Philidor vs the Philidor

In a final Jerome Gambit-inspired blitz game, we see Philidor 1792 taking on  the Philidor Defense. White starts out by gathering material, and then starts to work with his "Jerome pawns", undeterred by a Queen exchange. When White needs an "extra" piece, he simply enlists his King. As ever, there is a whole lot of battle in the game, and quick decisions to make as the clock ticks down.
Philidor 1792 - guest24
3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.h3 Nf6 6.Qe2 h6 7.c3 Be7 8.Qb5 Rf8 9.Qb3+ Be6 10.Qxb7 Qd7 11.d3 Rab8 12.Qa6 Rb6 13.Qa4 Kg8

14.b4 d5 15.b5 Nd8 16.Nxe5 Qxb5 17.Qxb5 Rxb5 18.Ng6 Re8

19.e5 Nd7 20.Nxe7+ Rxe7 21.f4 Bf5 22.Na3 Rc5 23.Kd2 Ne6 24.g4 Bh7 25.f5 Nf4 26.Nc2 

26...Nxe5 27.Ba3 Nexd3 28.Bxc5 Nxc5 29.Rhe1 Rxe1 30.Nxe1 Ne4+ 31.Ke3 Nxh3 32.Kd4 c6 33.c4 Nf6 34.cxd5 cxd5 35.Rb1 Nxg4 36.Kxd5 Bxf5 

37.Rb7 a5 38.Ra7 Nf4+ 39.Kc5 Ne6+ 40.Kd6 h5 41.Rxa5 g6 42.Rxf5 gxf5 43.Kxe6 h4 

44.Kxf5 h3 45.Nf3 h2 46.Nxh2 Nxh2 47.a4 Nf3 48.Kf6 Nd4 49.a5 Nc6 50.a6 Kf8 51.Ke6 Ke8 52.Kd6 Na7 53.Kc7 Ke7 54.Kb6 Nc8+ 55.Kb7 Nd6+ 56.Kc7 Nb5+ 57.Kb6 Nd6 58.Kc7 Ke6 59.Kc6 Nc8 60.Kb7 Black lost on time

Dany Sénéchaud

French chess player, openings explorer and author - Emil Joseph Diemer (1908-1990): missionnaire des échecs acrobatiques - Dany Sénéchaud sent the following game, which opens up more understanding of Bxf7+ in the double e-pawn openings and gives a possible contribution to the lineage of the Jerome Gambit.

Millet,C - Sénéchaud,D

Rochefort, 1995

(notes by Sénéchaud, with additions)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.c3 Nc6!!?

3...Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 

4.d4! exd4 5.Bxf7+ 

The position after 4 moves, and this sacrifice - reminiscent of the Abrahams Jerome Gambit - is rare, although it goes back at least as far as Philidor, who thought it playable. Could this have been one of the early influences that led Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to his Gambit?? For other ideas, see "Proto-Jerome Gambits?" Part 1 and Part 2 as well as "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit" Parts i, ii, iii and endnote. - Rick

5...Kxf7

Of course, someone had to try declining the sacrifice, although that can hardly be recommended: 5...Kf8 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 7.Nf3 h6 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Qe7 10.0-0 Qxe4 11.Bxb4+ Nxb4 12.Qb3 Nc2 13.Ne5 d5 14.Nd2 Qf5 15.g4 Qh7 16.Qxd5 g5 17.Qd8+ Kg7 18.Qxc7+ Black resigned, Wassilieff,H - Akadegawa,K, email 2000 - Rick 

6.Qh5+ 

6...Kf8 7.Qxc5+ d6

Also seen: 7...Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Ngxe7 9.Ne2 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 13.Na3 Nd3+ 14.Ke2 Bf5 15.Rd1 Re8+ 16.Kf1 c6 17.b3 Kf7 18.Be3 Rd8 19.Ke2 Nb4 20.Nc4 Rhe8 21.Ne5+ Kf8 22.a3 Nc2 23.Ra2 c5 24.g4 Nxe3 25.fxe3 Rxe5 26.gxf5 cxd4 27.Rd3 Rde8 28.e4 Rxe4+ 29.Kf3 Re3+ 30.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 31.Kf4 Rxb3 32.Rc2 Rc3 33.Rb2 b6 34.a4 d3 35.Ke3 Rc5 36.Kxd3 Rxf5 37.Rc2 g5 38.Rc8+ Kg7 39.Kc4 h5 40.Rc7+ Rf7 White resigned, Fekete,J - Fenyes,G, Goed op 1st, 2004 - Rick 

