Sometimes when we play the Jerome Gambit, our opponents get to thinking - and thinking - and thinking. Still, at some point they have to get back to playing - or time will catch them out. (As Samantha Smith says "Tick... tick... tick... BOOM!")
Philidor 1792 - NN
bereg.ru , 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.
3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Qh4 d6 7.c3 Black forfeited on time
Two ideas from games from The Database that continued: 7...h6 (7...Bg4 8.Ng5 h6 9.d3 Ke7 10.Nh3 Bxh3 11.Qxh3 Qd7 12.Qg3 Qg4 13.Be3 Qxg3 14.hxg3 Bxe3 15.fxe3 Nc6 16.Na3 a6 17.0-0-0 Rhf8 18.Rh4 Nd8 19.d4 Ne6 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Nc4 Nd7 22.Rg4 Rf2 23.Rd2 Rxd2 24.Nxd2 Nf6 25.Rh4 Rf8 26.Kc2 Nh7 27.Nc4 Rf2+ 28.Kb3 Rxg2 29.Nxe5 Rxg3 30.a4 Rxe3 31.Nc4 Rf3 32.e5 Rf4 33.Rxf4 Nxf4 34.Ne3 h5 35.Nf5+ Kf7 36.Kc4 g6 37.Ng3 g5 38.Kd4 h4 39.Nh1 Ke6 40.Ke4 Ne2 41.Kf3 Nc1 42.b4 Na2 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Nxc3 45.b6 cxb6 46.Nf2 b5 47.Nd3 Nd5 48.Nc5+ Kxe5 49.Nxb7 b4 50.Na5 Nhf6 51.Nc4+ Kd4 52.Nd2 Kd3 53.Nb3 Kc3 54.Na5 b3 55.Nxb3 Kxb3 56.Kg2 Kc3 White resigned, stemplarv - theophraste, FICS, 2009) 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Nc3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 g5 12.Qg3 Nxe4 13.Bxg5 hxg5 White resigned, alxaraya - hyperspace, FICS, 2014
Sometimes I play over the games of the top Jerome Gambit players and shake my head in wonder, admitting I don't know how he does it... So many times Black seems to be better - until he loses. Clearly, the Jerome is not only a study in the psychology of error, it is a school for learning about (successful) chess struggle.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.
3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.d4
It is interesting to note a couple of FICS games with a player with a similar name to White's, which give alternative responses:
6.Qxe7+ Nxe7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 c6 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Re1 Be5 13.Bg5 Bxc3 14.b3 h6 15.Rad1 hxg5 16.Re2 d5 17.Re3 d4 18.e5 Nd7 19.Re4 Nd5 20.Rd3 Nf4 21.Rxf4+ gxf4 22.Kg2 Nxe5 23.h3 Nxd3 24.cxd3 g5 25.Kf1 Kf7 26.Kg1
Rhe8 27.a4 Re2 28.b4 Rd2 29.h4 Re8 30.Kh2 gxh4 31.b5 Rxf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rxd3 34.Kxf4 Rh8 35.Kg4 Re3 36.Kf5 cxb5 37.Kf4 bxa4 38.Kf5 a3 39.Kf4 Kg7 40.Kf5 Rf8+ 41.Kg4 Re4+ 42.Kh5 Rf5 checkmate, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006; and
6.d3 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Nd5 Na6 12.Nf4 Qe8 13.h3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 h6 White forfeited on time, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006.
