A Jerome Gambit win, and some handy endgame play in another game, will allow me to move on to the 3rd round of play in both the "Italian Game Classic" and "Italian Game Battlegrounds" tournaments at Chess.com. There will be a bit of a wait, however, until I can play a few more Jerome Gambits, as each tournament has a number of games to complete before the round is finished.
The turning point in the following game reminds me of the light-hearted comment about giving up material: if it succeeds, it's a "sacrifice", if it fails, it's a "blunder". I would love to say that my chess has matured to the point where I made an intuitive sacrifice, but I have to admit that it was more of a fortunate oversight.
perrypawnpusher - mallack
Italian Game Battlegrounds, Chess.com, 2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Kf8
The Jerome Defense, first suggested by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in an article in the Dubuque Chess Journal of July, 1874, and seen, initially, in Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (1-0, 40).
The Database has 665 game examples, with White scoring 50%. My own experience is a bit better: in 36 games, I scored 79%. (That probably reflects experience with the line.)
7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3
As I noted in an earlier post
I experimented with Jerome's 8.Qf4+ in perrypawnpusher - Capt. Mandrake, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic tournament, ChessWorld.com, 2008 (1-0, 9) and perrypawnpusher - LeeBradbury, "Italian Game" Thematic, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 36).
I also tried 8.Qc3 in perrypawnpusher - Raankh, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 22).
There is not much difference in the strength between these two moves and the text, or even 8.Qh5, if Stockfish 9 is to be believed.
8...Nf6 9.Nc3
I am not sure why I chose the text move over 9.d3. Before this game, I was 3 - 1 with 9.Nc3 and 5 - 1 with 9.d3. The two lines sometimes transpose, and 9.d3 brings White one step closer to resolving the issue of Black's annoying dark square Bishop, so, perhaps it should be played first.
9...Be6
This was also played by Abhishek29 against me earlier this year. The move is good, and preserves Black's advantage, although it has the slight taint of placing the Bishop (possibly) in a place where an advancing White f-pawn might hit it.
10.O-O g6
This move, a novelty, according to The Database, does several things. It resists a possible f2-f4-f5 by White; it protects the Black g-pawn from White's Queen, and it gives the Black King a place to step out of the way, to castle-by-hand and allow his Rook to get into play.
11.d3 Kg7 12.Na4
Seriously?!
I was going to try this move, after the trials of my game against warwar, in the 3rd round of the Italian Battleground tournament (at Chess.com) earlier this year? Sure, the positions are not the same, but warwar did not meekly retreat his Bishop to b6, he brought it to d4, then e5 - and then threw in ...Nh5 for good measure. It was a messy game, even if I did weasel out a win.
Then, there was the additional anxiety related to my game against Abhishek29, when he did retreat the Bishop, and I was able to exchange it off.
Certainly, it was a time for in-depth concrete analysis - so, of course, I crossed my fingers for luck and just made the Knight move...
12...Bb6
Whew!
After the game, Stockfish 10 pointed out that 12...Bd4 13.c3 Be5 14.f4 would be hit by 14...Nh5. In fact, 13...Nh5 would have been good for Black, too. Yikes.
13.Nxb6 axb6 14.f4 Rxa2
This took me by surprise. It should not have - in a similar position against Abhishek29, I had prevented the capture by playing a2-a3. But, is the loss of the pawn a big deal, any way? It turns out, it is not. This is the sacrifice/blunder of material that I referred to in the introduction to this game.
15.Rxa2 Bxa2 16.b3
Black's Bishop has left his King, and is trapped. It is vulnerable to capture in a couple of moves, which explains Black's next choice.
16...Qa8
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Black has grabbed the pawn, and now feels the need to protect the locked-in Bishop, even at the cost of removing another defender from the Kingside.
17.Bb2
This move reminded me of a booklet on the 2.b3 Sicilian that I bought in 1977, from Ron's Postal Chess Club, of all places. At the time, I was advancing the b-pawn one step against 1...c5 if I was feeling conservative, or two steps (the wing gambit) if I was feeling rowdy; and I even tried 2.b3 against the French and Caro Kann defenses. Nowadays you can find by Jerzy Konikowski and Marek Soszynski.
