Jerome Gambit Delayed: Who Is Fooling Who?

Bobby Fischer said that he did not believe in psychology, he believed in good moves.

That said, good moves often have a psychological impact. 

Given a very limited time to calculate and play moves, the definition of "good" tends to expand. The following game is a good example.

angelcamina - pepe16

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 

The Two Knights defense.

angelcamina likes the Jerome Gambit.

4.d3 

Oh, well.

4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

You didn't think that you were going to get off that easily, did you?

The Database had 46 of angelcamina's games with this position. He scores 50%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 

Here we have a Jerome Gambit position, only Black has used his extra move (White usually plays d2-d4, not d2-d3 & d3-d4) to develop another Knight.

How can White get away with this? He is a veteran at playing bullet games - a time control that often allows such audacity - and he is very familiar with the Jerome Gambit.

7...Nc6 8.dxc5 Nxe4 

His opponent, on the other hand, does not appear to be familiar with the Jerome.

Is this a slip, or a trap?

9.Qd5+ Kf6 10.O-O 

How easy it would be in a 1-minute game to grab the Knight with 10.Qxe4 and immediately regret it after 10...Re8.

Now Black has to rescue his Knight. 

10...Ng5 

Black's best was to walk into a pin along the e-file, himself, with 10...Qe8, when 11.Re1 (echo) Qe5 12.Qxe5+ Nxe5 13.Rxe4 would leave him only a pawn down.

11.Bxg5+ Black resigned

The Queen will be lost.

Jerome Gambit: The Freddy Defense

The YouTube video "Jerome Gambit - Checkmate in 13" by FazbearFreddy (a Five Nights At Freddy's fan) shows a rather wild and scary Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, ending up - in 13 moves - with checkmate.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

Now Black can choose to enter the Blackburne defense with 7...d6 or the Whistler defense with 7...Qe7.

7...Qf8 

Instead he chooses what has to be called the Freddy defense, as this is the first time that I have seen this move, and there are no examples in The Database.

Black's Queen sees the danger to her Bishop, and guards it, but she seems unaware of the danger to her Rook, which she loses.

8.Qxh8 Qe7 

Black arrives at a Whistler's defense, a move down. 

This is not an improvement, but there are still tactics available. 

9.Qxh7+ Kf6 

This move costs a Knight, although it is interesting to note that Stockfish 15.1 (at 30 ply) sees the capture as only 7/100th of a pawn better than exchanging Queens.

10.Qxg8 Qxe4+ 

This is what Black was thinking about when he played 8...Qe7.

11.Kd1 

Rewarding Black; was White reflexively protecting his c-pawn? Much safer was 11.Kf1, protecting the g-pawn. 

Still, after the text, White is better. 

11...Bxf2 

Attackers (with either color) take note.

Black anticipates 12.Re1, and prevents it with the text capture.

This is as good, as far as it goes.

However, 11...Qxg2 (or, similarly, 11...Qg4+ 12.f3 Qxg2) is stronger, if only because now 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ etc would draw - a reasonable outcome for Black when he was in a worse position.

The difficulty with 11...Qxg2, however, at least as far as Black is concerned, is that White can simply give up the Rook: 12.c4!? Qxh1+ 13.Kc2 when Black's King is more at risk.

After the text move, the first player finishes things off quickly.

12.Qf8+ Ke6 13.Qxf2 d5 14.Rf1 Bd7 

Ooops.

15.Qf6 checkmate

Etude du Jérome Gambit

The YouTube video "Etude du Jérome Gambit" (by Echecs I Massacrealouverture) is a pleasant, French language exploration of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

I could follow some of the presentation (Je suis désolé, Mlle. Lakis, je parle le français comme une vache espagnole) and occasionally referred some of my questions to Google Translate.

While the presenter could not recommend the Jerome Gambit as a main opening for your repertoire, he did think that it might fit as a secondary opening - being very interesting, with many traps for an opponent, even if reserved for quick games or lower rated players.

Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: Great Minds Think Alike

 

I do not know if chessriddler at lichess.org reads this blog, or if it is a case of "great minds thinking alike" - chessriddler and Yury V. Bukayev, that is - but the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game shows an interesting additional pawn offer leading to a strengthening of White's attack; a line explored and published here on the 24th of August, 2020 - 3 years ago, that was 4 days before the first of Jerome gambit games H.Nakamura - D.Kollars was played.

chessriddler - Ay63scachi

10 0 blitz, 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.b4

This was most recently looked at in "Jerome Gambit: Puzzle Pieces (Part 1)", with the significant paragraph 

This move had not received any analysis until Yury V. Bukayev considered it in "Jerome Gambit: Article". It is quite likely that a number of players were influenced by his work, as shown in the games below.