8.Qg5

White has tried two alternatives:

8.Qc4 Qe7 9.f3 Nf6 10.cxd4 d5 11.Qc3 dxe4 12.f4 Nd5 13.Qb3 Ndb4 14.Be3 Be6 15.Qc3 Nd5 16.Qd2 Ncb4 17.Kd1 Nd3 18.b3 Rd8 19.Ne2 c5 20.Nbc3 c4 21.bxc4 Nb2+ 22.Kc2 Nxc4 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Qc1 Qb4 25.Nc3 Rc8 26.Rb1 Na3+ 27.Kd2 Nxb1+ 28.Qxb1 Qxc3+ 29.Ke2 Qc2+ 30.Bd2 Qxb1 31.Rxb1 Kf7 32.Ke3 Rc2 33.Rb5 Rd8 34.a4 Ra2 35.a5 Ra3+ 36.Kf2 Rd3 37.Be3 Rd7 38.f5 Rc3 39.Bd2 Rc4 40.Ke3 Kf6 41.Kf4 Rc2 42.Be1 Rxg2 43.Bh4+ Kf7 44.Bg3 Rd2 45.Ke5 Bc6 46.Rb4 e3 47.Bf4 Rd3 White resigned, Ramakrishna, G - Guo Yuth, Belconnen op, 2005; and 

8.Qb5 Qe8 9.f3 Nge7 10.Ne2 dxc3 11.Nbxc3 Nd8 12.Qd3 Kf7 13.f4 Qd7 14.0-0 Re8 15.f5 Nec6 16.Bf4 a5 17.Rad1 Ra6 18.Qf3 h5 19.Nd5 Kg8 20.Nxc7 Black resigned, Morrison,J - Storr Best,J, Bromley prelim C, 1925 - Rick

8...Nf6 9.f3 h6 10.Qg3 dxc3 11.bxc3!?

Or 11.Nxc3 Nb4 12.Kd1.

11...Ne5 !!? 12.f4 Nxe4 13.Qe3 Nf2 !!? 14.fxe5 Nxh1 15.Qf3+?

Instead, 15.Nf3 &16.Ba3.

15...Kg8 16.g3 dxe5 17.Qxh1 Bg4 18.Nd2 e4 19.Qxe4 Qd7 20.Qd4 Re8+

21.Kf2 Qf5+ 22.Ndf3 Kh7 23.Bf4 Rhf8 24.Qd1 g5 25.Be3
Qe4 26.Qb1 Bxf3 White resigned

Bxf7+ against the Philidor Defense

The game Pete Banks ("blackburne") referred to in the last post packs a lot of interesting chess in less than a dozen moves. It blew my mind.

Clark (Halesowen),M - Lloyd (Greenlands),J 
Worcester County League D2, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bd7 

A bit unusual for a Philidor Defense. When I first saw it I figured that Black was planning on answering 4.d4 with 4...exd4 and then 5...Nc6.

4.d4 b5 

This is Black's idea, quite unexpected. Now Houdini, analyzing, goes to town, showing White working over the Queenside and then winning a pawn: 5.Bd5 c6 6.Bb3 exd4 7.Qxd4 Na6 8.a4 Nc5 9.axb5 Nxb3 10.cxb3 cxb5 11.0-0 Nf6 12.Bf4 Be7 13.Bxd6. 

5.Bxf7+

I am not going to call this a "Jerome" anything - but I like the move. The meanest thing Houdini has to say about it is that it leads to an even game.

5...Kxf7 

Of course, Black has to take the sacrifice, as the oppositional 5...Ke7 is met by 6.Bxg8 h6 7.dxe5 Rxg8 8.Qd5. 

6.Ng5+ 

This has the feel of an ad hoc attack, but there are some interesting aspects to the position, starting with the fact that Black is still weak on the light squares, even after White has sacrificed his light-squared Bishop.

6...Ke8 7.dxe5 dxe5 

Played too quickly. Houdini suggests 7...Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 (8...Qxe5 9.Nd5 Na6 10.f4) 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.Qe2 h6 = (10...Qg6 11.f4) 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.0-0 Qg6 13.Re1 Qh5 14.e5 Ne7 15.Bf4 Kf7 =. 

8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Qxa8 Qb4+ 10.c3 Black resigned.

I will have to keep my eyes open to see if 4...b5 ever shows its face in the Worcester County League again.

