Sometimes, as in the following game, a King hunt allows White to just win.
Tracy824 - ellnegro
The following game - and 13 others in the Jerome Gambit book - all have the same introduction
C50: Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo Melbourne Leader, 1881; GA MacDonnell; Lane: 'Main notes are from Melbourne paper but GA MacDonnell also published it in ISDN for 3 Sept 1881 - he has got it from Adelaide Observer. 'A very interesting game played by correspondence a short time ago between Messrs H. Charlick and J. Mann.'' Melbourne Leader, 1881; GA MacDonnell; Lane: 'The variations preceded by "RR" were given by Gary Lane in an internet article on the Jerome Gambit at www.chesscafe.com in 2008.'
Indeed, reference to Charlick - Mann, correspondence, Australia, 1881 (1-0, 72) appears in the notes of 13 of the games, including the following
Mantau, Jan - Witt, Monika
corr RSRANDOM-225, 20116
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.Qc4
White prevents ...Be6. The Database has 138 games with this position, with White scoring 66%.
An active response would be 9...Qg5 10. Rg1 Nh4.
9...c5
To dissuade White from playing d2-d4.
10.Nc3 Ne5
Attacking the enemy Queen is always attractive. In this case, it chases the Queen to a more effective position.
More dynamic is 10...Qg5.
11.Qe2 Nf6 12.h3
Keeping the Knights and a Bishop off of g4.
12...c4
Again, encouraging White to avoid playing d2-d4 - but an oversight.
13.f4 Nc6 14.Qxc4 d5
Just so.
15.exd5 Qe7+
The routine 15...Ne7 would have given Black an edge.
16.Kd1 Qb4 17.Qe2+
Stockfish 16.1 evaluates as stronger a Rook check: 17.Re1+ Kd8 18.b3 Qxc4 19.bxc4 Ne7 20.d3 and White, with four pawns for a piece, is better.
17...Ne7 18.a3
18...Qxf4
White has so many pawns lying around, so, why not?
Black's proper response was annoyingly retreat-like: 18...Qb6 19.Re1 Qd8 20.Qc4 Kf8 21.Re5, when White can afford to respond to 21...Ng6 with 22.d3, as 22...Nxe5 23.fxe5 gives the first player 4 "Jerome pawns" and an attack for his opponent's extra Rook.
analysis diagram
Suggested lines of play (30 ply) which favor White include:
23...Nd7 24.e6 Nf6 25.Be3 Kg8 26.Kd2 h6 27.Rf1 Rh7 28.Bd4;
23...Ne8 24.Qf4+ Kg8 25.Be3 Qg6 (25...Qxb2 26.Bd4) 26.Kd2 h6 (26...Qxg2 27.Rf1) 27.g4;
23...Ng8 24.Qf4+ Nf6 25.Ne4 Rg8 26.Be3 Qxd5 27.Bc5+ Kf7 28.Nxf6 g5 29.Qf2 Qxe5 30.Nxg8+ Qf4 (30...Kxg8 31.Qf8#) 31.Qxf4 gxf4 32.Ne7
Back to the game.
19.Re1 Ne4
Giving back material. Instead, 19...Nfg8, but 20.d3 Qd6 21.Bg5 would still show White's pressure.
White's attack builds and builds.
20.Nxe4 Bf5
21.Nf6+ Kd8 22.Qxe7+ Kc8 23.d3 Qc7 24.Qxc7+ Kxc7
Exchanging Queens does not slow down White's attack.
25.Re7+ Kd6 26.Rxg7 Raf8 27.Bf4+ Kc5 28.Be5
28...h6 29.Rxb7 Rd8 30.b4 checkmate
The following game shows that with the Jerome Gambit, Black can quickly slip from advantage to equality to disadvantage to loss.
Wunder, Stefan - Langschmidt, Dirk
corr RSRANDOM-225, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4
This strong move goes back to Sorensen,S - X, Denmark, 1888 (1-0, 27).
7.O-O Ng4 8.h3
Black has a decisive advantage, according to Kitty Kat, in the Jerome Gambit book.
8...Bd6 9.e5
9...Nxe5
Or 9...Bxe5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 12.f4 Ng6 13.Nc3 d6 14.Be3 Ke7 15.Rae1 Kd8 16.Nb5 Nf6 17.Qc4 Ne8 18.Bf2 Qf6 19.Bd4 Qh4 20.Rxe8+ Kxe8 21.Nxc7+ Kf8 22.f5 Ne5 23.f6 gxf6 24.Qd5 Kg7 25.Qxd6 Rg8 26.Rxf6 Qxf6 27.Bxe5 and won, Sorensen,S - X, Denmark, 1888.