6...Qxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3
There are other ways to hold onto the pawn:
8.Bf4 Nd4 9.Kd1 Ne6 10.Bg3 Ne7 11.c3 Ng6 12.Nd2 Ke7 13.Nh3 d5 14.exd5 Nd8 15.b4 Bb6 16.Nf4 Nxf4 17.Bxf4 Rf8 18.Bg5+ Kf7 19.e6+ Kg8 20.Be3 Re8 21.Bxb6 axb6 22.f4 c6 23.c4 b5 24.f5 bxc4 25.Nxc4 cxd5 26.Nb6 Rb8 27.Nxd5 Nc6 28.b5 Nd4 29.Nc7 Re7 30.b6 Nxf5 31.Rf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke1 Nxf1 33.Kxf1 Bxe6 34.Nxe6 Rxe6 35.Rb1 Rc8 White resigned, guire - givemeabreak, FICS, 2014;
8.f4 Nge7 9.Nf3 d6 (9...Ng6 10.Nc3 d6 11.f5 Ngxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 Bd7 14.Bxe5 dxe5 15.O-O-O Bc6 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 Bd6 18.c4 b6 19.a3 a5 20.Rhd1 Kf7 21.g4 Rhd8 22.h4 Rd7 23.g5 Rad8 24.h5 Ke7 25.b3 Bxa3+ 26.Kc2 Rxd5 27.cxd5 Bd6 28.Kc3 Bb4+ 29.Kc4 Bd6 30.Kb5 Ra8 31.Rc1 a4 32.bxa4 Ra5+ 33.Kc6 Rxa4 34.Kb7 Rb4 35.Rf1 Kf7 36.f6 gxf6 37.Rxf6+ Kg7 38.h6+ Kg8 39.Kc8 Rxe4 40.Kd7 Rf4 41.Re6 Rf7+ 42.Kc6 Rd7 43.g6 Re7 44.gxh7+ Kxh7 45.Rf6 Black forfeited on time, ripples - Cihan, FICS, 2009) 10.exd6 cxd6 (10...Bxd6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.e5 Bb4 13.Bd2 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nd4 15.O-O-O Nxf3 16.Ne4 Bxd2+ 17.Nxd2 Nxd2 18.Rxd2 Kf7 19.Rf1 Rad8 20.f5 Rxd2 21.Kxd2 Rd8+ 22.Ke3 Nd5+ 23.Ke4 Nb4 24.Rf2 Nxa2 25.c3 b5 26.c4 bxc4 27.h4 c5 28.h5 Rd4+ 29.Ke3 Rh4 30.e6+ Ke7 31.b4 cxb3 32.Rb2 c4 33.Kd2 Rxh5 White resigned mfenaux - ikac, FICS, 2008) 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Ke2 Nd4+ 13.Kf1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nxc2 15.Rb1 Nd4 16.Kg2 Ng6 17.f5 Ne5 18.Rd1 Rd8 19.Na4 h6 20.Nxc5 dxc5 21.Bf4 Nec6 22.Rbc1 Ke7 23.Rxc5 b6 24.Rc4 Rd7 25.Kg3 Rhd8 26.Rdc1 Ne2+ 27.Kg4 Nxc1 28.Rxc1 Black forfeited on time, ripples - zsifkovitspeter, FICS, 2009.
8...d6
A couple more ideas:
8...Nd4 9.Nxd4 Bxd4 10.f4 Ne7 11.c3 Bc5 12.b4 Bb6 13.a4 a5 14.b5 Bc5 15.Nd2 d6 16.Nb3 b6 17.Nxc5 dxc5 18.O-O Kf7 19.c4 Rf8 20.f5 Kg8 21.Bb2 c6 22.e6 cxb5 23.axb5 Bb7 24.Rf4 Rad8 25.Rg4 g6 26.f6 Nc8 27.e7 Rd2 28.exf8=Q+ Kxf8 29.Bc3 Rc2 30.Be5 Rxc4 31.Bc7 Rxe4 32.Rxe4 Bxe4 33.Re1 Bd3 34.Re3 Bxb5 35.Re6 Bc4 36.Rc6 Kf7 37.Bxb6 Nxb6 38.Rxb6 a4 39.Rc6 a3 40.Rxc5 Be6 41.Ra5 Kxf6 42.Rxa3 Black resigned, mfenaux - BobTheBeginner, FICS, 2009; and
8...Nge7 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Ng6 11.Nc3 Ngxe5 12.Nd5 Nc4 13.O-O Nxb2 14.Nd4+ Kg8 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Ne7 checkmate, idiom - lochsa, FICS, 2003.
