Is there a book in all of this??

In June this blog will mark 2 years of daily posts on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and openings like the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+), the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.various Bc5 5.Bxf7+) and the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+).

Friends and readers have asked me if I am planning to write a book on the Jerome Gambit.

My answer is that I would love to, but not right now.

For starters, I like the blog format. It keeps me regularly in touch with the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde and chessplayers around the world. It has a flexibility that fits my time and temperment.

Also, I would like to be certain that if FIDE Master Stefan Bücker decides to publish my Jerome Gambit article in his fantastic magazine, Kaissiber, that it contains my best efforts, bar none.

However, if I ever do write a book on the Jerome Gambit, I know exactly what I will call it: Playing and (Sometimes) Winning with the Worst Chess Opening in the World!






graphic by Jeff Bucchino, The Wizard of Draws

Alekhine - Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925

When International Master Gary Lane wrote about the Marshall Defense to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6) in his March 2010 column at Chess Cafe, I decided to send him an English language version of the article that I had written on the defense, as highlighted in the game Alekhine - Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925, that was published in Kaissiber #27.

The article is now available in the "Skittles Room" at Chess Cafe. 

Kaissiber!

Regular readers of this blog know that I think very highly of FIDE Master Stefan Bücker's magazine, Kaissiber. If you know any German at all, or if you are interested in playing over the games and the analysis and working to decode the comments with a German/English dictionary – the amount of quality information, especially on unorthodox chess openings, is very impressive.

Kaissiber #37 is due out at the end of March. Word is that it will have a significant article on the Sicilian Wing Gambit, 1.e4 c5 2.b4!?

Also, it again seems somewhat possible that the year 2010 will see a Kaissiber article on the Jerome Gambit. My head is spinning...

Kaissiber #35

Openings

• Maurits Wind: Battle of the Systems: Myers g7-g5 vs Réti
• Lev Gutman: Canal’s 7 Nc3!? in the Two Knights Defense (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 d4 exd4 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 Re1 d5 7 Nc3!?, part II)
• (Readers’ Letters) Nachmanson Gambit in the Two Knights; Queen’s Indian Defense
• Further topics: Center Game (commented game, 6 pp.) 

History

• Bent Larsen: Héctor Rossetto 1922-2009
• Peter Anderberg: Emanuel Lasker in Köln
• Alfred Diel: Theo Schuster

Contents in more detail: Openings

ECO Name
A 04 Réti Opening (h6 & g5)
A 46 Queen’s Pawn Opening
A 98 Dutch Defense
B 03 Alekhine Defense
B 20 Sicilian Defense
B 30 Sicilian Defense
B 46 Sicilian Defense
B 51 Sicilian Defense
B 70 Sicilian Defense
C 20 Thyrow Opening 1 e4 e5 2 Na3
C 22 Center Game
C 31 King’s Gambit
C 46 Three Knights Game
C 56 Two Knights Defense (6 Nc3)
C 56 Two Knights Defense Canal
C 58 Two Knights Defense
C 60 Ruy Lopez
C 68 Ruy Lopez
C 77 Ruy Lopez
C 90 Ruy Lopez
D 04 Queen’s Pawn Opening
D 04 Colle System
D 66 Queen’s Gambit
E 05 Catalan Opening
E 14 Queen’s Indian Defense
E 15 Queen’s Indian Defense
E 21 Nimzo Indian Defense
 
 
Kaissiber #35
 
Openings

• Volker Hergert: From’s Gambit
• Michiel Wind: King’s Bishop Gambit
• In the section “games”: 1 e4 c5 2 Na3, resp. 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 Nf6

History

• Bent Larsen: Fritz Sämisch
• Dieter Mohrlok on Fritz Sämisch
• Peter Anderberg, review: Emanuel Lasker – Denker, Weltenbürger, Schachweltmeister
• Interview: Hübner on Emanuel Lasker
• Peter Anderberg: Alfred Hrdlicka
• Peter Anderberg: Warsaw 1943 (a forgotten match game Bogolyubov – Alekhine and much more)
• Alfred Diel: Salo Flohr
• Adrian Harvey: Early British chess columns and magazines and how they created a “global village of chess”

Contents in more detail: Openings
ECO Name
A 02 From’s Gambit
B 20 Sicilian Defense 2 Na3
B 73 Sicilian Defense
B 84 Sicilian Defense
C 04 French Defense
C 14 French Defense
C 18 French Defense
C 33 King’s Gambit
C 34 King’s Gambit
C 77 Ruy Lopez
D 23 Queen’s Gambit
D 32 Schara-Hennig Gambit
D 63 Queen’s Gambit
E 01 Catalan Opening
E 47 Nimzo-Indian Defense

Kaissiber #34

Of interest to those who play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and other, more reputable, unorthodox openings: the latest issue of Stefan Bücker's wonderful quarterly chess magazine, Kaissiber #34, is now available.

