Jerome Gambit: When You Play Quickly

When you play quickly, it is easy to overlook something...

LaylaBullette - MI_maalmi_khalil

3 0 bliz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.d4 

Opening lines... forking Black's Bishop and Queen...

10...Bxd4 11.Bf4 

Oh, and threatening to pin and win the Queen... Drat!

The rest is kind of easy, at any speed.

11...Qxf4 12.Qxf4+ Be5 13.Qd2+ Ke7 14.Nc3 c6 15.O-O-O d6 16.Rhf1 Nf6 17.Qg5 Re8 18.Qxg7+ Ke6 19.Ne2 Nxe4 20.Qf7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Wandering the Internet

 

Wandering the internet I discovered Doug Barlow's OCF Chess website,

OCF Chess is an online chess community dedicated to helping players of all levels reach their full potential. Our blog features tips and tutorials from experienced players, offering advice on a range of topics from basic openings to advanced endgames. 

There is a lot of interesting, educational and entertaining content on the site - how could you possibly scroll past the entertaining but bogus "The Chess Battle of the 20th Century: Hitler vs Lenin" for example ? - so of course I settled quickly on "Exploring the Jerome Gambit: A Risky but Fun Opening".

A critical eye is necessary, however.

The opening starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4?! exd4 5.O-O Nf6 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4.

Actually, that line begins as the Italian Gambit (you might enjoy Jude Acers and George Laven's The Italian Gambit (and) A Guiding Repertoire for White - E4!) before moving on to the Max Lange Attack.

Similarly

This opening starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4, where White sacrifices a pawn to gain control of the center and open lines for their pieces.

That line is actually the venerable Evans Gambit.

The Jerome Gambit is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5.

The section "Is The Jerome Gambit Any Good?" is honest

[W]hile the Jerome Gambit can be a fun and interesting opening to play, it is not recommended for serious competitive play where sound strategic choices are crucial for success 

but occasionally off the mark

The Jerome Gambit is a chess opening that involves sacrificing a pawn in order to gain a strategic advantage.

Not just a pawn.

This is corrected in "Is The Jerome Gambit Sound?"

While it may lead to some interesting and exciting games, the sacrifice of two pieces is rarely justified and can put White at a significant disadvantage.

There is an interesting diagram of a position that could have come from Jerome Gambit games Fixxxxxer - Killuminati6933, blitz, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 11) or Wolfpack1051 - DragonBen, bullet, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 45) where Black has varied with the TN 8...Bd4 (instead of the stronger 8...d5) and White now has the crushing 9.Qd5+ (You saw that, right?)

The "Jerome's Double Opening" was introduced to the chess world in "New Chess Opening" in the April 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal.

The Conclusion of "Exploring the Jerome Gambit: A Risky but Fun Opening" is the same as mine

for those who enjoy experimenting and are looking for a bit of fun, the Jerome Gambit can be a great option to try out in casual or blitz games.

Thank you, Mr. Barlow. 

Jerome Gambit: Drawing Conclusions

Not every Jerome Gambit game ends in flames in the opening, or in ashes in the middle game; some make it to the ending.

Not all are wins; some are draws.

Here are a few final positions, to illustrate. There are lessons to be learned. (If you note any strangeness, remember: we are talking about the Jerome Gambit here.)

Thanks to lichess.org player Arman-Avdalyan, whose game examples are used.

Arman-Avdalyan - G0dsL0nelyMan, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Both players have fought to the end, and things are as drawish as possible.

Arman-Avdalyan - Smellhead, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Black is a piece ahead, but without anything else the game is still drawn.

Arman-Avdalyan - vlad_00, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Stalemate yields a draw for the first player.

Arman-Avdalyan - victor_a10grm, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Here, Black benefits from stalemate.

Arman-Ajvan93, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Stalemate frustrates Black's aggressive intentions.

Arman-Avdalyan - BruceLeecubano, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

Again, stalemate frustrates Black's aggressive intentions.

Arman-Avdalyan - Lopuh99, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

Black has winning material, but no time left on the clock. As White does not have sufficient mating material, the game is drawn.

Jerome Gambit: Quick Win, Nice Finish

Winning a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game can be a lot of fun.