9.Bf4
9.exd6 Bxd6 10.O-O Bg4 11.Nh4 g5 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 Nge7 14.f6 Nd5 15.Bxg5 Rg8 16.Bh4 Rg4 17.Bg3 Bxg3 18.fxg3 Nxf6 19.Rxf6+ Ke7 20.Rf1 Ne5 21.Nc3 Rd8 22.Rae1 Kd6 23.Ne4+ Kc6 24.Nf6 Rg5 25.h4 Rxg3 26.Rxe5 Rdg8 27.Rf2 Kd6 28.Ref5 Ke6 29.Nh5 R8g4 30.Nf4+ Kxf5 31.Nd3+ Kg6 32.Nf4+ Kg7 33.Nh5+ Kh6 34.Nf6 Black forfeited on time, enzop - Matan, FICS, 2004.
9...Bg4 10.exd6 cxd6
Or: 10...Bxf3 11.gxf3 Bxd6 12.Bxd6+ cxd6 13.Nc3 Ke7 14.Rg1 g6 15.O-O-O Nf6 16.f4 Nh5 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Rhg8 19.Rge1+ Ne5 20.Nd5+ Kd7 21.f4 Nc6 22.Re6 Rae8 23.Rh6 Ne7 24.Nxe7 Rxe7 25.Rxh5 Rf7 26.Kd2 Rg2+ 27.Kc3 Rf2 28.Rd4 Kc6 29.Rh6 Rxf5 30.Rdxd6+ Kc7 31.Rde6 Rc5+ 32.Kd4 Rfxc2 33.Rxh7+ Kb8 34.Rd6 a6 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.Rh5 Ka7 37.Rb4 Rf7 38.Kd3 Rf2 39.Ke3 Rc2 40.h4 Re7+ 41.Kf3 Rh2 42.Rh6 a5 43.Rb5 Kb8 44.h5 Rd7 45.f5 Rh1 46.a4 Rf7 47.Rxa5 Rf1+ 48.Ke4 Re1+ 49.Kd4 Rd1+ 50.Ke5 Rf1 51.f6 Rg1 52.Rh8+ Kc7 53.Ke6 Rd7 54.Rc5+ Kb6 55.Kxd7 Kxc5 56.f7 Rd1+ 57.Kc7 Black resigned, VATICANO - caciuccoboy, FICS, 2014.
11.Nc3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nd4 13.O-O-O Nxf3 14.Nb5 Nf6 15.Nxd6 Bxd6 16.Bxd6+ Kf7
Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit endgame, with the "Jerome pawns" vs Black's extra piece. "Objectively" the edge is to the second player, although it is his responsibility to show it.
17.Rd3 Ng5 18.f3 Rhd8 19.h4 Ne6 20.Rhd1 Ne8 21.Bg3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Rd8 23.Kd2 Nf6 24.b3 Nh5 25.Bh2 Ke7 26.Ke3 h6 27.Rxd8 Kxd8 28.Be5 Ke7 29.f4 b5
30.f5 Nc5 31.Bd4 Kd6 32.b4 Na6 33.a3 Nb8 34.Bxa7 Nc6 35.Bc5+ Ke5
Black's King successfully blockades the central "Jerome pawns", his b-pawn restrains White's Queenside, and even though he has given up a pawn, he seems to have stymied the first player's momentum.
Except for one move.
36.c4
White's game now becomes dyamic on the Queenside.
36...bxc4 37.b5 Nb8 38.b6 Nf6
This slip allows White to clarify things quickly with the win of a piece.
39.Bd4+ Kd6 40.e5+ Black resigned
I have looked at the move Ng5+ for White in the standard Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) - see "Recurring Theme", "Ng5+" and "Counterplay!" as examples.
