Having taken a look at what I called the "Face Palm Variation" of the Jerome Gambit, I wondered if there was an "improved" variation, where White played an early d2-d4, so that his Knight could safely move to g5 with the support of his dark square Bishop.
I quickly recalled the game Wright - Hunn, Arkansas,1874, played about a half year after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome published his first analysis of his gambit in the Dubuque Chess Journal. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.Bxf7+.
The line was referred to as The Macbeth Attack on the Italian language website Sacchi64. It has a relationship to the Italian Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4) as explored by Jude Acers and George S. Laven in their book The Italian Gambit and A Guiding Repertoire for White - 1.e4, (although they were not interested in Bxf7+) as well as to the Lewis Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4) and the Von der Lasa Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Bc5).
The Database has 1,413 game examples, with White scoring 37%.
Here is a recent game. Beware: the tactics get out of hand, quickly. White (who has almost 700 games in The Database) shows a number of practical choices to keep the clock at bay.
drumme - RikTheKing
4 0 blitz, FICS, 2020.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d4 exd4
A bit stronger, according to Komodo 10, is 5...Bxd4, although the result for White of the 645 games in The Database was only 26%.
6.Ng5+
By playing an early Bxf7+, White has avoided the Sarratt or Vitzthum Attack, although that's not necessarily a good thing.
6...Ke8 7.O-O h6
Facing a gambit can be scary, and it's natural to want to kick at the attacking piece - but this dismantles Black's defense, rather than helping it.
8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6
Black is now at risk for losing a lot of material.
10.Qd5+
White is not feeling very greedy, or perhaps in a 4-minute blitz game there wasn't the time (or need) to dig deeper: 10.Bf4+ Ne5 11.Bxe5+ Kxe5 12.Qxg7+ Nf6 (12...Qf6 13.f4+ Kd6 14.e5+) 13.f4+ Kd6 14.Nf7+ Kc6 15.Nxd8+ would have been painful for Black.
10...Ke7 11.Qxc5+
Grabbing the enemy Bishop, but it was stronger to play 11.Qf7+ Kd6 to return to the line given in the note above, 12.Bf4+ etc.
11...d6
Do I have to do this all over again?
Didn't I do it right the first time?
Do I have to do this all over again?
How many times do I have to make this climb?
from Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?
12.Qc4 Ne5
Black could have grabbed the Knight, and hung on: 12...hxg5 13.Bxg5+ Nf6 14.f4 Qg8 15.Qxg8 Rxg8 16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Nxe5 18.Re1 Ke6 19.Bf4 Nfg4
13.Qxd4 Nf6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Qc3 hxg5 16.fxg5 Nxe4
Well...
At first glance, Black seems to have played himself out of difficulty. Alas, it is actually a checkmate in 9, for White.
17.Qxg7+ Ke6 18.Qg6+
Now, interposing a piece will cost Black a piece. There wasn't time to suss out 18.Qf7+ Ke5 19.Nc3 Qg8 20.Bf4+ Kd4 21.Rfd1+ Kc5 22.Be3+ Kb4 23.a3+ Ka5 24.b4+ Ka6 25.Qf1+ Qc4 26.Qxc4+ b5 27.Qxc6 checkmate
18...Kd5
19.Nc3+
Again, development makes the most sense when time is short. Instead 19.c4+ Kc5 20. Be3+ Nd4 21.Qxe4 Kb6 22.Bxd4+ c5 23.Bxh8 was crushing.
19...Nxc3 20.Qd3+ Ke6
This might have seemed the safest choice, but it was not.
21.Qxc3
I am sure that after the game drumme found 21.Qf5+ Ke7 22.Qf7 checkmate
21...Ne5 22.Qb3+ Kd7
Black's uncomfortable King and extra piece is slightly outweighed by White's better development and 2 extra pawns. Although the players' fortunes now go up and down, White keeps the pressure on.
23.Bf4 Qe8 24.Rae1 Kd8 25.Qd5 Qc6 26.Qb3 Re8
Note, for the umpteenth time, Black's light-squared Bishop at home, blocking his Rook. Typical defense-to-the-Jerome-Gambit "sin".
27.g6 Nxg6 28.Bg5+ Ne7 29.Rxe7 Rxe7 30.Bxe7+ Kxe7 31.Qf7+ Kd8 32.Qf6+ Ke8 33.Re1+ Kd7 34.Qe7 checkmate
I have been enjoying watching the series of "Dirty Chess Tricks" videos on YouTube, by Gunjan Jani, especially "Dirty Chess Tricks 13" on the Lewis Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4.
This is an opening line that I have touched upon in this blog, starting with "SOS", writing about Secrets of Opening Surprises, Volume 10, which contained an article by Jeroen Bosch on the Lewis Gambit.
The earliest examples I have of the gambit are from an 1841 Staunton - Cochrane match, which makes it a possible inspration for Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in creating his Jerome Gambit, after the Lewis line 3...exd4 4.Bxf7+. The similarity to the Abrahams Jerome Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ - is apparent. See "Proto-Jerome Gambits? (Part 4)".
There is also a similarity to a line in the Von der Lasa Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, as seen in J.H. Blackburne - E.J. Evelyn, blindfold, London, 1862 (1-0, 32). And let's not overlook the "Macbeth Attack".
Jani rightly points out the possibilities of the Lewis Gambit transposing to the Max Lange Gambit, the Max Lange Attack, and the Italian Gambit.
