Defending against a "refuted" opening like the Jerome Gambit is easy - until it isn't. It is not good enough to just play the "right" moves. The followup moves also have to be correct. And the ones after those. Until you get to the playing level where people look at your game and mumble "and the rest is a matter of technique", you would be well advised to treat the Jerome with some seriousness. Wall, Bill - Anonymous lichess.org, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 Re8 10.Bg5 Kg8
We have an ordinary Jerome Gambit position: Black has a piece for a pawn, and has prudently castled-by-hand, while White has pressure on f6, and hopes to get his "Jerome pawns" rolling with f2-f4. 11.Nd5 An alternate was 11.f4, e.g. 11..c5 (or 11...Nc6 12.Qd3, as inWall,Bill - Foman, Chess.com, 2010[1-0, 22] or 12.Qa4 as in Wall,Bill - U80, PlayChess.com, 2016 [1-0, 29]) 12.Qd2 Nf7 13.Rae1 Bd7 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Rxe5 16.Rxe5 Nxe5 17.Qe1 Ng6 18.Nd5 Be8 19.c4 Bf7 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.Bxf6 Qd3 22.b3 Re8 23.Qf2 b6 24.Bb2 Qe3 25.Qxe3 Rxe3 26.Kf2 Re8 27.Rd1 Ne5 28.Bxe5 Rxe5 29.Rd7 a6 30.g4 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.a4 bxa4 33.bxa4 c4 34.Rd1 c3 35.Rc1 Rc5 36.Ke3 Bb3 37.Kd4 Rc4+ 38.Kd3 c2 39.a5 Rc5 40.a6 Ra5 41.Kc3 Ba4 42.Kc4 Rxa6 White resigned,Komodo 5 - Wall/Rybka, Florida, 2018. 11...Ned7 Overly cautious, perhaps anticipating f2-f4. Better was 11...Be6, as in Wall,Bill - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com, 2013(0-1, 41). Now, White gets to pull off a small tactic. 12.Qc4 Kh8 13.Nxc7 Rb8 14.Nxe8 Qxe8 15.Qc7 Ra8
White has a Rook and 2 pawns for 2 pieces. Stockfish 10 says that is plenty enough for a clear advantage, but there is still work to be done. 16.Rad1 Qxe4 Black cannot afford this pawn grab. 17.Rfe1 Qc6 18.Qd8+ Ng8 19.Re8 Ndf6
A slip, but defense was difficult. 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qxf6 checkmate
Jerome Gambit games are often about tactics. Sometimes White develops an attack and tactics help bring him the point. Sometimes Black defends well, and White must look for the tactical chance to pull even, or take the advantage. All that calculation can lead to tactic fatigue and miscalculation, as in the following game. Wall, Bill - Guest3211185 PlayChess.com, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
A standard position for the variation. One plan for White is to develop his pieces, advance his f- and e-pawns, and take aim at the enemy King who is sitting on a half-open file. 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 9.f3 a more conservative setup, was seen in Wall,B - Guest903719, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0,47). 9...Re8 This move seems more dynamic than 9...c6, as seein inWall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016, (1-0, 32). 10.f4
14.Qd2 d5 Possibly Black was looking toward 15.exd5 Bf5, doubly attacking c2. White's response doesn't rule out the Bishop move, but it makes it more complicated. 15.e5 Ng4 Moving the Knight away from the attack. Messy would have been 15...Bf5 16.exf6 Nxc2 17.g4 Nxa1 18.gxf5 Qxf6 19.Bb2 d4 20.Ne2 Nxb3 (desperado) 21.axb3 c5 although Black, with a Rook and 2 pawns (one passed and protected) for 2 pieces, would still have the advantage. Black's "hovering" Knights can be useful for attack on either or both wings, but figuring out what exactly to do takes time and brain effort. 16.f5 d4
Black figures: why not hit the center, too? Things are getting pretty complicated, and the better calculator will prevail. 17.Nb5 Bf7 With two pieces hanging, Black's best move was to ignore them and play 17...Ne3!? To make that work, after White wins two (three?) pieces for a Rook with 18.Qxb4 Nxf1 19.fxe6 it was necessary to find 19...Qh4!? when White will discover (one way or the other) that the Black Knight cannot be taken due to checkmate. White can defend with 20.h3, but after 20...Qg3 the Knight is still off limits. He does best with the piece swap 21.Bf4 Qxf4 22.Rxf1 (there!) When 22...Qe3+ 23.Kh1 Qe2!? will net the c-pawn for Black. Then White's counter-grab, 24.Nxd4 will be met with 24...c5!? 25.Nxc2 (forced) cxb4 will leave Black the exchange ahead, and White's center pawns (one will fall) are not adequate compensation. All this makes my head hurt. 18.Qxb4 Rxe5 19.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 20.Nxd4 Rd8
Black and White have made their way through the excitement, and the position is about equal, with Black's piece activity blancing White's extra pawn. 21.Bb2 Red5 22.Rf4 Ne3 23.Re1 Rxd4
After all that brain work, this miscalculation is unfortunate. 24.Rxd4 Rxd4 25.Bxd4 Nxc2 26.Re4 Black resigned
Black is only down the exchange, but White's Rook will win at least one pawn. The defender will get ground down.
