Update: Old Dog Can Still Bite

Most chess players, if they have ever heard of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), know of the game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, where the British master dismantled the opening and then destroyed it with a Queen sacrifice. They have a pretty good assessment of the Blackburne Defense, 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6!?, giving up the Rook to distract, and, eventually trap out of play, White's Queen.

Players more familiar with the Jerome Gambit may have seen analysis that indicates that White, not Black, is better in this line.

Players very familiar with the Jerome Gambit may have seen analysis that indicates Black can draw, or force a draw, in a very, very complicated position.

All of which suggests that White can be happy when facing the Blackburne defense - if he knows what he is doing. Otherwise, that old dog is likely to bite, as in the following game.

burraburra  - rsiemon
blitz, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.g3

White's Queen-escape line is, instead, 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3.

This seems a lot saner than 9.d4, e.g. 9...Nf6 (or 9...Qxe4+) 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.0-0 Be6!? when there is plenty of madness in the position after 13.Nf3 (or 13.Qxa8 Bd5 14.Qc8 Ng4 15.Qxc7+ [15.Nf3 Bxf3 16.Qxc7+ Kg8 17.Qc4+ Kf8 18.Bh6+ Qxh6 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Qc7+ etc] 15...Ke8 16.Nf3 Bxf3 17.Bf4 Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qh3 19.Qc8+ Ke7 20.Bg5+ Kf7 21.Qxg4 Qxg4 22.Rxf2 Qxg5 23.Rxf3+ Kg7 24.Re1) 13...Bxf2+ 14.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 15.Kxf2 Rxh8 16.Nxe5+. The game is even, if White survives.

However, the text in the game, 9.g3 wins - for Black.

9...Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Qxh1+

Or 10...Bh3+, Black resigned, facing 11.Kg1 Qg2# as in LukeWarm - blackburne, Jerome Gambit Thematic, 2010.

11.Ke2 Qe4+ 12.Kd1 Bg4+ 13.f3 Bxf3 checkmate

graphic by The Wizard of Draws

Sunday Tournament Update

With one game left to complete in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, and that one largely unbalanced, the final standings can be predicted as follows



AsceticKingK9                27/28


mckenna215                 23.5/28


braken                          19.5/28


Rikiki00                       19.5/28


Knight32                      18.5/28


shm19cs                       16.5/28


blackburne                     15/28


Magni                            14/28


Haroldlee123                 12/28


DREWBEAR 63           11/28


pixifrufru                         9/28

Baron wd von

Blanc, heart pirate        8.5/28


Luke Warm                     8/28

klonka59                         5/28


martind1991                   3/28

Here... No, There... No, Here... No, There...

The winner of the recent ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9, won 27 of his 28 games, primarily using the strategy: play ordinary chess until your opponent makes a mistake, apply the pressure, and when he falters, crush him.

The following game is a good example: Black's King keeps finding the wrong square to go to, and that proves lethal.

AsceticKingK9 - Luke Warm
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament,
ChessWorld, 2011

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3

For a look at earlier coverage of this move, see "Gloom and Doom" and "On the Sidelines."

7...Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 Ng6 9.0-0 d6 10.f4 Ke8 11.f5 N6e7 12.Bg5 h6

With his extra King move, Black leveled the game (before that, he was winning) and with this impatient move (curiously, 12...Kf8 might have kept things even) he lets White's Queen in.

13.Qh5+ Kf8

Uncomfortable as it looks, the logical 13...Kd7 14.e5 Qe8 was the way to hang on.

14.f6 gxf6 15.Bxf6 Rh7 16.Bxe7+ Black resigned

The double, discovered check is enough for Black to strike his colors.

Sunday Tournament Update

With five games left in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, the leaders have been decided, but battles still rage up and down the finish line.

AsceticKingK9 has taken first place with 27 points out of 28 games, mckenna215 has taken second with 23.5 points out of 28 games, and braken has taken third with 19.5 points out of 28 games.

However, with a recent win Rikiki00 has lept to a tie with Knight32 for fourth place with 18.5 points, and with one game still in play he could, with another win, move into a tie for third.

