Never Send A Pawn to Do A Job...

I don't know if anyone ever opined "Never send a pawn to do a job a piece could do..." but the exact opposite is true in the following game. Bill Wall's 11th move improvement over an earlier game he played leads to an even faster win.

Wall,B - FJBS
FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

As befits the wackiness of the Jerome Gambit, this idea was seen in a game played 10 years earlier in a Jerome Gambit thematic tournament featuring two double-forfeits.

7.c3 Bxc3+

Bill has also faced 7...Be7 8.dxe5 Nh6 9.Qf3+ Ke6 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.Qf5 checkmate, Wall,B - ChrSav, FICS, 2010.

An interesting idea: 7...Qh4 instead.

8.Nxc3

Stronger than 8.bxc3, as in HauntedKnight - OneNoTrump
blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 10) and shugart - chingching
blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 25).


8...Ng6 

Or 8...Nc6 9.d5 (9.0-0 Qf6 10.e5 Qg6 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Nb5 Kd8 13.Qf8+ Qe8 14.Qxe8+ Kxe8 15.Nxc7+ Ke7 16.Nxa8 Nxd4 17.Bg5+ Ke6 18.Nc7+ Kxe5 19.Rae1+ Kd6 20.Bf4+ Kc6 21.Rc1+ Kb6 22.Nd5+ Kb5 23.Rxc8 Ne6 24.a4+ Kxa4 25.Ra1+ Kb3 26.Be5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Caynaboos, FICS, 2011) 9...Ne5 10.f4 Ng6 11.h4 Nxh4 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qxh4 Qxh4+ 14.Rxh4 Nf6 15.e5 Ne8 16.Be3 c6 17.0-0-0 d6 18.e6+ Ke7 19.g4 Nf6 20.f5 gxf5 21.gxf5 cxd5 22.Bg5 a6 23.Nxd5+ Kf8 24.Bxf6 Rg8 25.Rxh7 b5 26.Be7+ Ke8 27.Nf6 checkmate, Wall,B - ChessFlower, PlayChess.com, 2012. 

9.0-0 Nf6

9...d6 was AsceticKingK9 - Luke Warm, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2011 (1-0, 16). Beware the "Jerome pawns"!

10.e5 Ne8 11.f4

This addition to the pawn chain is an improvement over 11.Qf3+ (but still: 11...Kg8 12.Qd5+ Kf8 13.Be3 a6 14.Rae1 c6 15.Qb3 d5 16.f4 Kg8 17.f5 Nh4 18.Qc2 g6 19.f6 Be6? (19...Kf7 20.Na4) 20.Bg5 Qb6 21.Bxh4 Qxd4+ 22.Bf2 Qf4 23.Ne2 Qc4 24.Qd2 Qxa2 25.Nd4 Bf5 26.Nxf5 gxf5 27.Qg5+ Kf7 28.e6+ Kf8 29.Bc5+ Nd6 30.Bxd6+ Ke8 31.f7 checkmate, Wall,B - Boris, SparkChess.com 2012) 

11...Rf8

Planning to castle-by-hand.

12.f5 Ne7

For better or worse Black had to continue with 12...Kg8, returning the piece.

13.Qb3+ d5 14.exd6+ Black resigned

White will deliver checkmate in a couple of moves.

Practical Chances

Sometimes the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) will lead to a position where White, while still objectively worse, finds it easier to wage an attack, while Black struggles to put up sufficient defense. These practical chances can make the Jerome a fun opening to play. 


shugart - chingching
blitz, FICS, 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 


This move was originally Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference over 6.Qh5+.


6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 

Stronger is 8.Nxc3 as in  blackburne - Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate, ChessWorld JG6, 2011 (1-0, 48) and Wall,B - Caynaboos, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 26)


8...Nc4 9.Qh5+ Kf8 


The alternative, 9...g6 10.Qd5+ Black resigned, HauntedKnight - OneNoTrump, FICS,2011, speaks for itself. 


10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5 Qe7 12.0-0 Ne8 

An interesting position. With an extra piece for a pawn, Black has to be better; but, at least at the club level, White has central control and a safer King for compensation that gives him practical chances. Add to that the fact that attacking is often easier than defending and it is not hard to see that the second player falters in this game.


13.Qc4 Qf7 14.Ba3+ Ne7 15.Qe2 g6 16.Nd2 Kg7 17.Ne4 Rf8 

Black has completed castling-by-hand and might very well feel secure, but his last move allows an interesting tactical shot.


18.Rad1 


Development and protection of the central pawn mass. Instead, the pesky 18.Ng5 would show that Black's Knight at e7 is not sufficiently protected. Further, the Black Queen can get into trouble herself, as Rybka shows: 18...Qd5 19.c4!? Qxd4 20.e6!? dxe6 21.Bb2 


18...Kg8 19.f4 Nd5 20.Qd3


It was probably okay to grab the exchange with 20.Bxf8.


20...Nxf4 21.Nf6+ Nxf6 22.Rxf4 

22...Qe6 


Offering the exchange one move too long. Instead, Rybka suggested wandering toward the drawish Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame with: 22...d6 23.Rxf6 Qxa2 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8 25.Qf3+ Kg8 26.exd6 Be6 27.d5 Bd7 28.c4 Rf8 29.Qg3 cxd6 30.Bxd6 Re8 31.Rc1 Bf5 32.Qf2 Qxf2+ 33.Kxf2 a5 


23.Bxf8 Kxf8 24.Rxf6+ Qxf6 25.exf6 Black resigned

LPDO Revisited

In "My House! My House! My Kingdom for a House!" I mentioned Grandmaster John Nunn's acronym, LPDO, as a reminder that "Loose Pieces Drop Off". In the following game, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member HauntedKnight takes that notion into account when planning his play, and it helps him grab a "loose" Knight. Black's resignation, only a pawn down, might be a bit early, but it is easily understood.

HauntedKnight - OneNoTrump
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

Computers tend to like this move, for their own computer-ish reasons. For examples, see "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)" for RevvedUp's 2008 tag-team match against Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8, where this move showed up, played by Crafty. It also appears in Jeroen's earlier 2003 Jerome Gambit computer tournament in the game Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9.

If the computers are given enough time they often find the recommended 6...Qh4!? as well.

Has OneNoTrump examined the Jerome Gambit with a computer, or is this a knee-jerk reaction (my Bishop is attacked, move it and attack White)?

7.c3 Bxc3+

A clue: this looks like a human decision. The 75 games that have this move in The Database all have a person playing Black.

Computers realize, of course, that Black must return a piece, and suggest something like 7...Ng6/c6 8.cxb4 to mess up White's pawns a bit; or they let White choose which piece he wants by playing 7...Qh4. 

8.bxc3

Bolstering White's center, but 8.Nxc3 was probably a bit better: development and all that.

8...Nc4 9.Qh5+ g6

Reflex. 

Better was 9...Kf8 and Black keeps his edge, even against 10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5, because he has 11...b6 12.Qb4 Qe7 when after 13.0-0 the Knight escapes with 13...Nf7. 

10.Qd5+ Black resigned

The loose piece at c4 will drop.