A Few More Books

Continuing from yesterday's post, a few more books that touch on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) include

Master Chess Play (1951), Percy Wenman

An Invitation to Chess A Picture Guide to the Royal Game (1945), Irving Chernev and Kevin Harkness

200 Miniature Games of Chess (1942), Julius du Mont


It is fun to present Wenman's take on the classic game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. Why such begrudging praise for Blackburne's checkmating combination? Would it have been appropriate to mention that 10.Qd8 actually would save White?

"Jerome Opening"

Amateur - J.H. Blackburne

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

One of the most unsound of all openings.

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

A sporting reply, but 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 is all that is required to give Black a won game.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4

Now it is Black who gets all the fun.

9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3

White plays weakly. The only move that was of any use is 10.Qd8.

10...Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5

A pretty mating combination which has, of course, in varous ways occurred many times.

13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate

What does it profit a man...?

From An Invitation to Chess A Picture Guide to the Royal Game, Irving Chernev and Kenneth Harkness, New York, Simon and Schuster (1945) (descriptive notation changed to algebraic notation)

Mistakes in the Opening

Much can be learned from a clear understanding of the things one should NOT do. Therefore, let us examine some of the common mistakes made in the opening and demonstrate how and why they lose.

We are not referring now to blunders which cost material or expose you to checkmate. At all stages of the game you must anticipate and answer your opponent's material-winning or mating thrests.

The mistakes we are now considering are strategical errors. They can be defined in one sentence: Any opening moves which give your opponent an opportunity to gain an advantage in development are strategical mistakes. Specifically, mistakes of this nature may be classified as follows: Premature attacks: Some players are too aggressive for their own good. They start out with the idea of annihilating their opponents in the first ten moves.

If an attack is pursued with good developing moves, there can be no criticism of such tactics. Too often, however, these early attacks are made at the expense of development. Premature attacks with two or three pieces are doomed against good defense. The opponent can defend with developing moves and gain an advantage in mobilization which will enable him to counter-attack successfully...

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

White has played

4.Bxf7+

Without waiting to complete his development he begins an entirely unsound attck. Black has played his defense well and there is no justification for making an attack of this nature. White has sacrificed a piece and to justify this there must be a forced continuation which wins material or checkmates.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

Black has captured the Bishop with his King and White has played Nxe5. This is the second move in White's unsound "combination." Now he is sacrificing his Knight for a Pawn. Note that Black was not afraid to accept the original Bishop sacrifice. Always accept sacrifices if you see no reason for not doing so.

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+

Black has captured ...Nxe5 and White has played 6.Q-R5ch. Now we see the "idea" behind White's attack. He has given up two pieces for two Pawns, but now he must win back one piece. However, this is not sufficient. Black can now play ...Ng6, allowing White to capture Qxc5, and Black will be ahead in material with a winning game.

6...g6

But instead of ...Ng6, Black has played ...g6 to get out of check. White has continued

7.Qxe5

Now the Queen is attacking Black's Bishop and Rook simultaneously. One of these pieces must be lost. Has Black blundered? Has he overlooked this? No, he is deliberately tempting White, leading him on to his destruction.

7...d6

Black has played ...d6, protecting the attacked Bishop with a Pawn and releasing his other Bishop. White has played

8.Qxh8

Now count the material and note that White's premature attack has apparently succeeded. He has gained two Pawns and won the exchange (Rook for minor piece).

Why did Black allow this? What is his plan?

8.Qxh8 Qh4

Black has played ...Qh4 and now we see why he allowed White to capture his Rook. White's Queen has been deflected from the scene of forthcoming action. His premature attack has left his home front undeveloped and undefended. Black is now launching his counter-attack. He is threatening to play ...Qxf2+, followed by ...Bg4 mate!

9.0-0 Nf6

To defend this threat, White has castled (9 0-0). Black has played ...Nf6, thereby developing a piece and at the same time closing the lid on White's Queen which now cannot retreat to aid in the defense of the home front. Note that Black has a Queen, Bishop and Knight in active play and that his other Bishop is free to jump into action.

10.c3

White has no pieces in action and his King is inadequately defended. He has played 10.c3, trying to shut off Black's Bishop with d4.

10...Ng4

Black has played ...Ng4 ,threatening ...Qxh2 mate. (The N move leads to a pleasing finish but Black could have won with [ 10...Bh3 11.Qxa8 ( if 11.gxh3 Rxh8) 11...Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 and mate next move]

11.h3 Bxf2+

White has played his only defense to the threatened mate, 11.h3, and Black has forced the issue with ...Bxf2+. The White King is in a "mating net," as it is called, and canot escape. If White now plays Rxf2, Black will recapture ...Qxf2ch. The White King must then move to h1 (h2 is attacked by the N) and Black mates with ...Qf1.

12.Kh1 Bf5

White has played 12.Kh1, his only move, and black has played ...Bf5, bringing out another piece. Note that this piece can be put "en prise" to a Pawn because the Black Rook now attacks the White Queen. Note also that the Queen cannot escape from the Rook's attack. Every square on the diagonal is attacked by a Black piece.

13.Qxa8 Qxh3+

White was forced to play 13.Qxa8 or lose his Queen.

Black has played Qh3+! Black is sacrificing his Queen and demonstrating the helplessness of White's position. White's QR, QKt and QB cannot aid him now because they were never developed. His adventurous Queen is far away - and quite useless.

14.gxh3 Bxe4#

White has played 14.gxh3, his only means of getting out of check, and Black has delivered the final thrust with ...Bxe4 mate. A delightful, "pure" mate with two Bishops and a Knight. Moral: What is a man profited if he gains a Queen and two Rooks and loses by checkmate?

Premature attacks don't pay.

Firsts

An exchange of emails with Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne"):

Hi Rick,

Not sure if I mentioned this, but one of my Internet wins with the Jerome is in Gary Lane's book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps .

I wonder if this is the first publication of a complete Jerome game in book form?

Pete

Hi Pete,

I've got dibs on the review copy of Gary's book when it shows up at Chessville, so I'll be able to see your game in print with my own eyes. Congratulations all over again!

As for the first publication of a complete Jerome Gambit game in book form, I think your game is a rare item, but not the first.

Andres Clemente Vazquez included three Jerome Gambits from his second match with William Carrington in his book Algunas Partidas de Ajedrez (1876); and he shared his game against L. Giraudy in the 2nd & 3rd editions of his Analisis del juego de ajedres: libro a propositio para que pueda aprender dicho juego, el que lo ignore del todo, in necesidad de maestro (1885, 1889). (Not in the 1st edition, mind you: it was published in 1874, the first year that the Jerome Gambit saw print.)

Of course, the infamous game Amateur - Blackburne, London 1885, appeared in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), and thereafter in numerous books, including Handbuch des Schachspiels - 8th ed (1916); Du Mont's 200 Miniature Games of Chess (1942); Chernev and Harkness' An Invitation to Chess A Picture Guide to the Royal Game (1945); and Wenman's Master Chess Play (1951).

More recently, Eric Schiller has included Amateur -Blackburne in his Unorthodox Chess Openings (1998, 2002) and Gambit Chess Openings (2002); and, with John Watson, his Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings (2003).

Hope that isn't rain on your parade -- your game appears to be the first game from this century and the past one to appear in book form, as far as I know. Good enough?

Best wishes,

Rick