Jerome Gambit: Success At Last (Sort of)

For some players, a draw is equivalent to losing a half point. To others, it is the same as winning a half point. In the following game, Bill was probably slightly disappointed, but his opponent had every reason to be glad - unless, of course, you think that drawing against a "refuted" opening is underperforming.

Wall, Bill - NN
Florida, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

Black is either happy with accepting only one sacrificed piece, or he is trying to throw White off of his game, by playing something "different". This latter strategy needs to be examined, as the main lines of the offbeat Jerome Gambit are often stronger for Black than the backroads.

The Database has 269 games with 5...Kf8; White scores 55%. More importantly, before the current game Bill was 15-0 against the move.

6.O-O

Bill has also played 6.Nxc6 in Wall,B - WMXW, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 31), and Wall,B - Guest709079, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 30).

He has tried the interesting 6.d4 in Wall,B - Tim93612, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 36), Wall, B. - Guest757851, PlayChess.com, 2014, (1-0, 42), and Wall,B - Guest6399506, PlayChess.com, 2015 (1-0, 24).

6...Nf6

Or 6...Nxe5 Wall,B - Mazanbaku, lichess.org, 2017, (1-0, 15); Wall,B - Guest1442, chesstempo.com, 2017, (1-0, 21); billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012, (1-0, 20); Wall,B - Guest423598, PlayChess.com, 2017, (1-0, 19); and Wall,B - Guest5244307, PlayChess.com, 2019 (1-0, 16).

Or 6...Qf6 as in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016, (1-0, 13); Wall,B - Computer-level 6, chess.com 2017 (by transposition), (1-0, 47);  and Wall,B -Guest4658155, PlayChess.com, 2019, (1-0, 29).

Or 6... d6 as in Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess, 2016, (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - Guest399227, PlayChess.com, 2016,(1-0, 17).

7.Nd3 

This is a novelty, according to The Database.

7...Bb6 8.e5 Ne8 

It is not immediately clear, but 8...Ng8 was stronger. The text move gives White chances that he is not particularly interested in.

9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Nc3 

Bill refrains from repeated checks that would leade to a draw, i.e. 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.Qf3+ Kg8 12.Qd5+, etc. Black could respond, of course, by interposing the Knight - 11...Nf6 - but after 12.exf6 Qxf6 13.Qxf6+ gxf6 he would simply be a pawn down, with no compensation.

10...a6 

This move gave me a chuckle. "Objectively", it is an error, as it allows White to pursue the draw, mentioned above, when clearly Black is still better. On the other hand, perhaps Black was okay with a draw, or sensed that his opponent would not be interested in splitting the point so early in the game.

11.Qd5+ Kf8

Just checking.

12.Na4 

Avoiding the draw.

12...Ba7

See the earlier comments. He could have taken the draw off of the table with 12...Qe7

13.b3

ibid.

13...d6 

op. cit.

14.Ba3 Qe7

There you have it: no draw. (For now.)

White is happy to continue his focus on the enemy King.

Black is happy to continue to do "a whole lot of nothing". Note the impact of his dark square Bishop.

15.exd6 cxd6 16.Rae1 Nf6 17.Qf3 Qd8 18.Nc3 h6

19.Nf4

An interesting, if complicated, alternative was 19.Ne4!? Kg8 20.Nxd6, although both 20...Bg4 and 20...Nd4 would keep the game in flux.

Instead, Bill goes with the concrete threat, and his opponent misses the idea that giving up the exchange might well be an effective sacrifice.  

19...Kg8 20.Ng6 Rh7 

Saving the Rook by burying it. There was something to be said for 20...Kh7!? 21.Nxh8 Kxh8, when White would have a Rook and two pawns for a couple of pieces - and Black might still have an edge.

21.Nd5

A move with poison. Of course, not now 21...Nxd5, as 22.Qxd5+ Be6 23.Qxd6 checkmate. Ouch. In the meantime, e7 seems to beckon to the Knights.

21...Bc5 

22.Bxc5 

Could be time pressure, otherwise Bill might have settled for simply stoking his attack with 22.Bb2. Stockfish 10 recommends 22.b4, which seems to over-complicate things. Instead, the attack seems to lag. 

22...dxc5 23.c4 Qd6 24.Qd3 Nd4 

Black's Rooks are still parked in their respective garages, but the advantage in material threatens to become a factor.