(GM Boris Alterman has a video on the Lewis Gambit as well. Dangerous Weapons: 1.e4 e5 by GM John Emms, GM Glenn Flear, and IM Andrew Greet has good coverage of where the Lewis Gambit can go if Black does not allow a Bxf7+.)
When recently discussing the "Macbeth Attack" I mentioned the early game Wright - Hunn, Arkansas, 1874, which appeared in the November issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal for that year. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4, garnering the comment "Brilliant but not sound" from the editor. (I suspect Jude Acers and George Laven, authors of The Italian Gambit and A Guiding Repertoire for White might challenge that "not sound" assessment.)
After 4...exd4 ("The German Handbuch gives as best variation 4...Bxd4 5.c3 Bb6 6.Ng5 Nh6 7.Qh5 O-O 8.f4 exf4 9.Bxf4 d6 10.Rf1 Qe7 and Black should win."), 5.Bxf7+ the editor commented "An unsound variation of Jerome's double opening." Still, he was able to join in the fun. After 5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ he suggested that Ne5 "a la Jerome" is better than Ng5. That may not be "objectively" true, but capturing the imaginary pawn on e5 certainly is in line with the outlandish play of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation.
I was surprised to find 40 games in The Database that, wittingly or unwittingly, followed the DCJ's suggestion. The following blitz game shows some of the fun behind the lighthearted suggestion.
SupremacyPawn - northug
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 exd4 6.Ne5+
6...Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6 8.f4 Nf6
Black is having so much fun "punishing" White for his audacity of early Queen moves - well, you know how those things sometimes go...
9.Qxe5+ Kf7 10.Qxc5
Black has quickly returned two pieces. He would do best to calm himself, rationally look at his new position, and plot a new strategy. Something like 10...d5 comes to mind, with either 11.Qxd4 Ne4 or 11.e5 Ne4 to follow, and despite his previous misfortunes, Black would not be worse.
Alas for the defender, he is sure that White has erred (a clear assessment that is out of date, however) and still can and should be punished for his transgressions.
10...Nxe4 11.Qd5+ Kg6 12.Qxe4+ Kf7 13.O-O
Black resigned
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!
As an addendum to yesterday's post (see "Do Not Wander Too Far From Home"), when considering a risky line (for Black) in the Jerome-ized Italian Gambit, White, too, must make the right move.
augmented - MAHG
standard, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxe5+ Ke6
The same adventurous stroll as in Darrenshome - WildErmine, blitz, FICS, 2006.
7.Bf4
The direct route to the finish line is 7.Qg4+, as we saw yesterday.
7...d6
Instead, backing the King away with 7...Ke7, or preparing for that move with 7...Nf6, each let Black keep his advantage.
Now White can checkmate.
8.Qg4+ Ke7
8...Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kxe5 10.f4+ Kxe4 11.Nc3+ Ke3 12.f5+ Qxg5 13.Qxg5#
9.Qxg7+ Ke8 10.Qf7 checkmate
Yesterday's post (see "Still An InterestingGame") got me thinking about an early d2-d4 for White in the Jerome Gambit and related openings. That, in turn, got me thinking about the Italian Gambit (see "Brilliant but not sound" too) and helped me turn up the following game.
Darrenshome - WildErmine
blitz, FICS, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4
The Italian Gambit.
All three of Black's captures of the d-pawn can lead to a roughly equal game, but the second player should remain attentive.
4...Nxd4 5.Bxf7+
Transposing to the Jerome Gambit, i.e. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 Nxd4.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke6
Black either does not believe in what he sees, or he is careless and does not watch where he is going. In either event, it is risky to wander too far from home...
7.Qg4+ Kxe5 8.Bf4+ Kxe4 9.Nc3 checkmate
When I'm in a Jerome Gambit mood at FICS I want to play White, so I take my turns with Black at a quicker time control like 3 0 – probably too fast for me – to get back to a chance for my favorite opening as soon as possible.
In the following game, however, I noticed that my opponent was fmarius, who I recall has a gazillion games in the updated New Years Database (okay, about 130), so I decided to see if he wanted to play the Jerome against me.
fmarius - perrypawnpusher
blitz 3 0, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4
That's right, he also likes to go into the Jerome out of the Italian-Gambit-turned-Scotch-Gambit (as well as the regular Jerome Gambit move order)...
Yes, he'll also play 4.Bxf7+ against your Blackburne Shilling Gambit, too.
In fact, he'll play it against the Semi-Italian Opening, not even waiting for ...Bc5.
4...exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+
6...Kxf7 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5
Oddly, Fritz8 recommends the intermediary 8.Qh5+, seeing the position after 8...g6 9.Qxc5 cxb2 10.Bxb2 as even. I am sure that fmarius would have been thrilled with that position, though, with the white pieces.
8...d6
I had no interest in 8...cxb2 9.Bxb2 Nf6 10.0-0 d6
9.Qxc3 Nf6 10.0-0 Bg4
White has an edge here, but I noticed that my opponent was going through his time even faster than I was. I figured that if I gave him a few more things to think about, that problem might only get worse.
11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.e5 dxe5
I think he was expecting ...Nxe5, so this elicited more thought.
14.Nbd2 Rd8 15.Rae1 Kd7
Queenside castling-by-hand. Probably not best, but safest; and something to do as the clocks tick.
16.Nxe5+ Nxe5
17.Qd4+
Time pressure slip. Instead, 17.Rxe5 kept White's edge.
17...Kc8 18.Rxe5 Rxd4
In lost position, White forfeited on time
White was better most of the game. I am not sure that I am ready to face fmarius and his Jerome repertoire at a slower time control
