Nothing To It

Chess players who first encounter the Jerome Gambit often decide that there is nothing to it. They accept the first sacrificed piece. They accept the second sacrificed piece. They casually block White's brash Queen check with their g-pawn. Then they settle down to figure out how to play the rest of the game.

Too often, it is already too late.

perrypawnpusher - tripledubs
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

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

7.Qxe5 Nf6

Defenders familiar with the Jerome Gambit will try 7...d6 (Blackburne's Defense) or 7...Qe7 (Whistler's Defense) or some defense of their own concoction.

In the game, Black, in returning one piece, sees that his Rook is endangered, and so protects it - returning a second piece. 

8.Qxc5

White is two pawns ahead. He will be temporarily uncomfortable while behind in development (whose gambit is this, anyhow?) but his opening can be considered a success.

8...Re8

Best is 8... Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also playable is  8... Qe7 as in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48).

A bit better than the text is 8...d6 followed by ...Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic ChessWorld.net 2008 (1-0, 24) and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41).

9.d3 d5

More strident than 9... d6 as in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63), perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15), and perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 33).

10.f3

This is an improvement over 10.O-O of Vuquoclong - VonKortez, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 22) and  10.Bg5 of UNPREDICTABLE - ornito, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36).

10...c6 11.Bg5

Better is 11.Nc3 or 11.O-O, as the text allows Black to grab back a pawn with the combination 11...Nxe4 12.fxe4 Qxg5.

11...dxe4 12.dxe4

Thoughtless, expecting the game to "play itself". Better and more principled would be 12.fxe4 because then 0-0 would put more pressure on the Black Knight at f6.


12...Be6 13.Nc3 Kg7 14.O-O Qc7 15.Bxf6+ Kxf6

16.Rad1

Here I overlooked a nice tactic with 16.Nb5!? based on Black's pinned c-pawn, his attacked Queen, and the placement of his Rooks.

16...b6 17.Qf2 Red8 18.a3 Rd7 19.Rxd7 Bxd7 20.Rd1

So far I have been pretty good at doing nothing, but here I could have tried 20.Qh4+ Kg7 21.Qe7+ Kg8 22.Rd1. The funny thing is that I kind of get there, eventually.

20...Rd8 21.Qh4+ Kg7 22.Qg3

Cowardice. Better 22.Qe7+ Kg8 23.e5.

22...Qc8

It was probably better to exchange Queens.

23.Qe5+ Kg8 24.Qd6 Qa6 25.e5 Qc4 26.e6 Qc5+
27.Qxc5 bxc5

Black resigned

The Bishop is lost.

Faster-er and Furiouser-er

My opponent and I were playing a "normal" blitz Jerome Gambit game until we each started to make our moves too quickly. Things degenerated quickly into a state where "the winner is the one who makes the next-to-last blunder". In this case, it was me. 

perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

According to The Database, Gryllsy - zagothal, blitz, FICS, 2013 continued 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.c3 Bb6 9.Be3 d6 10.Nd2 Bg4 11.Qg3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 h5 13.h3 Bd7 14.0-0 Ke7 15.Ndf3 Rf8 16.Nh4 Be6 17.Ng6+ Kd7 18.Nxf8+ Qxf8 19.Nxe6 Kxe6 20.Rf5 Qf7 21.Raf1 Rf8 22.Qf2 Ne7 23.g4 Neg8 24.g5 Nxe4 25.Rxf7 Nxf2 26.Rxf8 Ne7 27.R1xf2 Black resigned

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

I have a theory about this move. Some defenders push the g-pawn because is part of a defense - Blackburne's, Whistler's - that they are familiar with and are ready to play. Others do so, though, almost as a reflex, to punish White for his early Queen attack - and they figure that they will work out the rest of the defense later.

I checked The Database and found 411 games with the position after 6...g6. Of those games, 139 continued, after 7.Qxe5, with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6. Another 52 games saw Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. That means that in over half of the games where 6...g6 was played, Black was either committed to an inferior defense, or to "figuring something out" - which amounted to the same thing. 

7.Qxe5 Nf6

"I'll take Door Number Three, Monty."

8.Qxc5 Re8 

Instead, Black played 8...Nxe4 in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also seen was 8...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48); and 8...d6 in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008 (1-0, 24), and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41). 

9.d3 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 

Also played: 10...d5 in perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15) and 10...Kg7 in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63).

11.Qf3+ Qf6

For historical purposes, let me point out that 11...Kg7 was Black's response in Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 (1-0, 39). 

12.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The game has lost its attack and counterattack, but White is ahead two pawns.

13.0-0 Kg7 14.Nc3 a6 15.Bg5 Ng4 16.h3

The mistakes start to creep in, small ones at first. A bit better was 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nc7 Be6 18.Nxa8 Rxa8.

