Black has many defenses to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), some focused on returning one of the two gambitted pieces. In the following game, Bill Wall faces one that he has encountered - and defeated - 20 times previously. I suspect his advice to his opponent would be: Just. Don't.
Wall, Bill - NN
Florida, 2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
Not the best defense: the game is already even, according to Stockfish 10, even though Black is two pieces ahead.
7.dxe5 Bxe5
This move is a troublesome companion to the previous one, shifting the evaluation of the game to White's favor. According to The Database, out of 160 games, Black played this move 139 times.
8.Qd5+
The proper response.
8...Kf6
He is not going to be able to save the Bishop, but retreating the King is not much better.
9.f4 c6
10.fxe5+
An improvement over 10.Qxe5+, which still won for White in Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL 2016, (1-0, 24).
10... Ke7 11.Qd3 Qa5+ 12.Nc3 Qxe5
Material is even, but development and King safety are not.
13.O-O h6
Keeping White's Bishop off of g5, but hastening the end.
14.Bf4 Qc5+ 15.Be3 Qh5 16.e5 Ke8 17.Ne4 Ne7 18.Nd6+
Kd8 19.Nf7+ Black resigned
Nice.
I really enjoyed the game in the previous post, so I looked in The Database for some more games by the Jerome Gambiteer obviously. The next game is even more wild, as White takes even greater risks - and wins.
obviously - grobnic
GameKnot.com, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
This can lead to the infamous Blackburne Defense (7...d6), or the much-less-known but much-more-dangerous Whistler's Defense (7...Qe7).
7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qxh8
The Database is notoriously lean when it comes to either early Jerome Gambits, or over-the-board games. Coverage of Whistler's Defense is a good example.
There are 3 early correspondence games by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1876, 1879) where he scored 0-2-1.
Then, over 100 years later, there are then a handful of online games at FICS: 1 in 1999 (0-1); 1 in 2001 (1-0); 3 in 2003 (1-1-1); and then 10 in 2004 (4-5-1) - 7 of which involved obviously.
So, White's 8th move in the current game (capturing the Rook) probably deserves the same annotation it garnered in The American Chess Journal, June 15, 1876, when it showed up Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1876 -
Played experimentally; and analysis will probably show the capture to be unsound.
Analysis has since shown the capture of the Rook to be unsound - but, then again, analysis, even back in the 1870s, showed the Jerome Gambit itself to be unsound...
We must remember, however, that "all is new that has been forgotten", and that both players in the current game probably had little information on either the Whistler or the Jerome to guide them. That said, obviously obviously had some knowledge of the opening, as he scored 4-0-1 with the Black pieces, and 2-0 with the White pieces.
For that matter, The Database contains 59 games with the Whistler Defense, and White scores 57% - an indication that things are complicated enough that the first player will have his chances, at least in club play.
8...Qxe4+
This is the way to show that White's King is in more danger than Black's.
Bill Wall, who seems to be able to get away with just about anything in the Jerome Gambit, once experienced 8...Qf6 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Sepoli, Chess.com, 2010.
9.Kd1
This move is about as strong as 9.Kf1, e.g. 9...Nf6 10.d3 (10.Nc3 Qxc2 11.h4 b6 12.Qd8 Ba6+ White resigned, grobnic - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 10...Qd4 (10...Qf5 11.f3 Bf8 12.Nc3 d5 13.h4 Qd7 14.h5 Bg7 15.hxg6+ Kxg6 16.Rh6+ Bxh6 17.Bxh6 b6 18.Ne2 Qf7 19.Qf8 Qxf8 20.Bxf8 drawn Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876) 11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Bxc5 Qxa1?! (12...d6 13.Ke2 Qxc2+ 14.Nd2 Bg4+ White resigned, flatchio - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 13.Qf8+ Ke6 14.Qe7+ Kf5 15.Ke2 Qe5+ 16.Qxe5+ Kxe5 17.Re1 d6 18.Kf3+ Kf5 19.Bd4 Kg5 20.h4+ Kf5 21.Re7 Nd5 22.g4 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL 2017.
9...Qg4+
This move is good, but perhaps not quite as strong as 9...Qxg2, e.g. 10.Re1 (10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.Re1 d5 12.d4 Bg4+ 13.Kd2 Qxf2+ 14.Re2 Qxe2+ 15.Kc3 Qc4+ 16.Kd2 Qxd4+ 17.Ke1 Qd1 checkmate, blackburne - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008) 10...Qf3+ (going for a repetition in a winning position) 11.Re2 Qh1+ 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ drawn, Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, 40 0, FICS, 2011.
