dealt with - but not both at the same time.

Jerome Gambit: More Crunchy Numbers

Statistics can be tricky things. It is always good to remember the remark attributed to Mark Twain

There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Nonetheless, from time to time on this blog, I engage in them.

For example, if I said that The Database has 24,524 Jerome Gambit games that start 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, and that White scored 50%, what would that actually mean?

Twenty four and a half thousand games is a lot of games, but do they give a fair picture of the prospects for the Jerome Gambit?

Because players tend to submit their wins to newspapers, magazines and websites - while largely ignoring their losses - a collection of published games can be skewed when it comes to outcomes. No doubt The Database, which includes games from historical research and which receives games from readers of this blog, shows some of this bias.

Proponents of a particular line of play can also become successful with it, so that even a complete sample of their games can skew supportive. Likewise, very strong players (recall the recent post "Jerome Gambit: Top Crunch Numbers") can affect the outcome.

However, several factors help stabilize The Database. When I collect games from the lichess.org website, for example, I gather wins, losses, and draws. Likewise, with other sites like Chess.com, where I have searched for Jerome Gambit games.

More importantly, at least half of The Database is drawn from the FICS chess website database (from its inception through April 2022), and the games I gathered are, again, all the wins, losses and draws available. 

So, The Database remains largely representative of online play at the club chess level. This allows me to give assessments of a line (or move) according to both computer (e.g. Stockfish 15) evaluation and results in related chess play.

  

Jerome Gambit: Tonic

Occasionally the essence of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can act as a tonic for one's game, to provide energy towards a win.

grocko - Niccccco

3 0 blitz, FICS, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 h6 5.c3 

We have a basic Giuoco Piano style position, with Black substituting ...h6 for the more useful ...Nf6. Still, he can proceed prudently now with 5...Nf6 and an even game.

5...Na5 

Black goes in for the "minor exchange", swapping a Knight for a Bishop. He gets the Bishop, but not in the way he expects.

6.Bxf7+ 

The sacrifice that is at the core of the Jerome Gambit. It energizes White's game.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ 

The weakness of the light squares around Black's King will prove fatal.

7...Ke8 8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ 

This is enough. Even more brutal is 9.Ng6+. 

9...Kd6 10.Qd5+ Ke7 11.Qxc5+ d6 12.Ng6+ Black resigned