The following game features the move in the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit". Of note is that games by duordy appear 77 times in The Database - in 2014 and 2015, so he is clearly a developing Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member to keep an eye on.
duordy - thejaswi
standard, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
3...Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Qe2 d6
duordy has also faced:
5...Nc6 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 dxe4 8.Nxe5+ Nxe5 9.Qxe5 Re8 10.Qc3 Kg8 11.0-0 Bf5 12.d3 exd3 13.cxd3 Bxd3 14.Rd1 Qe7 15.Be3 Bg6 16.Nd2 b6 17.Nf3 c5 18.Ne5 Qxe5 19.Qxe5 Rxe5 20.Re1 Rae8 21.Bd2 Ne4 22.Bf4 R5e6 White forfeited by disconnection, duordy - vinceagius, FICS, 2014;
5...Re8 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 b6 8.Qe3 Nxe4 9.0-0 Qf6 10.d4 Nc6 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5+ Rxe5 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Qxd2 Ba6 15.c4 Bxc4 16.Re1 Rae8 17.Rxe5 Rxe5 18.h3 Re2 19.Qf4 Re1+ 20.Kh2 Qxf4+ 21.Bxf4 Rxa1 22.Bxc7 Rxa2 White resigned, duordy - mopdop, FICS, 2014; and
5...Rf8 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Kg8 8.exd5 e4 9.Ng5 h6 10.Ne6 Bxe6 11.dxe6 Nc6 12.0-0 Re8 13.e7 Rxe7 14.Qc4+ Kh8 15.d3 exd3 16.cxd3 Black forfeited by disconnection, duordy - jodhaakbar, FICS, 2014.
6.0-0
Or 6.Qc4+ Ke7 7.0-0 b6 8.Nc3 Ba6 9.Nd5+ Kd7 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.Qd5 c6 12.Qb3 Bxf1 13.d3 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Qg6+ 15.Bg5 Rf8 16.Kh1 Rxf3 17.Rg1 Bxf2 18.Rg2 Na6 19.Be3 Qf6 20.Rxf2 Rxf2 21.Bxf2 Qxf2 22.h4 Qxh4+ 23.Kg2 Qg4+ 24.Kh2 Qf4+ 25.Kh3 Rf8 26.d4 Qf1+ 27.Kh4 Rf4+ 28.Kg5 Qg1+ 29.Kh5 Qg4 checkmate, duordy - haslopdw, FICS, 2014.
6...Rf8
Or 6...Bg4 7.Qc4+ Kf8 8.Nxe5 Nbd7 9.Qf7, checkmate, duordy - ArneLaugstol, FICS, 2014.
7.Qc4+ Be6 8.Ng5+
Aha!
8...Kg6 9.Qxe6
Playing over the game, here I thought to myself - wrong piece, the Knight capture allows a fork - and then I saw whatWhite was up to.
9...Kxg5
The Knight was poisoned.
10.Qf5+ Kh6 11.d4+ g5 12.Qxg5 checkmate
Here are 3 Jerome Gambit games I picked up from the site lichess.org. Since the time limits were, respectively, 5 0, 3 0 and 1 0, you can expect some inaccuracies - but never a lack of excitement! (Interesting: the shorter the time limit, the longer the game.)
praentitong - fortescxi
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.d3 d6 8.Bg5 Nf6 9.0-0 Nxh5 White resigned
We have seen White in the next game before, in an earlier Abrahams Jerome Gambit.
