Jerome Gambit: Never Knew What Hit Him, Either

I have been sharing some recently uncovered games by Ukranian player Vladymyr Yurev, online at InstantChess.com. It is clear that he and his opponents are playing for fun, as evidenced by the nasty, brutish and short wins by White.

Here is a game where Vladymyr took it seriously on the chin. I suspect he chuckled and set the pieces up again.

Vladymyr  Yurev - GN ITA
15 0, InstantChess, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian opening, generally played as a safety first line. Not so, if White wants to get all Jerome-ish.

4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Qf6 7.Nf5 d6

Uh, oh.. Things don't seem to be going smoothly for White.

8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Nxd6+ 

The start of an irrational streak, the kind of thing that you see when your opponent's clock is almost expired, and you are willing to try anything to get him to use up those last precious seconds thinking...

9...Bxd6 10.Qxe6+ Qxe6 11.e5 

Okay, so White is going to blow everything up and start all over, next game.

11...Qxe5+ 12.Kd2 Qd4+ 13.Ke2 Re8+ 14.Kf3 Ne5+ 

Or 14...Qe4#.

15.Kg3 Nd3+ 

Or 15...Qg4#.

16.Kh3 Nxf2 checkmate

Oh, well, as the song goes, "Two out of three ain't bad."

Jerome Gambit: Never Knew What Hit Them (Part 2)

As mentioned in the previous post, recently I was exploring the internet and ran across a number of fun games by Vladymyr Yurev, of Ukraine, at InstantChess.com. Some were Jerome Gambits, some were Jerome-ish.

Clearly some of his opponents did not know what to make of his openings, and succumbed quickly.

Here is another example.

Vladymyr  Yurev - Elsid
15 0, Instant Chess, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening. Safety first.

4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 Nf6 6.dxe5 Nxe4 7.Qd5+ Ke8 Black resigned

Black will drop his Knight on e4, remaining a pawn down, but it is clear that his resignation had to do with not knowing what hit him.

Jerome Gambit: Never Knew What Hit Them (Part 1)

I was exploring the internet the other day, and ran across a number of fun games by Vladymyr Yurev, of Ukraine, at InstantChess.com. Some games were Jerome Gambits, some were Jerome-ish.

Clearly some of his opponents did not know what to make of his openings, and succumbed quickly.

Here is one example.

Vladymyr  Yurev - MELVYN20
Instant Chess, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening. Black pursues safety by keeping the enemy Knight off of g5.

4.Bxf7+ 

Not everyone waits for ...Bc5 before sacrificing.

4...Kxf7 5.d4 Ke8 6.d5 Nb8 7.Nxe5 d6 8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Qf7 checkmate

Ouch!

Nice work, Mr. Yurev!

Jerome Gambit: Old McDonnell

Kevin Sheldrick ("Cliff Hardy") sends one of his latest Jerome Gambits. He gets into trouble, but he calls upon his creativity and his "Jerome pawns" save him. The comments are mostly Kevin's. I have added a few diagrams and some notes in blue - Rick

Old McDonnell Had a Pawn Storm

A kingside pawn storm features in many Jerome Gambit games, as is clearly evident in the games on this blog. In that vein, I recently played a Jerome Gambit game that reminded me somewhat of a famous position from an old game between two classic masters, Alexander McDonnell and Louis-Charles de La Bourdonnais in London in 1834. These were two of the strongest players in the world at the time and the final position in that game I have heard being referred to as, arguably, the most famous position in chess history.

  

La Bourdonnais, as black, has just played 37...e2, and so McDonnell resigned in a lost position, despite being the player who currently has a queen on the board.

My game: 

dsjkljdkdjkf - beba buba beba542

15 0, instantchess.com, 25/1/17

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Qh5??

6.Nxc6! would have been better. (See gfdgfd - leleos
InstantChess.com, 2016.)

6...Nxe5 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 h5 10.Bg5 Bd4?!

The odd-looking 10...Qd7!, blocking his bishop on c8 but breaking the pin on the knight on f6, was best. (10...Be6 was perrypawnpusher - ulisimbolon, Giuoco Piano Thematic, Chess.com, 2016 [0-1, 22])

11.c3 Be5??

