Jerome Gambit: Magical

A pawn capturing a Rook while promoting to a Queen - that is pretty powerful stuff. When the Queen leaves the board, it is almost like it magically reappears on the other side, to further trouble the enemy King.

Below, Bill Wall shows how it is done.

Wall, Bill - Zulfikar

SparkChess, 2024

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.Qh5

9...Qe7 

9...Nf6 10.Qe2 Kf7 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1475978, Sofia, 2013 (1-0, 28).

10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Qe2 Bg4 12.f3 Be6 

Black's minor pieces are developed, his Queen faces the enemy King (and Queen) and all he needs to do now is castle - no, wait a minute, he cannot castle.

But his still needs a plan.

13.O-O Nf4 14.Qe1 Qf7 15.d4 

15...Qg6 

The kind of slip that makes me wonder what the time control for this game was.

16.Bxf4 Bh3 

Aggression easily dealt with.

17.Bg3 Bd7 18.Rd1 Nh5 

Maintaining his aggressive stance. His problem is that White now has control of the center, is better developed, and is planning to open the position.

19.Nd5 Kd8 20.Bh4+ Nf6 21.e5 c6 

22.exf6 cxd5 23.fxg7+ 

The capture comes with check.

23...Kc7 24.Qa5+ b6 25.gxh8=Q 

Cute. If now 25...bxa5, then with 26.Qxa8 White will have exchanged a Queen and a pawn for two Rooks - but also have promoted to another Queen. 

25...Rxh8 26.Qxa7+ 

Those Queens!

26...Kc6 27.Rd3 Rg8 

Threatening checkmate, but it is too late.

28.Rc3+ Kb5 29.Qxd7+ Black resigned

White has a checkmate in two moves.

"Jerome Gambit Song" Update

Readers will remember the post "Jerome Gambit Song", with the bright chess song by Yury V. Bukayev, posted several weeks ago.

Here is an update 

Dear Rick,

I think, everyone remembers my new invented way (the post of September 25, 2024) of how to popularize your blog. Once again, here is a text of a popular song 'Japanese Girls' by the music collective 'Joy'. Now let me show my up-dated version of my own text for my analogous song 'Oh, Jerome Games!' with the same melody. 

Here is the song by 'Joy':  

https://youtu.be/Y0a3T6iN0Wk  .

                Japanese Girls ('Joy')

Japanese girls living in a land

So far and lovely

Japanese girls they have set my soul on fire

Japanese girls they're always in my mind

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You are my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You are my Japanese girl

I love you so

Japanese girls lovely as a dream

It's like a vision

Japanese girls make me feel so good

Just like in heaven

Japanese girls they're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You are my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You're my Japanese girl

I love you so

Japanese girls they're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You're my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You are my Japanese girl

I love you so

(The source of this text is the same.)  

And here is my own song (the 2nd version):

                                 Oh, Jerome Games!

Oh, Jerome games living in chess land

So bright and lovely

Oh, Jerome games! They have set my soul on fire

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my mind

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Jerome chess games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need it so

Jerome chess games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

Oh, Jerome games lovely as a dream

It's like a vision

Oh, Jerome games make me feel so good

Just like in heaven

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Jerome chess games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need it so

Jerome chess games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

Oh, Jerome games!..

Oh, Jerome games!..

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Jerome chess games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need it so

Jerome chess games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

    (Copyright (c) Yury V. Bukayev 2024)

Dear readers, thank you a lot for your letters! Feel free, please, to contact the author again: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru !

Jerome Gambit: Trod These Roads Before

In the following game, Black hopes to avoid the excitement of the full Jerome Gambit by avoiding capture of the second offered piece - until White quietly castles, when the second player cannot resist the bait.

Bill Wall has trod these roads before, as his play quickly shows.

Wall, Bill - Angouba

SparkChess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

Seen as early as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875, (1/2 - 1/2, 29).