In a humorous vein I have referred to the chess clock as the "33rd piece" and the computer mouse (for online games) as the "34th piece", as each can have a profound effect on the outcome of a chess game - especially a game featuring the unorthodox Jerome Gambit. In the following battle Black takes the sacrificed material, exchanges pieces, enters a winning endgame and... and... and... and apparently runs out of time (or ideas?) and forces a draw through the repetition of moves. Weird. Which is kind of normal for the Jerome Gambit. Wall, Bill - Kar, Bob lichess.org, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.O-O h6 Interesting. Bill opts for a "modern" (non 5.Nxe5+) Jerome Gambit variation by castling. In return, his opponent transposes the game to a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7). It is funny to note that now Stockfish 8 recommends Bill's following, "classical" Jerome Gambit move. 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
Bill has also played the equally-strong 7.Qh5+: 7...Ke6 (7...Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qc4 Ne5 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.d4 Nc6 13.d5 Nd4 14.Qa4+ Bd7 15.Qxd4 Qe5 16.Qxe5+ dxe5 17.f4 exf4 18.Bxf4 c6 19.c4 Nf6 20.e5 Nh5 21.e6 Nxf4 22.exd7+ Kxd7 23.Rxf4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Castro,S, Chess.com, 2010) 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Rd1 Ke7 11.Rxd4 d6 12.Qf4 Nf6 13.Nc3 Qf8 14.b3 Be6 15.Nb5 Kd7 16.Qxe5 Ng4 17.Qg3 Qf6 18.Bb2 Rhf8 19.Rxd6+ cxd6 20.Bxf6 Rxf6 21.Qxd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest473534, PlayChess.com 2011 7...Bxd4 This direct move makes the most sense, especially in light of Black having spent time on ...h6. Still, Bill has seen other moves: 7...Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.Qh5+ Ke6 10.Qf5+ Kd6 11.Rd1+ Kc6 12.Qxe5 Qe7 13.Qd5+ Kb6 14.Be3+ c5 15.Nc3 d6 16.Qxd6+ Qxd6 17.Rxd6+ Kc7 18.Nb5+ Kb8 19.Bf4 Black resigned,Wall,B - Guest7561588, PlayChess.com, 2016; and 7...Bb6 8.dxe5 Ne7 9.Nc3 c6 10.Qh5+ Ng6 11.Qf5+ Kg8 12.Qxg6 Qf8 13.Ne2 Qf7 14.Qg3 Kh7 15.b3 Rf8 16.Bb2 Qg6 17.Qd3 a5 18.Ng3 a4 19.Nf5 axb3 20.axb3 Rxa1 21.Bxa1 Rd8 22.Nd6 Bc5 23.Rd1 Rf8 24.Nf5 Qe6 25.h3 g6 26.Nd6 Bxf2+ 27.Kh2 Bc5 28.Nxc8 Rxc8 29.Qxd7+ Qxd7 30.Rxd7+ Kg8 31.Rxb7 Re8 32.Rc7 Re6 33.g4 Be3 34.Kg3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Dad88, Miami, 2014. 8.Qxd4 Qf6 Putting the Queen on an often-useful square, and threatening the very blunt 9...Nf6+. Once again, Bill has faced other continuations: 8...Nc6 9.Qd5+ Kf8 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Qb3 d6 12.Be3 Qe7 13.f3 Na5 14.Qb5 b6 15.Rfe1 Bd7 16.Qf1 Kf7 17.Nd5 Qd8 18.Rad1 Re8 19.Bf2 c6 20.Nxf6 Qxf6 21.b4 Nb7 22.Qa6 Bc8 23.Bd4 Qe6 24.Bxb6 Nc5 25.Qa3 Nd7 26.Bc7 Qc4 27.Bxd6 Nb6 28.Bc5 Be6 29.f4 Bg4 30.Rd4 Qxc2 31.f5 Nc4 32.Qg3 Ne5 33.Bd6 Bh5 34.Bxe5 Be2 35.Qxg7 checkmate, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016; 8...d6 9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd5+ Be6 11.Qd3 Ke7 12.Bd2 Nf6 13.Nc3 Nb4 14.Qg3 Rg8 15.e5 dxe5 16.Rad1 exf4 17.Bxf4 Qc8 18.Bxc7 Nfd5 19.Bd6+ Kd7 20.Bxb4 Qc6 21.Nxd5 Bxd5 22.Rf7+ Kc8 23.Rxd5 Qxd5 24.Qc7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest2474397, PlayChess.com, 2014; 8...Ng6 9.Qc4+ Kf8 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 b5 12.Qb4+ N8e7 13.f4 a5 14.Qd6 Kf7 15.f5 Nf8 16.f6 Ne6 17.fxe7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Merdiyev,F, Chess.com, 2010; and 8...Qe7 9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd5+ Qe6 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qf3 d6 13.f5 gxf5 14.exf5 Qf6 15.Nc3 Ne5 16.Qh5+ Kg7 17.Nd5 Qf7 18.Qxf7+ Kxf7 19.Nxc7 Rb8 20.Nb5 Ne7 21.Nxd6+ Kf6 22.Bf4 Bxf5 23.Rae1 N5g6 24.Nxf5 Nxf4 25.Nxe7 Kg5 26.Re5+ Kf6 27.Re4 Rhe8 28.Rfxf4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Ratebabb, Chess.com, 2010. 9.Rd1 Another way to deal with the threat was 9.Be3 d6 (9...Ne7 10.Nc3 Rf8 11.Nb5 c6 12.Nc7 Rb8 13.f4 Nf3+ 14.Rxf3 Qxd4 15.Bxd4 Kg8 16.Bxa7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com 2010) 10.Nc3 c5 11.Qd1 g5 12.f4 gxf4 13.Rxf4 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016. 9...d6
