Jerome Gambit: And, Still, Not Yet...

 

Today, I was back, again, to the very informal chess club that meets at a local library every-other-week.

Alas: three games, three losses.

Even more disappointing: no Jerome Gambit.

I played the Black side of a Giuoco Piano, hoping my opponent would play the Jerome, but: no.

In two of the games (including a Sicilian Wing Gambit, Declined, in my one game as White) I was simply out-played.

In one game, I reached a Rook-and-pawns endgame, three pawns up - but inattentively allowed a back rank mate.😒

I did learn that there was such a thing as "duck chess". I had to look that one up, at chess.fandom -

Duck Chess is a chess variant invented by Dr. Tim Paulden in 2016. The game follows most regular chess rules but adds a dynamic component to the mix: a rubber duck that both players can move. The Duck blocks the square it's on, making it impossible for pieces to move to that square or through it (Knights may Jump over ducks). The duck creates a lot of new tactical possibilities (often called "quacktics") by unpinning pieces, blocking defenders, trapping pieces, and more. Duck Chess went viral in 2022 after popular content creator IM Eric Rosen played the variant on his stream. Other famous streamers like GM Hikaru Nakamura, WFM Anna Cramling, IM Levy Rozman, and more followed suit, further increasing the game's popularity. The duck has to move every turn.

Amazing...