For another quick look at the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), check out "One mistake… and it's over. Welcome to the Jerome Gambit – by BlazeChessArena" of course, at the Blaze Chess Arena.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Friday, May 9, 2025
Jerome Gambit: It's All About Creating Chaos
For an enjoyable introduction to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) check out TheBoardGameXpert's
"How Do You Play The Jerome Gambit? - The Board Game Xpert"
As she points out, "It's all about creating chaos..."
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Jerome Gambit: Do Not Get Caught Up In Your Own - Or Your Opponent's - Ideas...
With the Jerome Gambit, as with every other chess opening, it is important to not only pay attention to your own ideas, but those of your opponent - as reflected in the moves. Just don't get stuck there.
The following game is a hard lesson.
vagel - smax03
5 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2025
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8
7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.e5
The pawn is impatient. More solid was 9.d3 or 9.f3.
9...g5
One piece of chess advice is that if your opponent threatens one of your pieces, instead of moving the piece away, you might consider attacking one of your opponent's pieces - especially one that is more valuable.
That may be the thinking underlying the text move, but there are more factors to consider. Simple enough was 9...d6.
10.Qxg5
Black's last move changes the position drastically, but White does not notice. Otherwise, he would have played 10.Qxf6+ Qxf6 11.exf6 with advantage.
10...Bxf2+
Another trick. I would not be surprised to find that Black has tried this before, in similar positions.
11.Kxf2
It is prudent to ask yourself, after every one of your opponent's moves: Why did he do that?
Much better was 11.Kf1. Why?
11...Ne4+
Oh, yeah, that's why.
White resigned, as he will lose his Queen.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Jerome Gambit: Another Speeding Bullet
The following game is another Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) played at bullet speed. It has a lot of action, including a King hunt and an advanced, passed pawn that promotes, sacrificing itself for the good of the attack.
Such things are routine for angelcamina.
angelcamina - ocarito23
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025
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+
Taking the game off of the beaten path.
The Database has 126 games with this position. White scores 59%.
By comparison, 9.Qe3 appears in 1,606 games. White scores 66%.
It would be worth looking at the earlier Jerome Gambit: Adding to Theory and Jerome Gambit: Dangerous At Any Speed
Remember, though: this is a 1-minute game, and the difference between the two lines hardly matters.
9...c6 10.Qe2 Nf6 11.O-O Bg4
angelcamina has faced different defences here:
11...Rf8 12.f4 Kf7 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Nxe5 15.Qxe5 Kg8 16.Nc3 Bg4 17.d3 a6 18.Bg5 Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Qxb2 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qd4 Rad8 22.Qxg4+ Kh8 23.Ne4 Qxc2 24.Qf3 f5 0 - 1 angelcamina - chesssilverm 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020 ; and
11...Be6 12.f4 b5 13.f5 Bc4 14.d3 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 Ne5 16.dxc4 Nxc4 17.b3 Ne5 18.Bb2 Ned7 19.Nd2 Kf7 20.Nf3 Rhe8 21.Rae1 Rxe4 22.Ng5+ Black resigned, angelcamina - hanksmoody, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024.
12.f3 Be6 13.d4
13...b5 14.f4
Instead, 14.d5 would have been stronger, as the text loses the exchange.
14...Bc4 15.Qe3 Bxf1 16.Kxf1 Ng4 17.Qg3 h5 18.h3
Stockfish 16.1 assesses Black as still much better after 18...Qf6 19.hxg4 hxg4 20.Nc3 Nxf4 21.Bxf4 g5.
The text hangs a piece. Such things happen in lightening play: players may gift each other material.
19.e5 dxe5
Too cooperative. With more time, he would see that he had 19...Nxe5 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.Qg6+ Kf8 and he would be fine.
20.Qxg6+ Kd7 21.fxe5 Nd5 22.Qxg7+
Breaching the wall of the castle.
He could also have infiltrated with 22.Qd6+ Kc8 23.Qxc6+ Nc7 24.c3 Rf8+ 25.Ke2.
22...Kc8 23.Bd2 Rf8+ 24.Kg1 Nf4 25.Bxf4 Rxf4 26.c3 Qh4
Black is looking aggressive, but White - with three pawns for the exchange - has everything under control.
27.Nd2 Qf2+ 28.Kh1 Qxd2 29.Qg8+
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...
Of course, Readers with more time to examine the position, may have found 29.e6!?, and the advancing, passed pawn, is the winning actor.
When time is a factor, it can be attractive to deliver checks.
29...Kb7 30.Qg7+ Ka6
The King's sense of safety abandons him. Safer was 30...Kb6. Still, the game is equal - for the moment.
31.a4 Qxb2
Wow.
Black is a Rook ahead, but (according to Stockfish) his best play does not allow his King to escape checks, e.g. 31...Raf8 32.axb5+ Kxb5 33.Qb7+ Kc4 34.Rg1 Kd3 35.e6 Re4 36.e7 Rf7 37.Qa6+ Ke3 38.e8Q Rxe8 39.Qxc6 Rff8 40.Qh6+ Kd3 41.Qg6+ etc.
The text move is not enough, as it overlooks the fact that White now delivers double check.
32.axb5+ Kxb5 33.Qb7+ Kc4 34.Qxb2
White now just have to move quickly.