Black risked most of his advantage with the reasonable precaution 9...Nf6, although he was still able to outplay his opponent: 10.f3 Qh4 11.Nc3 b5 12.Qd8 Qg5 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxg5 Nxg5 15.d4 Be7 16.d5 h5 17.h4 Nh7 18.Bf4 d6 19.Ke2 Nf6 20.Rhd1 Bb7 21.Bg5 Nxd5 22.Bxe7 Nxe7 23.g4 hxg4 24.fxg4 Rh8 25.Rf1+ Ke8 26.h5 gxh5 27.g5 Rg8 28.Rg1 Bc8 29.Kd2 Bg4 30.Rg3 Rxg5 31.Re1 Kd7 32.Rh1 a5 33.Re1 h4 34.Rge3 Nd5 35.Re4 h3 36.R4e3 Nxe3 White resigned, vallabhan - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004
10.Ke1
White improves on the historical 10.f3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Re1 d5 13.Qh4 Qxf3+ 14.Re2 Bg4 15.Nc3 Bf2 White resigned, Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876.
10...Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Rf1 Qe4+
Again, good, but not best (12...d5). It is still hard to see how White will survive, but he does have a material advantage...
13.Kd1 d5
Chess can be incredibly cruel.
White's defense here has in good part consisted of shuttling his King back and forth. Black now plays the move recommended in the last note - and it turns over the advantage to his opponent.
It appears he needed to play 13...Qf3+ first. What difference does the check make? White shows with his next move.
14.f3
In what appears to be a mockery of common sense, Stockfish 8 now claims that White has a clear advantage, giving 14...Qf4 15.Nc3 c6 16.Ne2 Qf6 17.d3 Bf5 18.Ng3 Re8 19.Nxf5 Qxf5 20.Bd2 Bd4 21.Kc1 Re7 22.Qh4 c5 23.a4 Re2 24.Kd1 Rg2 25.Qd8+ Kg7 26.Kc1 Bxb2+ 27.Kxb2 Rxd2 28.Qc7+ Kh8 29.Qxc5 Qxd3 30.Rf2.
14...Bg4
It is difficult to explain this move. It is tempting to suggest a mouse slip, but the time control for this game was 5 days per move.
15.fxg4+ Nf6 Black resigned
After 16.Rxf6+ Ke8 17.Nc3!? White's pieces will be able to protect his King from too many Queen checks, while Black's King will be open to great dangers.
Recently I received some Jerome Gambit games from long-time unorthodox openings expert Bill Wall. He pointed out
My chessbase database says I have played 352 Jeromes without transposition and I just now discovered the statistics page with a 93% winning advantage. I have 168 games with 6.Qh5 (90% winning percentage) and 138 games with 6.d4 with a 90.6% winning percentage. Pretty even.
I have now played 50,817 chess games that I have a recorded game since 1969. I should hit 51,000 before the end of the year.
One reason (besides skill and knowledge) that Bill does so well with the Jerome Gambit is that his opponents do not take the opening seriously - to their dismay, as he does.
Wall, Bill - Guest412053
PlayChess.com, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
This is trouble. The Bishop could have gone to e7 or f8, with or without checking at b4 first.
7.dxe5 Bxe5
A tale similar to the game: 7...Bb4+ 8.c3 Ba5 9.Qd5+ Ke8 10.Qxa5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1227654, PlayChess.com, 2017.
8.Qd5+
Or 8.Qh5+ Ke6 9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Na3 Qf6 11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Bg5 d6 13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qf3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Nikelin, lichess.org, 2017.
8...Kf6
Not the only, or safest, way to move the King. There was: 8...Kf8 9.Qxe5 d6 (9...Qe7 10.Qxc7 [10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.Nc3 d6 12.O-O Qe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Rf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest539122, PlayChess.com, 2015] 10...Qxe4+ 11.Kf1 d5 12.b3 d4 13.Ba3+ Ne7 14.Nd2 Qe6 15.Re1 Qd7 16.Bxe7+ Black resigned,Wall,B - Guest851465, PlayChess.com, 2017) 10.Qb5 (10.Qd4 Nf6 11.O-O c5 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Bf4 a6 14.Bxd6+ Kf7 15.e5 Bb5 16.c4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5856753, PlayChess.com, 2016) 10...Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Qd3 Be6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Ke7 16.O-O-O Ne8 17.f4 g4 18.Bh4+ Nf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qg6 Qf8 21.fxe5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.
