The following game can be looked at as a series of riddles posed to the "hero" (that would be me, I guess) on his way to an unexpected victory - isn't that the only kind of win for White that comes in the Jerome Gambit?
Sadly (for him), my opponent could not solve his own final riddle...
I have given game references for early in the play, to see how to deal with riddle #1 (7...Qe7, the Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit, by the way) and riddle #2 (9...Nh6), but after that you are largely on your own - as I was.
perrypawnpusher - Kleini
blitz, FICS, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+
I would rather not exchange Queens at this point.
8...Qf6
The alternative 8...Nf6 is as old as two Jaeger,D - Jerome,A correspondence games from 1880, wins for Black in 14 and 40 moves.
At a faster time control, I have been more successful: perrypawnpusher - ERICOLSON, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33);
perrypawnpusher - frencheng, 10 5 blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½ , 31); perrypawnpusher - jonathankochems, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 39); and perrypawnpusher - Chesssafety, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 25).
9.Qg3
Not 9.Qxc7? Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 d6.
9...Nh6
An interesting novelty of questionable value.
Previously seen have been 9...d6 in Wall,B - Guest340293, Playchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 41), perrypawnpusher - JoseSoza, Chess.com, 2012 (0-1, 37), and Wall,B - Josti, Playchess.com, 2013 (1-0, 26); and 9...Bd6 in perrypawnpusher - molerat, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23).
10.Nc3 d6 11.Nd5 Qf7 12.0-0 c6
13.Nc3
Houdini 3's solution to the riddle of this position is 13.d4!? The silicon superstar sees White drawing by repetition after 13...cxd5 14.dxc5 dxe4 (14...dxc5 15.Bxh6 gxh6 16.Qd6+ Kg7 17.Qg3+ etc.) 15.Bxh6 gxh6 16.Qxd6+ (16.f3!? is an interesting attempt for more, e.g. 16...e3 17.Rfe1 Bf5 18.Rxe3 Qf6 19.Qf4 Rg8 20.cxd6 ) Kg7 17.Qg3+ Qg6 18.Qc7+ Qf7 19.Qg3+, etc.
It's all a bit over my head. Okay, more than "a bit".
13...Be6 14.d3
Again, 14.d4!? seems to be the key to the position, 14...Bb4 15.a3 Bxc3 16.Qxd6+ Qe7 17.Qf4+ Kg8 18.bxc3 and Black's edge is minimal.
14...Qg6
15.Qxg6
By now the alternative (according to Houdini 3) should be predictable: 15.d4!? Bb4 16.a3 Bxc3 17.Qxd6+ Kg8 18.bxc3 Nf7 with a small edge to Black.
15...hxg6
White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece.
The Knight escapade that I started with my next move was a bad idea, and led to a lost position. I should have moved the piece to the Kingside with 15...Ne2.
16.Na4 Bd4 17.c3 Bf6 18.b3 b5 19.Nb2 Bxc3
20.Rb1 Ke7 21.Nd1 Bd4 22.Ne3 Ng4 23.h3 Nxe3 24.fxe3 Be5 25.d4 Bg3 26.Rf3 Bh4
Black's two Bishops are scary. He just has to be careful, and he can bring home the point.
Of course, that was true 20 moves ago, too.
27.Ba3 Rhf8 28.Rbf1 a5
I don't blame you if you didn't shout "He should have exchanged Rooks before playing that move!" I didn't realize that it was that critical, either.
29.Bxd6+
Exchanging Rooks, too, here is supposed to be stronger, according to Houdini 3. I was just glad to have a shot at bringing the game closer to equal.
29...Ke8
Wow. Surprised by my move, my opponent stumbles hard. That's blitz for you.
Instead, after 29...Kxd6 30.Rxf8 Ra7!? Houdini 3 believes Black's two Bishops balance out White's Rook and two extra pawns. Play would remain tricky, but if White can collect and/or exchange some pawns, he should be able to split the point.
30.Rxf8+ Black resigned
Here we have another game where Black seems to be unimpressed with White's "funny" opening.
I mean, come on, White has to be clowning around, right, playing that "joke opening," the Jerome Gambit?
As I've written before, "If you want them to stop laughing..."
Not all clowns are funny, though. Some are killers. Witness the following.
Wall, Bill - Guest3544144
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.f3
White's move appears to be a TN, although the idea of supporting the e4 pawn in this way is not unknown in the Jerome Gambit.
10...Kf7 11.d4 Re8 12.O-O c5
A pawn is a pawn, right? Black sacrifices one to get the Queens off of the board, ending White's attack, perhaps?
Now that's funny.
13.dxc5 dxc5 14.Qxc5 Qb6 15.Qxb6 axb6
With a piece for three pawns, Black has an even game. However, given that he had a won game at move 4, this is not actually progress.