6.O-O 

Bill has also played the straight-forward 6.Nxc6 dxc6 (or 6...bxc6  as in Wall,B - Guest709079, PlayChess.com 2017 [1-0, 30]) 7.d3 h6 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nd2 Bg4 10.Nf3 Qe7 11.e5 Nd5 12.d4 Bb6 13.c4 Nb4 14.a3 Na6 15.b4 Rd8 16.c5 Nxc5 17.bxc5 Bxc5 18.Bb2 Kg8 19.Qb3+ Kh7 20.Qc2+ g6 21.dxc5 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Rd5 23.a4 Rhd8 24.Rfd1 Rxc5 25.Qxc5 Qxc5 26.Rxd8 b5 27.Rd7+ Kg8 28.e6 bxa4 29.e7 Kf7 30.Re1 Qg5+ 31.Kh1 Black resigned, Wall,B - WMXW, FICS 2012; 

And 6.d4 Nxd4 7.Be3 as in Wall, B. - Guest757851, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 42) and Wall,B - Guest6399506, PlayChess.com 2015 (1-0, 24). 

6...Nxe5 

Returning to the main line.

Bill has also faced 6...Qf6 in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - Computer-level 6/chess.com 2017 (1-0, 44); and 6... d6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 in Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B-Guest399227. PlayChess.com 2016 (1-0, 17). 

7.d4 

7...Bd6 

Logical, although a bit better was 7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 as in Wall,B - Mazanbaku, lichess.org 2017 (1-0, 15) and Wall,B-Guest1442, ChessTempo.com 2017 (1-0, 21) 

8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd6 10.Nc3 Bc5+

11.Kh1 c6 12.Qd3 d6 

Black is careful, and this encourages White.

13.f5 Qe7 

14.Bf4 Nf6 15.Rae1 Ng4 16.Na4 Ne5 17.Bxe5 Qxe5 18.Nxc5 Qxc5 

The exchange of pieces has left White with an advantage in development that he quickly uses. Open lines will lead to the enemy King.

19.e5 dxe5  

It is true that 19...d5 would have been met by 20.f6, while the obsequeous 19...Qd5, hoping to exchange Queens would have been met by 20.Qg3.

20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Qxh8 Black resigned

Black's King remains unsafe, and he is down the exchange. Also, it will take a couple moves to be able to develop his Bishop and Rook.

Jerome Gambit: The Counter-Jerome Gambit Returns

Black's psychological counter to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) changes the nature of the game, but it does not change the outcome.

It takes more than just a surprise to defeat Bill Wall - and Bill was not surprised.

Wall, Bill - Naren

SparkChess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

Black can now play 7...d6, Blackburne's variation, or 7...Qe7, Whistler's variation.

Instead, he opts for the Counter-Jerome Gambit.

7...Bxf2+

As mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Still Waters Run Deep"

The "Counter-Jerome Defense" or the "Counter-Jerome Gambit". See "Jerome Gambit: How Bad Has It Gotten?", "Jerome Gambit: Tactical Awareness" and "Jerome Gambit: Be Careful, Look Both Ways".

For more recent examples, see "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit (Part 3)" and "Jerome Gambit: Psychology".

Checking The Database, there are 638 games with this sacrifice. Alas, Black scores 30%.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The capture with the Knight is stronger than 9...Kxf6, as was seen in Wall,B - Kumar, internet, 2024 (1-0, 22).

Black has the satisfaction of having liquidated White's attack, although he is now down a pawn, instead of up a piece or two. 

10.Nc3 

Earlier Bill tried the bold 10.Kf3 and still succeeded, in Wall,B - Guest4380606, PlayChess.com, 2015 (1-0, 15). 

10...b6 

A bit better was 10...d6, seen in Wall,B - SCMJ, FICS 2020 (1-0, 24). 

11.Rf1 Ba6 12.d3 Kg7 13.Bg5 Rhf8 14.Ke2 

With the Queens off of the board, White's King is about as safe on e2 as it would be on g1. If play reaches the endgame, the position would be beneficial.