11...Bb6 would still leave black with a clear advantage.

12.f4

Old McDonnell had a bishop!

12...h4 13. Bxh4??

13.Qf3! Bg4 14.Qe3 and white will win the trapped bishop on e5, with a winning position.

13...Nh5!

13...Nh5 was good for a slight advantage for black (saves his bishop on e5) but 13...Nxe4! was slightly better than that again

14.Qf2 Bf6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.0-0 Bd7 17.Nd2 Ke7 18.d4 Raf8 19.f5 Kd8 20.Rae1 Qg5 21.Nf3 Qg4 22.h3 Qg3

23.Qxg3?

23.Re3 would yield an approximately equal position.

23...Nxg3 24.Rf2 Rhg8?

24...Re8, attacking the e-pawn, would lead to a winning advantage for black, whereas after 24...Rhg8?, white has a slight advantage.

25.Kh2 Nh5 26.g4 Nf4 27.Kg3??

E - I - E - I - O! I missed the fork.

27...Nd3 28.e5 Nxe1 29.Nxe1 de 30.de Bc6 31.g5 Kc8 32.Kg4 Rd8 33.h4 Rd1 34.Re2 Rgd8?

 

Black is still better but 34...Bb5! 35.Re3 Rd2, with a powerful rook on the seventh rank, would lead to a really crushing position for black.

35.e6

With a push-push here and a push-push there of my e- and f-pawns, I was hoping to pull off a swindle, though 35. h5! (i.e. everywhere a push-push!), with a four-pawn storm, would give me better chances to fluke a win from my bad position.

35...R8d2 36.Rxd2 Rxd2 37.f6 gf 38.gf Bd5 39.Kf5 Rf2+ 40.Ke5 Bxa2 41.f7 Re2+??

41...Kd8! was actually the only winning move for black here.

42.Kf4

Now white has a winning position!

42...Rf2+ 43.Nf3 Bxe6 44.f8=Q+ Kd7 45.Qg7+ Kd6 46.Qd4+ Bd5 47.Qxf2 c6 48.Qxa7 Bxf3 49.Kxf3 and black resigned.

Take care of your "Jerome pawns" and they will take care of you. Wonderful, Kevin!

Jerome Gambit: Resolutely

Sometimes, if you act resolutely, you can look like you know what you are doing - even if you don't. In the following game Black makes decisive moves, like he is in the process of refuting White's silly little gambit. Indeed, the game lasts only 13 moves - but it is the Jerome Gambit that triumps.

Wall, Bill - Tedah
lichess.org, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

We last saw this adventurous line in the latest "Cliff Hardy" adventure, gfdgfd - leleos, InstantChess.com, 2016 (1-0, 17).

6.Nxc6 dxc6 

6...bxc6? 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Ne7  9.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Qwerty, Chess.com, 2010

Black's response is reasonable, although his best response might be the highly unreasonable 6..Qh4!?

7.Qh5+ g6 

Or 7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qd6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.e5 Ng4 11.Qf4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Gebba, Chess.com, 2010.

8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qc3 Qxe4+ 

Black has returned the gambit piece and is able to get his Queen into the attacking action. If White now flinches at this aggression toward his King, say with the protective 10.Qe3, then Black can develop with 10...Nf6 and have hopes of reaching a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame...

But things are more complicated than that.

10.Kf1 Be6 11.Qxh8 Bd5 12.f3 Bc4+ 13.d3 Black resigned

(I have to admit that I have no idea what Black's last handful of moves was about.)

Jerome Gambit: Battle of Wits

I have received another game from recent Jerome Gambit convert "Cliff Hardy" (see "Jerome Gambit: You Gotta Believe"), playing incognito at InstantChess. Starting with move 2, and escalating with move 5, his opponent engages in a bit of chess psychology which reminds me of the "battle of wits" in the movie "The Princess Bride" - and his efforts are equally unsuccessful.

The notes to the game are by "Cliff". I have added a couple of comments in blue.

gfdgfd - leleos
InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4

3.Nxe5? Bxf2+! 4.Kxf2 would give me a winning advantage theoretically but I lose the valuable psychological advantage! 