Down the ladder, Luke Warm is holding onto eleventh place with 8 points, but, with a final win, pixifrufru could leap over him to 9 points out of 28 games. Both could be bypassed by Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate, who has 7.5 points with two games to complete.

Even martind1991, holding down last place with 2 points out of 23 games, can vault over his nearest rival, klonka59, if he finishes strongly. 

Sunday Tournament Update

The standings of the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament

AsceticKingK9                                                  25/26
mckenna215                                                      23.5/28
braken                                                               19.5/28
Knight32                                                           18.5/28
Rikiki00                                                            17.5/26
shm19cs                                                            15.5/27
blackburne                                                          15/28
Magni                                                                 12/26
Haroldlee123                                                      11/27
DREWBEAR 63                                                11/28
pixifrufru                                                             8/27
Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate                       7.5/26
Luke Warm                                                          6/26
klonka59                                                              4/24
martind1991                                                         1/15

Sunday Tournament Update

 AsceticKingK9 is clearly the "top dog" as the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament heats up, with 2/3 if its games completed. The leader has 20 points out of 20 games, which is hard to beat!

Right behind AsceticKingK9 is mckenna215, with 19.5 points out of 22 games.

Players who also have a mathematical chance of overtaking the "King" are Rikiki00, with 10.5 points out of 17 games, and "dark horse" Luke Warm, with 1 point out of 5 games.

Meanwhile, braken, with 17.5 points out of 26 games, holds third place and challenges for second place.

White is scoring 38% over all. The Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) has yet to be successful in 8 games. The "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+) have scored 43%, while the "modern" lines (not 5.Nxe5+) have scored 31%.

Sunday Tournament Update

The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament continues, with all of the players firing off moves and many of the games proving to be exciting, entertaining, and instructional affairs.

To date, over 40% of the games have been completed, with White scoring 39% – an unimpressive figure when compared, say, to the Ruy Lopez, but about as robust a number as has been seen in other thematic tournaments, and a downright hearty one for an opening that has several established refutations.

9 of the 210 games (4%, an astonishingly "high" number as compared to only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database) feature the Jerome Gambit Declined with either 4...Kf8 or 4...Ke7.  

63 of the games, a full 30%, are developing along "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+), the highest that I have seen in a thematic tournament. 

The remaining 138 games follow "modern" Jerome Gambit lines (not-5.Nxe5+).

The current leaders are mckenna215, with 12.5 points (out of 14 games) and braken, with 11.5 points (out of 17 games).

In a tournament where each player plays 28 games, however, just about anything can happen over the course of the marathon. For example, AsceticKingK9 has 10 points out of 10 games, an impressive 100% score so far. Not far behind is Rikiki00 with 9.5 points out of 12 games.

Neither martind1991 nor Luke Warm have lost (or completed) any games, so their "perfect" scores have not been marred, either.

Sunday Tournament Update

The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is underway, all 15 competitors and all 210 games!

We are already seeing results (8 completed games so far, 6 wins by White) from AsceticKingK9, mckenna215, Rikiki00, braken, blackburne, DREWBEAR 63, Knight32, Magni, pixifrufru, shm19cs, klonka59, Baron wd von Blanc heart pirate, martind1991, Luke Warm and Haroldlee123.

Many games are in their early stages, others are racing along.

There are a number of examples of the Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) – a relatively rare beast making up only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database – those certainly will expand our understanding of that line.

At least 29% of the games are "classical" Jerome Gambits, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7+ followed by 5.Nxe5+, which is the highest percentage that I have seen in a recent Jerome Gambit thematic tournament. Some "well established" theory is likely to be stood on its head by the time those games are done!

With about 7 out of 10 games following "modern" (non-5.Nxe5+ lines) there will be plenty of practice to round out the theory of this more tempered approach as well.

Next Sunday I will give further information on the progress of the tournament. When all games have developed far enough for me not to influence their play, I will begin presenting some with annotations.

(By the way, I predict that the tournament winner will score 24 out of 28 points.)

Brilliant, but Not Sound

The title of this post was pronounced in the November, 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal about a move that transposed a game into a Jerome Gambit. It applies to Black's 7th move in the following game – which we have seen before, but should examine again.