25.Nxf6+ 

Another way was 25.Nge7+ Kh8 26.Ng6+ Kg8 27.Nge7+, etc.

25...gxf6 26.Re8+ Kf7 27.Re7+ Kg8 28.Re8+ Kf7 29.Re7+ Kg8 Draw

Jerome Gambit: Ordinary, With Shot

The following Jerome Gambit game is rather "ordinary", with White slowly gaining control over the game - followed by a nice tactical shot to take the game toward the full point.
  
Wall, Bill - Guest4658155
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

This move always gives me a smile. Black is happy with one piece, and so moves his King, leaving the White Knight hanging. The earliest analysis was by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, in 1874. "Objectively" best, now, is for the first player to exchange off the piece.

6.O-O 

Bill insists on the piece offer, getting his King out of the way and putting his Rook on the useful f-file.

6...Qf6 

Black still declines.

Bill has seen the tardy 6...Nxe5 (billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012, [1-0, 20] ) as well as 6...d6 (Wall,B - Guest399227, PlayChess.com, 2016 [1-0, 17] and Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016 [1-0, 26])

7.Nxc6

Oh, very well...

7...dxc6

Or 7...Qxc6, as in Wall,B - computer level 6, Chess.com, 2017 (1-0, 44)

8.Nc3 Be6 9.d3 Rd8 10.Be3 Bd6 

Black looks like he is doing just fine, but Stockfish 10 is suspicious, and awards White a slight edge. Can you see why? (The "Jerome pawns" can cause mischief.)

11.f4 Bb4 12.e5 Qg6 13.f5 Bxf5 14.g4 Ne7 15.Kh1 Ke8 16.gxf5 Nxf5 

17.Qf3 Nxe3 

Winning the "minor exchange" seems reasonable, but Black would have done better by following up on his 15th move by playing 17...Rf8.

18.Qxe3 b6 19.Ne4 Rf8 20.a3 Be7

The poor Bishop moves, once again.

21.Qh3 Rd5 

It is not immediately clear that this is an error - but that is what chess is all about.

22.Nd6+ 

This move wins the exchange - 22...Rxd6 23.exd6 Qxd6 - if Black responds properly. Instead, he goes astray and allows checkmate.

22...Bxd6 23.Qc8+ Ke7 24.exd6+ Rxd6 25.Rae1+ Re6 26.Qxc7+ Ke8 27.Qc8+ Ke7 28.Qxf8+ Kd7 29.Rf7+  Black resigned

To follow: 29...Qxf7 30.Qxf7+ Kd6 31.Rxe6+ Kc6 32.Qf5+ Kd4 33.Re4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Best "Explanation"

The previous post suggested that

Often the best way to learn an opening is to play over the games of an experienced practitioner 

True, that, but sometimes a game becomes very complicated, and the best "explanation" of what is happening is the series of moves that the winner plays. There is a way out of the maze, but sometimes it is not easy for the reader to discover it without help.

Wall, Bill - Guest423598
PlayChess.com, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

Here we have another Sorensen variation where Black is satisfied with accepting one sacrificed piece. It remains an important defense - see "Critical Line: 5...Kf8 (1, 2 and 3)".

6.O-O Nxe5

This time Bill tempos with 6.0-0, and his opponent changes his mind and grabs the second piece.

Alternately Bill has faced:

6...Qf6 7.Nxc6 (White goes back to the main idea) Qxc6 (7...dxc6 8.Nc3 Bd6 9.d4 h6 10.e5 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Qxe5 12.Re1 Qg5 13.Bxg5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016) 8.d4 Bb6 9.Nc3 d6 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.f4 Qg6 12.h4 Qe8 13.f5 Ba5 14.f6 gxf6 15.Qf3 Qf7 16.Nd5 h5 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Nxf6 Be6 19.Qg3 Ke7 20.Nd5+ Bxd5 21.Rxf7+ Bxf7 22.Qg5+ Kd7 23.Qxa5 b6 24.Qb5+ c6 25.Qf5+ Be6 26.Qf6 Rh7 27.d5 cxd5 28.exd5 Bg4 29.Re1 Rg8 30.Re3 Rc8 31.a4 Rc7 32.a5 bxa5 33.Re6 Rc5 34.Rxd6+ Kc7 35.Rc6+ Rxc6 36.Qxc6+ Kd8 37.d6 a4 38.Qa8+ Bc8 39.c4 Rb7 40.c5 Rg7 41.Qf3 Rg6 42.Qf7 Re6 43.c6 Ba6 44.Qd7 checkmate, Wall,B - Computer-level 6, Chess.com, 2017 and

