Jerome Gambit Secrets #8

?!?!?

I'll admit that sometimes when I examine "secrets" in the Jerome Gambit - recommended moves that have not, or have barely, seen the light of day, or lines that are obscure - it can seem as if things remain concealed, even after my work. Consider the following.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

Black messes with White's plans by bringing his King to safety, instead of taking a second piece. The Database has 212 games with this position, and White scores 54%. Stockfish 9 sees Black as less than a pawn ahead (depth of search 32 ply).

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.O-O Bd6 

Black clearly has aggressive intentions, as he points his dark-squared Bishop toward the enemy Kingside.

I was surprised to find only 2 games in The Database with this move, one being perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18).

By the way, Stockfish 9's suggested line of play, after a long "thought", instead of the text, is 7...g6 8.d3 Kg7. Recommending simply castling-by-hand in such a fluid position is not a lot of guidance for Black, and certainly should be encouraging for White. 

8.f4

One finesse in the Jerome Gambit that can often test the first player is which pawn to move first, the f-pawn or the d-pawn?

I am pleased to see that jfhumphrey chose the more accurate 8.d4 in his FICS blitz game again kirtz in 2012: 8.d4 Be6 9.e5 Be7 10.f4 Ke8?! 11.f5 Bd5 12.Qh5+ Bf7 13.Qg4 h5 14.Qxg7 Rh6? 15.Bxh6 Black resigned

Of course, I chose the text.

It is maddening to see that if you give Stockfish 9 a lot of time to think - 49 ply! - it suggests 8.d4 for White, and then 8...g6 (blah) for Black.

Certainly a human player is more likely to answer 8.d4 with 8...Qh5!? White should continue with 9.f4, taking advantage of the chance to form a "Jerome pawn" center. He can then counter 9...c5 with 10.c3 and then answer 10...c6 with 11.Qd3. After that, the computer likes 11...Bc7 12.Nd2 Nf6 13.e5 Nd5 14.f5 cxd4 15.cxd4

analysis diagram




White's "Jerome pawns" are on the march and are holding Black's two Bishops in check, at least for now. When White plays Nf3, it will challenge the placement of Black's Queen, after all. The position is dynamically equal.

So, of course, the computer recommends 15...Nb4 16.Qc4 Nd5 17.Qd3 Nb4, etc. with a draw by repetition of position. 

By the way, my game continued

8...g6

Okay, maybe there is something to that move.

9.d4 Bd7

Stockfish 9 prefers 9...Kg7 10.Nc3 Qh4 11.Qd3 Nh6 12.h3 Bd7 with an even game. Much of that should look familiar by now.

10.Nc3

Also playable are 10.e5 and 10.Be3, although I kind of like 10.c4!? - although it might be too much of a good thing.

The game finished up with: 10...Nh6 11.f5 Qh4 12.e5 Nxf5 13.exd6 cxd6 14.g4 Re8 15.gxf5 Bxf5 16.Qf3 Qxd4+ 17.Kh1 Kg7 18.Qf2 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Building Anxiety

Here is another interesting and educational Jerome Gambit game from Vlasta Fejfar.

The game might as well be titled "What shall we worry about today?" as the little things seem to build up for Black, and he suddenly turns over the game.

vlastous - Makaviel , Sandro
Internet, 2017 

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+

The "nudge". I am not sure that it is necessary, or leads to anything more than the direct capture 7.Qxc5 does, but, in my experience it can get Black to take some time worrying "What is he doing?"

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 

So - what is going on here?

White has sacrificed a piece for two pawns, and has already moved his Queen three times. He needs development while taking advantage of Her Majesty's options.

Black is ahead in material and development, but his King is stuck in the middle of the board, at least for now. He needs to design a route to safety, when he can then use his advantages.

9.O-O b6 

This is a reasonable move, opening up the a8-h1 diagonal for his Bishop - or, as in the game, the a6-f1 diagonal. 

Also possible are 9...d6 and 9...Rf8. There are game examples in The Database.

10.Qc3 

A small improvement over the retreat 10.Qe3, which I have used in a couple of wins: perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 59) and perrypawnpusher - jdvatty, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0. 28).

From c3 the Queen threatens Black's g-pawn, which is probably enough to cause the defender some anxiety, although in the long run it is probably risky for White to play Qxg7 as long as Black is able to play ...Rg8, with dangerous pressure on the file against White's King.

10...Ba6

Black chooses a different development, attacking White's Rook at f1. Is he worried about the partially open f-file his King will have to cross in order to castle-by-hand? Possibly.