Inhalt:
04 Leserbriefe
06 Impressum
09 Maurits Wind: Hugh Myers (1930 - 2008)

Eröffnungen
13 Maurits Wind: Mit g5 gegen Englisch/Myers´Verteidigung und Verwandtes
28 Lew Gutman: Esteban Canals Springerzug 7.Sc3 i.d. Preußischen Partie
Königsgambit (5. ... Sf6)

Schachgeschichte
50 Peter Anderberg: Esteban Canal in Leipzig
70 Alfred Diel: Samuel Reshevsky
72 Sie sind am Zuge

73 Partien (Franco - Polnisch)

74 Literatur

81 Lösungen
82 Register

Jerome Gambit Blog: Still More Tidying Up

Time to review, update, and clarify a few more things in this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Bxf7+) blog. For earlier efforts, see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up" and "Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up"

First on my mind is a quote from the second " Tidying Up"

By the way, as for the Kaissiber saga, see

"To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)", "Breaking News..." and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up ". I'm still hopeful.

I'm not hopeful any more. It's unlikely that my history of the Jerome Gambit will appear in the pages of Stefan Bücker's amazing chess magazine, Kaissiber. While the audacity of such an opening appealed to the editor, the story of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation is a history of questionable analysis and even more questionable play. Although Kaissiber does not shy away from creative chess notions, its focus on an accurate assessment of things would require massive corrections and/or footnoting – to start.

For more about the Jerome Gambit game Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.Los Angeles, California, USA 1944, as given in "The Joy of Discovery" Parts I, II, and III, there was a little update in "I love a great used book store". And then the trail went cold, again. (On another hunt, "History Mystery" was fun, though; and I look forward to more discoveries about A F Reed, as first set forth in "A Small Clue to Follow..." and "The Game is Afoot!" )


Unusual as it's supposed to be, the Wikipedia article on the Jerome Gambit continues to contain its link to this blog (see "Hey Wiki, it's me, Ricky!").


While the following remains accurate:

"Is it September already

" requires a number of updates. To date there has been no Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona, as far as I know. I still have an observer near the scene, though I'll have my say about it. One of the main figures in the possible Jerome, Arizona "Jerome Gambit Tournament" is the creator of "The Jerome Gambit is Viable - NOT!" video, which I recomment. (Too, my son Matt, of "Driving Distance" has permanently relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be able to drive up and keep an eye on anything that might occur.)


An update to "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)" would have to include chessfriend Geoff Chandler (of Chandler Cornered) whose contributions here (see "Queened! and Rooked!" "Whodunnit??" and "Blunder Table" ) have been hilarious.

I would also like to add the name of Dr. Paulsen

In light of this it certainly seems reasonable (at least until historical precedents are uncovered) to give 5...Ke7 the title of "Paulsen variation" and award the good doctor (PhD) membership in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (see "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (early)" and "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)") – even though there is one earlier example of the line in my database (presented in an earlier post, as well: see "An Odd Line in an Odd Line")."Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation"

and that of Francesco Recchia, who contributed the very forward-looking "A Kind of Jerome Gambit that Wins".


The possible connection betwen Winston Churchill and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (see "From the Email Bag...") has been traced a bit further, to the U.S. northeast; but has not yet been tied together..


Connections betwen IM Gary Lane and the Jerome Gambit continue. Not only is it true that "A check of the Everyman Chess website shows that Gary Lane's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps is available" further information exists in "Firsts" and "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

The "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser series" Part I, Part II, Part III and PartIV, was, of course, followed by another instructive, exploratory "human vs computers" match involving, "RevvedUp" and a handful of silicon monsters, starting with "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)"

"Doesn't anybody read this blog?", regarding perrypawnpusher - Sgrunterundt, blitz 2 18, FICS, 2008 was a needless lament, being followed by a host of responses: "Back at me", "Hoist by my own petard...", "Where are all these Jeromes coming from?", "Perhaps not every opening should be Jerome-ized...", "Be careful what you wish for...", "If I write all this, and someone reads it...", and "I don't have time for this stuff..."

