As I discovered recently, a few of my older games that have escaped scrutiny on this blog, so I am sharing them. The following game is as quiet as expected after Black's 7th and 8th moves. AlonzoJerome - adroit 5 5 blitz, ICC, 2011 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
The line we have been examining
Instead of offering a Rook with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6!?, or preparing a wicked counterattack with Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7!?, my opponent plays what I have elsewhere referred to as an "inoffensive defense" (see "An Inoffensive Defense") and a "calming defense" (see "Nothing Happened").
23.Nd5 After the game Stockfish 8 recommended 23.Nb5, to be met by 23...Bd724.c4 (Not 24.Nxc7 Rxf1 25.Rxf1 Rc8 and the Knight can't withdraw because of 26...Bb5+) 24...Bxb5 25.cxb5 with an advantage to White. 23...c6 24.Ne3 Bd7 25.Nf5+ Black resigned
The pawn at d6 will fall, and being down two is enough for my opponent.
I just completed my 3rd Jerome Gambit game in the first round of the "Italian Battleground" tournament at Chess.com. The win, making me 2 - 0 - 1 with my favorite opening, so far, should be enough to earn me first place in my group, and allow me to eventually move on to the second round.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Despite Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's early preference, and that of Bill Wall and others, I have only played 6.d4 once, and that game took a bit of a swindle for me to get a draw. To each one's own. 6...g6
This move was not a surprise. The best known Jerome Gambit game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (see "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!" and "Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In") features this move, and if my opponent was likely to know anything about the opening, this would be it. 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
A bit of a surprise - but not really. Instead of offering a Rook with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6!?, or preparing a wicked counterattack with Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7!?, my opponent plays what I have elsewhere referred to as an "inoffensive defense" (see "An Inoffensive Defense") and a "calming defense" (see "Nothing Happened"). The Database has a surprising 1,375 games with this position, with White scoring 53%, which compares favorably with ther 46% produced by 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+. (Nine games are mine, with White scoring 89%). In our first game in this tournament, we quickly moved to an endgame where I was a pawn up - but it took some fancy calculating to win the game. My opponent currently has fashioned a very interesting blockading position in one of his other games (he is a pawn down) and should soon split the point. So, to see our game move quickly to a Queenless middlegame, with the promise of an endgame, was understandable - zmarian likes endgames. 8.Kxf2 ZahariSokolov of FICS has played 8.Ke2?!, but I can't recommend the move: 8...d6? 9.Qxh8? Qf6? 10.Qxh7+Kf8 11.h3 b6 12.Rf1 Ba6+ 13.d3 Re8 14.Rxf2 Rxe4+ 15.Be3 Qxf2+ 16.Kxf2 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - Posapiano, standard, FICS, 2015. 8...Qf6+ Black did not improve things by playing 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6+ 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6 11.Nc3 Re8 12.d3 c6 13.Kg2 Kg7 14.Bg5 Ng4 15.h3 Nh6 16.Rhf1 d6 17.Rf2 Be6 18.Raf1 Rf8 19.Bxh6+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Hensel, blitz, FICS, 2014. 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6
Black has a number of replies. I have faced 10...Re8 a couple of times: perrypawnpusher - Conspicuous, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22) and perrypawnpusher - BEEB, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 63). (Oddly enough, I don't seem to have posted either of these games on this blog. I will have to remedy that.) 11.d4 Playable is 11.d3, which I have tried a couple of times: AlonzoJerome - adroit, blitz, ICC, 2011 (1-0, 25) and perrypawnpusher - HelloGoodbye, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1/2-1/2, 34). (You wouldn't have known it by this blog, though: two more games to find and post. What was going on in 2011 and 2012, I wonder.) 11...Bd7
Interesting. Understandable was 11...Rf8, which I have also faced inperrypawnpusher - Mences, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 48). (Also not posted here. Very odd. My "to do list" is growing.)
I have shared many games where White plays the notorious Jerome Gambit, patiently musters his forces, waits for the defender to make a mistake - and then pounces. After all, I like the Jerome Gambit, and it is fun to watch players use it and succeed. Yet, I have not been shy about sharing the many refutations of the opening, as well. A line of play can be both exciting and dangerous for the user. So, as a bit of balance, here is a three minute game that shows Black has chances, too. ☺ (He should: he is rated +200 above White.) Readers should follow the links to see more alternative ideas for White. Chess-For-All - Sveti14 3 0 blitz, lichess.org 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 The Jerome Variation of the Jerome Gambit, played by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome against David Jaeger in correspondence, 1880. 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.Nc3