11.d3 Kf7 

Guarding the attacked g-pawn and seeking safety. 
12.f4 Rf8 

Black's move is all part of his plan, but he would have been more prudent to play 12...d6, as will immediately be seen.

13.f5 

Awkward. Where is Black's Knight to go? It turns out that White's Queen was also attacking the e5 square.

13...Nh4 

Uncomfortable. Unsafe.

Instead, Black could try 13...Nh8, but 14.f6!? would be a troubling answer, winning the Knight on e7.

Stockfish 8 suggests the pragmatic return of the piece with 13...Kg8 14.fxg6 Rxf1+ 15.Kxf1 Nxg6 which Black probably saw, but which he hoped to avoid.

14.Bg5 c5 

I don't understand this move. Perhaps it is played to prevent a possible d3-d4 by White? Possibly better was getting a pawn for the piece with 14...Nxg2.

15.Bxh4 Kg8

Well, it looks like Black's King has finally found sactuary.

Not so! says White.

16.f6 

This breakthrough works, even with White not fully developed.

16...gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rf7 

18.Nd2 Qf8 19.Rf3 Nc6 

Black's two developed minor pieces on the Queenside are out of the action and largely irrelevant.

White now has a brutal attack on the g-file. 

20.Rg3+ Rg7 21.Rxg7+ Black resigned

Black will have to give up his Queen (and eventually his Rook, too) in order to avoid checkmate. 

The Pawns! The Pawns!

I smiled as I played over this game, and I have to admit to imagining hearing violin music in the background - the kind in the movies that is used to heighten the tension, bit-by-bit... Or - was that the music from "Jaws"?

Or, as Tattoo might have said, "The pawns! The pawns!"

Very funny how the pawns advance to the center - and just sit there. Black does not believe in them, he takes swipes at them, he even thinks at the end that they have abandoned their Knight - but he can't keep his eyes off of them.

Neither could I.

Fun game, killer ending.

Nice game, Mr. Roarke.

(Or should I have said "I think we're going to need a bigger chess board"?)

Wall,B - Guest348906
PlayChess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 9.0-0

Bill has also played 9.Nc3, e.g. 9...b6 10.Qh5 d6 11.f4 Kd7 12.f5 Nf8 13.Qg4 Kc6 14.Qxg7 Nd7 15.f6 Qg8 16.0-0 Qxg7 17.fxg7 Rg8 18.Rf7 Ng6 19.Nd5 Re8 20.d4 Ba6 21.Nb4+ Kb5 22.Bd2 Re7 23.b3 Nc5 24.c4+ Ka5 25.Nd5 checkmate, Wall,B - Andr,T, Chess.com, 2010.

9...Rf8 

This looks like a TN, preparing to castle-by-hand.

Previously: 9...d6, as in perrypawnpusher - nmuffjgp, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23); and 9...b6 as in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 59) and perrypawnpusher - jdvatty, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28). 

10.d4 Kf7 11.f4 Kg8

The position is just about even.

12.g4 

A bit more prudent would have been 12.f5.

12...d6 

Black would have done better striking at the center, suggests Houdini 3: 12...d5 13.f5 b6 14.Qc3 dxe4 15.fxg6 Rxf1+ 16.Kxf1 Nxg6. 

13.Qh5 Qd7 

Targetting the pawns. Bill suggests instead 13...Nc6 14.Be3 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Nxf4. 

14.f5 Nh8 15.c4 Rf6 16.Nc3 Nc6 17.Nd5  Rf8 18.Be3

Mesmerising, aren't they?

18...Na5 19. b3 c6 20.Nc3 d5

This move does not stem the tide of pawns.

21.cxd5 cxd5 22.Nxd5 Re8 23.e5

A little bait, that Black goes for.

23...Qxd5 24.Qxe8 checkmate

Upon Reflection

Every once-in-a-while I get the sense that I am learning from my mistakes and using in later games what I learned from earlier games. Upon reflection, this gives me a small sense of accomplishment.

perrypawnpusher - smarlny
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

Black is content with the material advantage that he has, and backs his King away from danger. Let White do what he will!

I am always tempted now to play 6.Qh5, the Banks Variation (after Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks) but I am still uncertain how to best meet 6...Qe7.

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.0-0 Ne7

The alternative, 7...Nf6, is as old as Jerome,A - Brownson,O, Iowa, 1875 (½-½, 29).

7...Bd6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18) and 7...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 74).

8.d3

After the game Rybka 3 pointed out that here White can already "punish" his opponent for his inaccurate 7th move by playing for a draw with 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.Qf3+ Kg8 11.Qb3+, etc.

As if.

