The latest game from Vlasta Fejfar shows that even when Black plays one of the most dangerous defenses against the Jerome Gambit, he can lose - and lose quickly. A better and deeper understanding of the Jerome often outshines its "refutation", as the following crush shows.
vlastous - dogfish
internet, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7
Whistler's defense. Although both lines are complicated, when White faces the Blackburne defense (7...d6) he can take the Rook at h8 and survive, while doing so against Whistler's defense runs a much greater risk.
8.Qf4+ Nf6
This is certainly a solid move, although it is already a step off of the "best" path. Black does best to play 8...Qf6, forcing White to again move his Queen.
9.e5 Bd6
Following in the footsteps of Jerome,A - Jaeger,D, correspondence,1879 (0-1, 45), but again not "best". Black should pressure the e-pawn, but more efficiently, i.e. 9...Re8.
10.d4 Kg7
Stepping out of the pin on his Knight and accepting the loss of a piece with 11.Qxf6+ Qxf6 12.exf6+ Kxf6 which would leave his King safe - but a pawn down.
11.Qh6+ Kf7 12.O-O
White is not in a hurry to win a piece, and, instead, safeguards his King (putting his Rook on the same file as the enemy King in the process).
12...Ng8
Black is nervous about the enemy Queen, but this retrograde move is not the solution. His best option was to return a piece for a couple of pawns with 12...Bxe5 13.dxe5 Qxe5, when White would have a slight edge.
13.Qf4+ Nf6
This can not have been comfortable for Black - repeating the position from move 10, but with White to move. Perhaps the best defense, instead, was 13...Kg7 14.exd6 Qxd6 15.Qxd6 cxd6, leaving him a pawn down, with a fractured pawn structure.
14.Nc3
Of course. Another piece to add to the action.
14...c6
Keeping the Knight off of d5 - but not out of the action!
15.Ne4 Rg8
Preparing to advance his g-pawn to kick out the Queen. After the expected 15...Bb8 16.Nxf6 White would be up a couple of pawns, and a Kingside attack would be on the agenda.
Now White crashes through.
16.Nxd6+ Kg7 17.exf6+ Qxf6
Hoping for an exchange of Queens and a release of some of the pressure - in vain.
18.Qh6+ Kh8 19.Bf4 b6 20.Be5 Black resigned
White will win the Queen, with checkmate to follow. I particularly like 20...Qxe5 21.Nf7 checkmate.
Here is the latest Jerome Gambit from Vlasta Fejfar, featuring two wandering Queens. White's Queen successfully attacks, while Black's Queen is a few steps slow in defending. In a surprise twist, the player who loses his Queen, wins the game!
vlastous - Marwan 86
internet, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4
This move is at least as old as D'Aumiller - AP, Livorno, 1878 (1-0, 19), appeared in 2 of the Jerome - Charles correspondence games in their 1881 match (both games incomplete), and appeared in 6 of the games in the legendary (to Jerome Gambit players, anyhow) Fisher-Kirshner - KnightStalker match of 1993.
4...Qf6 8. Rf1 g6
We have seen a couple of Vlasta's opponents try other ideas:
8...Nd3+ "creatively returning a piece" in Vlastous - Kombe, internet, 2017, (1-0, 22); and
8...Nc6 "cold-blooded, but playable" in Fejfar,V - Vins, corr Czech Republic, 2015, (1-0, 23).
9.Qh3+ Ke7 10.fxe5 Qxe5 11.Qf3 Qf6
A common criticism of the Jerome Gambit is that White moves his Queen too early and too often. So far in this game, however, Black has kept pace with White.
Vlastous 2344 -Daboa 1799, Chessmaniac.com, 2016, (1-0, 42) saw the alternative, 11...Nf6.
12.Qe2 Qa6
You can almost hear Black sigh "Enough, already!". The threat to exchange Queens is easily parried, though, and Her Majesty soon finds that she needs to get back in the fray.
13.d3 Ke8 14.Nc3 Ne7 15.Nd5 Qc6
To protect against the threatened Knight fork at c7.
Black's best defense was 15...Kd8, when a typical messy game can continue with 16.Bg5 c6 17.b4 cxd5 18.bxc5 dxe4 19.Rf7 Re8 20.Qxe4 Qe6 21.Qxe6 dxe6 22.Rxh7 when White clearly has compensation for his sacrificed material, although the game is about even. (Who is more comfortable, though?)
16.Qf3 Nxd5
Opening the e-file with the enemy Queen facing the King is pretty risky, but the best move, 16...Nf5, still loses. (And it turns out that White doesn't need the e-file after all.)