3...Nc6 4.Bxf7+! 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8? 6.Qh5+?

I am astonished! This move looked obvious but it is poor!
The text is thematic, but 6.Nxc6 is += (Stockfish), intending 6...d/bxc6 7.Qh5 and 8.Qxc5.

[Welcome to the bizarre world of the Jerome Gambit, "Cliff"! Black does not want the second piece, and it seems logical to go after him right away with 6.Qh5+, except that 6.Nxc6 is a better move, as you note. Wilder, still, is that Black can answer 6.Nxc6 with 6...Qh4!? and White needs to be prepared for this shock. 7.d4!? seems to be the best response, allowing 7...Qxe4+ 8.Be3 Qxg2 - although it might be better for those with a heart condition to opt for 8.Qe2. Anyhow, the game becomes a wonderful mess after 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.Ne5!? and Stockfish 7 continues with 10...Bb4+ 11.c3 Qxh1+ 12.Kd2 g6 13.Nxg6+ hxg6 14.Qxh8 g5 15.cxb4 d6 16.Qh5 Bf5 17.Qd1 Qxd1+ 18.Kxd1 Ne7 19.Nc3 and White has an edge. Uh, sure, right... No surprise that I haven't found any game examples with 6...Qh4!? - Rick]

6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6

Haha! The best move for black, according to Stockfish, is the Jeromesque 7...Bxf2! 8.Kxf2 Nf6 9.Qh4 Rg8! =+. This game is a good example of the principle: the first to get in the Jerome wins!

8.Qxh8 Kf7

9.Qh7+ Kf8 10.Qxg6 Qe7 11.Nc3 Qf7 12.Qg3 Bd6 13.Qe3 Qf4 14.d4 Nf6 15.Qxf4 Bxf4 16.Bxf4 Nxd4 17.O-O-O Black resigned

[White has handled Black's ploys, has gained material (the exchange and three pawns) and has moved the game into a safe (for himself) Queenless middle game. There is not much for the defender to look forward to. - Rick] 

Consolidation

The following educational game, mentioned in the previous post (see "White Punishes Errors Quickly"), was played online at InstantChess.com at its "classic" time control, 30 minutes or more per game.

SA3OD - gianluca
classic, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5

Asking for trouble, allowing a transposition to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

6.Bxf7+ Kf8

I know this sounds silly, but there are 30 games with this position in The Database. White scores 48%. (Which sounds even sillier.)

7.Nf5

A thoughtful idea, although stronger was 7.Nxc6!? Qh4!? 8.O-O bxc6 9.Bb3 Qxe4 when White has recovered his sacrificed piece, as a better pawn structure and a safer King.

7...Kxf7 8.Qd5+ Kf8 

Instead, 8...Kf6 would be too bold: 9.Qxc5 Nge7 10.Nc3 (10.Qc3+!) 10...d6 11.Nd5+ Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Re8 13.O-O Re5 14.Qd3 Bxf5 15.exf5 Rxf5 16.b3 Kg6 $2 17.Bb2 (17.g4!) 17...Ne5 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.Qb5 b6 20.Rad1 Qe7 21.Rd7 Qg5 22.Rxc7 (22.Qc6+!?) 22...Raf8 23.Qe2 e4 24.Qxe4 Kh7 25.Rxa7 Kh8 26.Re7 Rxf2 27.Rxf2 Qc5 28.Ref7 Rxf7 29.Qe8+ Rf8 30.Qxf8+Qxf8 31.Rxf8+ Kh7 32.Rb8 Black resigned, MidKnightBlue - cesrmathurine, FICS, 2005. 

9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qc3 Bxf5 11.exf5 Nf6 

White has an extra pawn (temporarily) and a safer King, but he lags in development.

12.O-O Ne7 13.Nd2 Nxf5 14.Nf3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Kg6 

The King needed to go back to f8, as SA3OD immediatly shows.

16.Qd3 Qd7 17.Nh4+ Kf7 18.Qxf5 Qxf5 19.Nxf5 Rhe8 

20.g4

In the next few moves, White is thinking of attack. (Instead, he should heed American National Master Dan Heisman's advice to club players, that after winning material one should think about consolidation first, not wild aggression. The simple 20.Be3 comes to mind.) 