16...Ne5 17.f4 Nf7 18.Bh4

Better still was 18.Nd5 Nxg5 19.Nxc7 Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Rf8 21.Nxa8 Nxf4 but at this point I wasn't looking that deeply into the position. 

18...b5 19.Nd5 Ra7 20.Bf6+ Kg8 21.Ne7+

Missing 21.Bd4 c5 22.Nf6+ Kf8 23.Nxe8 cxd4 24.Nf6 Kg7. 

21...Rxe7

A gift. I had expected simply 21...Kf8 22.Nxc8 Rxc8. 

22.Bxe7 c5 23.Rae1?

Returning the favor. I learned to drive in New Jersey, where the two controls on the car are the gas pedal and the horn...

23...Rxe7 

The game is now roughly even, with White having an Rook and two pawns vs two pieces.

24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Rxe5?

25...Nxe5 was the proper recapture, even with the risk of leaving the Knight pinned to an undefended Rook, because of a tactical shot that my opponent and I both missed. 

26.Rxe5 Nxe5 27.Re1 Nc6

Black's best here was 27...Nxd3, although he is worse after 28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Rxc8 Nxb2 30.Rxc5 Kf6.

28.c3?

My opponent and I both missed that 28.Re8+ would fork King and Bishop. 

28...Bf5 29.Re3 Kf7 30.g4 Be6 31.a3 Kf6 32.Kf2 Kg5? 

One last slip, to seal the game.

33.Rxe6 Black resigned

This game is somewhat reminiscent of the old saying "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get."

Tired

Lately my chess play has been sub-par, especially when playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and related openings. I'm thinking not so much of my game against CorH, which was a decent affair, but of another loss that I'm still coming to terms with – and of the following game. Perhaps I've just been a bit tired lately.

perrypawnpusher -tiagorom
blitz 14 0, FICS, 2009

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+

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

As Blackburne played almost 125 years ago.

7. Qxe5 Nf6

Okay, not exactly like Blackburne. Blackburne played 7...d6 and got a complicated game and a crushing victory. Whistler played 7...Qe7 and got the same.

I've been here before, and quite possibly my opponent has not.

8. Qxc5 d6 9. Qd4

An experiment I probably won't repeat.

Previously: 9.Qe3
a) 9...Re8 10.d3 Kg7 11.0-0 d5 12.Qh6+ Kg8 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nc3 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qf6 16.Bd2 Qg7 17.Rae1 Rxe1 18.Rxe1 Qxh6 19.Bxh6 Bf5 20.Re7 Rc8 21.Bf4 Kf8 22.Rxc7 Rxc7 23.Bxc7 Ke7 24.Kf1 Kd7 25.Be5 Kc6 26.Bd4 a6 27.c4 b5 28.cxb5+ axb5 29.a3 Be6 30.Ke2 Bd5 31.g3 Ba2 32.c3 Kd5 33.Ke3 Bb1 34.Bg7 Ba2 35.f4 Bb1 36.h3 Bc2 37.g4 Ke6 38.Ke4 Kf7 39.Bd4 h6 40.f5 g5 41.Kf3 Bxd3 42.Kg3 Be2 43.h4 Bd1 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.Be3 Kf6 46.Bb6 Ke5 47.Bd8 Ke4 48.Bxg5 Kd3 49.Bf6 Kc4 50.g5 Kb3 51.g6 Bh5 52.Kf4 Kxa3 53.Kg5 Bd1 54.Kh6 Bb3 55.Kg7 b4 56.cxb4 Kxb4 57.Kf8 Kc5 58.Be7+ Kd5 59.f6 Ke5 60.g7 Kf5 61.g8Q Bxg8 62.Kxg8 Kg6 63.f7 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz FICS, 2005;
b) 9...Qe7 10.d3 Be6 11.0-0 b6 12.Nc3 Rae8 13.f4 Ng4 14.Qf3 h5 15.f5 gxf5 16.exf5 Bd7 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Rae1 Qf8 19.Rxe8 Qxe8 20.Re1 Qd8 21.Bg5 Rg8 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Qd5+ Kg7 24.Qf3 Rf8 25.Qg3+ Kh8 26.Qe3 Qxf5 27.Qd4+ Rf6 White forfeited on time, perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz FICS, 2007;
c) 9...Be6 10.0-0 Rf8 11.Nc3 Kg7 12.d3 c5 13.f4 Ng4 14.Qg3 Rc8 15.f5 gxf5 16.h3 f4 17.Bxf4 Rxf4 18.Rxf4 Qg5 19.Rxg4 Bxg4 20.Qxg4 Qxg4 21.hxg4 Kg6 22.Rf1 Rh8 23.Rf5 a6 24.Nd5 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic Chessworld, 2008;

9...c5 10.Qd3 Re8

Black has been avoiding grabbing a pawn  ...Nf6xe4 (to be answered by 0-0) perhaps because he didn't see it. 

