A major theme in the Jerome Gambit, and related openings, is the play White gets with the pawns he has in exchange for the piece(s) he sacrificed. In lines of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, this can be an interesting 4 pawns vs a piece. Will White attack with the pawns, or wait for the endgame? Will Black try to pick the pawns off as they come into range?
The following game answers none of these questions - although I suspect they rattled around in Black's head, nonetheless. In fact, that might explain how White was able to successfully hold back, let his opponent try to figure out what was going to happen - and then take advantage of the resulting tactical oversight.
Wall, Bill - Guest748831
PlayChess.com, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. It often comes as a surprise for Black, and there are tactical opportunities that can be taken - or avoided.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6
The right idea.
Bill has faced lesser alternatives:
7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nxa1 (8...Nf6 9.Qe5+ Be7 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 Nxe4 13.Re1 d5 14.d3 Bf5 15.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Schlier,A, Chess.com, 2010) 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Apple69, Chess.com, 2010;
7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.O-O Qe7 11.f4 Ng4 12.Qh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - DSLC, FICS, 2013; and
7...Qf6 8.Nxh8+ Kd8 9.Nf7+ Ke7 10.d3 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Qxf2 12.Bg5+ Nf6 13.Nd2 Nxa1 14.e5 Bg7 15.Bxf6+ Bxf6 16.exf6+ Qxf6 17.Re1+ Kf8 18.Ng5 d6 19.Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Sharkia,A, Chess.com, 2010.
8.Qxg6+
Not 8.Qxh8 Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 and Black is better.
8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8
A bit better than the text is 9...Nf6, as in 10.Qc5+ d6 (10...Kf7 11.Qxd4 Qe8 12.Nc3 c5 13.Qe3 Qe5 14.h3 Bh6 15.Qf3 Qf4 16.Qe2 d6 17.d4 Qh4 18.Bxh6 Qxh6 19.dxc5 dxc5 20.e5 Nh5 21.Qc4+ Be6 22.Qxc5 Black resigned,Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016) 11.Qxd4 d5 12.e5 Ne4 13.d3 b6 14.dxe4 c6 15.Bg5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5170841, PlayChess.com, 2015.
10.Qe5+ Qe7
Black stays on course, avoiding:
10...Ne6 11.Qxh8 Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6 (13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010) 14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Amoex, PlayChess.com, 2013; and
10...Be7 11.Qxh8 Black resigned, Wall,B - Takra, lichess.org, 2016.
11.Qxd4
Not the embarassing 11.Qxh8? Qxe4+ 12.Kf1 Qe2+ 13.Kg1 Qe1 checkmate.
Now, what will White do with his extra 4 (connected, 3 passed) pawns? He has other things to do, first.
11...Bg7 12.Qe3 d6 13.O-O Bd7 14.Nc3 Bc6 15.d4 b6
The game is about even. White has 4 pawns for the sacrificed piece, as well as a more secure King (although he needs to be careful that Black does not develop an attack along the open lines on the Kingside.)
16.d5 Bb7 17.Bd2 Qe5 18.h3 Kd7 19.Nb5 a6 20.Bc3 Qe7 21.Nd4 Rd8
Black intends to castle-by-hand on the Queenside, but never gets the chance. Instead of bringing the Rook to the center (perhaps he anticipates f2-f4 followed by e4-e5) he would have done better to remove the White Knight with 21...Bxd4. The exchange would have also prevented the following tactical oversight. (Too many things on his mind?)
22.Nf5 Qf8 23.Bxg7 Black resigned
Black dropped a piece, and will lose a Rook to the Bishop fork.
Creating complicated positions increase the likelihood of our opponent making an error.
I wonder if White's opponent in the following game expected to catch him by surprise by playing a wild counter gambit? If so, then perhaps he was taken aback by the "Jerome treatment" of the opening. We have seen this kind of thing before. As the notes show, Bill Wall plays what he knows.
Wall, Bill - Takra
lichess.org, 2016
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4
The Backburne Shilling Gambit.
4. Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6
7.Nxg6
hxg6
Previously:
7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.O-O Qe7 11.f4 Ng4 12.Qh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - DSLC, FICS, 2013;
7...Qf6 8.Nxh8+ Kd8 9.Nf7+ Ke7 10.d3
Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Qxf2 12.Bg5+ Nf6 13.Nd2 Nxa1 14.e5 Bg7 15.Bxf6+ Bxf6 16.exf6+ Qxf6 17.Re1+ Kf8 18.Ng5 d6 19.Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Sharkia,A. Chess.com, 2010;
7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nf6 (8...Nxa1 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Apple69, Chess.com, 2010)
9.Qe5+ Be7 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 Nxe4 13.Re1 d5 14.d3 Bf5
15.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Schlier,A, Chess.com, 2010.
8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8
9...Nf6 10.Qc5+ Kf7 (10...d6 11.Qxd4 d5 12.e5 Ne4 13.d3 b6 14.dxe4 c6 15.Bg5+ Black resigned, Wall, Bill - Guest5170841, PlayChess.com, 2015) 11.Qxd4 Qe8 12.Nc3 c5 13.Qe3 Qe5 14.h3 Bh6 15.Qf3 Qf4 16.Qe2 d6 17.d4 Qh4 18.Bxh6 Qxh6
19.dxc5 dxc5 20.e5 Nh5 21.Qc4+ Be6 22.Qxc5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.
10.Qe5+ Be7
10...Ne6 11.Qxh8 Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6 (13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010) 14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Amoex, PlayChess.com, 2013.
11.Qxh8 Black resigned
As I play through new (to me) Bill Wall games, I am surprised at how many people throw the Blackburne Shilling Gambit back at his Jerome Gambit. Maybe they really expect him to play 4.Nxe5?!. Maybe they don't know about the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The fact is, when it comes to the BSJG, Bill's been there - and has the points to prove it.
Wall, Bill - Amoex
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Ke8
There are other choices, as Bill has encountered:
5...Kf6 6. f4 (for variety: 6.Ng4+ as in Wall,B - GYHZ, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 36] and Wall,B-Darksquare, www.Chess.com, 15 0, 2010 [1-0, 23]) 6...g6 7.c3 Ne6 8.O-O Ne7 9.Ng4+ Kg7 10.f5 Nc5 11.f6+ Kg8 12.d4 Ne6 13.f7+ Kg7 14.Bh6 checkmate, Wall,B - Mora, E, Chess.com, 2010; or
5...Ke6 as in Wall,B - apollyon, 2010, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 12)
6. Qh5+
A bit stronger is 6.c3 which Bill has also played 6...Ne6 (6...Nc6 7.Nxc6 dxc6 8.Qh5+ Ke7 (8...g6 9.Qe5+ Qe7 10.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 11.Kd1 Qxg2 12.Re1+ Ne7 13.d3 Qxf2 14.h3 Bf5 15.Bg5 Qf3+ 16.Kc1 Kd7 17.Qxh7 Re8 18.d4 Qg3 19.Bd2 Bxh3 20.Na3 Bf5 21.Nc4 Kd8 22.Ne5 a6 23.Qh1 Kc8 24.Rg1 Qf2 25.Rg2 Qxg2 26.Qxg2 Nd5 27.Nxg6 Bxg6 28.Qxg6 Re7 29.Qf5+, Black resigned, Wall,B - Apple, Chess.com, 2010) 9.d4 Nf6 10.Qf3 Kf7 11.e5 Bg4 12.Qf4 Qe8 13.Be3 Bd6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Qxd6 Ne4 16.Qc7+ Kf8 17.Qxb7 Rb8 18.Qxa7 Rxb2 19.Qa3+ Black resigned, Wall,B-Verrsili, Chess.com, 2010) 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.Qxh8 Nh6 (9...Nf6 10.d3 Qe7 11.Be3 d6 12.O-O b6 13.Bh6 Kd7 14.Bxf8 Nxf8 15.Nd2 Ba6 16.Qh3+ Ne6 17.Nb3 Qh7 18.Qxh7+ Nxh7 19.c4 Rh8 20.f4 Rg8 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Toyong, Chess.com, 2010) 10.O-O Nf4 11.Qe5+ Ne6 12.Qg3 Qg5 13.Qxg5 Nxg5 14.d4 Nhf7 15.Nd2 Be7 16.f4 Ne6 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Neg5 19.g4 Bf6 20.h4 Nh7 21.Nf3 Nd6 22.Bf4 Ne4 23.Bxc7 d5 24.c4 Bd7 25.cxd5 Kf7 26.Ne5+ Bxe5 27.dxe5 Bb5 28.Rfe1 Nd2 29.e6+ Ke7 30.d6+ Ke8 31.d7+ Bxd7 32.exd7+ Kxd7 33.Rad1 Kxc7 34.Rxd2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Klevic, PlayChess.com, 2014.