20...Re2 21.h3

Instead, the consolidating 21.Ne3! would have saved a world of headaches. 

21...Rxc2 22.f4 

Everybody is going to the party, but, by the time they get there, the party will have moved on.

White still had time for 22.Ne3, evicting the enemy Rook. Even 22.Be3 was possible, as 22...Rxb2?! would be well met by 23.Rac1!? with counterplay.

22...Re8 23.g5 Ree2 

24.Nh4

The correct way to protect g2 (and attack Black's Rook) was 24.Ne3! 

24...Ne4 25.gxh6

Instead, 25.Rf3 would have kept the enemy Knight out of g3 and lead to an even game.

25...gxh6

Better to invade: 25...Ng3. 

26.f5

Still attacking. Still overlooking 26.Rf3. 

26...h5

Black overlooks his last chance for 26...Ng3.

White is in a turned-around situation for a Jerome Gambit player, being up a piece and down a pawn. His King is in more danger, too.

Although Black has more practical chances, the game is still about even.

27.Bf4 Rxb2 28.Ng6 Rxa2 29.Rxa2 Rxa2 30.Re1 Ra4 

31.Nh8+

Not the solution to a difficult position, especially if time was getting short. Stockfish 7 suggests: 31.Kg2 Kf6 32.Kf3 Ng5+ 33.Bxg5+ Kxg5 34.h4+ Kxf5 35.Ne7+ Kf6 36.Nd5+ Kg7 37.Re7+ Kg6 38.Rxc7 b5 39.Nf4+ Kf5 40.Nxh5 Rxh4 41.Ng3+ Ke5 42.Rxa7 and White should hold on. Whew!

Now Black's game improves step-by-step.

31...Kf6 32.h4 Kxf5 33.Bg5 Nxg5 34.hxg5 Kxg5

35.Nf7+ Kg6 36.Nd8 b6 37.Ne6 c5 38.Rd1 Rg4+ 39.Kh2 c4 

40.Rxd6 Kf7 41.Nc7 Rg5 42.Rc6 Rc5 43.Rh6 Kg7 44.Re6 Rxc7 45.Kg2 b5 46.Kf2 b4 47.Ke3 b3 48.Ra6 b2 49.Ra5 b1=Q 50.Rxh5 c3 51.Rg5+ Kh6 52.Rd5 c2 53.Rd6+ Kh7 54.Kd4 Qd1+ 55.Ke5 Qxd6+ 56.Kxd6 c1=Q 57.Kd5 Rd7+ 58.Ke6 Rd2 59.Ke5 Qe1+ 60.Kf4 Rf2+ 61.Kg3 Qg1+ 62.Kh3 Rh2 checkmate

White Punishes Errors Quickly

Here are a couple more games from United Arab Emirates player SA3OD (mentioned in the previous post), playing online at the InstantChess.com website. White punishes errors quickly.

SA3OD - buckeyes435
rapid, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.d4

Although SA3OD plays the regular Jerome Gambit move order in his games, too - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ - he often likes to insert d2-d4 before the sacrifice. In the case of the current game, his 4th move is good on its own merits; while the alternatives 4.0-0 and 4.Nc3 serve both to advance White's development and act as a waiting move to "allow" Black to play ...Bc5.

4...exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 

Black's move is not the best, as it invites trouble. Perhaps, having played ...h6, he is feeling protected from danger. (On the InstantChess.com website the opening is referred to as the "Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense" because Black is apparently protecting against 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7!?)

6.Nxc6

White played the more accurate 6.Bxf7+  in SA3OD - gianluca, classic, InstantChess, 2016 (0-1, 62); SA3OD - yeah bite, rapid, InstantChess, 2016 (1/2-1/2, 75); and SA3OD - Joseph S. DiBernardo, rapid, InstantChess, 2016 (1-0, 30).

6...bxc6

Likely a reflex response, but 6...Qf6!? defended better, i.e. 7.O-O dxc6 (not 7...Qxc6 because of 8.Qh5!?) although White would still be for choice. 

7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ Black resigned

SA3OD - Ray777
blitz, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Na5 

Black is going for the advantage of the "two Bishops", but, like in the Jerome Gambit, there is a sharp response to this offside Knight.