10.h3
Letting Black take the first step, but this allows the annoying 10...Bxh3!? 11.Qc3 Bxg2!? 12.Kxg2 Qg6+ 13.Kf1 Qxe4 when Black has returned the sacrificed piece for three pawns, while destroying the pawn cover of the White King. 10...Ne7 11.Nd2 c5 12.Qc3 Rf8 13.Qb3+ Qe6 14.Qxe6+ Bxe6
With an extra piece (for only a pawn) and better development, Black is clearly on top in this game. However, he still needs to show what he can do with his advantage, and that proves to be a challenge. 15.f4 N5c6 16.f5 Bd7 17.g4 Nothing like a Kingside pawn storm to get the blood pumping. Black decides to castle-by-hand right into it. 17...Kg8 18.h4
Exchanging pieces has helped Black by reducing the size of the possible attacking force. The Queenless middle game is looking a lot like an ending, where the extra piece will be of help. 23.Be3 b6 24.a3 Rd3 25.Bf2 Nc6 26.b4 Nd4 27.bxc5 bxc5 28.Rb1 Rb3 29.Rxb3 Nxb3 30.Kg2 Ba6 31.Bg3 Bxc4 32.Bxe5 Bd3
Things are beginning to look scary for White. On the other hand, they have looked scary since the opening, so everything is relative. The Jerome Gambit is not for the nervous; it is for those who can stay continuously aware of opportunities as they present themselves. Nobody ever won a game by resigning, either. 33.Bb8 a5 34.Kf3 c4 35.Ke3 a4 36.Bd6 Kf7 37.g5 hxg5 38.hxg5 g6
In theory, exchanging pawns should help White. A passed pawn or two wouldn't hurt, either. Any weapon to fight back with. 39.f6 Na1 40.Bc5 Nc2+ 41.Kd2 Na1 This looks like a clock issue. 42.Ke3 Nc2+ 43.Kd2 Na1Drawn by repetition
Knowing the Jerome Gambit well gives the attacker several advantages, including the ability to "make something out of nothing" because of his understanding of typical play. Too, there is a danger for Black that, having reached an "even" position, he might lessen his attention - and invite disaster. Wall, Bill - Ryusak lichess.org, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Black has returned the sacrificed piece for what he believes is an equal game. He has forgotten the old saying: When White equalizes in the Jerome Gambit, he has the advantage. How else to explain the quick end to the game? 14.Qg3 Qd4+ 15.Kh1 Ba6 16.Bh6
A nice sacrifice that moves the advantage in White's direction. 16...gxh6 17.Rad1 Qg4 Black had to try 17...Bxf1 18.Rxd4 Bxg2+, although White would still have an edge after 19.Kg1!? Now Black loses his Queen, and checkmate is forced. 18.Rxf6+ Kxf6 19.Qxg4 Black resigned
Oh, my. Bill Wall just sent me his latest Jerome Gambit game and I wrote back and said it was an example of "existential chess". I was thinking about the idea of a "negative halo effect" that I had touched on in earlier posts (see "Halo Effect", "Feeling Lucky", "Kick Me" and "Dizziness Due to Success"). I mean the perception that if one starts a game with the "wrong" opening then one can be expected to continue to produce "wrong" chess and the whole game can be expected to be equally "wrong". How dare Bill, instead, follow up with strong play, avoid missteps and win with a mating attack?? It reminds me of a quote from Justin E. H. Smith's essay "The Flight of Curiosity"
To take an interest in that false belief is not to reject the truth, but only to wish to fill out our picture of the truth with as much detail as possible, and not because of some aesthetic inclination to the baroque, but rather because false theories are an important part of the puzzle that we ... should be trying to complete: that of determining the range of ways people conceptualize the world around them.