10.dxe5
Although the computer assesses the position as equal, according to The Database, White has scored 14 - 5 from this position.
Of note, Bill Wall has scored 8 - 0.
10...Bxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 12.Nd2
12...d6
Loses the game, according to Kitty Kat, in the Jerome Gambit book. It suggests that with 12...Qd4, Black "stays ahead" but the computer assesses the position after that suggested move, instead, as +/-.
13.f4 Ke7 14.fxe5 Be6 15.exd6+ Kd7 16.Qb5+
16...Kxd6 17.Nf3 Bd5
A slip that finishes the game.
18.Nxh4 Black resigned
It has been a while since I checked, but it is always a bit of a surprise when I use blogger.com's information as to who is reading this blog.
Across the life of the blog, according to current data, readership has come from, and amounted to -
United States 581K
Singapore 443K
Hong Kong 188k
(administrative region
of China)
France 106K
Vietnam 103K
Brazil 100K
Russia 92K
Germany 52.7K
United Kingdom 38.7K
All Others 432K
This is similar to a list (without readership numbers) that I gave much earlier in the life of the blog: in June 2012, the top countries were
Russia
United States
United Kingdom
France
Brazil
Vietnam
Germany
Canada
India
Italy
Returning, again, to the book Jerome Gambit, for another walk in the park (or in the weeds)...
A note given to the game "N,N"* - Blackburne, [London, 1885] brings much to mind.
The first eight moves of the game were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qxh4
9.d4
An improvement suggested by Munoz and Munoz in the August 1885 Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, repeated by Fletcher in Gambits Accepted (1954) and Druke in the November 1987 Gambit Revue, to give some early citations. (Actually, the move is rarely mentioned, but see "A Closer Look (Part V)".)
To add more, from the post "Update: Old Dog Can Still Bite",
White's Queen-escape line is, instead, 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3.
This seems a lot saner than 9.d4, e.g. 9...Nf6 (or 9...Qxe4+) 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.0-0 Be6!? when there is plenty of madness in the position after 13.Nf3 (or 13.Qxa8 Bd5 14.Qc8 Ng4 15.Qxc7+ [15.Nf3 Bxf3 16.Qxc7+ Kg8 17.Qc4+ Kf8 18.Bh6+ Qxh6 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Qc7+ etc] 15...Ke8 16.Nf3 Bxf3 17.Bf4 Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qh3 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Bg5+ Kf7 21.Qxg4 Qxg4 22.Rxf2 Qxg5 23.Rxf3+ Kg7 24.Re1) 13...Bxf2+ 14.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 15.Kxf2 Rxh8 16.Nxe5+. The game is even, if White survives.
[9.d4! Nf6 10.e5 (10.dxc5? -0.80/20 10.e5 2.77 is much weaker Qxe4+ 11.Be3 Qxg2 =/+ ) 10...dxe5 11.Nd2! Repels Qe4 + (11.dxc5? 0.15/20 60 11.Nd2 2.46 looks very tantalising, but Qe4+ 12.Be3 Qxg2-+ ) 11...Bxd4 12.0-0 +/- ] [ with the idea 9.d4 1.87/23 Bb4+ 10.c3 ]
As the book assigns a "weighted error value" to each player's play in each game, it seems reasonable to assume that the author used Chessbase 16 in evaluations, as that is the first version where that number appeared.
Clearly, 9.d4 is the strongest move. In fact, Stockfish 16.1 (37 ply) assesses it as the only move that gives White an advantage.
The first game in The Database in which 9.d4 appears is Marfia - Stelter, offhand game, 1964 (1-0, 19) - almost 80 years after it was recommended. (Further research might find an earlier example.)
Arguably 9...Nf6 is Black's strongest response, although 9...Bb4+ comes into consideration, as does the energetic 9...Qxe4+ and the unsettling 9...Bh3.
Now (from "Jerome Gambit: Snappy Ending")
Capturing Black's Bishop with 10.dxc5 could lead to 19...Qxe4+ 11.Be3 Qxg2 12.Rf1 which is looked upon with disfavor by National Master Bruce Pandolfini in his Chess Openings: Traps & Zaps (1989).
The analysis from Jerome Gambit, above, indicates that 10.e5 is "much weaker" (due to [10.]Qxe4+ 11.Be3 Qxg2 =/+) but does not say much weaker than what?