Readers who were interested in "Hip' Kat" should check out a couple of other hippo sources: hippo_chess@abv.bg and hippo_chess@abv.bg.


Another Pandora's box was opened with "London Calling...Seven Months of Blog"

I also got wondering the other day: is there another totally obscure and disreputable tactical opening line or gambit that I could go digging for information about, while I'm researching the Jerome Gambit??

from which came forth "The next best thing...", "The next worse thing...", "Worth a Second Look (Part 1)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 2)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 3)", "Wild!", "Wilder!", "Wildest!", "And Yet Wilder Still...", "More of The Next Best Thing...", "Busch-Gass Gambit" and "Obscure and Disreputable Enough?"


Alas, I have not yet uncovered "The rest of the story...?" concerning the game Wall - Guest4395, Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone, 2001.


For that matter, in "The Westminster Papers" the refererence to the chess player "H.W.P" of Vermont is also still a mystery to me.

Further chapters of "Jerome Gambit for Dummies (1)" "(2)" "(3)" are being prepared.

I have switched from one version of "Chess Publisher" to another to present the games in posts. The earlier one is responsible for the annoying account messages.

Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up

It's time to do a bit more tidying up (see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up") on the blog – looking back on older posts and updating things since the last effort...

Relationships with the ChessPub.com forum remain cordial, if distant (see "Jerome Gambit: Duck-Billed Platypus of Openings"). I posted a short message there with a link to this blog, and some people have followed it over, placing the site 13th in referrals to jeromegambit.blogspot.com, according to Google Analytics. Of course the actual number is 1/16 th of those who came over from the Something Awful website (see "Something Awful", "Something Awful Again" and "Return to Awful"), just to keep things in perspective.

"Is it September already?" requires a number of updates. To date there has been no Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona, as far as I know. I still have an observer near the scene, though (see "Driving Distance"). Bill Vallicella's very interesting and ever-challenging Maverick Philosopher website has a new location. A review copy of Benjamin Hale's book Philosophy Looks at Chess has arrived, and when I get past my current writer's block (i.e. spending all of my writing time on this blog, instead of writing reviews for Chessville) I'll have my say about it.

An update to "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)" would have to include chessfriend and game-contributor Martin Moller, of Denmark (see "Jerome meets the Elephant", "Jerome Gambit Strikes in Denmark!" and "Deadly Duel in Denmark" ) Unfortunately, the tournament mentioned in "A Jerome Gambit Gemeinde Adventure in Denmark" did not proceed as expected, and it is not likely that we will see further Jerome Gambit games from it.

The possible connection betwen Winston Churchill and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (see "From the Email Bag...") has been traced a bit. Churchill's mother was the American, Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill; 1854-1921). Jennie's father was Leonard Jerome (1818-1891) of New York City fame and fortune. Leonard's father was Isaac Jerome; his grandfather was Aaron Jerome; his great-grandfather was Samuel Jerome. Samuel's father, Timothy Jerome, according to thePeerage, in 1710 "fled from France to England. In 1717 he sailed from the Isle of Wight to settle in Connecticut." Papers from the military records of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (born in Four Mile Point, New York, see "The Man, The Myth, The Legend...") show that upon his death in 1902, his widow, Jennie Jerome (the name is an interesting coincidence) filed for a survivor pension. One affadavit was signed by Edgar Jerome and Martha Millis, listed as brother and sister of Alonzo, living in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Further research, of course, is needed to make any link, such as an Alonzo Wheeler Jerome-linked homestead in Connecticut.

In a comment to "Why not join in the discussion?" Pete Banks wrote the following:

Hi Rick,

I sent my latest escapade to Gary Lane after I sent it to you, as he'd asked for Jerome examples. Here is the relevant part of his reply: 'Did Rick Kennedy ever have his article published in the Germanmagazine he mentioned called Kaissiber? Anyway, you won't be able to use the opening as a surprise weapon for much longer because in November a winning game of yours is mentioned in my book "The Greatest Ever Tricks and Traps in the Opening" published by Everyman. Cheers Gary'

So a Jerome Gambit is to appear in print! Perhaps we'll get a revival going!