White has only a pawn for his sacrificed piece. However, beyond the "theory of infinite resistance" this particular White has a lot of experience (over 400 games in The Database, for example) and if there are tricks, traps or nuances to be exploited, he will know about them or be ready to find them. 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 Instead, for 9.f3 seeWall,B - Guest903719, Playchess.com, 2013 (1-0, 47). The related 9.f4 was seen as far back as Jerome,A - Shinkman,W, Iowa, USA, 1874 (1/2-1/2, 42). 9...Re8 Recently played: 9...c6 10.f4 c5 11.Qf2 Neg4 12.Qd2 Rf8 13.h3 Nh6 14.e5 Nh5 15.g4 Ng3 16.Rf3 Qh4 17.Kg2 Bxg4 18.hxg4 Nxg4 19.Qd5+ Ke7 20.Qxb7+ Ke6 21.Qd5+ Kf5 22.Qd3+ Ke6 23.Qxd6+ Kf7 24.Qd5+ Kg6 25.Rxg3 Qh2+ 26.Kf3 Qf2+ 27.Kxg4 Rxf4+ 28.Bxf4 h5+ 29.Kh4+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ g6 31.Qxg6+ Kh8 32.Qg7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016. 10.Bg5 Kg8
Cute. Better, though was 14...Kh8 15.Qb3+ Nf7 There are plenty of complications to offer White, including: 15...Be6 16.Qa4 b5 17.Qxb5 c6 18.Qa4 Neg4 19.Qxc6 Rc8 20.Qa6 Bc4 21.Qxa7 Bxf1. 16.e5 Bill is not interested in either 16.Qxb7 Rb8 17.Qxa7 Rxb2 18.Nd5 Rxc2 or 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Qxb7 Qd4+ 18.Kh1 Qb6. The truth lies elsewhere. 16...dxe5 A bit of a better choice for Black is 16...Be6, when either 17.Bxf6 or 17.Qxb7 dxe5 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 would be good for him; although the draw with 17.Qa4 Bd7 18.Qb3 Be6 19.Qa4 etc might arise. 17.fxe5 Be6 18.Qa4 As Bill points out, again not 18.Qxb7 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Rf4 (20.Rd1 Qb8) 20...Rb8. 18...Bd7 Instead, 18...Nxe5 19.Rxe5 Qd7 20.Bxf6 Qxa4 21.Nxa4 gxf6 22.Rc5 c6 23.Rxf6 looks about equal. 19.Qd4 Not 19.Qf4 g5; nor 19.Qa3 Nxe5 nor 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qh4 f5. This Wall guy is becoming troublesome by avoiding trouble! 19...g5
This looks like either frustration or impatience. 20.exf6 gxh4 Or 20...Rxe1 21.Bxe1 Bc6 22.Qe3. 21.Rd1 Now Bill goes from threat to threat, first threatening 22.Qxd7. 21...Nd6 22.Qd3 Threatening 23.Qg6+. 22...Bf5 Time to give some material back, but not 22...Kh8 23.Qg6 Nf5 24.Rxf5 Bxf5 25.Qg7 checkmate 23.Rxf5 Bill gives the alternative 23.f7+ Kxf7 24.Rxf5+ Nxf5 25.Qxf5+ Kg7 26.Rd7+ Qxd7 27.Qxd7+ and White would also be better. 23...Nxf5 24.Qxf5