obamaGANDON - rpap
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.Qf4+ Nf6 7.d3 Ke8 8.Qxc7 Nc6 9.Bg5 Qe5 10.Qxe5+ Nxe5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Nc3 Bb4 13.0-0-0 Bxc3 14.bxc3 d6 15.f4 Ng4 16.h3 Nf2 17.Nf3 Nxh1 18.Rxh1 Be6 19.g4 Bxa2 20.f5 Bf7 21.g5 fxg5 22.Nxg5 Rc8 23.c4 a6 24.Re1 b5 25.e5 dxe5 26.Rxe5+ Kf8 27.d4 Rxc4 28.d5 Rc5 29.Nxf7 Kxf7 30.Kd2 Rd8 31.Kd3 Rcxd5+ 32.Rxd5 Rxd5+ 33.Ke4 Rc5 34.h4 Rxc2 35.h5 Rc5 36.Kf4 b4
White resigned
bbyd - jposthuma
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Qf6+ 7.Qxf6+ Nxf6 8.Nf3 Nxe4+ 9.Ke3 d5 10.Rf1 Re8 11.d3 Ng3+ 12.Kf2 Nxf1 13.Ng5+ Kf6 14.Kxf1 Bg4 15.Nc3 c6 16.Nxh7+ Kg7 17.Ng5 Nd7 18.Bf4 Nf6 19.Bc7 Bf5 20.Ba5 Re7 21.Bb4 Re3 22.Bc5 Rae8 23.Bxe3 Rxe3 24.Re1 Rxe1+ 25.Kxe1 Ng4 26.Nf3 Kf6 27.Ke2 Ne5 28.Nxe5 Kxe5 29.Nd1 Bg4+ 30.Ke1 Bxd1 31.Kxd1 Kf4 32.Ke2 d4 33.g3+ Kg4 34.Kf2 Kh3 35.Kg1 g5 36.Kh1 g4 37.Kg1 c5 38.Kh1 b6 39.a3 b5 40.b3 a6 41.b4 c4 42.dxc4 bxc4 43.a4 d3 44.cxd3 cxd3 45.b5 d2 46.b6 d1Q checkmate
I certainly wish that I could find a definite link between Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, the "inventor" of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), and the similar line in the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+) - other than the references Gerald Abrahams made in two of his books, hence my naming the line the Abrahams Jerome Gambit.
Still, it's hard to overlook the following game, where White tops a player rated over 350 points above him. "outwitted"? I don't think so! (When he looks over his game, I hope my notes help.)
outwitted - perece
standard, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
Currently there are 16,200 Abrahams Jerome Gambit games in The Database (with many more to add). White wins 51%. This compares with 11,645 standard Jerome Gambit games (not counting transpositions from the Four Knights or the Semi-Italian) where White scores 45%.
3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Ke6 5.Nf3
While going over this game I found an interesting glitch in Stockfish 6. It evaluates the alternative move 5.Qg4+ as "=" (0.00) and keeps that evaluation even after the move 5...Kf7 is played, saying that after 6.Qh5+ the evaluation will still be "0.00". However, when I play 6.Qh5+ I immediately see that after 6...Kf8 Black is rated 1.5 (or so) pawns better!?
For other thoughts on the move see "Exploring".
5...Qf6
This is not as strong a move as in many of the regular Jerome Gambit lines.
6.d4
Opening a line to add his Bishop to the attack. Next time outwitted will be ready with 6.Qe8+ Qe7 7.Qxc8 winning a piece.
6...Bxd4
6...Nc6, best for Black, is still better for White.
7.Bg5
Straight forward. However, 7.Nxd4+ is the right way to go after the Queen, i.e. 7...exd4 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Bg5. (This is the second time that outwitted appears in The Database with the white pieces, and he is still feeling his way around.)
7...Qg6
Now Black is OK.
8.Qg4+ Kd6
A better defense was 8...Kf7 9.Nh4 (9.c3 Bb6 10.Nxe5+ Black resigned, bobx - ABoni, FICS, 2007) 9...Qe6 10.c3 h6 11.Qxe6+ dxe6 12.Bd2 Bb6 13.O-O Nf6 14.Be3 Rf8 15.Bxb6 axb6 16.f4 exf4 17.Rxf4 g5 18.Rf1 gxh4 19.e5 Kg6 20.exf6 Rxf6 21.Rxf6+ Kxf6 22.Nd2 Ra4 23.Rf1+ Kg7 24.a3 Nc6 25.Nf3 h3 26.g3 e5 27.Re1 Kf6 28.Nh4 Rxh4 29.gxh4 Bg4 30.Rf1+ Ke6 31.Rf8 h5 32.Re8+ Kd5 33.Rc8 Kd6 34.Rh8 e4 35.Rh6+ Kd5 36.Rh8 e3 37.Re8 e2 38.Kf2 Ne5 39.Rd8+ Ke4 40.Re8 Kf4 41.Rf8+ Ke4 42.Re8 Kd5 43.Rd8+ Kc4 44.Rd4+ Kb3 45.Re4 Nd3+ 46.Ke3 e1=Q+ 47.Kxd3 Bf5 48.c4 Qxe4+ 49.Kd2 Qd3+ 50.Ke1 Kxb2 51.Kf2 Qe4 52.Kf1 Qf3+ 53.Ke1 Kc2 54.c5 Bd3 55.cxb6 Qe2 checkmate, RattyMouse - vballmike, FICS, 2009.