MrJoker - Melbourne
blitz, 2 12, Internet Chess Club, 2011


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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Nd3+

Ahhh... The joys of being two pieces ahead! There are so many ways for Black to return material.

Jerome Gambiteers should pay attention, as this admittedly unpopular move, nonetheless, leaves Black better.

8.cxd3

Take the Knight. Luke Warm - eddie43, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010 continued instead 8.Kd1 Nf2+ 9.Ke2 Nxh1 10.Qe5+ Kf7 11.Qd5+ Ke8 12.Qxc5 d6 13.Qd4 Nf6 14.d3 Qd7 15.f5 Qf7 16.Nc3 Qh5+ 17.Kf1 Qxh2 18.Qg1 Ng3+ 19.Kf2 Ng4+ 20.Kf3 Qxg1 21.Kxg3 h5 22.Ne2 Qf2+ 23.Kh3 Qxe2 24.Bg5 Ne3 White resigned

8...Bd4 9.Qd5+ Black disconnected and forfeited

As you might guess, that is not the complete story.

Three days later the two opponents met again, and this time Black wisely retreated the Bishop. In the end, though, White prevailed in MrJoker - Melbourne, blitz, 2 12, Internet Chess Club, 2011: 8...Bb6 9.b3 Qf6 10.Qe8+ Qe7 11.f5+ Kf6 12.Bb2+ Kg5 13.Qxe7+ Nxe7 14.Bxg7 Rg8 15.f6 Ng6 16.h4+ Kh5 17.g4+ Kxg4 18.h5 Bd4 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.f7 Bxa1 21.fxg8Q Bxg7 22.Qxg7 d6 23.Qxg6+ Black disconnected and forfeited.

A couple of months later, White again benefitted from the hanging Bishop, in MrJoker - wikidguru, blitz, 2 12, Internet Chess Club, 2011: 8...Bd4 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxd4 Nf6 11.b3 d6 12.Ba3 Bg4 13.e5 Ne8 14.Nc3 Kf7 15.0-0 h5 16.Ne4 dxe5 17.fxe5+ Kg8 18.Qc4+ Kh7 19.Qf7 Qd7 20.h3 Qd4+ 21.Kh1 Qxe5 22.hxg4 hxg4 23.g3 Rd8 24.Kg2 Qf6 25.Nxf6+ Nxf6 26.Rh1+ Black resigned

Another Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member, Petasluk, had already handled the situation when Black supported the Bishop, rather than retreat or abandon it, in Petasluk - lowmiles, blitz, FICS, 2010: 8...d6 9.Nc3 c6 10.Ne2 g6 11.Qf3 Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh3 13.d4 Bb4 14.a3 Ba5 15.b4 Bb6 16.Bb2 Nf6 17.0-0-0 a5 18.d5+ cxd5 19.exd5+ Kf7 20.Bxf6 Kxf6 21.Qc3+ Kf7 22.Qxh8 axb4 23.axb4 Qg2 24.Nc3 Qf3 25.Qxh7+ Ke8 26.Rde1+ Kd8 27.Qe7 checkmate

Daves111 Tops ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic

Dominating the field like What's-His-Name in the picture on the left, Daves111 left his twelve opponents in the dust as he stormed to the top in the just-completed (or "just about" completed: the remaining game is a mate-in-two) double round robin ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament.

Daves111 scored 21 points out of 24 games, taking 10 out of 12 points available with the White pieces and 11 out of 12 points with the Black pieces.

He was followed by CheckmateKingTwo and Jerome Gambit veteran DREWBEAR 63, each with 17.5 points. My guess is that the tie break will go to CheckmateKingTwo, as he beat DREWBEAR 63 in their two games.

In fourth place, with 16 out of 24 points, was blackburne, the tournament organizer and long-time member of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde.

TWODOGS and Crusader Rabbit achieved plus scores, with 13.5 and 13 points respectively.

shm19cs broke even with 12 points and eddie43 just missed that mark with 11.5 points.

There followed LukeWarm with 10 points, stampyshortlegs with 9 points, calchess10 with 8 points and Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate with 7 points. anbeks finished with 0 points.