9.f4 Bd6
Apparently offering to return the piece, after all, once White has played the fork 10.e5+.
Black has tried other moves against Bill, as well:
9...Qe7 10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Rf1+ Kg6 12.Qf7 checkmate, Wall,B - Vicher, lichess.org, 2016; and
9...c6 10.Qxe5+ Kf7 11.O-O Qe7 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qb5 dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg7 19.Qxd5 Re8 20.c3 Qxe5 21.Qf7+ Kh8 22.Bg5 Qxg5 23.Qxe8+ Kg7 24.Qf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL, 2016.
10.Qg5+
The real threat, winning Black's Queen.
One of Bill's games last year continued 10...Kf7 11.Qxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org 2016, but in this game, here
Black resigned
Bill Wall recently sent me a few more of his Jerome Gambits. As he said, some are good, some are bad. None are quite as outrageous as the following.
Wall, Bill - Neilson, Criag
Florida, USA, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
This appears to be an over-the-board game, which already makes it very interesting.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+
Interesting. Bill moves away from his favorite 6.d4.
6...g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qxh8
Wow! Into the mouth of the beast!
One of the many reasons the Jerome Gambit is considered "unplayable" is Whistler's Defense (7...Qe7!). The Rook is supposed to be untouchable.
Not for Bill Wall. "Danger" is his midde name. He considers things like the Pamplona bull run to be a casual stroll down some interesting avenues.
8...Qxe4+
After 8...Qf6 the game did not last long: 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Sepoli, Chess.com, 2010.
9.Kf1
The alternative, 9.Kd1, was seen in Jerome,A-Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15) - but also in Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 14).
9...Nf6 10.d3 Qd4
This looks like an improvement over 10...Qf5 in Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876 (1/2-1/2, 20).
11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Bxc5 Qxa1
It looks like things will come down to which King is the most vulnerable.
13.Qf8+ Ke6 14.Qe7+ Kf5 15.Ke2 Qe5+ 16.Qxe5+ Kxe5
Very interesting. Is Black for choice because his King is better developed? Or will the blocked-in-light-squared-Bishop-blocking-the-Rook theme give White an edge?
17.Re1 d6 18.Kf3+ Kf5 19.Bd4 Kg5
A dangerous slip.
20.h4+ Kf5 21.Re7 Nd5
Overlooking...
22.g4 checkmate
Next to the "I have never seen this before!" reaction of some players defending against the Jerome Gambit, the "Oh, this looks familiar!" has to be an equally frequent response. There is always the risk, however, of moving too quickly and falling into an "improved" Fork Trick, as Bill Wall shows in the following game.
Wall, Bill - Vicher
lichess.org, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
This position has a resemblance to that of the "fork trick", and that may be the reason Black opted to move the Bishop where he did. However, the placement of his King makes for a significant difference in the play White can develop.
7.dxe5 Bxe5
As planned, but transforming a roughly equal position to one definitely better for White. (Omigosh! How did that happen?? Black had a won position after 5 moves!)
8.Qd5+ Kf6
Yes, Bill has been here before: 8...Kf8 9.Qxe5 d6 (9...Qe7 10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.Nc3 d6 12.O-O Qe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Rf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest539122, PlayChess.com, 2015) 10.Qd4 (10.Qb5 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Qd3 Be6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Ke7 16.O-O-O Ne8 17.f4 g4 18.Bh4+ Nf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qg6 Qf8 21.fxe5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016) 10...Nf6 11.O-O c5 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Bf4 a6 14.Bxd6+ Kf7 15.e5 Bb5 16.c4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5856753, PlayChess.com, 2016.
9.f4 Qe7
Or 9...c6 10.Qxe5+ Kf7 11.O-O Qe7 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qb5 dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg7 19.Qxd5 Re8 20.c3 Qxe5 21.Qf7+ Kh8 22.Bg5 Qxg5 23.Qxe8+
Kg7 24.Qf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL, 2016.
Or 9...Bd6 10.Qg5+ Kf7 11.Qxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.
10.fxe5+ Qxe5
11.Rf1+ Kg6 12.Qf7 checkmate
The following game shows the benefit of going further off the beaten path in an already unusual opening. Bill Wall varies from previous experience, and continues to find success. The notes suggest that Black could have found chances by varying his play, too. The game ends with a bit of psychological mind-reading.
Wall, Bill - NN
lichess.org, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
This strategy is not unusual and seems reasonable, although it does have a tactical flaw. The Database shows that it has been faced by Jerome Gambit regulars such as chessmanjeff, HauntedKnight, frizerkaHR, jfhumphrey, stretto, Teterow and yorgos.