9.c3
This works, in light of Black's response, but next time White might follow RattyMouse: 9.Nbd2 Nf6 10.Qg3 Nxe4 11.Nxe4+ Qxe4+ 12.Kd1 Bxb2 13.Rb1 Qd5+ 14.Ke2 Bc3 15.Rhd1 Bd4 16.Nxd4 Qc4+ 17.Ke3 Qc3+ 18.Rd3 Qc5 19.Rbb3 Nc6 20.Rbc3 Qxc3 21.Rxc3 Nxd4 22.Kd3 b6 23.Be3 Ba6+ 24.Kd2 Nc6 25.Qxg7 Rhg8 26.Qxh7 Rxg2 27.Qh6+ Ke7 28.Qh7+ Kd6 29.Qh6+ Ke7 30.Bg5+ Kf7 31.Qf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Kf7 33.Qxa8 Rxf2+ 34.Ke3 Re2+ 35.Kf3 e4+ 36.Kf4 Black forfeited on time, RattyMouse - Udon, FICS, 2008.
Stockfish 6's suggestion is 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.e5+ Kc6 11.O-O Qe6 12.Qf3+ Kb6 13.c3 Ne7 14.cxd4 c6 15.Nc3 Nd5.
9...Bxf2+
Lashing out. There is an idea behind the move, but White figures it out.
10.Kxf2 h6
The White Bishop is pinned.
11.Rd1+ Kc5 12.Rd5+
12. Be3+ is fine, too.
12...Kc4 13.Nxe5 checkmate.
I was playing over the following Abrahams Jerome Gambit game with Stockfish looking over my shoulder, when the computer made a comment that I didn't understand. It turns out that both players had overlooked something along with me and that only one of them was able to recover, and take advantage of the particular situation...
Korpav - Dagestan
standard, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 d6 6.Qc3 Qg5 7.Qf3+ Nf6
8.Ne2 Nc6
To my eyes, Black was doing a good job of dealing with the gambit, and his last move seemed solid and useful. However, Stockfish didn't like 8...Nc6 and suggested, instead, 8...Bg4 9.Qf4 Qxf4 10.Nxf4 Nc6.
Hmmm... First exchange Queens, then bring out the Knight. Okay... Why?
9.c3
The first thing both players (and the annotator) overlooked was 9.d4!, which allows White, after a bit of exercise, to win back his sacrificed piece with 9...Bb4+ 10.c3 Qg6 11.Nf4 Qxe4+ 12.Qxe4 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Nxb4 when
analysis diagram
Black's active pieces would give him only an edge.
Having missed the opportunity to take advantage of his opponent's Queen's danger, White Queen now experiences her own troubles at the hands of the enemy Knights.
9...Ne5 10.Qg3 Bxf2+ 11.Kxf2 Nxe4+ White resigned
Here are some additions to the previous post, which focused upon a line in the Abrahams Jerome Gambit, the game ndizvoh - stevebrown, blitz, FICS, 2015.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+
6.Ke2
the move 6...Nf6 was suggested as an alternative to 6...Qf6,
He also had the move 6...Nf6, which does the same thing, as 7.Kxf2 would then be met with 7...Ng4+, winning White's Queen.