16.Rd1 Be6 17.Nc3 Red8 18.Be3 Ne5
What's another pawn among friends?
19.Bxb6 Re8
20.Nb5
Threatening Nc7 and Nd6+
20...Re7 21.a4 Nc4 22.Bc5 Rd7 23.b3 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Na5
White is in no hurry, but slowly improves his position.
25.Nd6+ Kg6 26.f4 Bc8 27.f5+ Kh5 28.e5 Ng8
The "Jerome pawns", completely supported by their pieces, advance and bring havoc. White's next move adds an additional theme: threat to the enemy King.
29.Rd3 Ne7 30.Rh3+ Kg4
This looks risky, and it is, but the alternative, 30...Kg5, is met with 31.Be3+ Kg4 32.Rg3+ Kh4 33.Bg5+ Kh5 34.Bxe7 g5 35.Rxg5+ Kh4 36.Rg6+ Kh5 37. g4 checkmate.
31.f6 gxf6 32.exf6 Ng6 33.Be3 h5 34.Rg3+ Kh4 35.Bg5 checkmate
Same.
Looking for precedents in the play of Wall - Guest2507113, PlayChess.com, 2013 (see "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"), I found the game Sir Osis of the Liver - Piratepaul, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2009, in The Database.
The play began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 d6 6.O-O h6 7.h3 Nf6 8.Be3 Bb6 9.c4 Rf8 10.Nc3 Kg8 reaching an identical position to Wall - Guest 2507113.
This is not surprising: Bill is always the first to get the updated versions of The Database, and he likes to mine the nearly 29,000 games for inspiration for future play.
Different.
As play continued, however, Sir Osis (love that name!) had greater difficulties in the game, fell behind, and found himself in dire straits, as can be seen in the following position, where he is down a piece and a couple of passed pawns.
Play continued
30.Qxe5
When, instead of exchanging Rooks, Black pressed his attack with
30...Nf4?
White quickly noted the difference, and offered the swap himself with
31.Rxf6
Not wanting to drop a piece with 31...gxf6 and slide into what would most likely be a drawn ending, Black now played
31...Nxd3
Same.
Allowing the enjoyable win
32.Rxh6 checkmate
I recently received an email from Bill Wall, noting "I looked at your last two articles on 'not Nxe5' and since you had one of my c3 games, that now left d3 and O-O to try. So I tried them both in one game..."
Wall,B - Guest2507113
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.0-0 d6 6.d3 h6 7.h3 Nf6
Some contemporary Jerome Gambit players, perhaps aided by computer evaluations, have opted not to make the second sacrifice, 5.Nxe5, in what was once called "Jerome's Double Gambit."
These "modern" Jerome Gambit variations leave White "objectively" better off than do the "classical" lines, but, to my mind (Rick) their lack of utter chaos makes playing the attack more challenging. Black says "hit me with your best shot."
As if that ever stopped Bill Wall.
8.c4 Rf8 9.Nc3 Kg8 10.Be3 Bb6 11.Rc1 Bd7
12.Nd5 Bxe3 13.fxe3 Be6 14.Qb3 Rb8 15.Rf2 Qd7 16.Nh4 Kh7 17.Qa4 a6 18.Qc2 Ne7
White's pieces have been probing the enemy position. Now he sees a chance to weaken the Kingside a bit.
19.Nxf6+ Rxf6 20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Rf1
Threatening 22.Rxf6
21...f5?
Better 21...Ng6 22.Nxg6 Kxg6
22.exf5 Nxf5 23.d4
The Knight is now pinned and White threatens Nxf5
23...Rf8?
Black keeps playing reasonable moves, and they keep not working out. Bill recommends 23...Qf7 24.dxe5 dxe5 25.Qe4 Rf8 26.g4 while Houdini 3 suggests giving up the piece directly with 23...Kh8 24.Nxf5 In either case, White would still be better.
24.d5 Bf7 25.Rxf5
Threatening 26.Rxf7+, winning the Queen
25...Kg7
Threatening 26...Bg6, pinning Rook and Queen. If 27. Nxg6, then 27...Qxf5 and Black is winning.
26.Qf2 Qe7? 27.Rf3
Threatening 28. Nf5+, forking Queen and King
27...Qg5 28.Rg3 Black resigned
I remember that in the first years that I played chess, I would occasionally checkmate an opponent, only to hear him say, "It's a good thing that you did, because I was going to checkmate you the next move," as if that were going to come as a surprise to me - like the many bogus chess games on TV or in the movies that end with one player announcing "Check" only to have the other one surprise him completely with "Check and mate".
In the following game, Black has a similar "consolation."
Wall,B - Josti
Playchess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8
The Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit.
