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

Jerome Gambit Blog: Still More Tidying Up

Time to review, update, and clarify a few more things in this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Bxf7+) blog. For earlier efforts, see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up" and "Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up"

First on my mind is a quote from the second " Tidying Up"

By the way, as for the Kaissiber saga, see

"To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)", "Breaking News..." and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up ". I'm still hopeful.

I'm not hopeful any more. It's unlikely that my history of the Jerome Gambit will appear in the pages of Stefan Bücker's amazing chess magazine, Kaissiber. While the audacity of such an opening appealed to the editor, the story of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation is a history of questionable analysis and even more questionable play. Although Kaissiber does not shy away from creative chess notions, its focus on an accurate assessment of things would require massive corrections and/or footnoting – to start.

For more about the Jerome Gambit game Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.Los Angeles, California, USA 1944, as given in "The Joy of Discovery" Parts I, II, and III, there was a little update in "I love a great used book store". And then the trail went cold, again. (On another hunt, "History Mystery" was fun, though; and I look forward to more discoveries about A F Reed, as first set forth in "A Small Clue to Follow..." and "The Game is Afoot!" )


Unusual as it's supposed to be, the Wikipedia article on the Jerome Gambit continues to contain its link to this blog (see "Hey Wiki, it's me, Ricky!").


While the following remains accurate:

"Is it September already

" requires a number of updates. To date there has been no Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona, as far as I know. I still have an observer near the scene, though I'll have my say about it. One of the main figures in the possible Jerome, Arizona "Jerome Gambit Tournament" is the creator of "The Jerome Gambit is Viable - NOT!" video, which I recomment. (Too, my son Matt, of "Driving Distance" has permanently relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be able to drive up and keep an eye on anything that might occur.)


An update to "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)" would have to include chessfriend Geoff Chandler (of Chandler Cornered) whose contributions here (see "Queened! and Rooked!" "Whodunnit??" and "Blunder Table" ) have been hilarious.

I would also like to add the name of Dr. Paulsen

In light of this it certainly seems reasonable (at least until historical precedents are uncovered) to give 5...Ke7 the title of "Paulsen variation" and award the good doctor (PhD) membership in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (see "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (early)" and "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)") – even though there is one earlier example of the line in my database (presented in an earlier post, as well: see "An Odd Line in an Odd Line")."Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation"

and that of Francesco Recchia, who contributed the very forward-looking "A Kind of Jerome Gambit that Wins".


The possible connection betwen Winston Churchill and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (see "From the Email Bag...") has been traced a bit further, to the U.S. northeast; but has not yet been tied together..


Connections betwen IM Gary Lane and the Jerome Gambit continue. Not only is it true that "A check of the Everyman Chess website shows that Gary Lane's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps is available" further information exists in "Firsts" and "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

The "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser series" Part I, Part II, Part III and PartIV, was, of course, followed by another instructive, exploratory "human vs computers" match involving, "RevvedUp" and a handful of silicon monsters, starting with "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)"

"Doesn't anybody read this blog?", regarding perrypawnpusher - Sgrunterundt, blitz 2 18, FICS, 2008 was a needless lament, being followed by a host of responses: "Back at me", "Hoist by my own petard...", "Where are all these Jeromes coming from?", "Perhaps not every opening should be Jerome-ized...", "Be careful what you wish for...", "If I write all this, and someone reads it...", and "I don't have time for this stuff..."

Readers who were interested in "Hip' Kat" should check out a couple of other hippo sources: hippo_chess@abv.bg and hippo_chess@abv.bg.


Another Pandora's box was opened with "London Calling...Seven Months of Blog"

I also got wondering the other day: is there another totally obscure and disreputable tactical opening line or gambit that I could go digging for information about, while I'm researching the Jerome Gambit??

from which came forth "The next best thing...", "The next worse thing...", "Worth a Second Look (Part 1)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 2)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 3)", "Wild!", "Wilder!", "Wildest!", "And Yet Wilder Still...", "More of The Next Best Thing...", "Busch-Gass Gambit" and "Obscure and Disreputable Enough?"