11.f3 d5 12.Nc3 dxe4 13.Qxd8 exf3+

This is a tactical oversight that should lose a Rook to the simple 14.Qxe8+. My response was a blunder – so much so that my opponent spent some time trying to figure it out, as he had seen his own error, as often sadly happens, right after playing it.

14.Kf2 Rxd8 15.gxf3

Sadly, my advantage is now just one paltry pawn, which could now be minimized further by the accurate 15...c4.

There was nothing left to do but try to make something of the pawn.

15...Bf5 16.d3 Re8 17.Bg5 a6 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.fxe4 c4

20.Rhf1 Kg7 21.Bxf6+ Kxf6 22.Kg3+

Probably 22.Ke3+ was a bit better.

22...Kg7 23.Rf2 b5 24.Raf1 Rad8

25.Rf7+ Kh8 26.R1f3 h5 27.Ra7 Ra8 28.Rxa8 Rxa8 29.d4

The win is pretty straight-forward now.

29...Kg7 30.e5 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Kxf8 32.Kf4 Kf7 33.Kg5 a5 34.d5

34...b4 35.b3 c3 36.h4 Kg7 37.e6 Kf8 38.Kxg6 Ke7 39.Kxh5 Kd6 40.Kg6 Kxd5 41.e7 Black resigned

"Come into my parlor..."

Every chess game that I play, especially one involving the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) contains something – a move, a position, an idea, a combination, an error – that makes it memorable. At times it's even the lack of something that makes the game stick with me.

perrypawnpusher - marbleschess
blitz 12 0, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

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

7.Qxe5 Nf6

This is such a reasonable move, protecting the Rook, and I've seen it before (vs Alternative, MsD and Brain50). The problem is, of course, that after eight moves White is two pawns up, instead of being two pieces down. In light of Geoff Chandler's "Blunder Table", it is clear that at my level of play, this need not be terminal – but it is bad form for play against the Jerome Gambit.

8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qxe7+ Kxe7 10.Nc3 d6 11.d4

There's nothing really exciting going on, just the two-pawn edge.

11...Re8 12.Bg5 Kf7 13.Bxf6 Kxf6 14.0-0 Be6

15.f4 d5 16.e5+ Kf5

Now this is interesting.

17.h3 h5

18.Rae1

White does better with 18.Ne2, as in 18...Bc8 19.g4+ hxg4 20.Ng3+ Ke6 21.hxg4.

18...c6 19.Ne2 h4

Black holds back the White g-pawn – he thinks – to further safeguard his King. Instead, the mating net is put in place.

20.g4+ Ke4 21.c3

Readers no doubt have noticed that there was a mate, instead, with 21.Rd1 Bf5 22.Nc3+ Ke3 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Rd3#

21...Kd3 22.b3

Looking for a way to keep the intruder trapped.

22...b5

Black sends a commando to help his King escape.

23.Rf3+

I take my hat off to any reader who spotted that with 23.Rd1+, instead, the Black King is forced to c2, when 24.Rb1 would set up a mating net due to the threat of Kg1-f2-f3 and then mate with the Rooks. Black would have to sacrifice heavily to avoid that.

23...Kc2

24.Rf2

The key move here is 24.Nc1: 24...Kb2 25.a3 ( 25.a4 Bf5 26.gxf5 gxf5 27.Re2+ Ka1 28.Nd3 Rg8+ 29.Kh2 Rg1 30.Kxg1 Rg8+ 31.Kh2 Rg2+ 32.Kxg2 bxa4 33.Rf1#) 25...Bxg4 26.hxg4 Rxe5 27.fxe5 Rf8 28.Re2+ Kb1 29.Rxf8 h3 30.Nd3 h2+ 31.Rxh2 g5 32.Rf1#

24...Kb2 25.f5

Phooey! Enough time wasted on mates that I can't find. Let's put those extra pawns to work!

25...gxf5 26.gxf5 Bg8 27.Nf4+ Ka3 28.Ng6

Not the best series of moves, but I've got a general outline of what I need to do.

28...b4 29.cxb4 Kxb4 30.Nxh4 c5 31.dxc5 Kxc5

Black has a passed pawn now, too, but it is too late for it to change the outcome of the game.

32.f6 Be6 33.Nf5 Rf8 34.Rc1+ Kb4 35.h4

As much psychology as chess play.

35...Rh8 36.Nd4 Rae8 37.Nxe6 Rxe6 38.f7 Rf8 39.Re1 Rg6+ 40.Kh2 Rh6 41.Kh3

41...Rh7 42.e6 Kc5 43.e7 Rfxf7 44.Rxf7 Rxf7 45.e8Q

45...Rf3+ 46.Kg2 Rd3 47.Rc1+ Kd4 48.Qh8+ Ke4 Black resigned