Oh - back to the game. White's attack is about to come together.
17...Rf8 18.f5
18...Qa5 19.fxg6 hxg6 20.Qf4 g5 21.Bxf6+
After the game, Stockfish 10 preferred 21...Qg4. I wanted my piece back, right away.
21...Kg8 22.Qg4 Qd2
Black's Queen cannot save the day.
23.Bxg5 Black resigned
You probably saw the cute checkmate, instead, with 23.Qe6+ Kh7 24.Qe7 Rf7 25.Qxf7+ Kh6 26.Qg7+ Kh5 27.Qh7+ Kg4 28.Qh3#.
Please note the stranded Bishop on a2.
While it looks like I am headed for a 3rd place finish (out of 6) in the 3rd round of the "Italian Battleground" tournament at Chess.com, I will at least have some Jerome Gambit tales to tell from the experience.
I have already shared my 3rd round game perrypawnpusher - Abhishek29, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 35) - my second win in this tournament against that opponent, having defeated him in in Round 1 - see perrypawnpusher - Abhishek29, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 19).
The current game is a rematch with an opponent that I faced in Round 2 - see perrypawnpusher - warwar, "Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019 (1-0, 39). I was a bit concerned, the way "real" chessplayers are concerned about "real" chess openings: how much had he learned about the Jerome Gambit in the meantime?
It turned out to be an interesting battle between the "Jerome pawns" and the defender's extra piece, but, most of all, between someone who had prepared the opening and someone who had to improvise in the middlegame and endgame.
perrypawnpusher - warwar
"Italian Battleground", Chess.com, 2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
When the game was over, the Chess.com site offered to do a quick computer analysis. Not surprisingly, this move was labelled a blunder.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8
warwar adopts the Jerome Defense, first suggested by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in his analysis in an article in the Dubuque Chess Journal of July, 1874. It was first played in Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (1-0, 40).
Interestingly enough, Abhishek29 was playing the same defense against me in the same round, too. My record, at that point, against the line was 25 - 6 - 3, a decent 78% score.
7.Qxe5 d6
As I wrote in the article that I had prepared for Kaissiber (unfortunately, never published)
The defenses 6…Kf8 and 6…Ng6 have had their supporters and detractors, depending on how each evaluated the alternatives – was it better to hold onto a little material and avoid complications, or to enter them confidently, knowing that they would turn the game even more in your favor?
Jerome (DCJ 7/1874) first suggested 6…Kf8. He followed it with 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.c3 Kf7 10.d4 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Re8 13.0-0 Kg8 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Bh6 “and White has a pawn ahead.” (Actually, the game is even; but Jerome missed that earlier his 11.e5 was premature, as after the pawn exchange 12…Qd3 would be crushing – Paul Keiser, personal communication. The alternative 8…Ke8 was seen in 5 games in the Yetman – Farmer 2008 match.)
As Sorensen (NS 5/1877) did not mention 6…Kf8, it was not touched upon by other writers until Freeborough and Rankin (COAM, 1889) suggested that it led to a safe game for Black, giving the line 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.Nc3 d6 10.Qf3 Qf7 (or 10...Nf6!) 11.Qe2 Nh6 (or 11...Ne7 or 11...Nf6) with “a superior position or game” to Black.
A hundred years after Jerome, Harding, in his Counter Gambits (1974), varied, after 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 with 9.d3 Kg8 10.Nc3 Qe8 11.Be3 Bb4 12.0-0 Be6 13.Ne2 Qh5 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.c3 Bc5, advantage to Black. His comment in The Italian Game (1977) was that after 7…d6, White was left “without genuine compensation for his piece.” He sagely recommended the 6…Kf8 line as “other lines would allow White to attack the exposed black king or to win back the sacrificed material.”