Oh, and of course, Bill Wall.
7.dxe5 Bxe5
Better is 7...Bb4+ (no game examples in The Database), 7...Bf8 (no game examples in The Database) or 7...Be7 (20 game examples in The Database, White scores 45%); each moving the Bishop out of danger of a Queen check/fork.
8.Qh5+
Bill tries something new, deviating from his previous 8.Qd5+:
Ke8 (8...Kf6 9.f4 c6 [9...Bd6 10.Qg5+ Kf7 11.Qxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016] 10.Qxe5+ Kf7 11.O-O Qe7 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qb5 dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg7 19.Qxd5 Re8 20.c3 Qxe5 21.Qf7+ Kh8 22.Bg5 Qxg5 23.Qxe8+ Kg7 24.Qf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL 2016; or 8...Kf8 9.Qxe5 d6 [9...Qe7 10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.Nc3 d6 12.O-O Qe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Rf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest539122, PlayChess.com, 2015] 10.Qd4 [10.Qb5 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Qd3 Be6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Ke7 16.O-O-O Ne8 17.f4 g4 18.Bh4+ Nf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qg6 Qf8 21.fxe5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016] 10...Nf6 11.O-O c5 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Bf4 a6 14.Bxd6+ Kf7 15.e5 Bb5 16.c4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5856753, PlayChess.com, 2016) 9.Qxe5+ Qe7 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qe2 Nf6 12.Nc3 d5 13.Bg5 Qe5 14.f4 Qd4 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.O-O-O Qxf4+ 17.Kb1 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Bf5 19.Ng5+ Kf8 20.Ne6+ Kf7 21.Nxf4 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016
8...g6
An interesting alternative is 8...Ke6 9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Na3!?, which may have seemed riskier to Black, but which would put White more on his own resources. There are two examples of the line in The Database: 10...Qf6 (10... Bf6 11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Bf4 d6 13.Qb5 Qe8 14.O-O-O Qxb5 15.b3 Be6 16.Ne3 Qb4 17.g4 Qa3+ 18.Kd2 g5 19.Bg3 h5 20.h4 gxh4 21.Bxh4 hxg4 22.Bxf6+ Nxf6 23.Rxh8 Rxh8 24.f4 gxf3 25.Rf1 Nxe4+ 26.Kd3 Ng5 27.c4 Qxa2 28.Re1 Qxb3+ 29.Kd2 Ne4+ 30.Kc1 Qc3+ 31.Nc2 Nf2 32.Kb1 Kf6 33.Rf1 Rh1 34.Rxh1 Nxh1 White resigned, HauntedKnight - VSRajput, FICS, 2015) 11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Qxe5+ Qxe5 13.Nxe5 d6 14.Bg5+ Ke6 15.Nc4 b5 16.Ne3 h6 17.Bh4 g5 18.Bg3 Nf6 19.f3 b4 20.b3 Ba6 21.O-O-O Bb5 22.h4 Nh5 23.Be1 Nf4 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.Rxh8 Rxh8 26.Bxb4 Rh2 27.Rg1 Ne2+ 28.Kd2 Nxg1 29.Bc3 Nxf3+ 30.Kc1 Rh1+ 31.Kb2 Nh4 32.g3 Ng6 33.Nd5 c6 34.Ne3 Rh3 35.Nf5 Ne5 36.a4 Be2 37.Nd4+ Kd7 38.Nxe2 Rh2 39.Nd4 c5 40.Nf5 Nd3+ 41.Ka3 Nb4 42.Bxb4 cxb4+ 43.Kxb4 Rxc2 44.Nd4 Rg2 45.e5 dxe5 46.Nf3 Rxg3 47.Nxe5+ Ke6 48.Nc4 Rg4 White forfeited on time, noatun - Papaflesas, blitz, FICS, 2008
9.Qxe5 Nf6 10.Bg5
Putting pressure on the Knight at f6, a regular strategy for White in the Jerome Gambit.
10...Re8 11.Qf4
White could have played the prosaic exchanging 11.Bxf6+ Qxf6 12.Qxf6+ Kxf6 13.Nc3 with a pawn advantage. I think he realized that his opponent saw the White e-pawn as pinned by the Black Rook to the White King, and played for the win of a piece.
11...b6 12.e5 Black resigned
The threat by White's advanced pawn is real. One possibility: 12...d6 13.Bxf6 dxe5 14.Bxe5+. It is worth taking time to explore other lines, too.