8...Ng6 9.Be3 Bd6

Not wanting to open the f-file for White's Rook with 9...Bxe3, Black positions the Bishop on the attacking diagonal b8-h7.

The piece continues to shuffle from square to square, however, and I wonder if, upon reflection, my opponent would have preferred to simply have exchanged it.

10.f4 Qh4 11.Nd2 Kf7

To castle-by-hand, but, somehow, this never happens.

12.Nf3 Qe7 13.e5 Bc5 14.d4 Bb6

15.Qd3

Preparing f4-f5, but the move was playable immediately, thanks to a tactical trick that would not have been too hard to find, if I had looked for it: 15.f5 Bxf5 16.Ng5+ followed by 17.Rxf5.

15...h6

Obviously my opponent saw the Knight check from g5. This gives the "Jerome pawns" time to rumble, however.

16.f5 Nf8

This game was beginning to feel like my game against irak: comparing White's Rooks (linked) and Black's Rooks (on their home squares, two pieces between them), there has to be an attack coming.

17.f6 gxf6 18.exf6 Qe6

Taking the pawn on f6 would have been deadly, but the danger remains.

19.Rae1 Qd5 20.Ne5+ Ke8 21.c4 Qa5

White now has a number of ways to win. The flashiest would be to sacrifice two pieces with 22.f7+ Kd8 23.Bg5+ hxg5 24.Nxc6+ bxc6 25.Qe3 and mate is inescapable.

I found something simpler.

22.Bd2 Qxa2 23.Ng6+

I thought that the loss of a Rook would prompt my opponent to resign, so I looked no further, missing all of the fun that could happen after 23.f7+.

23...Kd8 24.Nxh8 Qxb2 25.Nf7+ Black resigned

Battle Again

My introduction to MRBarupal was rather ubrupt: he beat my Jerome Gambit three straight times.

Since then we had met once more, and I had scored my first win.

Today's game is my second.

perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

This is Sorensen's Variation, a solid defense and a change from the games MRBarupal and I had previously played, all of which had continued 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3.

6.Nxc6 dxc6

I was surprised to see that Rybka 3 prefer 6...bxc6 by the tiniest bit, even though it allows 7.d4. Alonzo Wheeler Jerome is on record as preferring 6...dxc6.

7.d3

7.0-0 as in Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, USA, 1875 (1/2-1/2, 29) is probably more accurate, as it is clear that White will be castling Kingside, but it is not totally clear (depending on Black's development) that the first player has to completely forego d2-d4.

That said, after 7.0-0 Nf6 White may respond with 8.d3 (better than 8.e5 of Norton - Hallock, corr 1877), which would simply be a transposition to this game.

7...Nf6

I have had mixed success against 7...Qf6: perrypawnpusher - fortytwooz, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29); perrypawnpusher - Lark, FICS, 2011, (1-0, 12); and perrypawnpusher - Jore, FICS, 2011, (0-1, 16).

8.0-0 Bg4

A slower game came about after 8...h6 9.Be3 Qe7 10.d4 Bb6 11.f3 Kg8 12.Nc3 Kh7 13.Qd3 g6 in perrypawnpusher - vladchess, blitz, FICS, 2011, (½-½, 46).

9.Qe1

Black's Bishops are really annoying! It was beginning to feel like my "nemesis" was taking over the game again.

9...Qe8

Instead, 9...Qe7 was seen in Lowe - Parker, corr, 1879 (1-0, 37)

10.Be3 Bd6

10...Qe7 and 10...Bb6 are slightly better alternatives, mostly because they prove to be less complicated than the text.

11.f4 Nh5

Instead, after the game Rybka 3 suggested that it was time to return the piece for three pawns: 11...Nxe4 12.dxe4 Qxe4 13.Nc3 Qxc2

analysis diagram









Here Black is a pawn up, but the uncertain placement of his King and the open lines against it give White sufficient counterplay to call the game even.

The text allows White's "Jerome pawns" to advance with malice.

12.e5 Be7 13.f5

Black resigned

I admit that I was a bit surprised at my opponent's decision, as in the past he had shown some strong tactical chops in messy situations.

It is true that after 13...Qf7 14.Nd2 Bxf5 15.g4 g6 16.gxf5 gxf5 material is even and Black's f-pawn is hanging, but after 17.Qf2 Rg8+ 18.Kh1 Qd5+ 19.Ne4 Ng7 it still has not fallen and after 20.Qg3 Ke8 21.c4 Qf7 22.Bh6 Ne6 23.Rxf5 Rxg3 24.Rxf7 Kxf7 25.hxg3 Rd8 it doesn't look like the extra pawn for White will account for much, at least according to Rybka 3 and Fritz 8.