Winning it at bullet speed, and finishing it off with a sharp checkmate can make it even more enjoyable.

angelcamina - lq110205r

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+ 

9...Qd7 10.Qb4 

angelcamina has also played

10.Qb3 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.O-O Qe6 (12...Ke7 13.d4 Re8 14.f4 Kf8 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5 dxe5 18.Qxd7 Bxd7 19.dxe5 Bf5 20.c3 Ke7 21.b3 Rac8 22.Ba3+ Ke6 23.c4 Red8 24.h3 h5 25.Bb4 Rd3 26.Rad1 Rcd8 27.Rxd3 Rxd3 28.Kf2 Nxf4 White resigned, angelcamina - C_Maringe, lichess.org, 2022) 13.Qa3 Rf8 14.d3 Kf7 15.f4 Qd7 16.Qb3+ d5 17.e5 Ne8 18.d4  Kg8 19.f5 Rxf5 20.Rxf5 Qxf5 21.Be3 Nf4 22.Rf1 g5 23.g3 Qg4 24.Kh1 Nh3 25.Nxd5 cxd5 26.Qxd5+ Be6 27.Qd6 Nxd6 28.exd6 Bd5+ 29.Rf3 Bxf3 checkmate, angelcamina - Medinad, lichess.org, 2022; 

10.Qc4 Nf6 11.Nc3 Qe6 12.Qa4+ Bd7 13.Qb4 b6 14.O-O Rf8 15.f4 a5 16.Qd4 Ne7 17.d3 Nc6 18.Qe3 Kf7 19.b3 Kg8 20.Ba3 Kh8 21.Rae1 Rab8 22.Qh3 b5 23.Bb2 Nb4 24.Re2 Qxh3 25.gxh3 Bxh3 26.Rf3 Bg4 27.Rg3 Bxe2 28.Nxe2 Nxc2 29.e5 Nd7 30.e6 Nf6 31.h4 Rfe8 32.h5 Rxe6 33.h6 g6 34.f5 Rxe2 35.Bxf6+ Kg8 36.Bd4 Re1+ Black won on time, angelcamina - HenryLalu13, lichess.org, 2022; and

10.Qe2 Qc6 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.O-O Bg4 13.f3 Bh5 14.d4 Kd7 15.g4 Bxg4 16.fxg4 h5 17.g5 Ng4 18.h3 Raf8 19.hxg4 hxg4 20.Be3 Nh4 21.Qxg4+ Kd8 22.Rxf8+ Rxf8 23.Qxh4 Kc8 24.g6 Kb8 25.Qg4 a6 26.Rf1 Rd8 27.Rf7 Rh8 28.Qd7 Qxd7 29.Rxd7 Kc8 30.Rxg7 Rf8 31.Rf7 Rh8 32.g7 b6 33.gxh8=Q+ Kb7 34.Qg7 Kc6 35.Rxc7 checkmate, angelcamina - Trajche1980, lichess.org, 2022

10...Nf6 

An interesting alternative was 10...Qg4!? 

11.O-O Qg4 12.f3 Qd7 13.d4 Kf7 14.Nc3 Rf8 15.Qb3+ Qe6 16.d5 Qd7 17.f4 Kg8 

18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Nh5 

In a 1-minute game, moves can come like reflexes, and a pawn advance in the center often chases a Knight to the rim - but in this case the correct move was the simple 19...Nxe5. 

20.Rxf8+ Kxf8 21.e6 Qd6 22.Be3 Nf6 23.Rf1 Kg8 

Black works to safeguard his King and control White's advanced "Jerome pawns".

The game is even, but White pushes on.

24.Nb5 Qe5 

Stockfish 15.1 suggests 24...Qe7 25.Nd4 Qd6 26.Nb5 Qe7 etc. draw.

By giving up the blockade, Black's Queen steps into danger.

25.Bd4 Nxd5 

The clock is the villain here. He needed to try 25...Qxd5, when 26.Bxf6 Bxe6 27.Qxd5 Bxd5 28.Nxc7 Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Rc8 30.Bxg7 Kxg7 31.Ne6+ Kg8 32.Nd4 would lead to a position where White would be a pawn up, but there would be clear drawing chances.

Now the game races to checkmate.

26.Bxe5 Nxe5 27.Qxd5 Ng6 28.e7+ Kh8 29.Rf8+ Nxf8 30.exf8=Q checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Risking the Gutter

The following game brings to mind an old chess aphorism about the risks of wasting time to grab an offside pawn, something I explored in "Jerome Gambit: He Who Takes the Queen's Knight Pawn...". It is a warning best heeded.

Staku - kollona352

20 10, Yearly Classical Arena, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7

Whistler's defense. Do. Not. Take. The. Rook.

8.Qd5+ 

See "Jerome Gambit: Updating Early Secrets (Part 4)".

8...Kf8 9.d4 

He might have considered Yury V. Bukayev's idea (against 8...Kg7) of 9.b4!? 

9...Bb6 

10.Bg5 

Instead, 10.O-O might have been better, but the text encourages Black's Queen to go off on an ill-fated excursion. 