8...Bxb4 9.f4 

Championed by Bukayev.

9...Qf6

Sometimes Black's Queen comes to f6 with positive impact; sometimes she arrives and it is harmful.

This time, the latter.

The move to make was 9...Ke7, as Bukayev noted.

10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Qxe5+ Kxe5 12.Bb2+ Kxe4 

Also 12...Ke6 13.Bxg7 Nf6 14.Bxh8 d6 15.Bxf6 Kxf6 16.c3 Bc5 17.d4 Bb6 18.O-O+ Kg6 19.a4 a5 20.Nd2 Be6 21.Rf3 Re8 22.Raf1 Re7 23.Rf6+ Kg7 24.h4 Bd7 25.h5 h6 26.Rg6+ Kh7 27.Rff6 Bxa4 28.Rxh6+ Kg7 29.Rfg6+ Kf7 30.Rh7+ Ke8 31.Rg8+ Kd7 32.Rxe7+ Kxe7 33.h6 c5 34.h7 cxd4 35.h8=Q dxc3+ 36.Kh2 cxd2 37.Rg7+ Ke6 38.Qh5 d1=Q 39.Qf5 checkmate, chessriddler -dambo78, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023.

 13.Bxg7 Ne7 14.Bxh8 

White is ahead by the exchange. It is no clear that the "development" of Black's King is adequate compensation.

14...d5 15.O-O 

White knows that he is ahead. No immdiate need for adventures, time to safeguard his King.

15...Be6 

A routine move, likewise - threatening the enemy Bishop - but overlooking the threat buried in White's last move. 

16.Nc3+ Bxc3 17.dxc3 

Showing that White has a sense of humor. He could have played 17.Rae1 checkmate, but, instead, he offers a piece. 

17...Rxh8 18.Rae1 checkmate

 

Jerome Gambit: What Just Happened?

 

The YouTube short video"Jerome gambit is by far the best opening" includes a game by SkillerEP and a hilarious video clip starting off

One of the best things about chess is that at the end of the game when your opponent is sitting there like "What just happened?" Like you know you left him more confused... 

Here is the game, with the final position. 

Check out the video.

SkillerEP - Themeka

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Nf6 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 Nxe4 10.Qd5+ Kg6 11.f5+ Kf6 12.O-O Re8 13.d3 Ng5 14.h4 Nf7 15.Nc3 d6 16.Ne4+ Ke7 17.Ng5 Ne5 18.Nxh7 Qd7 19.Bg5 checkmate

The Queen Escapes. The End.

Some lines in the Jerome Gambit feature the offer - and, sometimes, the capture - of Black's Rook at h8, with the hope that White's Queen will then be out of play, and perhaps eventually captured.

The Queen's escape usually means that Black's chances have dissipated.

imc47 - TolikPavlov174

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 

8...Be7 

Including the current one, there are only 2 games in The Database with this move.

As mentioned in "Pulling A Rabbit Out Of A Hat", 8...Bf8 was a good alternative (although White's result is 3 - 5). Then 9.Qf4+ (9.Qg3 d6 10.d4 Ne7 11.d5 Bg7 12.c4 Qd7 13.Nc3; 9.Qxh8 Bg7 and White scored only 2 - 4) 9...Kg7 10.b3 Nf6 11.Bb2 d6 /+

Also 8...Nf6 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 (10...Qe8 11.Nc3 c6 12.d3 Be6 13.f4 Ke7 14.f5 gxf5 15.exf5 Kd7 16.Qxe6+ Qxe6 17.fxe6+ Kxe6 18.Bd2 Kd7 19.Rxf6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - wadada, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009) 11.Qf4+ Kg7 12.d4 Rf8 13.Qg3 g5 14.Nc3 c5 15.f4 cxd4 16.Ne2 Ne3 17.Bxe3 dxe3 18.Qxe3 gxf4 19.Nxf4 Qg5 20.Nd5 Qxe3+ 21.Nxe3 Be6 22.Nf5+ Bxf5 23.exf5 Rae8 24.Rae1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Rxf5 26.Re7+ Kf6 27.Rxb7 Rc5 28.Rxa7 Rxc2 29.Rb7 Rc1+ 30.Kf2 Ke5 31.Rb3 Rc2+ 32.Kf3 d5 33.Re3+ Kf5 34.Re2 Rc4 35.g3 h5 36.b3 Rc5 37.Ke3 Rc3+ 38.Kd4 Rf3 39.Kxd5 Kg4 40.b4 h4 41.gxh4 Kxh4 42.b5 Rd3+ 43.Kc4 Rd7 44.b6 Rb7 45.Kc5 Rxb6 46.Kxb6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2008 