34...Raf8 35.Qe2+ Kd5 36.Ra5+ Ke6 37.Qxh5 Rf1+ 38.Kh2 Re1 39.Qg4+ Ke7 40.Rxa7+ Ke8 41.Qd7 checkmate
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Jerome Gambit: "Interesting"...
Ah, yes, "Italian Game" tournament at Chess.com...
As I introduced it
The 50-player "Italian Game" tournament has started at Chess.com, and I am in Group One with 9 other players.
I am playing five Jerome Gambits and will share each of them as they are completed.
One interesting point is that my rating is in the bottom 10 of the tournament’s 50 players, 8th out of 10 in my group, to start. Not quite the same thing as "giving Jerome Gambit odds," but things should become interesting, quickly.
That word "interesting" is carrying a lot of weight in that last paragraph.
The 8th rated player in my group, I finished 8th.
Five Jerome Gambits, five losses.
But - I'm working on it...
For example
I have joined the new BISHOP'S OPENING CUP 2025 at Chess.com - 250 players, time control 10 days per move (!).
My hope is to play a number of Abrahams Jerome Gambits, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+, a line that I have not tried before, but is worth exploring.
So far, I have two wins, but no Abraham Jeromes. Still, it's only a matter of time...
Monday, May 5, 2025
Jerome Gambit: Training Game #5
Here is the fifth training game from Sacrifice Theory. The Bishop mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Sacrifice Theory".
Black adopts a dithering defense, and pays the price.
NN - NN
Training Game #5
2024
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
10.O-O Qe8
Instead, 10...Kf7 followed by 11...Re8 was seen in the early Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match 1876 (1-0, 34)
11.Nc3 Kf7 12.f4 Bd7
This move is given a "?" but I think the position is more complicated than that.
It is true that a pawn storm by White is imminent, while Black's King is not safely tucked away - so spending an extra tempo here (with the intention of ...Bc6) could be a problem.
However, the bigger issue is the Knight(s) demonstration coming up, that accomplishes little beyond self-inflicted wounds.
13.d4 Ng4 14.Qd3 Nh4
It is so much fun to harass the enemy Queen, but an attack has to have more than that.
15.f5 Qe7
Another lost tempo. Now the dominoes start to fall.
16.Nd5 Qd8 17.Qb3 Kf8 18.Qg3 h5 19.f6
There is too much going on for the defender to counter it all.
19...Bb5 20.Bg5 gxf6 21.Nxf6 Bxf1
Winning the exchange, but it doesn't matter.
22.Rxf1 Kg7 23.Bxh4 Qc8
White can now pick up another piece with 24.h3, but he goes for mate, instead.
24.Qf4 Nxf6
Capitulation.
25.Qxf6+ Kh7 26.Qf7+ Kh6 27.Rf6 checkmate
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Jerome Gambit: Training Game #4
Here is the fourth training game from Sacrifice Theory. The Bishop mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Sacrifice Theory".
It is a sad tale of how an un-coordinated attack, led by a too-far-ahead-Knight, brings the aggressor only sorrow.
Training Game #4
NN - NN
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 Qe7
9.Qxe7+
This exchange is not often White's idea, because the Queen can help attack the enemy King; but Stockfish 16.1 actually assesses the position after the exchange of Queens, here, as only 1/5th of a pawn better for Black than the Queen retreat to e3.
9...N8xe7 10.Nc3 Nf4 11.O-O d5
Black's pawn advance is thematic in the Jerome Gambit, but seems a bit loosening, here - yet, the second player maintains his advantage of piece-for-pawns.
12.d3 Rf8 13.Be3 Be6 14.g3 Nh3+
The Knight doesn't accomplish much except to get stuck here. That is no way to attack a King.
15.Kg2 c6 16.Ne2 Kd7
Linking his Rooks - but stifling his Bishop, as White quickly notices. Better was 16...Rd8.
17.Nd4
Threatenening the Bishop which supports the Knight - and the Bishop has nowhere safe to go.
17...Bg4 18.f3 c5 19.Nb3 d4 20.Bd2 Bxf3+
Oh, well.
21.Rxf3 Rxf3 22.Kxf3
22...c4
I am not sure what the idea is behind this move, but Stockfish likes it.
23.dxc4 Rf8+ 24.Kg2 Rc8 25.c5 b6 26.cxb6 axb6 27.Nxd4 Rc4 28.c3 Rc5 29.Kxh3
Things are settled here. The game continued, perhaps, because of clock issues? I will give the moves for the sake of completeness, but the game is really over.
29...Re5 30.Re1 Nc6 31.b4 Rh5+ 32.Kg2 Ne5 33.h3 g6 34.g4 Rh4 35.Kg3 g5 36.Bxg5 Nd3 37.Rf1 Rxh3+ 38.Kxh3 Ne5 39.Rf5 Ng6 40.Rf7+ Kd6 41.Bf4+ Nxf4+ 42.Rxf4 h6 43.Rf6+ Ke5 44.Rxb6 Kxe4 45.Rxh6 Kd3 46.Rc6 Ke3 47.a4 Kd3 48.a5 Ke3 49.a6 Kd2 50.a7 Kd3 51.a8=Q Ke3 52.Qe8+ Kf4 53.Rf6+ Kg5 54.Qe5 checkmate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)