6...d6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.d4 (8.Nc3 Nf6 9.d4 Bb4 10.Qf3 Bg4 11.Qf4 Kg8 12.e5 Bxc3 13.exf6 Qd7 14.bxc3 Bf5 15.Qg3 Bxc2 16.Bh6 g6 17.Rfe1 Qf5 18.Re7 Qxf6 19.Rae1 Bf5 20.Rxc7 Rb8 21.h3 Rc8 22.Qe3 Rf8 23.Qe7 Qf7 24.Qxf7+ Rxf7 25.Re8+ Rf8 26.Rxf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016) 8...Bb6 9.Nc3 Ba6 10.Re1 Qf6 11.e5 Qh4 12.Re4 Qe7 13.Qf3+ Qf7 14.Rf4 Qxf4 15.Bxf4 d5 16.Bh6+ Ke7 17.Bxg7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest399227, PlayChess.com, 2016. 

7.d4 Bb6 

It is sometimes useful to search for understanding in a line by looking at and comparing transpositions.

For example, suppose instead of playing 5...Kf8, Guest423598 had tried 5...Nxe5 and after 6.d4 had played 6...Bb6, with White following up with 7.O-O as in the current game - well, there are actually 3 games by jfhumphrey (he has 278 games in The Database) with that line, and it is significant that two continue with 7...Ng6 and one continues with 7...Nc6; in none of the cases did Black feel the need to play ...Kf8, which would transpose to the current game.

Does that leave Black in our current game a tempo behind the jfhumphrey games, or is his King safer on f8 versus f7?

Of course, experience and analysis suggest that the more critical misstep for Black was withdrawing the Bishop, rather than giving it up in exchange for White's d-pawn, i.e. 7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qf6 9. Qe3 Ne7 10. Nc3 d6 11. f4 N5c6 12. Nb5 Ng6 13. Nxc7 Rb8 14. Nb5 a6 15. e5 Qe6 16. f5 Qxe5 17. fxg6+ Kg8 18. Nxd6 hxg6 19.Qxe5 Nxe5 20.Bf4 Rh5 21.Rae1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1442, chesstempo.com, 2017.

Black would also have done better giving up the Knight, e.g. 7...Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd4+ 10.Qxd4 Qf6 11.e5 Qb6 12.Qxb6 axb6 13.Nc3 Ne7 14.Nb5 c6 15.Nd6 g6 16.f5 gxf5 17.Bh6+ Kg8 18.Nxf5 Nxf5 19.Rxf5 d5 20.Rf8 checkmate, billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012. 

8.dxe5 Qe8 9.Qf3+ Qf7 10.Qa3+ Ne7 11.Nc3 c6 

Black's Bishop plans to retreat and protect the pinned Knight.

12.Bg5 

Applying pressure. Oddly, Stockfish 8 suggests 12.Be3 Bc7 13.f4 Qc4 14.Rad1 b5 15.Rd4 Qf7 16.Rd2 Qc4 17.Rd4 etc. with a draw by repetition. I can't see either human player being satisfied with that.

12...Bd8 13.f4 h6 14.Bh4 Ke8  

Defending in Steinitz-like fashion, Black now anticipates trouble along the f-file, and moves his King off of it. Stockfish 8 suggests that the King belongs at h7, instead, in a rather turgid, if balanced, position.

Jerome Gambit players should decide: how should White continue?

15.f5 g5 

Not fearing 16.fxg6 ep Qxg6 with an open line against the White King, although the attack would develop slowly.

16.Bg3 b5  

Black wants to work around the central "Jerome pawns" by advancing on the wings. It is an interesting idea, but also a dangerous one, as his King is stuck in the center and vulnerable to a pawn break through.

I have to say that Black's psychology would have me raving with impatience with the White pieces - but Bill Wall is a cool character, and he decides to occupy a "hole" in his opponent's position.

17.Qd6 Bb7 

And, just like that, Black's position blows up.

Upon reflection, 16...b5 was a mistake. Should he have gone all in with 16...h5, and pushed the Kingside attack?

Should he have avoided the g-pawn push on move 15 and noodled around with something like 15...Bc7, instead? 

Was 14...Kg8, headed toward h7, the way to go after all?