Comment on all these Bxf7+s

In a comment to "Curse You, Red Baron!" Pete Banks ("blackburne") wrote


Hi Rick, you seem to class anything with an early Bxf7 as some kind of Jerome these days. A member of my club recently won an OTB game in 10 moves after saccing on move 5. I would class it as a Philidor, but if you're interested, it's here:

http://www.halesowenchessclub.org.uk/mcvjl.htm




My response -


Hi Pete,

Thanks for the game reference. I'll share the line with Readers in a few posts. (I'm always disappointed when my opponent plays 2...d6.)

I've expanded coverage in this blog from Jerome Gambit games to Jerome-like, Jerome-ish, and Jerome-inspired lines, as many of those who play the "standard" Jerome also like to toss in Bxf7+ elsewhere.

Best wishes,
Rick

Sunday Book Review: The Alterman Gambit Guide White Gambits

The Alterman Gambit Guide
White Gambits
GM Boris Alterman
Quality Chess (2010)
softcover, 448 pages
 http://chesslessons.wordpress.com/


 I think that beginning chess players should not concern themselves greatly about learning chess openings.

If pressured on the point, I usually suggest something like Tartakower and du Mont's 500 Master Games of Chess, which is available, affordable, and gives the reader a lot of interesting games (organized by opening) with sprightly notes. There is a lot of chess to learn in going over the games; and opening knowledge can be acquired by osmosis.

If someone persists, either out of stubbornness or because of making consistent gains in chess skill and ability, I am likely, these days, to recommend The Alterman Gambit Guide, at least for play with the White pieces.

The author presents 7 double-e-pawn openings, and lines of attack against the Caro Kann, Sicilian and French Defenses. The focus is on gambit play, including the Danish Gambit, the Urusov Gambit, the Cochrane Gambit (vs the Petroff), the Evans Gambit, and even the Morra Gambit (vs the Sicilian).

The Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments, Bibliography & Key to symbols used
Foreword by the Author
The Danish Gambit
The Urusov Gambit
The Philidor
The Cochrane Gambit
The Morphy Attack
The Max Lange Attack
The Evans Gambit
The Panov Attack
The Morra Gambit
The Milner-Barry Gambit
Games Index
Variations Index

GM Alterman makes a good case for learning about dynamic chess play through the use of gambits, and his presentation – the choice of short, thematic games; followed by longer, more analyzed battles; followed by theory of the opening – is very effective.

At almost 450 pages, The Alterman Gambit Guide White Gambits covers each opening deep enough that the player can feel confident that he or she has enough "book" knowledge to set the pace of the game. Furthermore, learning each opening in this way maximizes the understanding of attacking themes and strategies that are the "meat" of most club matches – the middle game.

Even if the reader eventually moves on to the more "grandmasterly" Spanish Game, with all its subtleties and nuances, it will be with a tactical knowledge that will always come in handy.

The author is preparing a Gambit Guide of Black Gambits, soon to be released. I have had it on pre-order for weeks.



 
(Take a look at a sample of The Alterman Gambit Guide White Gambits.)

Satisfaction: Still Quite Légal

As I've mentioned in "Housekeeping..." and "Barely Legal", there is still a chance for satisfaction when you try for a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and your opponent opts for a defense with ...d7-d6

perrypawnpusher - Olito
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian opening.

4.O-O d6

The Hungarian Defense, or a variation of the Philidor.

5.d4 Bg4 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Nxe5 Bxd1

Oooops.

8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9. Nd5 checkmate

 

Housekeeping...

Now that the number of posts to this blog has passed 1,000 and its age races toward three years, I know that sometimes past items will be overlooked and not linked to current ones.

For example, in "Barely Legal" where I shared my Philidor Defense game that ended in a variation of Legal's Mate

I should have mentioned that in "Declining the Jerome Gambit - Légally" I presented a Damiano Defense game (by transposition) that also ended up in Légall's Mate

Oh, they're the almost the exact same position, you say? How could I have included one and overlooked the other?

It looks like my blog's "search" function could use a built-in "spell check" function to help me out... 

p.s. Another recent Légal, played since the above was written, from my short visit to ICC: AlonzoJerome - Osmin, ICC 5 5, 2011, # 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nc3 h6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.d3 Nd4 7.Nxe5 Bxd1 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Nd5 checkmate

 

Barely Legal

Denied the chance for a Jerome Gambit, and facing a foe with a strategy that had been successful against me in past games, I found a way to update an old chess strategem of my own.

perrypawnpusher - koek
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6

Sigh. No Jerome Gambit today: a Philidor Defense by transposition, or maybe a Hungarian Defense.