7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3
As Bill notes, not 9.Qxc7? Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 d6
9...d6 10.Nc3 Ne7 11.0-0 Be6 12.d3 Kf7
Black prepares to castle-by-hand, holding the advantage. It is up to White to provide enough mischief to make a game of it.
13.Bg5 Qg6 14.Nb5 Bb6 15.Kh1 Rhf8 16.c4
16...Nc6 17.c5 dxc5 18.Nxc7 Bxc7 19.Qxc7+ Kg8 20.Qxb7
20...Nd4?!
Bill suggests 20...Nb4 21.Bd2 Nxd3 as better.
21.f4 h6 22.Bh4 Qg4?!
Black sees the opportunity of either grabbing a pawn or turning White's Bishop into a large pawn. There was more heat in 22...Rfb8 23.Qc7 Rxb2.
23.Bg3 Ne2 24.Rf3
It looks for all the world like Black is attacking - and he is. Now, however, he overlooks a critical line.
24...Nxg3+??
Instead, Houdini 3 shows the road to advantage for Black, but it is a surprisingly rocky one, and a Jerome Gambit player might not be at all unhappy with the resulting position for White: 24...Rfb8 25.Qc7 Rxb2 26.f5 Rxa2 27.Rxa2 Nxg3+ 28.hxg3 Bxa2 29.Qb7 Re8 30.Qxa7 Bf7 31.Qxc5 Rb8 32.Qc2 Qg5 33.Kh2 Ra8.
25.Rxg3 Qxf4
Threatening mate with 26...Qf1+ 27. Rxf1 Rxf1 mate, but...
26.Qxg7 checkmate
("I was winning," an opponent once told me in one of my games; and I agreed, "You were, right up until the point where you resigned."
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws
The tension in the following game comes from the advance of Bill Wall's wall of "Jerome pawns". His opponent's return of a piece was an interesting idea, but it turned out not to be enough.
Wall,B - Guesty1960624
Playchess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
White is usually happy to see this move, as it means that he will be able to capture Black's pesky dark-square Bishop, freeing the "Jerome pawns" to advance.
7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ N8e7 9.0-0 d6 10.Qc4
10...Bd7 11.d4 Nc6 12.f4 Qf6 13.f5 Nge7 14.Be3 Rc8 15.Nc3 Qf7 16.Qd3 a6
The game appears about even, although Black's King prevents his Rooks from communicating, and he may become ill at ease behind his Queen, if the f-file opens.
17.g4 h6 18.h4 Qf6 19.g5 hxg5 20.hxg5 Qf7
Black's plan is to show that White's pawns have advanced too far, leaving the White King at risk. He is willing to return a piece to make his point.
21.f6 Qh5 22.fxe7+ Kxe7 23.Nd5+ Kd8 24.Kf2 Rf8+ 25.Ke1 Qh4+
This gives White's King a jump on his escape. Probably better was 25...Rxf1+ 26.Qxf1 Qh4+ 27.Kd2 Qxe4 with a messy, but balanced, game.
26.Kd2 Qh2+ 27.Kc3 Rh8 28.Rf7 g6 29.Qf1 Ke8 30.Qf6 Black resigned
Even giving up most of his army will not save Black from mate: 30...Qh7 31.Rf1 Bf5 32.Rxf5 Qxf7 33.Qxh8+ Kd7 34.Rxf7+ Ne7 35.Rxe7+ Kc6 36.Qxc8 b6 37.Qe8+ Kb7 38.Rxc7#
Strong players make it all look simple, but, at least for the rest of us, chess is anything but simple.
Wall,B - Guest344942
Playchess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.Qd5+ Kf8 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd4 Nc6 11.Qd3 Qe7 12.Nc3 h6 13.Bf4
Chess is not always a simple game. Black, with a piece for a pawn, must be better, but he still has to complete his development and get his King to safety, while White has already connected his Rooks.
Black's plan for castling-by-hand will give his opponent a target.
13...g5 14.Be3 Kg7 15.f4 Ng4
Black figures that he has time to trade off White's Bishop. For some reason he abandons that notion a couple of moves later, to his detriment.
16.Nd5 Qd8 17.Bd4+ Kh7
An unnecessary flinch. Necessary was 17...Nxd4 18.Qxd4+ Kh7 19.fxg5 (threatening 20.Rf7+) when White has nearly equalized, e.g. 19...Ne5 20.gxh6 Qg5 21.h4 (bumping the Queen off the g-file) Qxh6 22.Nxc7 Rb8 23.Nb5.
Now the roof falls in.
18.e5+ Kg8
The only escape from mate was 18...Kg7, although then there is 19.e6+ Nxd4 20.Qxd4+ Kg8 21.e7 Qe8 and 22.fxg5, threatening 23.Rf8+.
19.Qg6+ Kf8 20.fxg5+ Black resigned