Examples from The Database:
Rattymouse - bobbybo
blitz, FICS, 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ White resigned
lksharma - oeyvind
blitz, FICS, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke1 Nxe5 9.d3 Rf8 10.Nh3 Kg8 11.Bg5 Qe8 12.Nd2 d5 13.Ke2 Bxh3 14.gxh3 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nc4 16.Raf1 Rxf1 17.Rxf1 Nc6 18.Kd1 Nxb2+ 19.Kc1 Qe5 20.Nf6+ Kg7 21.Nd7 Qd6 22.Bf6+ Kh6 23.Bxb2 Qxd7 24.Bc3 Re8 25.Bd2+ g5 26.h4 Kh5 27.Bxg5 Re2 28.Bf6 Qg4 29.Kb2 Qb4+ 30.Kc1 Qa3+ 31.Kd1 Rxh2 32.Rf5+ Kg6 33.Rf4 Rg2 34.Bb2 Rg1+ 35.Ke2 Qe7+ White forfeited on time
xreal - jgknight
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke2 Nxe5 9.Nf3 Nxf3 10.gxf3 d5 11.d3 dxe4 12.fxe4 Bg4+ 13.Kd2 Qg5+ 14.Kc3 Qe5+ 15.Kb3 Be6+ 16.c4 Nc6 17.Rf1+ Ke8 18.Bf4 Nd4+ 19.Kc3 Ne2+ 20.Kd2 Nxf4 21.Nc3 Rf8 22.Ke3 Ng2+ 23.Kd2 Rxf1 24.Rxf1 Qg5+ 25.Kc2 Ne3+ 26.Kb3 Nxf1 White resigned
marciprevi - chesssuperstar
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Nf6 7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Ke2 Nxe5 9.d4 Nc4 10.b3 d5 11.bxc4 Bg4+ 12.Ke3 Qg5+ 13.Kd3 dxc4+ 14.Kxc4 Qxc1 15.Kc3 Bd1 16.Ne2 Qxc2+ 17.Kb4 a6 18.Rf1+ Kg7 19.Na3 Nc6 checkmate
A little further along in the game's notes, I recommended that
White probably should have settled for 7.Qxf6+ Nxf6 8.Kxf2 Nxe4+ and a roughly equal game.
However, a quick look at The Database showed that in 23 games my suggestion scored 72% for Black!?
A consultation with Houdini 3 and Stockfish 6 gave me a clue as to what was going on. While both computer programs agreed that the responses 9.Ke1 and 9.Kf1 led to a balanced game, the move 9.Ke2 (3 games) led to an edge for Black, and the move 9.Ke3 (15 games) led to an advantage for Black. (Both moves are well met by 9...Re8.)
It can be helpful to know what has been played previously, if only to know what moves to avoid!
Finally, it can be noted that after the game continuation, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Qf6 7.Qd5+ Kg7
The Database contains 7 games with this position: 6 losses for White (one of them ndizvoh - stevebrown, blitz, FICS, 2015) and 1 draw.
I have been doing some more exploring of the Abrahams Jerome Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ - (see "Exploring" for an earlier exploit) and the results have been puzzling, but worth reporting.
One important difference between the Abrahams Jerome and the regular Jerome Gambit is the value of ...Bxf2+ for Black. In the latter, the move serves mostly a "psychological" purpose (You sacrificed a piece to upset my King, so I will sacrifice a piece to upset your King), as discussed in "Trading Down Against the Jerome Gambit" and earlier posts. However, in the former, the return Bishop sacrifice is often the best move available.
ndizvoh - stevebrown
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5
A quick look in The Database shows 4,097 games have reached this position, with White scoring 53%. Only 1,151 games include the "best" response, 5...Bxf2+, which reduces White's scoring to only 52%.
Clearly there are other factors than the "best" move affecting the outcome!
A comparison with the Abrahams Jerome Gambit line 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 is even more puzzling. The Database has 5,026 games reaching this position, with White scoring 41% (suggesting that 4...Kf8 might be a stronger response than 4...g6). Yet, in the 219 games where Black makes his "best" response, 5...Bxf2+, White improves his scoring to 47%.
It's worth repeating: Clearly there are other factors than the "best" move affecting the outcome!
5...Bxf2+
Black sees he will be losing his Bishop, and decides to get a pawn for it.