The top scorers with the Jerome Gambit were Daves111 (10 points), CheckmateKingTwo (8.5) and DREWBEAR 63 (7.5).

The top scorers against the Jerome Gambit were Daves111 (11 points), DREWBEAR 63 (10 points) and CheckmateKingTwo (9 points).

The greatest upset was calchess10 winning a game against an opponent with a rating 350 points higher.

The Jerome Gambit itself scored 46%, which is consistent with how well it has done in past thematic tournaments.

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (6)

In the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), the Jerome Variation or Defense (4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8) was analyzed by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in 1874, and played (successfully) by him with the black pieces in two correspondence games against Daniel Jaeger in 1880.

Two games in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament tested the utility of f2-f3 in White's attacking formation.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

Luke Warm - CheckmateKingTwo, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010, continued 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qd5 Qf6 9.f3

with the plan of protecting the e-pawn and safe-guarding the f2 square. 9...Qh4+ 10.g3 Qh3 11.d3 Qg2

Instead, Black has found a way into White's castle, and nothing but ruin follows: 12.Rf1 Bh3 13.Nd2 Qxh2 14.b4 Bxf1 15.Nxf1 Qf2+ 16.Kd1 Qxf1+ 17.Kd2 Qf2+ 18.Kd1 Qxf3+ 19.Kd2 Bxb4+ 20.c3 Qf2+ 21.Kd1 Bxc3 22.Rb1 Ne7 23.Qb3 Qe1+ 24.Kc2 Ba5 25.a3 Nc6 26.Qc4 Qe2+ 27.Kb3 Ne5 28.Qd4 Qxd3+ 29.Qxd3 Nxd3 White resigned


White was more successful in using f2-f3 to establish his pawn center in blackburne - DREWBEAR 63 Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010: (he actually reached the Jerome Defense via the Banks Variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Qh5 Nxe5) 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.c3 Qe7 10.f3 Kg8 11.d4 Bb6

12.Be3 c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Nd2 h6 15.0-0-0

Unfortunately, the White f-pawn now limits its Queen, and Black is able to gain a decisive material advantage: 15...Nh5 16.Nc4 Nxf4 17.Bxf4 g5 18.Bxd6 Bxd6 19.Rxd6 Be6 20.Rd4 Bxc4 21.Rxc4 b5 22.Rd4 Rd8 23.Rhd1 Rxd4 24.cxd4 Kf7 25.Kd2 Qb4+ 26.Kc1 Rc8+ 27.Kb1 Qc4 28.d5 Qc2+ White resigned

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (5)

The Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 B5 4.Bxf7+) is probably the best known way for the second player to respond to the opening sacrifices – by offering a sacrifice himself, Black hopes to bring the game to a quick tactical end in his favor.

The current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament features three Blackburne Defenses, and, fittingly, the player "blackburne" is involved in all of them.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

This is Black's offer of a Rook. Although in theory White can take the Rook and live – there is a complicated draw that Black can put together, found by Chandler and Dimitrov – over-the-board the capture can be filled with dangers for the unwary.

We've already seen the game Luke Warm - blackburne, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010, where one mis-step by White was all it took to give Black the win (0-1, 10).

On the other hand, stampyshortlegs - blackburne, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010 (1-0, 29), showed that Black needs to be precise in bringing home his win after the Rook sacrifice: about his 10th move I commented

The problem with this move is that White has 32 possible responses: 31 lead to an advantage (most of them mate) for Black. However, 1 leads to a win for White.

The third Blackburne Defense game features blackburne with the White pieces: blackburne - CheckmateKingTwo, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010. It is not yet completed, but it can be noted that in the opening blackburne refused the Rook, playing 8.Qf4+ instead. After 8...Qf6 9.Qg3 Nh6 (an oversight) 10.d3 Bxd4 11.c3 Bb6 12.Bxh6 Re8

White was better, but the game continued (and continues) in a very complicated fashion.

Thus, while the theoretical chances favor White in the Blackburne Defense, the practical chances favor Black.