10...Qb4+ 11.c3 Qxb2 12.O-O Ne7 13.Qe5 Kg8 

It is true that Black now threatens the Rook at a1.

It is also true that he now faces a checkmate in 5 moves.

14.Qxe7 Bxd4 15.cxd4 

He also had 15.Bh6, after which Black can only throw material before expring: 15...Qxf2+ 16.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 17.Kxf2 g5 18.Qf8 checkmate. 

15...Qxd4 

The Queen can not get back in time.

16.Bf6 Qd6 17.Qg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: New Tournament

I have started my games in the first round of a 16-player (4 groups of 4) "Play the Italian Game III" tournament at Chess.com.

Since the starting moves are 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 it is possible for my opponents to deny me the chance to play a Jerome Gambit by avoiding playing 3...Bc5. So far, all three have done so.

Alas, even though I have replied 3...Bc5 in my games, no one has played 4.Bxf7+ against me, either.

I will have to make do with a Monck Gambit, for now.

Jerome Gambit: Monck Gambit, Game Score Corrected

Looking into the Monck (or Noa) Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+) - for some background, see the post "Jerome Gambit: Chaos in a Two Knights (Part 1)" - I ran across the following article in the June 8, 1895, issue of the Montreal Daily Herald

Chess Column

The Monck Gambit

Anything new in the way of openings or that cannot be found in the books is always interesting. The following variation of the Two Knights' defence, which went by the name of the Monck Gambit in Dublin some years since, will be found amusing. We copy from the Baltimore News.

Game No. 61.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.N/fg5+ Kg6 8.Qf3 dxe4 9.Qf7+ Kxg5 10.d4+ Kh4 11.h3! Bb4+ 12.Kf1! g6 13.g3+ Kh5 14.g4+ Kh4 15.Qb3! Bc3 16.Qxc3 e3 17.Qxe3 Bxg4 18.hxg4+ Kxg4 19.Qe4#

 This unnamed, undated and unplaced game is identical to the game Pollock - Amateur, which I found in Pollock Memories: A Collection of Chess Games, Problems, &c., &c., Including His Matches with Eugene Delmar, Jackson Showalter, and G.H.D. Gossip (1899), by William Henry Krause Pollock, and posted on this blog 7 years ago - with the exception of the very last move. The book version ended with 19.Qh3#.

Or did it?

I returned to Pollock's book online and examined the game. It ended "19.Q mates", which does not help determine what the final move was.

However, in the Montreal Daily Herald chess column quoted above, the paragraph following the game started

Simultaneous Play

On Wednesday evening Dr. W. H. K. Pollock gave an exhibition of simultaneous play at the St. Denis Chess Club...

If Pollock was around, it is likely that the "Chess Column" writer at the Herald got the checkmating move right.

Which means that I got it wrong.

Hence the correction. The game ended with 19.Qe4#. I have made the change in The Database as well. 

By the way, the earliest Monck Gambit that I have in The Database predates both Monck's, Noa's and Pollock's efforts, as given in Louis Paulsen A Chess Biography with 719 Games (2019) by Hans Renette, quoting the November 1857 issue of The Chess Monthly November 1857

Paulsen, Louis - Fuller, W.J.A, blindfold exhibition, New York, 1857: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.Nfg5+ Bxg5 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Nxg5+ Kg7 10.Qh4 Nd4 11.Kd1 h6 12.Nf3 Nxf3 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.gxf3 b6 15.h4 Bb7 16.Rh3 Rf8 17.Ke2 Rf5 18.d3 Raf8 19.Be3 Bxf3+ 20.Kd2 c5 21.c3 d5 22.d4 exd4 23.cxd4 c4 24.Rc1 Be4 25.a3 Rf3 26.Rg3 b5 27.Rcg1 a5 28.Kc3 Rxf2 29.Bxf2 Rxf2 30.Rc1 Rh2 31.Re3 Rxh4 32.b4 a4 33.Kd2 Rf4 34.Rce1 h5 35.Rg3 h4 36.Rge3 Rf6 37.Rh3 g5 38.Rg1 Kh6 39.Ke2 Kh5 40.Rh2 g4 41.Rf2 Bf3+ 42.Ke3 Re6+ 43.Kf4 Re4+ 44.Kf5 Rxd4 45.Re1 Be4+ 46.Ke6 Rd3 47.Rf8 g3 48.Rg8 c3 49.Rf1 Rf3 50.Rxf3 Bxf3 51.Kf5 Be4+ 52.Kf4 c2 53.Rh8+ Kg6 54.Rc8 g2 and Black won