9.Qxh8 d6 

Black needed to play 9...Bf6.

There was also 9...Nf6 10.Qxd8 Bxd8 11.Nc3 d6 12.d3 Be6 13.Bxh6 Ng4 14.Bf4 h4 15.h3 Nf6 16.g3 Nh5 17.Be3 Bf6 18.g4 Ng7 19.f4 Rh8 20.Kg2 Bh4 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Bd7 23.Bf2 Bc6+ 24.Ne4 d5 25.Ng3 Bg5 26.Rae1 Bd2 27.Re2 Bg5 28.Bd4 Rh7 29.Bxg7 Kxg7 30.Nh5+ Kf7 31.Kg3 Bd7 32.Rfe1 Kg8 33.h4 Bd8 34.d4 c6 35.Re8+ Bxe8 36.Rxe8+ Kf7 37.Rxd8 b5 38.Rd7+ Kg8 39.Rxh7 Kxh7 40.g5 b4 41.Kf4 a5 42.Nf6+ Kg7 43.h5 Kf7 44.h6 Ke7 45.h7 Kf7 46.h8=Q a4 47.Qe8+ Kg7 48.Nh5+ Kh7 49.Qg6+ Kh8 50.Qg7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - PravinMamania, 14 0 blitz, FICS, 2010.

10.Qh7+ 

White's Queen escapes, and Black does not have enough compensation for his loss of the exchange and two pawns.

10...Kf8 11.Qxg6 Bg5 12.Nc3 Bg4 13.f4 Ne7 

A final slip: White's capture will come with discovered check, so the attack on his Queen is irrelevant.

14.fxg5+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Mastering the Chaos

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be dangerous for both sides, especially if White decides - after sacrificing a couple of pieces - to grab some material himself.

Entering unbalanced positions can test a club player's skills, whether attacking or defending.

The following game is a good example.  

imc47 - Kaff69er

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

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

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Qe7 

This is Whistler's defense, strong in practice and offering White an opportunity to go terribly wrong.

That said, there are many Jerome Gambit games where the player enters the "wrong" line and emerges victorious.

It is a matter of mastering the chaos.

8.Qxh8 

According to Komodo 14.1, this Rook capture is winning against

every move except the one Black chooses, which leaves White, himself, ironically, down the equivalent of a Rook.

Was White gambling on his ability to make it through the complications? If so, he is not alone.

In 264 games in The Database, White scores a surprising 49%. The lichess.org database has 6,887 games with 7.Qxh8, with White also scoring 49%. 

The alternative, 8.Qxe7+, shows up in 19 games in The Database, with White scoring a formidable 61%. However, the lichess.org database, with 354 games, shows a more modest 46%. 

8...Qxe4+ 

This is Black's counter.

9.Kd1 

White has won the exchange for a pawn, and from a strictly material point of view he is doing okay.

However, from a King safety point of view, he has exchanged places with Black - his own King is now under deadly attack.

9...d6

Opening the diagonal for his light square Bishop that plans to join the fray with ...Bg4+.

However, the text move gives White chances. The immediate 9...Qxg2 was necessary, with unfortunate threats, and White can only try 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.Re1 when 11...d5 will cost him material or allow checkmate.  

10.Re1

To chase away the enemy Queen, to no avail.

Instead, 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.f3 would have been sufficient defense.

Now the text move gives Black chances, again.

10...Bg4+ 11.f3 Bxf3+ 12.gxf3 Qxf3+ 13.Re2 Re8 

14.Qxh7+ Kf8 15.Nc3 

Ends the game quickly.

Instead, 15.c3 Rxe2 would leave material even, but White's undeveloped Queenside would eventually lead to a loss. Stockfish 15.1 sees Black as 4 1/2 pawns better.

15...Qf1+ 16.Re1 Qxe1 checkmate