Of course he has also done well with 6.f4 Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.O-O Bc5+ 9.d4 Bd6 10.Qb3 Bxe5 11.fxe5 d5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.exd5 Na5 14.Qb5+ c6 15.Qe2+ Qe7 16.Qh5+ Kd8 17.d6 Qxd6 18.Rxf6 Qd5 19.Bg5 Kd7 20.Rf7+ Ke6 21.Qh6+ Kxf7 22.Qf6+ Kg8 23.Bh6 Qf7 24.Qd8+ Qe8 25.Qxe8 checkmate, Wall,B - JoeNine, Chess.com, 2010; and
6.O-O Nf6 7.c3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.d4 d6 10.Qf3 Bg4 11.Qg3 Qd7 12.Nd2 h5 13.h3 h4 14.Qe3 Bh5 15.e5 Nd5 16.Qe4 Qe7 17.c4 Nb4 18.a3 d5 19.Qb1 Na6 20.f4 Be2 21.Qg6+ Kd8 22.Qxc6 Bxf1 23.Qxa8+ Kd7 24.Nxf1 dxc4 25.d5 Nc5 26.Be3 Nd3 27.e6+ Kd6 28.Qc6 checkmate, Wall,B-Garri, Chess.com, 2010.
6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6
Or 7...Nf6 8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.O-O Qe7 11.f4 Ng4 12.Qh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - DSLC, FICS, 2013; or
7... Qf6 8. Nxh8+ Kd8 9. Nf7+ Ke7 10. d3 Nxc2+ 11. Kd1 Qxf2 12. Bg5+ Nf6 13. Nd2 Nxa1 14. e5 Bg7 15. Bxf6+ Bxf6 16.
exf6+ Qxf6 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Ng5 d6 19. Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Sharkia,A, Chess.com, 2010; or
7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nf6 (8...Nxa1 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Apple69, Chess.com, 2010) 9.Qe5+ Be7 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2 Nxe4 13.Re1 d5 14.d3 Bf5 15.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Schlier,A, Chess.com, 2010.
8.Qxg6+
White has two choices here, and two pieces of advice. The Database has 98 games with 8.Qxg6, with White scoring 58%; and
369 games with 8.Qxh8, with White scoring 52%. On the other hand, Stockfish recommends 8.Qxh8 and after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 gives Black the edge.
As is often the case in club chess, the player who knows better what is going on in the game has the advantage - as the following moves show.
8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8
White gathers in the Rook, after all. He has a Rook and four pawns against Black's extra two pieces.
Still, Black races to take advantage of White's "sidetracked" Queen and attack the enemy King, only to wind up dropping a piece in the process.
11...Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6
Or 13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010.
14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned
A Jerome Gambit player starts off a game with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 because he hopes to answer 3...Bc5 with 4.Bxf7+. What if Black counter-attacks with 3...Nd4, the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, instead? Well, White can counter-counter attack with 4.Bxf7+, anyhow. And if Black plans his own counter-counter-counter attack??
Wall,B - Creel,A
Chess.com, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxg6+
8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8
For the moment Black signals that he would be okay splitting the point. White, however, is not.
10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8 Qg5
Now Black is thinking: counter-counter-counter attack!
12.0-0 Nf4 13.g3 Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+
Black's attacking plan has a hole in it.
15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3
If, instead, White grabbed the Knight with 16.gxf4, then Black would have a draw after all with 16...Qf3+ 17.Kg1 Qg4+ etc, repeating the position.
Unfortunately, Black's best now is 16...Qh3, when 17.Qxh3 Nxh3 would leave White with a Rook and four pawns for two pieces. The approaching endgame makes those pawns extra valuable.
Black resigned