A check of the Everyman Chess website shows that Gary Lane's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps is available now. Perhaps it should be included as the next entry in the "Jerome Gambit Scrapbook".

By the way, as for the Kaissiber saga, see "To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)", "Breaking News..." and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up". I'm still hopeful.

Regarding the "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser series" Part I, Part II, Part III and PartIV, I have another instructive, exploratory "human vs computers" match coming up, where the protagonist, "RevvedUp" (a pseudonym of my invention), alternates between playing Black and playing White, using the line played by the computer in the previous game as his choice in the current one – thus extending his Jerome Gambit "book" through the use of the computers' praxis...

Kaissiber!

I've spoken quite positively of Stefan Bücker's awesome quarterly magazine Kaissiber, which focuses on games, analysis and history (see "To Infinity... And Beyond!", "Breaking News...", "My head is spinning" and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up") -- especially unorthodox openings.

Kaissiber 33 is due out today (unless you are a subscriber; in which case you have already received your issue, lucky person) and is well worth tracking down. (Word is that it has some killer King's Gambit analysis...)

If you are interested in collecting back issues of Kaissiber, it is important to know that they are available in bound editions, with the fourth volume due out this coming January (or late December).

Finally, for those of you who have interest in such things, Stefan also has copies for sale of my (with Riley Sheffield; Introduction by Hugh Myers) Marshall Gambit in the French and Sicilian Defenses which focuses upon 1.e4 e6 2.d5 d5 3.Nc3 c5!? and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 d5!? (and which is much, much sounder than the Jerome Gambit!)

Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up

Time to clean up a few things in this blog...

"In The Beginning..." refers to the first appearance in print of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) as being in the Dubuque Chess Journal, April 1874, Vol. VI, No. 50, p. 358-9.

This is a correction to the reference in the Oxford Companion to Chess, Whyld and Hooper, first (1984) and second editions (1992), noting "It appeared first in American Chess Journal, 1876." The authors are correct in that the June, September, November and December issues of the ACJ had Jerome Gambit content -- the Dubuque Chess Journal simply had prior coverage.
I have not been able to find an earlier reference than April 1874.

"To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)" and "Breaking News" indicated that at some time in the future Stefan Bücker's quarterly chess magazine, Kaissiber, would carry my article on the Jerome Gambit. Current speculation is there may be a short article in the October 2008 issue.

In "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!" I mentioned that Blackburne, in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899) referred to the Jerome Gambit as "the Kentucky Opening." I have yet to discover how it is that the British master came up with that name.

"Is This Blog About YOU??" and "You, too, can add to Jerome Gambit theory" both have been well-answered by games from ongoing Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments, and the occasional Comment to this blog or email to its Editor (richardfkennedy@hotmail.com). Of course, fresh games and analysis are always appreciated.

In "The Man, The Myth, The Legend..." I mentioned placing a classified ad with the online Paxton, Illinois (home of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome) website, http://www.paxtonil.com/, seeking information about the originator of the Jerome Gambit. While I have received no reply, and the ad has expired (and no longer appears), I can report that if you have an unwanted Paxtonopoly game, please contact the PRIDE office at 379-3388 or email pride@paxtonil.com.
I am no further enlightened on the things that puzzled me in " 'Tis A Puzzlement..."

After some progress on learning about the Jerome Gambit game Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.Los Angeles, California, USA 1944, as given in "The Joy of Discovery" Parts I, II, and III, the trail has gone cold.

"We are not alone..." heralded HANGING PAWN:: Tip's Chess Blog's coverage of the Jerome Gambit, and the offer therein of not just the computer vs computer Jerome Gambit games where White won (via download), but all of the games (contact the blogmaster). To date I have not received the larger stash.

With Rail2Rail winning his Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at ChessWorld, (see "Rail2Rail by a length" and "Rail2Rail Nails It") I had hoped for an annotated game or two from the winner; but nothing, yet.

"My head is spinning" Truly. Rybka 3.0 – or, in my case, Deep Rybka 3.0 Aquarium – is the real deal. It has got to be the tool for the serious (and very serious) chess player. Like having a "Grandmaster In A Box". A rather intimidating Grandmaster, at times – but: Wow!

