Jerome Gambit: Unreality is Real

Responding quickly to my question concerning the suspect Jerome Gambit game Amateur - Neumann, London, 1880 - almost identical to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 - (see "Jerome Gambit History: Real?") - publisher McFarland and Company forwarded my query to Hans Renette, one of the authors of the forthcoming title, Neumann, Hirschfeld and Suhle19th Century Berlin Chess Biographies with 711 Games.

Mr. Renette was equally skeptical 

 ...I am pretty sure this game was not one played by Neumann (it is not in the book) and, very likely, is a variation of the Blackburne game. Neumann played his last known game in 1872 and afterwards fell into a mental oblivion - he spent the last years of his life in a mental clinic in East Prussia. 

Accidently, this reminds me quite a lot of a game Bird - Pfander, which is at chessgames.com, allegedly played in 1903 (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1028251) - when Bird was out of public sight. This is game 512 in my book on Bird, and was played in 1879.

For Readers, here is the game, a King's Gambit Accepted, Allgaier Gambit:   

Henry Edward Bird - Pfander
England, 1879

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ng5 h5 6.Bc4 Nh6 7.d4 f6 8.Bxf4 fxg5 9.hxg5 Nf7 10.g6 Ng5 11.Qd2 Nxe4 12.Bf7+ Ke7 13.Bg5+ Nxg5 14.Qxg5+ Kd6 15.Qc5 checkmate

My thanks to Mr. Renette - author, as well, of H.E. Bird: A Chess Biography with 1,198 Games and the forthcoming Louis Paulsen: A Chess Biography With 668 Games - and the good people at McFarland and Company.

Jerome Gambit History: Real?

I recently emailed a contact at McFarland and Co., publishers of some very fine chess books

I have a question: Is there a way for me to contact the authors of the forthcoming  Neumann, Hirschfeld and Suhle19th Century Berlin Chess Biographies with 711 Games ?  

I understand that it might not be possible directly, and I don't need any of their actual emails. Would it be possible for someone at McFarland to forward an email? 

It is certainly not a matter of great import. I have been investigating the outrageous Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) for almost two decades, and have puzzled over the following game, the source of which, alas, my notes to not reveal: 

[Event "London ENG"][Site "London ENG"][Date "1880.??.??"][Round "99"][White "Amateur"][Black "Neumann, Guestav R.L"][Result "0-1"][ECO "C50"][PlyCount "28"][EventDate "1880.??.??"]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. b3 Ng4 11. h3 Bxf2+ 12. Kh1 Bf5 13. Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14. gxh3 Bxe4# 0-1 

I suspect the game is specious, for a number of reasons: 

- Except for the move 10.b3, the game, including the Queen sacrifice, is identical to Amateur - Blackburne, London, frequently given as also played in 1880 (the actual date is 1884), and the most infamous of Jerome Gambit games. (Blackburne's opponent had played 10.c3.) 

- Neumann was alive in 1880 (he died the next year) but, according to Wikipedia (not always the best source, I know) "severe mental illness stopped him playing after 1872" 

- Commercial chess database producers have had a habit of salting their collections with occasional bogus games, in order to identify any mass copying of their intellectual property; and this game has an ersatz feel about it 

Still, it would be nice to have a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" from an authority. 

Thank you, very much.

I will let Readers know what responses I receive.

Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In

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As a followup to the previous post, I returned to the online English Chess Forum and asked members if they were aware of any early (pre-WWI) Jerome Gambit games.

Early English Jerome Gambit Games?

Postby Rick Kennedy » Mon May 08, 2017 3:57 pm

Many people are familiar with Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1880 (or 1885) that
started 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ - the notorious Jerome Gambit - and 
concluded 4...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# 

I am researching the Jerome, and am interested in discovering what other early (before
WWI) games there might have been played with the opening in England.

I have run across Keeble - Cubitt, Norwich, 1886 (1-0, 17), but that is about it.

Many thanks for whatever enlightenment might prevail.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Tim Harding, author of  Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography, (and other fine books), published by McFarland,  responded quickly.

Re: Early English Jerome Gambit Games?