Taking care of business by castling-by-hand. Also seen: 11...Qe7 as in mrjoker - creeredes, Internet Chess Club, 2008 (0-1, 26) 12.h3 Adopting the come-and-get-me strategy that puts the onus on Black to make something out of his material advantage. Sometimes this can be a part of a psychological push by White that unsettles his opponent - but, not today. Perhaps he should have ignored the move and gone ahead with winning the "minor exhange" with 12.Na4. 12...Qe7 13.Kh1 This reminds me of the quote by the Joker in "The Dark Knight" movie: "Come on. I want you to do it. I want you to do it. Hit me. Hit me! I want you to hit me!" 13...Qf7 14.Be3 Nh5 15.Qh4 Bb6
16.Nd5 Nf6 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.a3 d5 19.f3 Be6
20.g4 Time to try to stir things up a bit. 20...Nd7 21.Bd4 A move that is easy to understand, but repositioning the Bishop might have been better done by playing 21.Rae1 first, and if 21...c5, then 22.Bd2, eventually coming to c3. This subtle idea is brought to you by Stockfish 8. 21...Rf8
22.f4 Impatient - but, remember this is a 3 0 game. The recommended line by Stockfish 8 would have been hard to work out, even in a slower game, with White finally developing pressure on the Kingside to offset Black's gains on the Queenside: 22.Qg3 c5 23.Bc3 d4 24.Be1 c4 25.f4 Nc5 26.f5 Bd7 27.Rd1 Bb5 28.Rf3 Rac8 29.Bb4 cxd3 30.cxd3 Rfe8 31.Rd2 Qb3 32.Kg2 Nd7 33.Rff2 Rc1 34.Kh2 Ne5 35.f6 Qf7 36.Rf5 gxf6 37.g5 Qg7 and Black would still be better. 22...dxe4 23.dxe4 Bc4 24.Rf2 Rae8 25.Re1 Rxe4 26.Rxe4 Bd5
The a8-h1 diagonal is deadly. 27.Rfe2 Re8 28.Be5 Bxe4+ 29.Rxe4 Qd5
Sometimes when you play the Jerome Gambit, your opponent equalizes the game. What then? Well, you play along, seeing where the game is going - being constantly aware of opportunities that just might spring up, as in the following game. Thus, the ironic saying: In the Jerome Gambit, when Black has equalized, White has the advantage. ☺ Wall, Bill - Guest477 ICC, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.Qd2 A novelty, according to The Database. What is the White Queen doing on d2? White's dark-squared Bishop will be going to b2. 8...Be6 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3 Rf8 11.b3 Kg8 12.Bb2 Rf7
Black has castled-by-hand and has the advantage of a piece for a pawn. What will he do next? 13.f4 Nc6 14.Rae1 Bd7 Black hopes to move his Bishop out of possible trouble from the "Jerome pawns", but this move allows a center pawn advance - something White needs to be aware of. 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nxe5
Making the best of the situation by returning the piece for a pawn. Even game. This might be considered a good thing by the defender. 17.Rxe5 Bc6 18.Qf4 Qd6
19.Nb5 On many occasions I have looked askance as Black has harassed White's Queen. Here, it is no big deal, but that kind of evaluation might have had a lulling influence on the defender. 19...Bxb5 20.Rxb5 Qc6 21.c4 Raf8 22.Rf5 Qe6 23.Qd2
White has a Bishop for a Knight, the tiniest of advantages, but the lineup of Rooks on the f-file hints at an exchange of heavy pieces and a split point. However, there is something special about the position that both players need to be aware of. (What is the White Queen doing on d2?) 23...Ne4 Triggering the exchanges, and the draw? No, actually this leads to a checkmate-in-21, if the game were to go that far. 24.Rxf7 Rxf7 25.Qd8+ Black resigned
The Jerome Gambit has drawn first blood in the third round of the Chess.com Giuoco Piano thematic tournament. The game is not very exciting, however, and so games have been added in the notes to compensate. perryawnpusher - AWARDCHESS Giuoco Piano Thematic, Chess.com, 2017 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+
Ouch. This kind of thing can happen, even in a slow game. Maybe the real world intruded. Maybe White's opening looked too innocuous to worry about in the early stages.
Vlasta Fejfar shares his latest Jerome Gambit. I forget how complicated the game can get. Vlastous - Kombe internet, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Qf6
I am pretty sure that Vlasta was happy to get a break from the "annoying defense" 7...d6. 8.Rf1 Nd3+
Creatively returning a piece. (It is not the strongest response, however.) 9.cxd3 Bd4
Plotting or planning something, but I am not sure what... Probably the simple 9...d6 was better. 10.Nc3 This is a small improvement over 10.Qd5+, which appeared in an earlier game, the only other one in The Database to feature 8...Nd3+: 10...Ke7 11.e5 Qh4+ 12. g3 Qxh2 13. Qxd4 Qxg3+ 14. Qf2 Qxf2+ 15. Rxf2 b6 16. d4 Nh6 17. Nc3 c6 18. f5 Bb7 19. d3 Raf8 20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. O-O-O Rf7 22. Ne4 Ba6 23. Nd6 Rff8 24. Kd2 Rhg8 25. f6+ Ke6 26. f7 Rg3 27. Rf6+ Ke7 28. Nf5+ Kd8 29. Nxg3 Black disconnected and forfeited, MrJoker - Melbourne, Internet Chess Club, 2011. 10...g6 Kicking the Queen makes a lot of sense - sometimes; but not right now. A typical Jerome Gambit problem for Black: what is good, and what is not? 11.f5+ gxf5
A measure of how complicated the game has become is shown in Stockfish 8's recommendation: 11...Ke7 12.fxg6 Qxg6 13.Qh4+ Ke8 14.Nd5 Be5 15.b4 d6 16.Rb1 Be6 17.Nxc7+ Kd7 18.Nxa8 Qxg2 19.Bb2 Bxb2 20.Rxb2 Ne7 21.Qf2 Qxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Rf8+ 23.Ke2 Rxa8 24.Ke3 d5 25.b5 Kd6 26.Rb4 Ng6 27.Ra4 leading to an even game. The text turns the advantage over to White. 12.exf5+ Ke7 13.Nd5+ Kd6 14.Nxf6 Nxf6 15.Qh4 Re8+ 16.Kd1 b6
Assuming that a Queen is worth three pieces, for a moment it looks as if it is Black who has sacrifice a piece to attack White's uncastled King. Alas, the second player's game has come undone. 17.Qxd4+ Ke7 18.Re1+ Kf7 19.Rxe8 Nxe8 20.Qd5+ Ke7 21.Qe4+ Kd8 22.Qh4+ Black resigned