After "The Salvio Gambit??" and "The Salvio Gambit?? (More)" I have not heard back from my friends at Chess.com, so I will tentatively suggest that I got my analysis correct.

Having fun with "Jerome Gambit and Vlad Tepes..." and "Jerome Gambit, Vlad Tepes and... Garlic!" I've started a couple of games at GameKnot with he-of-the-garlic, mika76.

As always, I'm "Looking for a few Jerome Gambit games..."
"Hey Wiki, it's me, Ricky!" So far the link to this blog from the Wikipedia article on the Jerome Gambit has been intact - and people are following it. Gotta love that.















Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

My head is spinning

Three reasons why this Jerome Gambiteer has a goofy grin on his face these days:

1) The latest issue of Kaissiber is available.

Contents

Computerschach
Arno Nickel: Freistil

Bent Larsen: Die Meisterzüge

Eröffnungen
Michiel Wind: Vorsicht Skandinavisch
Nachlese: Du Chattels System
Bücker: Am Triumphlager des Königsgambits
Diskussion: Schara-Hennig-Gambit
Gawehns: Owen-Verteidigung II

Schachgeschichte
Peter Anderberg: Sammi Fajarowicz 100
JahreAlfred Diel: Vera Menchik

Literatur


2) Rybka 3.0, with its own graphical interface, is due out in early August.

As they say on the website --

Rybka 3: The World's Strongest Chess Engine

Current Computer Chess World Champion, estimated rating: 3150
* Leads all independent computer chess rating lists

Utilize the full power of Rybka 3 with Aquarium: Designed for Rybka
* A graphical user interface (GUI) designed for Rybka
* Takes full advantage of all Rybka features
* Unprecedented analysis features: Infinite analysis, blunder check, game analysis, interactive deep analysis (IDeA)
* Handicap play (Elo-level 900-3100; material handicaps)
* Fischerandom/Chess960 support
* State of the art chess trees (fast, powerful, compact)
* Engine matches and tournaments
* Rybka 3 UCI includes versions for 32 Bit and 64 Bit processors
* A database with 3,300,000 games
* On-line access to Nalimov endgame tablebases (3-6 pieces)
* UCI Engine for connection to Fritz, ChessBase, etc.
* Chess Internet Resource Server: Weekly updates, exchange data
* Free broadcast and Playing zone


3) There is a new book out with some analysis on the Jerome Gambit... sort of.

It's Laszlo Orban's Schach Eröffnungen Das Königsbauerspiel als Schlüssel zu erfolgreichen Eröffnungssystemen erschienen, published October 2007.

Actually, in honor of Orban's 100th birthday, it's a reprint of his book written decades earlier.

But it does have the Jerome Gambit in it.

Breaking News...

I've mentioned Kaissiber, before.

Truth be told, I'm also partial to the online Chessville Weekly and the Unorthodox Openings Newsletter (both of which I write for) but nothing quite matches the work of International Master Stefan Bücker.



Don't take my word for it, though – check each issue's Table of Contents: http://www.kaissiber.com/html/heftarchiv.html



I'm highlighting Kaissiber #27 here because it contains an article titled "Alexander Alekhine and Marshall’s 1 d4 d5 2 c4 Nf6!?" – by me.

It's not every day that I can brag that I have something published in two different languages that I can't read – German and Italian.




Anyhow, I just had an exchange of emails with Stefan and as a realistic Editor he had some good news (for me) and some more good news (for Kaissiber readers).



He's still interested in publishing an article on the Jerome Gambit, based on all the information I've been sending him. In the fall. In a much more succinct format than what I've written.

To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)

International Master Stefan Bücker's quarterly magazine, Kaissiber, is arguably the second best chess magazine in the world today. (I'll nod in the general direction of New In Chess for top status, but will go no further than that.)

For a combination of games, analysis, art, history, photographs, discovery, creativity and whimsey, Kaissiber is hard to beat. Chess players who can appreciate the now in chess, as well as the then, the why? and the why not? all should become familiar with the 31 issues of this gem of a publication.

Kaissiber's German language and Italian language editions (with English on the horizon) are read the world over

Some time this year, perhaps in the fall issue, Kaissiber will publish an article outlining the history of the Jerome Gambit, based on my researches.