17.Qf7+ Kd8 18.Bg5+ Be7
Black does not want to give up his Queen with 18...Qf6.
White decides to give up his.
19.Qf8+ Rxf8 20.Rxf8 checkmate
Very nice.
My historical discoveries continue...
From the Western Mail, Thursday, March 31, 1932 (page 12) chess column, noting
THE JEROME GAMBIT.A good specimen of the little-known Jerome Gambit, played at Norwich.
[Move notation changed to algebraic; notes remain in the article's descriptive format; diagrams added - Rick]
Temple, W. - Thornton, F.
Norwich, 1932
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
Black could interpose Kt when White would ch at Q 5 and then take B. This gambit is, of course, unsound, but productive of brilliant play against a weaker opponent.
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6
Best.
9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 c6
Weak. Kt to KB3 was the proper move.
11.d3
White finishes prettily.
11...g5 12.c3 Qf6 13.Qg3+ Ke6 14.Rf1 Qe5 15.Qg4+ Ke7 16.Bxg5+ Ke8 17.Qh5 checkmate
[A couple of additions:
The game begins the same as Jerome - Shinkman, Iowa, 1874, (0-1, 21), according to the July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal (the earliest example that I have of Jerome playing his gambit) although in that earlier game Black varied with 10...Nf6.
The Temple - Thornton game had been anticipated. The Chess Player's Chronicle of November 10, 1886 (p. 116) quoting from the "Leeds Mercury", gave identical moves, noting
A brilliant specimen of the Jerome Gambit, played on the 16th September 1886, between Messrs J Keeble and J W Cubitt, two strong amateurs of Norwich.
"All is new that has been forgotten."]
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
I was surprised to find only 13 games in The Database with this move, with White scoring only 46%. (Still, that is a bit of a step up from the 42% score for White after his 7th move.)
9...Kf7
Also seen: 9...Nh5 in Wall,B - Ahmadi,S, Chess.com, 2010 (0-1, 59) and 9...Ng4 in perrypawnpusher - klixar, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33).
10.O-O Re8
Black has also done well with 10...Rf8 as in perrypawnpusher - truuf, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 32) and Wall,B - Guest874250, PlayChess.com, 2014 (0-1, 32).
11.d3 Kg8
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
Again.
30.Qe1 Nc5 White resigned
Ouch.
When I mentioned the video "Is Jerome Gambit Sound?" April 5, a few posts ago, I neglected to list the three other Jerome Gambit videos that Mato Jelic had posted earlier at YouTube.
They were pointed out to me by Roland Kensdale at the English Chess Forum.
"Must See Jerome Gambit" concerns the game "NN vs Blackburne, England, 1880" - the best-known and most exciting Jerome Gambit. (As we have only very recently learned, the year was more likely 1884).
Check out also "The Birth of Jerome Gambit", focused on "Alonzo Wheeler Jerome vs William A Shinkman, correspondence 1874". This is the earliest game that I have a score of, although Jerome, himself, said he first played his gambit against G.J. Dougherty.
The "Practical Application of Jerome Gambit" features the game "Bill Wall vs Itboss , Online, 2016"
All of Mato Jelic's videos are great fun and well worth viewing.
The following game, the latest from chessfriend Vlasta, shows White "getting away with" the kind of behavior that usually dooms the acceptor of gambit material, let alone the donor.
I can well imagine his online opponent yelling at the computer screen "He can't do that! Can he???"
Vlastous - cesarotiz
internet, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.d3
The main alternative is 7.0-0, going back to Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1/2-1/2, 29). Another early alternative was 7.c3 in Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd match, Mexico, 1876 (1-0, 43).
7...Qf6 8.O-O Nh6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Qe1 Kf7 11.d4 Bb6 12.f3 Bd7
White has an impressive pawn center, but he is behind in development - dangerous for a gambiteer.
13.a4 a6 14.Qg3 Rhf8 15.a5 Ba7 16.Qxc7 Rae8
Black can hardly believe his luck: his opponent's Queen is pawn-grabbing! So the "defender" develops his last piece and expects to take over the game. After all, he has an "extra" piece he can afford to give back, right?
17.Qxb7 Bb8 18.Qxa6 Kg8 19.Nd2 Qh4
This looks scary for the first player, but the computer already says he is better. Vlasta knows what he is doing.
20.e5 Rf7 21.Ne4 Rf5 22.Qb6
Because the solution to being behind in development is - a passed pawn?! Amazing!
22...Ref8 23.Rf2 Rh5 24.g3 Qe7 25.a6 Bf5 26.a7 Bc7 27.Qxc6
Black resigned
White is the exchange and 5 pawns (4 of them connected and passed!) better.