8.Qg3
I experimented with Jerome's 8.Qf4+ in perrypawnpusher - Capt. Mandrake, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic tournament, ChessWorld.com, 2008 (1-0, 9) and perrypawnpusher - LeeBradbury, "Italian Game" Thematic, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 36).
There is not much difference in the strength between these two moves and the text, or even 8.Qh5, if Stockfish 9 is to be believed.
In the following game Black is vigorous in his response to White's gambit. However, he seems to run out of energy at the end. Is being down 5 pawns for a piece reason enough to resign? In this case, perhaps not: Stockfish 8 evaluates the final position as even.
Wall, Bill - NN
lichess.org, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4. Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6
hxg6 8.Qxg6+
8.Qxh8 is a mistake, but I once managed to win with it anyhow, perrypawnpusher - tampajake, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 12).
8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Nf6
Better than 9...Ke8 in perrypawnpusher - adamzzzz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 39).
10.Qc5+
Better than 10.e5 in perrypawnpusher - JokeritT, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).
10...Kf7
I faced 10...d6 in a number of games; perrypawnpusher - foreverblackman, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 21); perrypawnpusher - vlas, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 23); perrypawnpusher - theferno, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28); perrypawnpusher - Raankh, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 49); and perrypawnpusher - michon, FICS, 2015 (1-0, 36). Bill, too: Wall,B - Guest5170841, PlayChess.com 2015 (1-0, 15 ).
11.Qxd4 Qe8 12.Nc3 c5 13.Qe3 Qe5 14.h3 Bh6 15.Qf3 Qf4 16.Qe2 d6
Black is fighting back vigorously, despite his slightly exposed King. Still, I am always suspicious of ...c5 in these kinds of positions, as it can allow further opening of the game.
17.d4
Qh4 18.Bxh6 Qxh6 19.dxc5 dxc5 20.e5 Nh5
Here Stockfish 8 recommends 21.g4!? which is not the kind of move that I can see Bill choosing, as it seems to give even more exposure to his King. Yet the followup is ironic enough for him to appreciate: 21...Nf4 22.Qf3 Kg7 23.0-0-0 (made possible by the Knight's block of the Queen's diagonal) Ne2+ 24.Kb1 Nxc3 25.Qxc3 Be6 with an advantage to White after he captures the c-pawn.
21.Qc4+ Be6 22.Qxc5 Black resigned
Interesting. Compared to Stockfish 8's analysis above, the Knights are still on the board, which would slightly favor White's better piece. However, White's King is not castled, which could be quite risky. 22...Rhd8 would seem to guard well against White's possible Queen check at c7.
In a human vs human game, however, in the long run I would take the extra pawns over the extra piece. It would appear that Black agreed.
After this game was finished, I checked with The Database, and discovered that my opponent and I had "discussed" this opening (over the board) several times previously.
In addition, before I post a game on this blog, I usually "discuss" it with either Houdini 3 or Stockfish 6, hoping for enlightenment.
This time, however, my two electronic "friends" did not always agree in the early stages, occasionally sounding like a couple of know-it-all kibitzers, leaving a current assessment of the opening lines a bit unsettled.
Ironically, the game was tipped by the endgame play of both me and my opponent - as HAL 9000 once said, "It can only be attributable to human error."
perrypawnpusher - michon
blitz, FICS, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7
My opponent declined the piece a couple of times, a couple of years ago, with 4...Ke7, but without success: perrypawnpusher - michon, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 8) and perrypawnpusher - michon, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 41).
5.Nxe5+ Ke8
Instead, 5...Ke6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - michon, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 23); while 5...Ke7 was seen in perrypawnpusher - michon, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0,18).
6.Qh5+
This move was preferred by Houdini 3 after some deep thought.
Some human input: In over 70% of the over-2,100 relevant Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit games in The Database, White chose 6.Qh5+, scoring 60%.
Instead, Stockfish 6 preferred 6.c3.
Again: In 21% of the relevant Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit games in The Database, 6.c3, was the people's choice, scoring 55%.
I checked, and noticed that 6.c3 was first mentioned on this blog in "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit", 7 years ago.