  

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (3)

One problem with a refuted opening like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that it is refuted... That means that there are lines that Black can play that lead to equality – or more. In some of those lines White can complicate things and hope to take advantage of the confusion. In other lines it is not so easy for White to "find something".

Luke Warm - Daves111
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament,
ChessWorld, 2010

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5

This defense, a favorite of computer chess programs, gives back a piece to drain the dynamism out of the position.

In the gruelling "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down" matches between human RevvedUp (a pseudonym) and Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, the flesh-and-blood player twice scored draws with Black from this position against opponents rated 1,000 points higher than him. 

The updated New Year's Database shows that White has tried 9.b4, 9.c3, 9.d3, 9.d4, 9.Nc3, 9.Rf1, 9.Qe2, 9.Qf5+, 9.Qg4+ and 9.Qh3+.

In the current game, Luke Warm decides to try a Queenless middlegame, but he finds nothing but trouble.

9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Qf3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Qg4 12.Qxg4 Bxg4

13.Nc3 Rf8 14.d3 Bh3 15.Bd2 Bg2 16.Ke2 Bf3+ 17.Ke1 Bxh1 18.Ke2 Rf2+ 19.Ke1 Rxh2

20.Nb5+ Kd7 21.b4 Bf2+ 22.Kd1 Bxg3 23.c3 Bf3+ 24.Kc2 Nf6 25.a4 a6 26.Na3 Bf4 27.Rd1 Bxd1+ 28.Kxd1 Rxd2+ 29.Ke1 Black resigned

Theory From the Thematic Tourney (1)

The Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld is only about 80% complete, but it is already possible to start drawing some conclusions about what it has to say about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) play and theory.

For starters, as is usually the case, the Bishop sacrifice was accepted (4...Kxf7) in 155 of the 156 games being played. 

The "modern" variations of the Jerome (those not including 5.Nxe5+) remain far more popular than "classical" variations, making up 78% of the games. In fact, the "classical" lines were tried by only four of the thirteen players: blackburne (12 games),  stampyshortlegs (12 games), Luke Warm (9 games) and anbeks (2 games).

The likely tournament winner, Daves111, showed that success depended upon beating the Jerome Gambit (he won 11 games out of 12 with the Black pieces) as well as being successful with it (he won 10 games out of 12 with the White pieces). Daves111 played 5.d3 (seven times), 5.0-0 (twice), 5.Nc3 (twice) and 5.Qe2 (once).

As is consistent with "modern" play of the Jerome Gambit, with the White pieces Daves111 did not force play along thematic lines as much as he developed consistently, played carefully, and waited to take advantage of his opponents' errors – a good strategy in any game situation, especially when you are the top-rated player.

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws

Against Blackburne with the Blackburne

The best-known (or half-known) defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is the Blackburne Defense, named after J.H. Blackburne in honor of his 1885 devastating counter-attack, sacrifices and checkmate.

Time has moved on, the Blackburne Defense is known to lead to a draw – but few players are aware of that. And "drawn" or not, the defense is still very dangerous for White to play against. 

So it is fun to see long-time Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member blackburne (Pete Banks) twice utilize the Blackburne Defense in the current ChessWorld tournament. As he shows, danger is just a step away for White – be forewarned! 

Luke Warm - blackburne
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

7.Qxe5 d6

The Blackburne Defense. 7...Qe7 is the Whistler Defense. Both involve sacrifice and sharp play.

8.Qxh8 Qh4

The key to the Blackburne Defense: attack White's King while trapping White's Queen.

9.g3

Inviting disaster.

The proper response is 9.0-0, as seen in another blackburne game in the tournament, stampyshortlegs - blackburne, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2010: 9...Nf6 10.d3. A mistake.