4.0-0 Bg4

Planning to gang up on my pinned Knight at f3 and cause a breakup of the pawn wall in front of my King.

5.Nc3

Going along with Black's plan.

Last year Koek and I played one game that continued 5.d4 White resigned; and another that continued 5.h3 Bh5 6.d3 Nd4 White resigned.

5...Nd4

I've been having a hard time finding games that follow this move order, but I did discover Hansen, S. - Briz, P., Denmark, 1974, that now continued 6.d3 Nxf3+ 7.gxf3 Bh3, showing the Kingside damage that I was trying to avert.

Now for something completely different.

6.Nxe5

Ah, yes, the idea from Legal de Kermeur - St. Brie, Paris 1750: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

6...Bxd1

Black needed to play 6...dxe5, but who could resist a "free" Queen?

7.Bxf7+ Ke7 8.Nd5 checkmate

Welcome to the Club!

Going through the latest selection of Jerome Gambit and Jerome-ish games from the FICS database, I noticed that themavz had played quite a few attacking games with the Bxf7+ theme. Later, when he challenged me, I wasn't in the mood to defend a gambit, but he insisted..

thmavz  - perrypawnpusher
blitz 3 0, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6

Really, I'd like to play a boring Philidor Defense.

3.Bc4 Be7

See, I don't want your Knight coming to g5.

4.Bxf7+

Oh, well.

4...Kxf7 5.d4 exd4 6.Qd2

This looks like a mouse-slip for 6.Qxd4, which puts an additional burden on the attacker.

6...Nd7

Sure, I could have protected the pawn on d4 with 6...c5, but I wanted piece development, not more material.

7.Qxd4 Ngf6 8.e5

Never let it be said that themavz hesitates to attack. This is a 3-minute game and he brings it asap.

8...dxe5 9.Nxe5+ Nxe5 10.Qxe5 Re8

My first step toward castling-by-hand to relieve my aggrieved King. Tactical maniacs will note that 10...Bb4+ followed by 11...Re8 would have been much stronger. 

11.0-0 Bd6 12.Qc3 Kg8 13.Qb3+ Be6 14.Qxb7

Recall what is said about those who take the Queen's Knight's pawn...

14...Bd5 15.Qa6 Ng4 16.g3

Necessary was 16.h3, although White can still break through with 16...Nxf2.

16...Nxh2

Missing 16...Qh4, mating; but the text wins.

17.Kxh2

After 17.Nc3 Nf3+ White's King remains in grave danger.

17...Qh4+ 18.Kg1 Qh3

Or 18...Qh1#.

19.f3 Qxg3+ 20.Kh1 Qh2 checkmate

I admit that may not have been the friendliest "Welcome" to the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, but I look forward to many more interesting games from thmavz!

Philidor Defense with a Jerome Touch

As an aside in the post "A New Opening?" which discussed an article from the September 1958 Precita Valley Chess Herald wherin George Koltanowski named John Ishkan's Jerome Gambit the "Trashcan Opening", I presented a Koltanowski game that was a Philidor Defense with a Jerome touch. For extra measure, I added a 2004 Kosteniuk - Skripchenko game with the same line.

It would have been appropriate then to have mentioned a related game and analysis by Francesco Recchia of Italy that had been posted to this blog a year and a half earlier in "A Kind of Jerome Gambit That Wins".

Here is the earliest example that I have found of the opening variation.

Hahlbohm,H - Moorman,L
Chicago, 1917

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 h6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bxf7+

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf6 8.Qd5

Instead, Kosteniuk chose 8.Qd4. Recchia energetically recommended 8.Nc3.

Now 8...Qe8 is Black's only move.

 8...Ne7 9.Qf7+ Kxe5 10.Bf4+ Kd4 11.Qe6 Nc5 12.Be3 checkmate

After posting this, I hoped to try the line in a FICS blitz game. I was not able to reach the exact position, but I put the lessons that I had learned to good use in perrypawnpusher - NN, blitz, FICS, 2010: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d4 Nc6 (4...Nd7 would reach Hahlbohm - Moorman, above. Best was 4...exd4) 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5...Bg4 is an interesting gambit; otherwise, 5...Qe7 seems necessary) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Black resigned

A New Opening?

Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member, chess opening maven and book author Bill Wall sent me a copy of the September 1958 issue of the Precita Valley Chess Herald ("A Monthly Chess News Bulletin Published by the Precita Valley Chess Club Representing The San Francisco Bay Area Chess League") which had an interesting article. 