The best that Stockfish 8 can come up for him now is 17...Qf8 18.e6 Nxf5 19.exd7+ Bxd7 20.Qg6+ Qf7 21.exf5 Qxg6 22.fxg6  with a very exposed King. 

18.e6 dxe6 19.fxe6 Black resigned

Black will have to give up his Queen to avoid checkmate.

Jerome Gambit: Slicing the Silicon

Here we have another human - computer battle, where the silicon beast can not make sense out of the Jerome Gambit, even as human observers might not be able to make sense out of some of the computer's moves.

Wall, Bill - Computer-level 6
Chess.com, 2017

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.O-O

This move really got me thinking. Bill has played it before, but it is arguably not the "objectively best" move, so I have to wonder what he had in mind. He could have been avoiding "book" lines. He could have been forcing the computer to "think" on its own - and we will see that it doesn't do a masterly job of that.

6...Qf6

Instead, 6...Nxe5 was seen in billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 20) while 6...d6 was seen in Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - Guest399227, PlayChess.com, 2016 (1-0, 17)

7.Nxc6 Qxc6

Preserving the pawn structure, which did not happen (not that it mattered much) in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016: 7...dxc6 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. d4 h6 10. e5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Re1 Qg5 13. Bxg5 Black resigned.

8.d4 Bb6 9.Nc3 d6 10.Bg5

The Bishop often goes here to attack a Knight at f6. But why wait?

10...Qe8 11.f4 Qg6

Here we see an interesting reversal of roles: usually in the Jerome Gambit it is White's Queen that moves repeatedly.

12.h4

Bill suggests he could have advanced the other Rook pawn as well.

12...Qe8 13.f5 Ba5

14.f6 gxf6

Stockfish 8 suggests 14...Bxc3 first, leading to an even game.

15.Qf3 Qf7 16.Nd5 h5

This does not look like the strongest defense. It is hard to see what it accomplishes.

17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Nxf6 Be6 19.Qg3 Ke7 

Escaping the deadly f-file, although material will be lost.

20.Nd5+ Bxd5 21.Rxf7+ Bxf7 22.Qg5+ Kd7 23.Qxa5 b6 

White has a Queen and a pawn for a Rook and a Bishop.

24.Qb5+ c6 25.Qf5+ Be6 26.Qf6 Rh7

Shouldn't a Rook have gone to f8 instead?

27.d5 cxd5 28.exd5 Bg4 29.Re1 Rg8 30.Re3 Rc8 31.a4 Rc7 32.a5 bxa5 33.Re6 Rc5

Black's pieces cannot coordinate. Note, if 33...Bxe6 then 34.Qxe6+ Kd8 35.Qg8+ and a Rook will fall.

34.Rxd6+ Kc7 35.Rc6+ Rxc6 36.Qxc6+ Kd8 37.d6 a4

A human might resign here.

38.Qa8+ Bc8 39.c4 Rb7 40.c5 Rg7 41.Qf3 Rg6 42.Qf7 Re6 43.c6 Ba6 44.Qd7 checkmate

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 1

Instead of grabbing the second sacrificed piece, Black plays a defensive system - but he plays it too defensively. Hanging on to material, instead of returning it at the right moment, can spell disaster, even (especially) against the Jerome Gambit.

jankrb (2055) - musirpha (1874)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

6.Nxc6 

Experimental are 6.Nd3, from Wall,B - Tim93612, Chess.com 2010 (1-0, 36) and 6.0-0 from billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 20).

Instead, 6.Qh5 is the rowdy Banks Variation, from Banks,P - Rees,M, Halesowen v Lucas BS, 2003 (1-0, 45). It is interesting to compare this line with the Paulsen Variation, where Black has placed his King on e7, instead of f8, e.g. the recently-discussed jankrb - Red House, Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013.

6...bxc6 

As noted as recently as in the game jankrb - Red House, Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013, the preferred capture is 6...dxc6, preventing 7.d4. The Database has many examples.

7.d4 Be7

A bit better was 7...Bb6 as in perrypawnpusher - hdig, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 17) and perrypawnpusher - mika76, GameKnot.com, 2008 (1-0, 17). 

8.Qf3+ 

Certainly an improvment over 8.f4 of perrypawnpusher - badhorsey, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 26). 

8...Ke8 9.0-0 d6 10.c4 Nf6 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Ng8

This retreat spells trouble.