14...Ng4 

Developing either of his Rooks or protecting the d5 square with 14...d6 looks a bit better.

15.h3 Ne5 16.Nd5 c6 

Overlooking the fact that the Bishop had to retreat to b7.

17.Nc7 Bb7 18.Nxa8 Rxa8 19.Bf6+ Black resigned

Black will lose his Knight, being a Rook down.

Jerome Gambit: Getting Lost In The Shuffle

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can appear bizarre enough to the defender that sometimes basic things seem to get lost in the shuffle. 

Wall, Bill - Kiev

SparkChess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 N8e7 8.O-O 

Or 8.Qh5 Re8 9.f4 as in Wall,B-Suku, internet, 2023 (1-0, 23). 

8...Re8 

Planning to castle-by-hand, with his Rook on the e-file.

9.Nc3 d6 10.Qh5 Kg8 

White will now attack. Black is comfortable with his position.

11.f4 Nf8 12.f5 Nc6 13.d3 

White's "Jerome pawns" advance, but I don't think he expected Black's next move.

13...Qf6 

As OMC sang, how bizarre...

I think that as Black continued to build his defense, the danger White's Queen posed got lost in the shuffle.

14.Qxe8 Black resigned

Down two pawns and the exchange, Black has had enough.

Jerome Gambit: Quite A Game

The following Jerome Gambit is quite a battle, showing knowledge of the opening by both players. It follows what is perhaps the best known Jerome Gambit, from Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, which was a crush for the second player, but, subsequently play was found for White that indicated a draw was a more accurate outcome.

Black's innovation on his 9th move did nothing to overturn what became White's advantage.

Quite a game, given the speed of play!

Oh, and Grandmaster Andrew Tang was playing White.

penguingm1 - sutcunuri

30 seconds bullet, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 d6 

Blackburne's variation. It's complicated, but White can afford to capture the Rook. 

8.Qxh8 Qh4 

Here comes Black's counter.

9.d4 Bh3

This move is a novelty, according to The Database. Likely Black's hope is now 10.gxh3 Qxe4+ followed by 11.Qxh1. At this time control - 1/2 minute bullet - it could work.

White has also faced 9...Qxe4+ 10.Be3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Rf1 Bh3 13.Nd2 Nf6 14.Bh6+ Ke8 15.Qh8+ Kf7 16.Qg7+ Ke6 17.dxc5 Rg8 18.Qxg8+ Nxg8 19.Be3 Kf7 20.cxd6 Qc6 21.dxc7 Qxc7 22.Rg1 Bf5 23.c3 Qc4 24.Nxc4 Black resigned penguingm1 - sutcunuri, lichess.org, 2020. 

10.Be3 

Only a computer like Stockfish 16.1 would prefer 10.dxc5 Qxe4+ 11.Be3 Qxg2 12.Qxh7+ Ke6 13.Nc3 (13.Kd2) 13...Nf6 14.Qxc7 Qxh1+ 15.Kd2 Qxa1 16.Bd4 dxc5 17.Qe5+ Kd7 18.Nd5 Ne4+ 19.Qxe4 cxd4 20.Qe7+, even if it was, technically, better than the move played.

10...Re8 11.dxc5 Nf6 

Black traps the Queen. White could respond to 11...Bxg2 and 11...Rxe4 with 12.Qc3. 

12.Qxe8+ 

White will get a Rook and a Bishop for his Queen. Despite the pyrotechnics, his King will be safe in the center.

12...Kxe8 13.gxh3 Qxe4 14.Rg1 Qxc2 15.Nd2 dxc5 

16.Rg5 b6 17.Rd1 Qxb2 18.Nf3 Qxa2 

Black's attack has run its course. It is now White's turn.

19.Re5+ Kf7 20.Ng5+ Kg7 21.Re7+ Kg8 22.Rd8+ Black resigned

It is checkmate next move.