A New Opening?

During the U.S. Open at Rochester, Minnesota, there was a small tourney taking place on the side. In it was one man named John Ishkan, who, during one round as White, played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ After White's fifth move his opponent went up to George Koltanowski and asked, "What opening is this?". Kolty said that he did not know but that he would feed the moves to the IBM machine and find out. A little later the player of the Black pieces asked George, "Did the machine have the answer?" "Yes," was the reply, "It's the ASHCAN OPENING!" -- To complete the story, by the way, Ishkan won the game!

A few comments:

The July 1958 cover story of Chess Review was on "A Chess Playing Program for the I.B.M. 704" by Alex Bernstein. This is likely the "IBM machine" that George Koltanowski was joking about consulting with.

I was surprised that Kolty was unfamiliar with the Jerome Gambit, but there was little written about it in the 1950s (I can think only of L. Elliott Fletcher's 1954 Gambit's Accepted that had a game and analysis), certainly nothing in the recently released (1957) Modern Chess Openings, 9th Edition.

My files show a Koltanowski game from a 1953 blindfold simultaneous display in Brussels, which, while a Philidor Defense, has abit of a Jerome touch to it:

Koltanowski,G - NN
blind simul Brussels, 1953

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 h6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf6 8.Qd5 Ne7 9.Qf7+ Kxe5 10.Bf4+ Kd4 11.Na3 b5 12.Qe6 Kc5 13.Be3+ Kb4 14.Qb3+ Ka5 15.Qxb5 checkmate

It is interesting to note that the same opening line appeared in a game between Alexandra Kosteniuk and Almira Skripchenko (both rated 2400+ at the time) over 50 years later, only this time it was drawn.

Kosteniuk,A - Skripchenko,A
PWPW S.A Chess Cup, Warsaw, POL (7), 20.06.2004

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 h6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf6 8.Qd4 c5 9.Nxd7+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ Kxd7 11.Qb5+ Ke7 12.Nc3 Kf7 13.Be3 Nf6 14.e5 Ng4 15.0-0 Qh4 16.h3 Nxe3 17.fxe3+ Kg8 18.Qb3+ Kh7 19.Nd5 Qg5 20.Rf7 Bxh3 21.Qd3+ Kg8 22.Nf4 Kxf7 23.Nxh3 Qxe5 24.Rf1+ Kg8 25.Qc4+ Kh7 26.Qd3+ Kg8 27.Qc4+ Kh7 28.Qd3+ Kg8 29.Qc4+ drawn


(By the way, you might want to check out Bill's new chess magazine White Knight.)

Italian Game Anti-Fried Liver Defense (Part 1)

Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Welton Vaz sends us a Chess.com link to an enjoyable discussion on the play of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 – known on this site as the "Semi-Italian Opening" (after Euwe) – as a way of avoiding the Fried Liver Attack 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7

Although one of the Chess.com posters complained about 3...h6 "I hate when players play this as it is an insult to the Italian" there was no suggestion on the website, either in the discussion or the related 21 games given, that White could return the "insult" of 3...h6 by transposing to the Jerome Gambit with, say, 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+.

Of course Welton sent one of his games where he provided that "insult" – which we will see in "Italian Game Anti-Fried Liver Defense (Part 2)".

By the way, Grandmaster Boris Alterman has a 6-part series on the Fried Liver Attack on his website, along with instruction on a whole list of gambits, including the Danish, Evans, Max Lange and Morra.

I note that Alterman has two books forthcoming, one on gambits with White and one on gambits with Black. Of the first, he writes

The Alterman Gambit Guide: White Gambits is both an opening book and an instructive manual. Sharpen your tactics and learn to play dynamic attacking chess while studying the most entertaining gambits. Lines covered include:Evans Gambit, Panov Attack, Morra Gambit, Philidor, Danish Gambit, Urusov Gambit, Morphy Attack, Cochrane Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Fried Liver Attack and Milner-Barry Gambit

For those who like their liver fried, there is also a book by NM Dan Heisman on The Computer Analyzes the Fried Liver / Lolli.

London Calling... Ten Months of Blog

Dear Jerome Gambit Gemeinde,

It's time to note that jeromegambit.blogspot.com has had daily posts (over 300 of them) for ten months now – an infant compared to many wonderful chess sites, but almost a toddler beside them. And there is still much room to grow!