6.Ke2
Declining the Bishop is rare, according to The Database, and not a good idea. One example: KevinSI - stevebrown, standard, FICS, 2014: 6.Kf1 Qf6 7.Nf3 Qxe5 8.Nxe5+ Ke6 9.Kxf2 Kxe5 10.Re1 Nf6 11.d3 Rf8 12.Kg1 Nc6 13.Nd2 Nd4 14.Nc4+ Ke6 15.Rf1 Kf7 16.Bg5 Kg7 17.c3 Ne6 18.Bxf6+ Rxf6 19.Rxf6 Kxf6 20.Rf1+ Kg7 21.Ne5 d6 22.Rf7+ Kg8 White resigned
6...Qf6
Black protects his Bishop and Rook. He also had the move 6...Nf6, which does the same thing, as 7.Kxf2 would then be met with 7...Ng4+, winning White's Queen.
7. Qd5+
White probably should have settled for 7.Qxf6+ Nxf6 8.Kxf2 Nxe4+ and a roughly equal game.
7...Kg7 8.Nf3 Ne7 9.Qc4 Bb6
Black has retained his extra piece. White has an extra pawn, but given the lack of safety of his King, it is not adequate compensation.
10.Rf1 d6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 c6 14.Qc4 Re8 15.d3 d5 16.e5 Rxe5+ White resigned
The other day I came across a chess thread on a Nigerian website,
Nairaland.com, with a post by InesQor, who wrote
I just finished a chess game on this new site I found (lichess) and the game was really odd to me.
I won, but I'm wondering if the Jerome gambit my opponent played could ever have been played better than it was. Or else, if it is so terrible an opening?! Better players in the house, what do you think?...
Caveat: I haven't played chess in a while so I'm not in the best of form: playing fast (thus, there are some blunders.)
I am not sure that I am a better player than you are, but I am glad to be of some assistance, InesQor!
Anonymous - Anonymous
3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7
The site lichess identifies this as "Bishop's Opening, Jerome Gambit". My preference is to refer to it as the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" as opposed to the Jerome Gambit proper (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).
The point is largely moot here, as with White's and Black's next moves, the game transposes to the "regular" Jerome Gambit.
4.Nf3
White would have better chances of an attack after 4.Qh5+, although Black still would be better.
The fact is that the Jerome Gambit is pretty much a terrible opening, although in a 3-minute blitz game between club players, it has some practical value.
4...Nc6 5.d3
This move marks the game as a "modern" Jerome Gambit variation, as opposed to the "classical" lines which feature 5.Nxe5+ - a move that was almost always played back in the time of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome. However, modern players are not always willing to sacrifice a second piece.
5...Nf6 6.Bg5 Rf8 7.c3 Kg8
Black has played very well, developing his pieces and castling-by-hand. It is up to White to show that he has any kind of compensation for his sacrificed piece.
8.Qb3+ Kh8 9.h4 Qe8 10.h5 Qe6
Black offers to exchange Queens, snuffing out White's attacking chances. He could have gone further with the counter-attack 10...Ng4!?, sowing confusion in his opponent's ranks.
11.c4 Nxh5
A very sharp idea, if followed up correctly.
12.Rxh5 Bxf2+
Black misses 12...Qg4! with a chance to recover his sacrificed material (with interest), moving toward a strong attack on White's King. If he does not take advantage of his Queen's opportunities, White will recover - and the first player still has an extra piece.
13.Kxf2 Nd4 14.Qd1 d5
Things are looking complicated - and in a 3-minute game!
White has a chance to work on a counter-counter-attack, with 15.Be3, e.g. 15...dxe4 16.dxe4 Qg4 17.Qh1.
The game now bounces back and forth - time must have been running short for both players.
15.cxd5 Qb6
A scary move - a strong tool in blitz - but the Queen would be better placed on g6. White's response is all bluff, however.
16.Rxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qh1+ Kg8 18.Kg3 Ne2+ 19.Kh4
Allowing checkmate, but White was worse in any event.
19...Qf2+ 20. Kh5 Ng3+ 21. Kg6 Nxh1 22. Nxe5 Rf6+ 23. Bxf6 Qxf6+ 24.Kh5 Qh6 checkmate
Very nice!