Alas, I have not yet uncovered "The rest of the story...?" concerning the game Wall - Guest4395, Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone, 2001.


For that matter, in "The Westminster Papers" the refererence to the chess player "H.W.P" of Vermont is also still a mystery to me.

Further chapters of "Jerome Gambit for Dummies (1)" "(2)" "(3)" are being prepared.

I have switched from one version of "Chess Publisher" to another to present the games in posts. The earlier one is responsible for the annoying account messages.

A Kind of Jerome Gambit That Wins

From a recent email from Francesco Recchia of Italy:

Hi,

Let me first congratulate on your great blog, which I enjoy very much.

Now into the story: I was playing the last round in a 2h tournament, with the white pieces.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 h6

Weird move. Maybe my opponent was afraid of an f7 attack?

4. d4 Nd7 5. dxe5 dxe5

Here I spent 8 minutes thinking about 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Nxe5+. In the end, I didn't play the line, because I couldn't see an answer after 8. ...Kf6 (I have to defend the knight, and if I move my queen from the d-file my knight becomes attacked twice)

So in the game I played 0-0, and eventually lost the game due to a serious blunder later in the game. But that's another story...

Later I analised the position and the soundness of this "jerome gambit". It amazingly turned out not only to be sound, but to be winning!

After 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Nxe5+ Black has 7... Ke8 8. Qh5+ g6 (8... Ke7 9. Qf7+ Kd6 10. Nc4+ Kc5 11. Qd5+ Kb4 12. Bd2+Ka4 13. b3#) 9. Qxg6+ Ke7 10. Qf7+ Kd6 11. Nc4+ Kc5 12. Qd5+ Kb4 13. a3+ Ka414. Nc3# or

7... Ke6 8. Qd5+ Ke7 (8... Kf6 9. Qf7+ Kxe5 10. Bf4+ Kxe4 11. Nd2+Kd4 12. Qc4#) 9. Qf7+ Kd6 10. Nc4+ Kc5 11. Qd5+ Kb4 12. c3+ Ka4 13. b3# or

7...Ke7 8. Ng6+ Ke8 9. Nxh8 Ngf6 10. Ng6 Bb4+ 11. Nc3 Kf7 +-

Black's best answer is Kf6, the one I could not find an adeguate response in-game. 7. ...Kf6 8. Nc3 !!

Of course. Jerome style gambit requires two piece sacrifice!

8... Kxe5 9. Qd5+ Kf6 10. Qf5+ Ke7 11. Nd5+ Kd6 (11... Ke812. Qg6#) 12. Bf4+ Kc6 13. Qe6+ Had I seen up to here, I would have played the gambit.

But going on, black has to give up the queen to try to save the game. 13. ... Bd6 14. Nb4+ Kb6 15. Bxd6 Ndf6 (15... cxd6 16. Qxd6+ Ka5 17. Nd5 b6 18. c4 Nc5 19. Qxd8 Nf6 20. b4+ Ka6 21. Qxh8 Nxd5 22. exd5 Nd3+ 23. Kd2 Ne5 24. b5+ Kb7 25. Qxg7+ Bd7 26. Qxe5 Rd8 27. Qe7) 16. Bc5+ Kxc5 17. Nd3+Time to regain material. 17. ...Qxd3 (17... Kd4 18. Qe5+ Kc4 19. Qc5#; 17... Kb5 18. a4+ Ka5 19. b4#) 18. Qe5+ Kb6 19. cxd3 +-

Hope you enjoyed it!

Cheers

Francesco Recchia

And from a later email:

I believe the main difference against the classic jerome gambit position is not the h6 pawn, but the open d-file and the pinned knight at d7 – something which should occur pretty often (as a way to avoid queen exchange and castle denial). I forgot to say, after 8. Nc3 !! black can't really refuse the offer. If the knight is not taken the threat is 9. Qd4 and 10. Kxd7++ with dangerous complications.