13.Rd1 Bd7 14.e6 Nf6 15.exd7+ Kf7 16.Qxc6 Bd6 17.c5 Be5 18.f4 Black resigned

Merry Christmas! (A Hysterical/Historical Jerome Gambit, Part 1)

Season's Greetings to the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, and readers everywhere! 

Below is my latest Jerome Gambit game, which includes the "gift" of annotations from the article submitted (and revised, and revised, and revised, and revised, and reassessed) to Stefan Bucker for his magazine Kaissiber. [There is a ton of interesting reading to be found in the above links - and the links below, as well - although I still have not been able to definatively link Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to Winston Churchill.]

perrypawnpusher  - spince

blitz, FICS, 2013

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

I have faced this defense 16 times, scoring 12 points - 75%, which is still a bit short of my overall Jerome Gambit score of 82% (regular Jerome Gambit 83%, Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit 90%, Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit 74%, Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit 77%).

As early as his first article with analysis (Dubuque Chess Journal 4/1874), Alonzo Wheeler Jerome considered the possibility that Black might refuse to capture the second piece, and play for King safety instead with 5...Kf8. 

This was, in fact, the defense that Jerome, himself, credited to G. J. Dougherty, ("a strong amateur, against whom I first played the opening") of Mineola, New York, in a yet unfound game; that O.A. Brownson, editor of the Dubuque Chess Journal, played against Jerome in an 1875 game (Dubuque Chess Journal 3/1875); that magazine editor William Hallock used against D.P. Norton in an 1876 correspondence game played “by special request” to test the gambit (American Chess Journal 2/1877); that William Carrington tried in his 1876 match vs Mexican Champion Andres Clemente Vazquez (Algunas Partidas de Ajedrez Jugadas en Mexico, 1879); and which Lt. Soren Anton Sorensen recommended as “more solid and easier to manage” in his seminal Jerome Gambit essay (Nordisk Skaktidende 5/1877).

It is interesting that early in Jerome's Gambit's life, there were players willing to accept one "gift" but who were skeptical of accepting two "gifts".

6.Nxc6

Bill Wall has experimented with 6.Nd3 in Wall,B - Tim93612, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 36) and 6.0-0 in billwall - DeDrijver, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 20).

White also has the option of playing 6.Qh5, the Banks Variation, as in Banks - Rees, Halesowen, 2003, when Black can transpose with 6…Nxe5  as recommended by the American Chess Journal, (3/1877) - "The continuation adopted by Jerome, Qh5 looks promising."

Pete Banks ("blackburne" online), a stalwart member of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (and still the strongest player I know who has played the Jerome regularly over-the-board in rated contests), brought international attention to Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's invention by writing to International Master Gary Lane, who commented at length on the opening, and on a couple of Banks' games, in his March ("The Good Old Days") and April ("Chess Made Easy") 2008 "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com. IM Lane also mentioned one of Banks' games in his The Greatest Ever chess tricks and traps (2008), which reprised some of the earlier material.

It is humorous to note that in his "Opening Lanes" column Lane wrote, after 5.Nxe5+, "I think anyone with good manners playing Black would now kindly ask their opponent if they wanted to take their move back" while in his book he changed this to "I think anyone with good manners playing Black would now go to another room to carry on laughing."

Apropos the Banks Variation itself (i.e. playing 6.Qh5 in response to 5...Kf8), IM Lane noted in "The Good Old Days" that "6...Qe7 is a good alternative [to 6...Qf6 of Banks - Rees], because it stops the checkmate and protects the bishop on c5."

A few months later, 6...Qe7 was tested successfully in a GameKnot.com game, splott - mika76, 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.Ng6+ hxg6 8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Qd4 10.Ke1 Qxf2+ 11.Kd1 d6 12.h3 Qxg2 13.Re1 Qf3+ 14.Re2 Bf2 15.d3 Nd4 16.Nc3 Qh1+ 17.Kd2 Nf3 checkmate. Clearly White, the very-slightly-higher rated player, was taken aback by the move. I asked mika76 if he had been influenced by IM Lane's recommendation, but he said he had come up with the move himself.

6...dc

Jerome, in his 1874 analysis, gave 6…bc 7.d4 “putting Black’s KB out of play”. This was supported by, among several games, perrypawnpusher - mika76, GameKnot.com, 2008 (1-0, 18)

[To Be Continued on New Year's Day.] 

[Comments and Emails are Welcomed and Encouraged.]