Interestingly, an earlier version of Stockfish expressed a preference for 6.c3 about 5 years ago.
The choice of 6.Qa5+ or 6.c3 still seens to be an "Unfinished Discussion" (posted 3 years ago), although it seems that 6.c3 may have appeared in more blog posts than 6.Qh5+.
Here are a couple of examples of the 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nxc6 dxc6 8.d4 Qh4 line suggested by Stockfish 6: 9.0-0 (9.g3 Qxe4+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+ 11.Kxe2 Bg4+ 12.f3 Bf5 13.Re1 Bxb1 14.Kf1+ Be7 15.Rxb1 Kd7 16.Re2 Re8 17.Be3 Nf6 18.c4 Rhf8 19.b4 Ng4 20.Kg2 Nxe3+ 21.Rxe3 Bxb4 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Rxb4 Re2+ 24.Kh3 Rxa2 25.Rxb7 Ra4 26.Kg4 Rxc4 27.Rxa7 Rxd4+ 28.f4 c5 29.Ra8 c4 30.Rh8 c3 31.Rxh7 c2 32.Rxg7+ Kc6 33.Rg6+ Rd6 34.f5 c1Q 35.Rxd6+ cxd6 36.f6 Qc4+ 37.Kf5 Qf1+ 38.Ke6 Qh3+ 39.Ke7 Qd7+ 40.Kf8 d5 41.f7 d4 42.Kg8 Qg4+ 43.Kh8 Qh5+ 44.Kg8 Qg6+ 45.Kf8 d3 46.Ke7 Qxf7+ 47.Kxf7 d2 48.h4 d1Q 49.h5 Qxh5+ White resigned, marinrouge - homerg, FICS, 2002) 9...Ke7 10.Nd2 Nh6 11.Nf3 Qh5 12.Qd3 Kd8 13.Bg5+ Be7 14.Bxh6 gxh6 15.Ne5 Bd6 16.Qg3 Be6 17.f4 Bxe5 18.fxe5 Rg8 19.Qf3 Bg4 20.Qf7 Qxf7 21.Rxf7 Kc8 22.Kh1 b6 23.Raf1 Kb7 24.Rxh7 h5 25.Rff7 Rac8 26.d5 cxd5 27.exd5 Be2 28.d6 Rgf8 29.Rxc7+ Rxc7 30.Rxc7+ Ka6 31.h3 h4 32.Kh2 Bb5 33.Rg7 Bc6 34.e6 b5 35.d7 Rf6 36.Re7 Bd5 37.d8Q Rg6 38.Qc8+ Ka5 39.Qc7+ Ka4 40.Rg7 Rxg7 41.Qxg7 a5 42.Qd4+ b4 43.cxb4 Black lost on time, dzomba - VendettaA, lightning [!], FICS, 2006.
6...g6 7.Nxg6
7...hxg6
Here we have another dispute.
Stockfish 6 prefers 7...Nxc2+, suggesting that after 8.Kd1 hxg6 (8...Nxa1? 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qe5#) 9.Qxg6+ Ke7 10.Qg5+ (Houdini prefers 10.Kxc2 with an edge for White) 10...Ke8 11.Qg6+ Ke7 12.Qg5+ White draws by repeating the position (Houdini prefers 12.Kxc2 with an edge for White).
8.Qxg6+
A number of years ago I got away with the weaker 8.Qxh8?! after 8...Nh6 when 8...Nxc2+, instead, would have led to an edge (Houdini) or an advantage (Stockfish 6) for Black after 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 in perrypawnpusher - tampajake, blitz, FICS 2009 (1-0, 12).
8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Nf6
Here Stockfish 6 says Black has the advantage, while Houdini 3 says the position is equal.
Both prefer the text to 9...Ke8 of perrypawnpusher - adamzzzz, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 39).
10.Qc5+
Better than 10.e5 of perrypawnpusher - JokeritT, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).
10...d6
Stockfish 6 slightly prefers 10...Ke8 to the text, while Houdini 3 thinks 10...d6 is better.
