A Pie-in-the-Face Variation

If you play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ) long enough, you will eventually play the 6.d4 variation (4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4) and one day you will come face-to-face with the best in-your-face variation for Black since J.H. Blackburne offered his Rook...  

This move (6...Qh4) was first seen in Sorensen - Anonymous, Denmark 1888 (see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter X").

I have 193 games with 6...Qh4 in my database, with only 10 wins for Black, but those numbers are deeply flawed, as most of the games are computer vs computer, and the great majority of those come from a source that only provided White wins (see "Bright Ideas from Silicon"). Of the 8 person vs person 6...Qh4 games in my database, White has won 4 and lost 4, which still seems overly optimistic to me.

Here's a quick game to try to sort out the variation.

Danivarl - Bb35
echecsemail.com, 2005

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7

5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4

7.dxc5

This move is simply wrong. If White wants the piece, he should castle first, then go after it: 7.0-0 Qxe4 8.dxc5

Would it be helpful to mention that in their games Deep Shredder 10, Deep Sjeng 1.5, Gambit Fruit1,  Hiarcs 11.1 and Shredder Paderborn all chose 7.0-0 instead of 7.dxc5?

7...Qxe4+

Also leading to an advantage for Black (but not as big a one) is 7...Ng4, from a game earlier this year where the second player was finally able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: 8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.g3 Qf6 10.Be3 Ne7 11.Qd2 Qxb2 12.0-0 Qxa1 13.Nc3 Qb2 14.f3 Nxe3 15.Qxe3 Qxc2 16.Ne2 Qxa2 17.f4 d6 18.f5 Nc6 19.f6 Bh3 20.fxg7+ Kxg7 21.Qg5 checkmate, yorgos - mofte, FICS, 2009.

8.Be3

A bit better (but still very good for Black) was 8.Kf1, but after 8...Nf6 White has to be scolding himself: I sacrificed a piece for this position?? 

8...Qxg2

Black went after the other Knight pawn with 8...Qb4+  in AlgozBr - nikolasa, FICS 2009, a wild game where the second player maintained his advantage for a score of moves and then swapped blunders with White at the end. To be fair, the first player waited to get a winning position before resigning (or losing on time): 9.Nc3 Qxb2 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.0-0 Qxc3 12.Bd4 Qxc2 13.Qxe5 Qg6 14.Qf4+ Nf6 15.Qxc7 Nd5 16.Qd8+ Qe8 17.Bxg7+ Kxg7 18.Qg5+ Qg6 19.Qxd5 Rg8 20.Rae1 Kh8 21.Re7 d6 22.cxd6 Bh3 23.Rfe1 Bxg2 0-1

9.Rf1 Nf3+ 10.Ke2 Nf6

Just to show you that the Jerome Gambit belongs to the Twilight Zone of chess openings, here is a game where Black chose 10...Qg4 instead,  11.Qd5+ Ke7 12.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 13.Kxf3 d5 14.Bd4 Nf6 15.Nc3 Bg4+ 16.Kf4 h5 17.Rae1+ Kd7 18.f3 Bh3 19.Rg1 Rae8 20.Rxg7+ Kc8 21.Reg1 Nd7 22.R7g3 Rhf8+ 23.Kg5 Be6 24.Kxh5 Rh8+ 25.Kg5 Rxh2 26.Kf4 Rxc2 27.Nb5 c6 28.Nd6+ Kd8 29.Nxe8 Kxe8 30.b4 Rc4 31.Ke3 Rxb4 32.Rh1 Kf7 33.Rg7+ Ke8 34.Rh8+ Nf8 35.Rg6 Bf7 36.Rg5 Rb1 37.Re5+ Kd7 38.Rxf8 Re1+ 39.Kf4 Rxe5 40.Bxe5 Be6 41.Kg3 a5 42.f4 Ke7 43.Rf6 a4 44.Rh6 Kf7 45.Rh7+ Kg6 46.Rxb7 Kf5 47.Rb6 Ke4 48.Rxc6 Bf5 49.Ra6 Kd3 50.Rxa4 Kc2 51.c6 d4 52.c7 d3 53.Rd4 Kd1 54.c8Q Black resigned, yorgos - ErrareHumanumEst, FICS, 2009

Yes, the name of the second player translates from the Latin as "to err is human."

11.Qd3

You know you're doomed when you can play a move like 11.Nd2 instead and Black can safely ignore it, as after 11...d5 12.Nxf3 Bg4 it is still a sad position for White.

11...Ne5 12.Qb3+ d5 13.Nd2 Bg4+

White's downfall is his unsafe King: the irony!

14.Ke1 Rhe8 15.Qxb7

Leading to an explosive conclusion.

15...Nd3+ 16.cxd3 Rxe3+ White resigned

Kerfuzzled!

Sometimes the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)seems to just add to the confusion (for example, among others, "Sac a pawn, or a piece, or a...") of the world at large...


Take the following example.


Danivarl - Carpediem
Internet, 2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

The "classical" Jerome Gambit, as opposed to "modern" treatments that avoid the second piece sacrifice.

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+
Alonzo Wheeler Jerome preferred this intermediary check, instead of the immediate piece capture.

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qc3 Ne5

This move seems to be asking for trouble, but Black is confident that he has the proper reply. In this he is only half right.

10.f4 Nf3+


Oh, how I have suffered in facing this Knight move, in various positions: see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter III," "Jerome Gambit: Fools walk in..." and "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XVI"

In those games, however, the Knight sac was well-coordinated with ...Qh4+

11.Qxf3

Black: Oh, dear, what was I thinking??

11...Be6 12.f5 Bf7 13.d4 Nf6 14.e5

Here come those Jerome pawns!

14...Nd7 15.e6

This can be annoying enough when White is down a piece, but here he is ahead in material.

15...Qh4+ 16.g3 Qxd4 17.Qxb7 Qe5+

A sudden discomfort for the White King, but it is a minor thing if well-managed: 18.Kf2 Qxf5+ 19.Kg1 Bxe6 20.Qxa8+ Kf7 21.Qg2 (not 21.Qxh8, which allows a draw by repetition with 21...Qc5+, etc.).

18.Kd1 Rb8

Black does not see that he now has the winning attack on the King that leads to an advantage in material: 18...Bh5+ 19.g4 Bxg4+ 20.Kd2 Qe2+ 21.Kc3 Bf3 22.Qxc7 Nf6 23.Qf7+ Kd8 24.e7+ Kc8 25.Qc4+ Qxc4+ 26.Kxc4 Bxh1

19.Qxc7

Chess is a complicated game – and this game has become complicated. The stable 19.Qf3 is enough for White to settle things down, with advantage.

19...Bh5+


This time Black sees it.
20.Kd2 Qd5+ 21.Ke3 Qf3+


But what does he see??

He had a draw with the likes of 21...Qe5+ 22.Kf2 Qe2+ 23.Kg1 Qe1+ 24.Kg2 Qe4+ 25.Kg1 Qe1+ etc.

Instead, he gives White a gutsy way to escape to the center of the board: 22.Kd4 Rb4+ 23.c4 Nf6 (of course 23...Qxh1 leads to mate: 24.exd7+ Kf8 25.d8/Q+ Be8 26.Qde7+ Kg8 27.Qxe8#) 24.Nc3 Qf2+ (24...Qxh1 is answered with 25.Qc8+ and White's capture of a Rook offsets Black's) 25.Be3 Qxf5 26.Bf4 and White has the advantage.

analysis diagram

But, what does White see??

White Resigns