6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.e5 Ne8 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qd5 checkmate

InstantChess

A recent internet search brought me to the online site InstantChess.com, where I discovered a player from the United Arab Emirates with the handle SA3OD who plays the Jerome Gambit - and who likes to play Bxf7+ in other circumstances as well. The following very exciting game, with another in the notes, gives an example of his style in lightning chess, which is defined by the site as 1 to 4 minutes per game. (Fast!) His opponent, Zmei Gorinich, is from the Russian Federation.

SA3OD - Gorinich, Zmei
lightning, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 

The Italian Gambit, highlighted in The Italian Gambit System (2006) by Jude Acers and George Laven. I love the comment on the move in the November 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal: "Brilliant but not sound."

I am still exploring the InstantChess website, and have found one (I am sure that there are more) of SA3OD's Jerome Gambits (also at lightning time control) against Gorinich: 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 (this move scores 38% in 2,154 games in The Database) Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.Qh5+ Kf8 8.Qd1 {TN} Nf6 9.c3 Ne6 10.O-O d6 11.Na3 Kf7 12.Bg5 Rf8 13.Nc4 Nxg5 14.Ne3 Kg8 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.exf5 Qe8 17.h4 Nge4 18.g4 Qc6 19.g5 Nd5 20.f6 Nf4 21.fxg7 Kxg7 22.f3 Ng3 23.Kh2 Nxf1+ 24.Qxf1 Nh5 25.Kh3 Rxf3+ 26.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 27.Kh2 Qg3+ 28.Kh1 Qxh4+ 29.Kg2 Qg3+ 30.Kf1 Rf8+ 31.Ke2 Qf2+ 32.Kd3 Nf4+ 33.Kc4 a6 34.Kb3 b5 35.a4 bxa4+ 36.Rxa4 Rb8+ 37.Ka3 Qc2 38.Rb4 Rxb4 39.cxb4 Nd3 40.g6 Qxb2+ 41.Ka4 Qxb4 checkmate.

4...exd4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ 

This move is at least as old as Wright - Hunn, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1874 (0-1, 18).

6...Kf8 7.Qf3+

Next time he might look (if he hasn't already) at the goofy 7.Qh5 Qf6 8.Nxh7 Rxh7 9.Qxh7.

7...Nf6 8.O-O Ne5 9.Qb3 h6 10.f4

White is thinking: Attack!

10...hxg5 11.fxe5 Qe8

In a lightning tempo game there is not always time to catch subtleties. Here, Black should have first played 11...e3+, putting a road block in front of White's Queen, and then moved his own Queen to e8. After 12.Kh1 Qe8, White could not afford to capture Black's Knight with 13.exf6? - we will see why, shortly. 

12.exf6

White, in turn, misses his opportunity. He needed to play 12.Qg3! when he could then safely capture Black's Knight, e.g. 12...d6 13.exf6. The position would then be unclear, but probably balanced. Stockfish 7 gives the wild continuation: 13...Rh5 14.Bxg5 Qg6 15.h4 d3+ 16.Kh2 dxc2 17.Nc3 Qxg5!? 18.Qxg5 Rxg5 19.hxg5 Be3 20.g6 Be6 21.f7 when Black will eventually regain the exchange for his advanced c-pawn.

12...d3+ 13.Kh1 Rxh2+!

Nice. Forces chekmate. (Or: it should.)

14.Kxh2 Qh5+ 15.Kg3 Qh4+ 16.Kf3 gxf6 

Oh, no! With 16...d5 Black would threaten mate with ...dxe4. Time must have been short. Now White has 17.cxd3! and his defense would hold.

 17.Qxd3 d6

Yikes! White's slip on move 17 gives Black another chance to play...d5. The pawn two-step would help open the d-file, giving the second player strong play against the enemy King: 7...d5 18.Ke2 Bg4+ 19.Kd2 dxe4 20.Qxe4 Rd8+ 21.Kc3 Bd4+ 22.Kb3 Rd6 etc.

18.Nc3

Zeitnot. White's King could, instead, play 18.Ke2 as in the previous note, and survive because of the closed d-file. 

18...Qg4 checkmate

Fun!