I think the answer is 10.Nd2, recommended by Hindemburg Melao, in a 2003 internet article at www.superajedrez.com, in his notes to Amateur (Melao gave the name "Millner") - Blackburne, London, 188[5].
To date there are only 2 games with 10.Nd2 in The Database, one being perrypawnpusher - marvinni, Giuoco Piano Game, Chess.com, 2022 (1-0, 17).
Still, 10.e5 dxe5 is best followed by 11.Nd2, keeping the enemy Queen out of the e4 square (i.e. 11.dxc5? Qe4+ 12.Be3 Qxg2). Then 11...Bxd4 12.0-0 with an advantage to White - agreed.
*It was correct to simply write "NN", as this stands for "No Name", or Anonymous, or, in this particular case, as the player of the White pieces is also referred to, Amateur.
As a follow-up to yesterday's post, which reflects upon two chess games having the same moves, I thought it would be fun to present a game from the Jerome Gambit book that is an exact replica of what is likely the most famous Jerome Gambit game - Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885.
Before we take a look, however, I would like to quote from my earlier article on the Jerome
Time suddenly ran out on the Jerome Gambit as the 1890s came to a close, with the publication, in 1899, of Mr. Blackburne’s Games at Chess, which included the game thereafter treated by most sources as the refutation of the attack
Amateur - Blackburne,
There are a few things wrong with the generally accepted view of Blackburne’s miniature. The game was published at least fourteen years before Mr. Blackburne’s Games at Chess, in the August 1885 issue of the
In addition, the BCC article included suggestions – “he should have attempted to free his pieces by 9.d4 before castling” and “the only hope he had was 10.Qd8,” which would have strengthened White’s game considerably.
With all this in mind, let's continue with the modern game.
(By the way, the player with the White pieces is a bot at the online chess site, lichess.org.)
Mr_Chess_Berserk - Didnt-play-badly-br0
45 30 classical, 2024
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
7.Qxe5 d6
Blackburne's line, offering the Rook.
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6
10.c3
Hoping to get in d2-d4, blocking the diagonal of the attacking Bishop.
10...Ng4
Black strikes first.
Modern defenders against the Jerome Gambit have Blackburne's example to follow.
Modern attackers with the Jerome Gambit have to do a bit more work.
11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5
Offering the other Rook.
13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate
Let's look at the "only hope" for White at move 10, as provided by the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle.
10.Qd8!?
Suddenly, Black has to be careful, and think clearly, as White is threatening to jailbreak his Queen. Still - Black has his other Rook to offer.
10...Bh3
We can look at alternatives that leave White better - 10...Bb6, 10...Bd7, 10...g5 - at another time.
11.Qxc7+
Black has to allow the repetition - or repeat, himself - in order to avoid disadvantage.
11...Kf8 12.gxh3
Or 12.Qxb7 Bxg2 (12...Qg4 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ Kf8 15.Qa8+ Kf7 16.Qb7+ Kf8 17.Qa8+ draw by repetition, forced by White) 13.Qxa8+ (13.Kxg2 Qg4+ 14.Kh1 Qh3 15.Rg1 Qf3+ 16.Rg2 Qd1+ 17.Rg1 Qf3+ draw by repetition forced by Black) 13...Ne8 14.d4 Qg4 15.Bh6+ Ke7 16.Qb7+ Kd8 17.Qb8+ Ke7 18.Qb7+ Kd8 19.Qb8+ draw by repetition forced by Black.
12...Qxh3 13.d4 Qg4+ 14.Kh1 Qf3+ 15.Kg1 Qg4+ draw by repetition
Related analysis can be found elsewhere on this blog, including "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Parts 1 & 2)"
Regarding the newly discovered Jerome Gambit book, questions remain.
It is not unusual for two games to have the same moves, especially if they are short games. For example, how many thousands of times has the following game been played? 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5 Nf6 4.Qxf7 checkmate.
So, it might not be odd for two games to mirror each other for 10 moves.
But, for 24 moves? That happens.
Okay, but for 39 moves? Surely that can't happen too often.
Consider the following game (s) from the Jerome Gambit book that we have been discussing (see "Jerome Gambit Book (Parts 1 & 2)". They can be found in the notes to the online rapid game Lovefully (2712) - BLITZ26 (2481), 2021 in the book.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
Here, Lovefully veered off with 10.d3 against BLITZ26.
