Recently I received the following Jerome Gambit game. At first, I did not know what to make of it.
Anonymous - Anonymous
5 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Nf6 9.Qxd8 White won
That was kind of strange... Except, a couple of days later, the same line played out in another game, a 3 0 blitz, although the defender struggled on for a dozen more moves before resigning.
How to explain Black's 8th move? A weak chess player? A hurried-by-the clock chess player? A scared-by-the-Jerome-Gambit chess player? An overconfident-and-therefore-inattentive chess player?
I finally decided that I had been onto something when I wrote "Half a defense is worse than none at all..." a decade ago.
My guess is that 7 out of 10 players who have ever heard of the Jerome Gambit had been exposed to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4#
What if the defenders in both recent games remembered only a part of Blackburne's defense, or remembered it incompletely?
"Hmm... silly Jerome Gambit... accept the sacrificed Bishop... accept the sacrificed Knight... give back a Rook... trap the enemy Queen with my Kight - No, wait, I was supposed to play 8...Qh4 first!!"
I found an earlier game with even more pain.
KONB - elmflare
standard, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6
This time the Queen is trapped, but take note of White's next move. Meanwhile, Black repeats Blackburne's killer attack on the King, including sacrificing another Rook, and his Queen.
10.Nc3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4+ 15.Nxe4 Black resigned
White's Knight on c3 - instead of a pawn, as the Amateur played against Blackburne - ruined Black's fireworks display.
So, is 10.Nc3 White's way out of his Blackburne nightmare?
Actually, a game played at the end of May of this year said: No!
flash_ahaaa - thefinalzugzwang
2 1 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3
10...Bh3 11.Qxa8
Best might have been 11.Qxf6+ Kxf6 12.gxh3 Qxh3, with a Rook, a Knight and a pawn for his Queen, although Black would still be better.
11...Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 White resigned
Surprisingly enough, Grandmaster Larry Evans had discussed this line in his Chess Catechism (1970). He gave 10...Bh3 a "!". In discussion on this blog, "GM Larry Evans and the Jerome Gambit", Bill Wall pointed out 10...Ng4, that elmflare played, above.
(Is 10.Qd8!? the real solution to White's trapped Queen? That's a long story, and one that will have to wait for another day.)
I just received an interesting email from Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Gemeinde member Bill Wall. Below is his discovery, with some notes that he has added (in blue). I've added a few things (in red) as well.
Rick,
I just noticed a Jerome Gambit in Chess Catechism by Larry Evans. I had not seen it before or paid attention. On page 42-43, he writes:
3. Trying for a First-Round Knockout
Where angels fear to tread, the slugger rushes in. He is "head-hunting" from the sound of the gong. Pawns, pieces, material – they are so much clutter! He throws everything at you – one sacrifice after another – often without follow-up. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
The important thing to remember is that a premature attack must fail against proper defense. A rather crude example:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5
So far, so good. Both sides have developed their pieces toward the center with economy. But now, for some reason, the slugger feels that he "has something" in the position and decides to sacrifice.
4. Bxf7+!?
4...Kxf7
White keeps punching.
5.Nxe5+!? Nxe5 6.Qh5+
Now we see White's "idea." He figures that, on 6...Ng6 7.Qxc5, he regains one piece and, even though he is still a Knight down, has two Pawns for it, with the semblance of an attack. Then, again, Black might always stumble into 6...Kf6?? 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5, regaining all the loot plus two Pawns. But no such luck!
6...g6! 7.Qxe5 d6!
Black sacrifices his Rook and lures his hunter on to destruction.
8.Qxh8 Qh4! 9 O-O
Now White looks safe enough.
9...Nf6!
White's Queen may as well be behind bars now.
10.Nc3 Bh3! 11.Qxa8 Qg4 12.g3 Qf3
White resigns; he cannot avert mate. His "attack" has boomeranged.
Well, here are my comments.
If 6...Ng6, 7.Qd5+ seems stronger than 7.Qxc5.
6...g6 may not be the best move. 6...Ke6 seems stronger, or even 6...Kf8.
Evans gives 6...Kf6 two question marks, but that may be too much. Black may be able to hold in some variations after 6...Kf6 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 (or 8...Kf8) 9.Qxc5 Nf6, with some advantage to White, but not an overwhelming advantage.
Evans gives 7...d6 an exclamation point. But 7...Qe7 seems stronger for Black.
Evans says that after 9...Nf6! "White's Queen may as well be behind bars now." Well, White can escape with advantage after 10.Qd8, since 10...Bh3? allows 11.Qxc7+ and Qxb7, and White is probably winning.
After 9...Nf6 10.Nc3? Black has a stronger move than 10...Bh3. He can play 10...Ng4!, threatening 11...Qxh2 mate. If 11.h3, then 11...Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5! 13.Qxa8 Qg3! 14.hxg4 Qh4 mate.
In Evan's analysis, after 10...Bh3, 11.Qxa8?? does lose, but White can offer more resistance with 11.Qxf6+ Kxf6 12.gxh3 Qxh3 13.d3 or 13.Nd5+ perhaps.
Bill
Both Evans and Wall pay homage to the notorious Jerome Gambit game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate.
Evans' 10.Nc3? (instead of the 10.c3 played against Blackburne) is a curious move, showing up only once in the 24,500-game collection The Database – and White won when Black misplayed Blackburne's "mating attack": 10.Nc3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4+ 15.Nxe4 Black resigned, KONB - elmflare, standard, FICS, 2011.
Rick
The Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6, is probably the best known of the Jerome Gambit refutations, considered to be either winning for Black, better for White, or leading to a drawn game, depending upon your resource.
It was showcased in the most widely-known Jerome Gambit game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 (see "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!", "Mars Attacks!" and "One More Time"), which featured a scintillating attack by Black(burne), topped off by a Queen sacrifice and a jaunty checkmate.
The opportunity to pull off The Black Death's coup de grâce is an irresistible attraction...
KONB - elmflare
standard game, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
Here we go! Black offers to return material. White can take the Rook if he knows how to defend and counter-attack. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn't...
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6
[Sound of a door slamming shut on the White Queen...]
10.Nc3
Amateur - Blackburne, London 1885 continued with the similarly ineffective 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 mate.
analysis diagram
The escape hatch for White is 10.Qd8.
Now Black pours it on.
10...Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8
Here, take the other Rook, too!
13...Qxh3+
And now... Wait, wait a minute – there's a fly in the ointment here...
14.gxh3 Bxe4+ 15.Nxe4
Oh, yeah, that's right, White played 10.Nc3, not 10.c3. It makes a difference.
Black resigned.
I'm sure he immediately saw that 13...Qg3 would have forced checkmate.