Bill Wall recently sent me a few more of his Jerome Gambits. As he said, some are good, some are bad. None are quite as outrageous as the following.
Wall, Bill - Neilson, Criag
Florida, USA, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
This appears to be an over-the-board game, which already makes it very interesting.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+
Interesting. Bill moves away from his favorite 6.d4.
6...g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qxh8
Wow! Into the mouth of the beast!
One of the many reasons the Jerome Gambit is considered "unplayable" is Whistler's Defense (7...Qe7!). The Rook is supposed to be untouchable.
Not for Bill Wall. "Danger" is his midde name. He considers things like the Pamplona bull run to be a casual stroll down some interesting avenues.
8...Qxe4+
After 8...Qf6 the game did not last long: 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Sepoli, Chess.com, 2010.
9.Kf1
The alternative, 9.Kd1, was seen in Jerome,A-Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15) - but also in Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 14).
9...Nf6 10.d3 Qd4
This looks like an improvement over 10...Qf5 in Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876 (1/2-1/2, 20).
11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Bxc5 Qxa1
It looks like things will come down to which King is the most vulnerable.
13.Qf8+ Ke6 14.Qe7+ Kf5 15.Ke2 Qe5+ 16.Qxe5+ Kxe5
Very interesting. Is Black for choice because his King is better developed? Or will the blocked-in-light-squared-Bishop-blocking-the-Rook theme give White an edge?
17.Re1 d6 18.Kf3+ Kf5 19.Bd4 Kg5
A dangerous slip.
20.h4+ Kf5 21.Re7 Nd5
Overlooking...
22.g4 checkmate
After all is said and done, in the Jerome Gambit White wants to attack and checkmate Black's King. Sometimes that is goal enough.
Wall, Bill - Smith, James
lichess.org, 2017
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
There is also the historical Jerome, A - Shinkman, W, Iowa, 1876: 9.f4 c5 10.Qc3 Neg4 11.Nd2 b5 12.h3 h5 13.e5 b4 14.Qf3 Ba6 15.exf6 Bxf1 16.Qb7+ Kxf6 17.Ne4+ Kg6 18.f5+ Kxf5 19.hxg4+ Kg6 20.Qd5 Qd7 21.Qg5+ Kf7 22.gxh5 Bc4 23.b3 Be6 24.Bb2 Rag8 25.Rd1 d5 26.Be5 Rf8 27.Rf1+ Kg8 28.Nf6+ Rxf6 29.Bxf6 Rh6 30.Rf4 a5 31.Be5 c4 32.bxc4 dxc4 33.Bd4 a4 34.Re4 b3 35.cxb3 cxb3 36.a3 Qf7 37.g4 Qc7 38.Be5 b2 39.Bxb2
Qg3+ 40.Kf1 Qf3+ 41.Kg1 Qg3+ 42.Kf1 drawn.
9...Re8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5
Bill has also seen:
11...c5 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Rad1 Nc4 14.Qc1 Qb6 15.b3 Ne5 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.f4 Ng4 18.f5 c4+ 19.Kh1 Nf2+ 20.Rxf2 Qxf2 21.fxe6+ Rxe6 22.Rf1 Qd4 23.Qxh6 Qxc3 24.Qh7+ Ke8 25.Qg8+ Kd7 26.Qxa8 cxb3 27.Qxb7+ Qc7 28.Qxc7+ Kxc7 29.cxb3 Rxe4 30.Kg1 Re6 31.h4 d5 32.h5 Kd6 33.g4 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Rc1 Re7 36.Kf3 d4 37.Rc6 Rd7 38.Ke2 d3+ 39.Kd2 Rd4 40.Rc7+ Kg8 41.Rxa7 Rxg4 42.Kxd3 Rh4 43.a4 Rxh5 44.a5 Rb5 45.Kc4 Rb8 46.a6 f5 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.a7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5111265, PlayChess.com, 2014; and
11...Be6 12.f4 c5 13.Qa4 Ng6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15. f5 b5 16.Qxb5 Bd7 17.fxg6+ Kxg6 18.Qd3 Kg7 19.Qxd6 Rc8 20.Rad1 Rc7 21.Qg3+ Kh7 22.Nd5 Rc6 23.Nxf6+ Rxf6 24.Rxf6 Qxf6 25.Rxd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com, 2014.
12.Bg3 c5 13.Qd2 Be6 14.f4
14...Nc4 15.Qe2 gxf4 16.Rxf4 d5 17.Bh4 dxe4 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Qg6+ Kf8 20.Rxf6+ Black resigned