analysis diagram








10...Ng4. The problem with this move is that White has 32 possible responses: 31 lead to an advantage (most of them mate) for Black. However, 1 leads to a win for White. Instead, Black had the Blackburne style 10...Bh3

analysis diagram






11.Qxf6+ best (Of course not 11.Qxa8 Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 and mate is unavoidable) 11...Kxf6 12.gxh3 Qxh3 13.Nc3 Kg7

analysis diagram






And White has a Rook, Bishop and pawn for his Queen – not enough, given the placement of Black's pieces. Without the 10...Bh3 shot, Black faced collapse: 11.Bf4 Nxf2 12.Bg3 Qh6 13.Bxf2 Bf5 14.Bxc5 Rxh8 15.Bd4 Re8 16.exf5 gxf5 17.Rxf5+ Ke6 18.Rf6+ Qxf6 19.Bxf6 Kxf6 20.Nc3 c6 21.Ne4+ Ke5 22.Re1 Kd4 23.Kf2 d5 24.Nd6 Rb8 25.Re7 Kc5 26.Nxb7+ Kb6 27.Rxh7 Rxb7 28.Rxb7+ Kxb7 29.h4 Black resigned

9...Qxe4+

10.Kf1 Bh3+ White resigned

He doesn't have to worry about losing the Rook, as it will be checkmate.

Final: JGTourney4 ChessWorld 2009

JGTourney4 ChessWorld 2009

----------------------1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9-10-11-12-13-14-15

1 Piratepaul --------** 01 10 11 11 10 11 01 11 11 01 11 11 10 11 -22.0/28
2 stampyshortlegs ---10 ** 11 01 01 11 01 10 10 1½ 11 11 11 10 11 -20.5/28
3 Sir Osis ----------01 00 ** 00 11 11 11 11 11 00 01 11 01 11 11 -19.0/28
4 DREWBEAR63---------00 10 11 ** 11 01 01 01 00 00 11 11 01 11 11 -17.0/28
5 GladtoMateYou------00 10 00 00 ** 01 01 01 11 01 11 11 11 11 11 -17.0/28
6 Luke Warm ---------01 00 00 10 10 ** 10 01 ½1 11 01 01 ½1 11 01 -15.0/28
7 Haroldlee123-------00 10 00 10 10 01 ** 11 11 00 0½ ½0 11 11 11 -15.0/28
8 eddie43------------10 01 00 10 10 10 00 ** 11 1½ 10 00 01 11 11 -14.5/28
9 TWODOGS------------00 01 00 11 00 ½0 00 00 ** ½1 11 11 01 11 11 -14.0/28
10 Black Puma--------00 0½ 11 11 10 00 11 0½ ½0 ** 01 00 01 01 11 -13.5/28
11 blackburne--------10 00 10 00 00 10 1½ 01 00 10 ** 11 11 01 11 -13.5/28
12 gwyn1-------------00 00 00 00 00 10 ½1 11 00 11 00 ** 01 00 11 -9.5/28
13 metalwarrior1969--00 00 10 10 00 ½0 00 10 10 10 00 10 ** 01 11 -9.5/28
14 Crusader Rabbit---01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 10 11 10 ** 00 -7.0/28
15 calchess10--------00 00 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 11 ** -3.0/28

Prized Players

Prizes have been mailed to the top three finishers of the Chessworld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament: Piratepaul, stampyshortlegs and Sir Osis of the Liver.

I would like to express my thanks to blackburne, who hosted the tournament, and to all of the other players who combined to produce 210 interesting Jerome Gambit games: DREWBEAR 63, GladtoMateYou, Luke Warm, Haroldlee123, eddie43, TWODOGS, Black Puma, gwyn1, metalwarrior1969, Crusader Rabbit and calchess10.

Photo Finish?

It's beginning to look like the 15-player, double-round robin Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld will go down to the wire before a winner is determined.

Currently, stampyshortlegs holds the lead, with 20.5 points out of 26 games completed. He has leap-frogged over Piratepaul, who has 20 points out of 25 games completed.

Sir Osis of the Liver (19 points out of 28 games completed), is secure in third place.

Fourth place is occupied by DREWBEAR 63 (17 points out of 28 games); although he could be joined there by GladtoMateYou (16 points out of 27 games) or Haroldlee123 (14 points out of 25 games) – but not both, as they are playing a game against each other.

Luke Warm is sitting still with 15 points out of 28 games, as is Eddie43 with 14.5 points out of 28 games.

The Jerome Gambit has kept its score of 39%. stampyshortlegs has gained 9.5 points with the gambit, while PiratePaul and Sir Osis of the Liver have gained 9 points.