11.Qxd4 Be6
Here, Houdini 3 likes White, while Stockfish 6 prefers Black.
Of course.
For the record, I have also seen:
11...c5 in perrypawnpusher - foreverblackman, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 21) and perrypawnpusher - vlas, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 23);
11...Qd7 in perrypawnpusher - theferno, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28);
and 11...Bg7 in perrypawnpusher - Raankh, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 49).
12.Nc3
Also possible is 12.f4 c5 when again Houdini 3 likes White, while Stockfish 6 likes Black.
12...Bh6 13.d3 Bxc1 14.Rxc1
Both Stockfish 6 and Houdini 3 suggest 13...c5 first, to displace the White Queen.
White has four pawns for his sacrificed piece. Even if the position is "objectively" even, his prospects are good at club play level.
The next few moves show that both players are blind to some tactical possibilities, however.
14...Qg8 15.g3 Bh3 16.Nd5+?! Nxd5 17.Qxd5? Qxd5 18.exd5 Rae8
Both players overlook the fork 18...Bg2! when Black can grab a pawn and increase Kingside pressure after 19.Rg1 Rxh2 20.c4 Rf8.
19.Kd2 Kd7 20.c4 Re7 21.f4 Rhe8 22.Rce1 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Rxe1 24.Kxe1
Both computer programs see the position as equal.
What follows goes along with suggestion that a bad plan is better than no plan at all - which is a nice way of saying that my bad idea worked, while my opponent missed some good ideas.
24...Bg4 25.Kf2 Ke7 26.Kg2?! Kf6?!
Black is worried about stopping the Kingside pawns, when he probably should look at using his Bishop to capture a couple of center pawns: 26...Be2 27.d4 Bxc4 28.a3 Bxd5+ 29.Kf2 b6. After this, Black can look to create his own passed pawn, which should counter White's activity.
27.h3 Bd7?!
Again, 27...Be2 was to be preferred. Black's Bishop has to cut down the number of enemy pawns before they become a real problem.
28.g4 Bxg4
This is tantamount to resignation. White can now develop play on both wings. At least one passer is bound to get through.
29.hxg4
29...a6 30.Kf3 c5 31.dxc6 bxc6 32.Ke4 Kg6 33.d4 a5 34.b3 Kf6 35.a3 Kg6 36.b4
Black resigned
Last year I pointed out that a position in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit should have spelled "Instant Victory" for White – in which the first player had a forced checkmate – it had in fact yielded only a 66% score in 155 games in The Database.
The number of examples has grown since then by about 20, but the score for White remains the same.
Lucky for me, I read and remembered that post, and I recently scored my second "instant" victory.
perrypawnpusher - theferno
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8
Last year my opponent played the sharp 5...Ke6 in Ronels - theferno, FICS, 2010, (1-0, 34).
6.Qh5+ Ke7
This is the position to recall.
Last year my opponent played the correct 6...g6 against me and I had to out-play him from a roughly equal position in perrypawnpusher - theferno, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).
7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc6
Or 8...Kc5 9.Qd5+ Kb4 10.c3+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Raankh, blitz, FICS, 2010.
9.Qd5 checkmate
I'm not sure how many people read this blog on a daily basis, but I certainly do. With the number of posts climbing toward 1,000 there is a lot of information on the Jerome Gambit and its relatives and I need to keep up.
For example, a few days ago I posted on the topic of "Instant Victory" in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit. There is a 6th move choice for Black that should give his opponent a very quick win, but in over 150 games in the New Year's Database, that had happened only 2/3 of the time. I wanted to help readers improve that success rate to 100%.
Today I played the following game.
perrypawnpusher - Raankh
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
I have a draw and a loss against Raankh in two Jerome Gambit games.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7
Uh oh. Its that move. Lucky for me I read this blog.
(Earlier this year Raankh played the stronger 6...g6 against me, and I won in 49 moves after a long and drawn-out battle.)
7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc5 9.Qd5+ Kb4 10.c3+ Black resigned