We've not only explored the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) on these pages, but thanks to the creativity of many members, we've also taken on a host of loosely-named Jerome Gambit "relatives":

Abrahams Jerome Gambit

Bishop's Opening Jerome Gambit

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit

Boden-Kieseritzky Jerome Gambit

Danvers Jerome Gambit

Evans Jerome Gambit

Fried Jerome Attack

Jerome Elephant Gambit

Philidor Jerome Gambit

Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit

Sicilian Jerome Gambit

Best wishes, all!

Rick Kennedy ("perrypawnpusher")

Fried Jerome Attack

Not everyone is interested in facing the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ (see, for example "It's a good thing I read this blog"). One way to avoid it is to play Philidor's Defense, 2...d6, instead of allowing the Italian Game with 2...Nc6. Still, one shouldn't provoke too much of an attacking spirit in the heart of the Jerome Gambiteer...


perrypawnpusher - azzaonnet
blitz 5 12 FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nf6
An unusual, but playable, variation of the Philidor.

4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5

With this move Black allows his opponent to play an attack similar to the Fried Liver Attack in the Two Knights Defense: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxe5 6.Nxf7 – only in this case Black has not developed his Queen's Knight.

In one of his Gambit Cartel columns for ChessCafe, "Going Fishing," Tim McGrew (see "A Few Words With...Tim McGrew") points out that the proper move in this line of the Philidor is 5...h6, after which "The similarities to the Elephant [Gambit] line [which he discusses] are striking."

6.Nxf7

Of course. Never mind that the last time I played the Fried Liver Attack was 30 years ago. Or that the move 6.d4, similar to the Lolli Attack in the Two Knights (not to be mistaken for the Wild Muzio Gambit, mind you: see "Wild!", "Wilder!" and "Wildest!") was probably stronger.
6...Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6

Black's King must venture into danger to hold onto the piece: 7...Ke8 8.Qxd5 Qxd5 9.Bxd5, as in perrypawnpusher - xPOGOx, FICS 2009, simply leads to a Queenless middlegame a pawn down.

8.Nc3

An alternative was 8.0-0 c6 9.d4 Qf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.dxe5 Qf5 12.f4 Be6 13.Bd3 Qg4 14.Rf3 g6 15.h3 Qh5 16.Bd2 Kd8 17.c4 Bc5+ 18.Kf1 Ne7 19.b4 Bd4 20.Bc3 Bxc3 21.Nxc3 a6 22.Rd1 Kc7 23.b5 axb5 24.cxb5 Nd7 25.a4 Rhf8 26.Qd2 g5 27.Be4 Nd5 28.Nxd5+ Bxd5 29.Bxd5 Nxe5 30.fxe5 Rfd8 31.Rf7+ Qxf7+ 32.Bxf7 Rxd2 33.Rxd2 Rxa4 34.e6 Black resigned, Eliason - Leow, Berlin 1856.

8...c6 9.d4 exd4

Or 9...b5 10.Bb3 b4 11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.dxe5 Nc6 13.c4 Ne7 14.cxd5+ Nxd5 15.0-0 h5 16.Rd1 Bb7 17.Bg5 Qxg5 18.Bxd5+ Bxd5 19.Qxd5+ Kf5 20.Qxa8 Qe7 21.Qf3+ Kg6 22.Rd6+ Kh7 23.Qf5+ Kg8 24.Rad1 g6 25.Rxg6+ Bg7 26.Rd7 Qf8 27.Rgxg7+ Qxg7 28.Rd8+ Black resigned, abhailey-vkroll, net-chess.com 2007.


10.Qe4+

Rybka 3 turns its nose up at this move, preferring the further piece sacrifice: 10.Bf4 dxc3 11.0-0-0 after which it sees White as having a winning game. Amazing!

10...Kd6

This is not accurate, either: the King should be one step further back.

11.Nxd5

I admit that I was at a bit of a loss for a plan, here. Later Rybka 3 suggested capturing with the other minor piece: 11.Bxd5 Kc7 12.Qxd4 b6 13.Nb5+ Kb7 and White has the advantage.

11...Be6

Wow. Clearly my opponent was seeing something that I wasn't seeing. Later the computer suggested that Black would be better after 11...cxd5 12.Qxd5+ Kc7 13.Bf4+ Bd6 14.Qxd4 Qe7+ 15.Be2 Rd8 16.0-0-0 Nc6.

Now the game ends quickly.

12.Bf4+ Kc5


Or 12...Kd7 13.Nc7, which turns out badly.


13.b4+ Kxc4 14.Qd3+ Kxd5 15.c4 checkmate