Postby Tim Harding » Mon May 08, 2017 5:38 pm

That was "Mr M" v Blackburne, first published in the Illustrated London News on 10 May
1884 (probably played at the Divan when Blackburne was convalescing). There is also 
floating around a very similar game Milner-Blackburne supposedly played in Manchester 
(ending 10 h3 Bxh3 11 Qxa8 Qg4 12 g3 Qxg3+ 13 Kh1 Qg2#) but I have no primary source 
for that.

I also found three postal games played by E. B. Lowe ca. 1879-1881 and you possibly
already know Charlick-Mann played by post in Australia in 1881 (1-0, 72).

Tim Harding

Historian and Kibitzer

Author of 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography' and 'Eminent Victorian

Chess Players'

http://www.chessmail.com

Dr. Harding's response adds to information about the Blackburne game,
from the Illustrated London News, giving "Mr. M" as the amateur player
of the White pieces. Other (not primary) sources have named this person
"Milner".

More importantly, the Illustrated London News account of May 10,1884
helps focus the possible date of the game, usually given as 1880 - which I 
had challenged, based upon an article in August 15, 1885 issue of the 
Brooklyn Chess Chronicle. So, 1884 is the corrected date.

Finally, Dr. Harding is being modest in merely mentioning the three postal
games played by E. B. Lowe correspondence games, as a good while back 
he provided them for me. 

Blackburne Has Arrived

I have already mentioned Tim Harding's new book, Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography, published by McFarland. It is now available.

My copy arrived yesterday, and this large, attractive and comprehensive book is likely to keep me very occupied - and even interfere with this blog, if I am not careful.

Since Blackburne's destruction of the Jerome Gambit is probably the the best-known Jerome game, I wondered if there might be other examples in the book. I had a good laugh when I read

To attempt a "complete games of Blackburne" is unrealistic. Such a book must be huge yet one could never have confidence that every published offhand and exhibition game had been found. It would also include hundreds of atrocious games against weak amateurs, decided by feeble opening play and gross blunders. Graham estimated that Blackburne had played (already by 1899) somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 games, although the higher figure is probably an overestimate. Besides his blindfold and ordinary simuls, Blackburne must have played thousands of casual games at clubs and public chess resorts, perhaps for a shilling stake. The vast majority were never published or, probably, even recorded.

So, probably no more Jerome Gambits, and maybe no Blackburne Shilling Gambitc, either, to be found in the pages. I certainly will let readers know if I discover any!

In the meantime, I am content to enjoy playing over the games (more than 1,000) of a brilliant attacking player who crossed swords with the top players of his time.

Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography

It can be argued that Joseph Henry Blackburne did as much as almost any other chessplayer, besides Alonzo Wheeler Jerome himself, to inform chessplayers about the Jerome Gambit - by publishing his sacrificial crush against it. (See "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!")

Now Tim Harding, author of many fine chess books (I have 20 of them, plus his CD collection of correspondence games), has completed his biography of  the swash-buckling J.H. Blackburne (with over 1,000 of his games), for McFarland. I quote from the publisher's website:

About the Book
During a career spanning more than 50 years, J.H. Blackburne (1841–1924) won the British Chess Championship and several international tournaments, at his peak becoming one of the world’s top three chess masters. A professional player who derived his livelihood from annual tours of chess clubs in England and other countries, entertaining and teaching amateur players, he astonished his contemporaries by the ease with which he played the game without sight of the chessboard. At 21, he set a world record for such exhibitions, competing against 12 club players simultaneously, and he continued to perform “blindfold” into his sixties.

This first comprehensive biography of Britain’s greatest chess player of the early 20th century presents more than 1,000 of Blackburne’s games chronologically, including all his surviving games from serious competition, annotated in varying detail. Many are masterpieces containing beautiful combinations and instructive endgame play. Blackburne’s unusual family and social background are fully explored.

About the Author(s)
Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki, and is a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. A well-known writer on many aspects of chess, he was editor of Chess Mail magazine from 1996 to 2005. Since 1996 he has contributed the monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.  

Blackburne's games against other masters are interesting and educational in their own right, but his exhibition games against amateurs are scintillating mini-lessons in aggression (and downright fun to play over). Not for nothing was he nicknamed "The Black Death"!

The book will be published in the spring or summer of 2015, but is available for pre-order from either the publisher McFarland or Amazon.

I have already ordered a copy.