Perhaps events off of the chess board accounted for his need to leave.

No Way to Make A Living

Using my "extra" pawns to chase down a draw or a win against Black's extra piece in the Jerome Gambit can sometimes be an exhausting task. "That's no way to make a living," as they say. Even if your opponent slips at the end...

perrypawnpusher  - vladchess
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

One way to change the flow of the game and try to keep his King out of trouble.

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.O-O

I've had success after 7.d3 Qf6 8.O-O in two games in which I reversed my 7th and 8th moves:  perrypawnpusher - fortytwooz, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29) and perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 12).

7...Nf6

Also seen: 7... Bd6 perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18) and 7... Be6, perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 74).

8.d3 h6

8...Bg4 was seen in Lowe - Parker, corr, 1879, (1-0, 37)

9.Be3 Qe7

Exchanging Bishops was also okay.

10.d4 Bb6 11.f3 Kg8

Computers like Rybka tend to like solid pawn centers like the one White has and rate it accordingly, but there is a lot to do to get "something" out of the position for White.

12.Nc3

Moving another pawn with 12.c4 might have been better, at least according to Houdini 1.5a.

12... Kh7

The cute 12...Nd5 (note the pin on the e-pawn) was a bit better.

13. Qd3 g6 14.f4

Instead, Houdini prefers 14.Na4 Ba5 15.c4 b6 16.a3 c5 17.dxc5 Rd8 18.Qc2 bxc5 19.Bxc5 Bb6 20.Qf2 Qe8 21.Nxb6 axb6 22. Be3 Qe7 23.Rfd1 Be6 24.Qc2 Nd7 25.Qc3 Qg7 26.Bd4 Qf7 when Black's advantage is minimal.

Okay, if you say so... (The next book that I review for Chessville will be a strategy book!)

14...Rg8 15.Rae1 Ng4 16.h3 Nxe3 17.Qxe3 c5 18.Nd5 Qd6 19.Nxb6 axb6

20.dxc5 bxc5 21.Rd1 Qb6 22.Qb3 Be6 23.Qxb6 cxb6

If there was a thread in this game, I've probably lost it...

My only chance is to activate my Rooks.

24.a3 c4 25.Rd6 Bc8 26.Rxb6 Re8 27.e5 c3 28.bxc3 Rxa3 29.Rb3 Ra2 30.Rf2 Re7 31.Rd2 Rf7

32.g3

Simply overlooking the loss of a pawn.

32...Bxh3 33.Rb5 Re7 34.Kf2 Bf5 35.Kf3 h5 36.Rbd5 Ra3

Black is still better, but 36...Rc7 here would have been stronger.

Time was getting short for both of us. My plan was to continue to harass Black until one of us blundered.

37.Rc5 b6 38.Rc6 Rb7 39.Kf2 b5 40.e6  Re7 41.Rd7

Going for the swindle.

41...Rxd7 42.exd7 Bxd7

Simply 42... Ra8 was Game Over.

43.Rc7 Kh6 44.Rxd7 Rxc3 45.Rd2 b4 46.Kg2 draw.

This game reminds me of the saying about airplane landings: any one that you can walk away from is a good one...

I didn't do anything...

In the following encounter, things were developing like they had in several of our previous games, and then...

Really, I didn't do anything.

 perrypawnpusher - Lark
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

A couple of earlier conflicts continued 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 (6...Kf8  perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz FICS, 2009 [1-0, 30])  perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 59)

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.d3

Or 7.0-0 (first seen in Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, USA, 1875, [1/2-1/2, 29] 7...Bd6 (7...Be6 8.Qf3+ Qf6 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 as in perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 [0-1, 74]) 8.f4 g6 9.d4 Bd7 as in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18)

7...Qf6 8.0-0 Bd7

Or 8...Qg6 9.Kh1 Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.f4 Bd7 as in perrypawnpusher - fortytwooz, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29).

9.Be3

I really do not like making this kind of move. For starters, I much prefer lines where Black's dark-squared Bishop gets removed by the Queen, earlier – so that I can play f2-f4 as soon as possible. Also, here, if Bishops are exchanged, my broad pawn center gets compressed a bit.

On the other hand, 9.Be3 superficially looks like it un-defends the b2-square, making the pawn sitting there appear to be vulnerable to Black's Queen on f6...

9...Bxe3

Not such a good idea. The Bishop should retreat to e7 and retain Black's advantage.

10.fxe3

10...Qxf1+ 11.Qxf1+ Nf6 12.e5 Black resigned