10.d4 Qe7 11.0-0 Ng4 12.Qe2 Qh4 13.h3 Nf6 14.f4 Nh5 15.Qf2 Qxf2+ 16.Rxf2 Rf8 17.f5 Ne7 18.c4 c6 19.g4 Nf6 20.Nc3 d5 21.e5 Nd7 22.cxd5 Nxd5 23.Ne4 N7b6 24.b3 a5
At this point, the book had the notation "1-0 (72) Charmeteau,S (2292) - Guichard,P (2430) FRA-chT Top 12 2019 (7.6)" indicating that this game also went on to 72 moves.
25.e6 h6 26.Bb2 Ke7 27.Re1 Ra7 28.Nc5 Na8 29.Nd3 b5 30.Ne5 Kd6 31.Rc1 Ra6 32.Rc5 Bb7 33.Rfc2 Rc8 34.Bc1 a4 35.b4 a3 36.Bd2 Nab6 37.Be1 Na4 38.Bg3 Ke7 39.Nd7 Nxc5
Here, there was the notation "1-0 (72) Deloras,B - Walker,M EST-ch Tallinn 1943" indicating the game length, too, was 72 moves.
40.dxc5 Rg8 41.Bd6+ Ke8 42.Rd2 Ra4 43.Rxd5 cxd5 44.f6 gxf6 45.Nxf6+ Kd8 46.e7+ Kc8 47.Nxg8 Bc6 48.Nf6 Rxb4 49.e8Q+ Bxe8 50.Nxe8 Rb1+ 51.Kf2 Rb2+ 52.Kf3 Rxa2 53.Nc7 b4 54.Nxd5 b3
Jerome Gambit identified this as a win by White, in Charlick,H - Mann,J correspondence, 1881 - which it was, although the game also went on to 72 moves.
In addition:
It turns out that Sven Charmeteau did play - Pauline Guichard in the FRA-chT Top 12 tournament in Brest, France, in 2019, but their game was a Scotch, not a Jerome.
The only tournament that I could find to match "EST-ch Tallinn 1943" was the 11th Estonian Championship in Tallinn in July, 1943 (Di Felice, Chess Results, 1941-1946, page 126). The tournament was won by Paul Keres, and neither Deloras nor Walker were listed as playing.
Puzzling...
Examining the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) book (the cover says it is by "Chess Notes") that Bill Wall led me to, and which I first took a look at in "Jerome Gambit Book (Part 1)", has led to more puzzlement.
As mentioned in the earlier post, the following game from the book features "W So" playing the Jerome Gambit against "Delmonico" in the "N Eljanov Memorial final 6th 2021".
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5 +Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3 Kc6 12.Nc3 d6 13.h3 Qh5 14.Qg3 Be6 15.Ne2 Raf8 16.Nf4 Qe5 17.Qxg7 Bf5 18.Nd5 Nxd5 19.Qxe5 dxe5 20.exd5+ Kxd5 21.Bh6 Rf7 22.g4 Be6 23.O-O-O
I suspect that if the reference is to Wesley So, an American grandmaster rated over 2750, if he had played a Jerome Gambit it would be notable, and it would have been covered on chess sites all over the internet - yet that has not happened. (Especially since Stockfish 16.1 assesses the final position as about 4 1/4 pawns better for Black.) I have messaged Mr. So about this, and will share his response.
Also, a search on the internet did not discover an "N Eljanov" or an "N Eljanov Memorial" tournament in any year, not just 2021. Ditto, checking Mark Crowther's comprehensive "The Week in Chess" website.
There is a Nils Delmonico, from Switzerland, but, again, had he beaten a top grandmaster who was playing a "refuted" opening, it would have been news. Likewise, any other Delmonico-named chess player. No news found.
Finally as previously noted, all of the moves are the same as in the game Alonzo Wheeler Jerome - S. A. Charles, correspondence, 1881.
Well, then...
[to be continued]
I just heard from Pete Banks ("blackburne" online), early and longtime contributor to this blog and early member of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern).
He pointed out the video "Hikaru Is CRAZY! Sacs 2 Pieces In First 5 Moves & Annihilates 2600+ GM!" covering the game GM Nakamura - GM Kollars 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 (1-0, 28).
Previously, we have seen a wordless presentation of that game (see "Once Again: "Grandmasters Don't Play the Jerome Gambit" Blah, Blah, Blah!") but the video Pete mentions, by Square One Chess has excited narration that brings the game further to life.
Well worth checking out.
By the way, longtime readers of this blog are well aware of Pete, and might well remember
- when International Master Gary Lane assessed the game Banks - Karmark, internet, 2007
- when he was mentioned in John Elburg's review of Gary Lane's The greatest ever chess tricks and traps (see "The extraordinary and forgotten Jerome Gambit")
- see "The Pete Banks Annotated Collection"
