Yes, The Jerome Gambit Is Playable (Part 2)

[continued from previous post]

Morin, Louis (1900) - Guipi Bopala, Prince Eric (1900)
Quebec Open, Quebec, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes

So far, we have seen a few surprises. First, White played the Jerome Gambit in a serious over-the-board tournament. Second, Black, a youngster, has been holding his own - until a bit of a surprising (second-and-a-half?), if "scientific", return of the sacrificed material.

As the game progresses, I am reminded of some points made by Dennis Monokroussos, of the chess blog The Chess Mind, in a review of Hannes Langrock's The French Defense: The Solid Rubinstein Variation (2014). The perspective can be helpful in understanding "slow" Jerome Gambits.

A couple of practical drawbacks for [those playing the variation]: if you win, it’s going to take you at least 40 moves and possibly longer. That’s not so bad if you’re playing in a civilized tournament, but here in the U.S. at least you might be playing two full-length games in one day. If you’re young and full of energy then go for it (though if you’re young and full of energy you should play sharp openings instead!), but otherwise it may be a dubious tournament strategy. It’s also not very satisfactory if you’re in a must-win situation, unless you’re a big believer in your technical abilities or your opponent’s technical shortcomings... 

To his credit, he acknowledges early on some of the criticisms readers might offer; indeed, he relates asking the very strong German grandmaster Georg Meier if he isn’t concerned about the drawish tendencies of this line. Meier’s reply was that he has been able to win many kinds of endgames with it. And that’s the key: you have to have good technique and be willing to grind out points over the long haul. Meier is young and a great technician who is able to defeat lesser lights with remarkable regularity in this opening. Our mileage may vary, but by learning the types of endings that can arise via this opening we can replicate some of his successes in our own games. 

Now: back to our game.

34.Nd4 Rb7 35.Rfe1 Rxe1 36.Rxe1 Kf7 37.Re6 Be7

Perhaps the Bishop would be better placed at f6.

38.Nc6

Louis points out that, in time trouble, he missed the winning move, 38.f5! It looks like Black must avoid taking the pawn, as 38...gxf5 39.Nxf5+ leads to the fall of Black's d-pawn. On the other hand, after 38...g5, White's Rook can go after the h-pawn, i.e. 39.Rh6 g4+ (isolating White's f-pawn) 40.Kg2. Then, the computers like 40...a4 41.Rxh6 axb3 42.axb3 when things are still pretty complicated, but White has that extra pawn.

The computers also recommend 38.g4!?, which seems counter-intuitive, opening lines for the enemy Bishop, but, after 38...hxg4+ 39.Kxg4 it becomes clear that Black's minor piece is stuck in place, and 39...Rc7 might be the best chance, pursuing activity, even at the cost of a pawn after 40.Nxb5.

Remember, though: time trouble had reared it's fearsome head. Plus: even after the text move, White is better. And: the endgame is a difficult one.

38...a4 39.b4

Continuing to cramp the enemy Bishop, although 39.bxa4 bxa4 40.g4!? might have been playable, similar to the previous note. 

39...Rc7 40.f5 gxf5 

The first time control has been reached, and White's well-posted Knight dominates Black's troubled Bishop. The extra pawn means nothing. The game is even. (It is important to remember that in difficult situations, "even" does not equal "drawn".)

41.Rh6 Bf6

The Bishop can breathe! Also, the move limits the actions of White's Rook.

42.Rh7+ Bg7 43.Rxh5 Kg6 

44.Rh4

Possibly better was 44.g4!?. taking the chance to liquidate the Kingside pawns and preparing to hang on for the draw. Of course that's easy for me to say, as I was not playing the game.

44...Bf6 45.Rf4 Rh7+ 46.Kg2 Kg5 47.Rf3 Be5 48.Re3 f4

49.gxf4+

Reasonable, but it should allow Black's King to creep closer. Tougher was 49.Re1!? keeping it all in balance.

49...Bxf4

Keeping it even. Dizzying. Tick tock!

50.Rh3

According to the computers, this is the losing move, but how would I know? It makes perfect sense to me to exchange off the major pieces, but apparently this allows Black's King greater activity. On the other hand, 50.Re8!?, which supposedly leads to the half point after mad complications, would require incredible vision.

50...Rxh3 51.Kxh3 Kf5 

The problem is that while White can trade pawn-for-pawn, Black's King gets into the action, while White's is left out.

52.Nd4+ Ke5 53.Nxb5 Bd2 54.Na7 

Black has the game in hand. Impressive.

54...Kxd5 55.b5 Kc5 56.Kg2 Bb4 57.Kf3 Kb6 58.Nc8+ Kxb5 59.Ke4 Bc5 60.Ne7 Kb4 61.Kd3 Ka3 62.Kc2 Kxa2 63.Nd5
Ka3 64.Kc3 Bf2 65.Nf4 Bg3 66.Kc2 White resigned

Hats off to young Prince Eric Guipi Bopala, for playing such a fine game!

Yes, The Jerome Gambit Is Playable (Part 1)

Is the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) playable?

I have been answering this question for over a decade - for example, see the early "But - Is this stuff Playable?? (Part I)" - and my response looks like this: in friendly games, in blitz games, in games where you are giving "Jerome Gambit odds" to a weaker player, it is playable.

Some adventurous players have not been content to leave it at that.

Years ago, I learned that English player Pete Banks ("Blackburne" online) was willing to attack with the Jerome Gambit in over-the-board games - risking his rating and the chance of teasing by his peers. See "Meet Jerome", "Jerome Gambit, Over-the-Board" and "The Pete Banks Annotated Collection" for examples.

Bill Wall, an unorthodox openings expert and Jerome Gambit afficianado in the U.S., has played some over-the-board games as well (if my records are correct). See "The Jerome Gam'",  and "Jerome Gambit: A Casual Stroll".

Of course, recently this blog has covered the escapades of Australian chess player Kevin Sheldrick (aka "Cliff Hardy"), including his effort at the 2017 Australian Open. See "Jerome Gambit: Cliff Hardy Revealed!"

It is important to not overlook the Jerome Gambit efforts of Louis Morin, of Canada, however. Anyone who has explored The Database knows that he was an early adopter of the opening, has played a truckload of games, appearing online as MrJoker (and, earlier, as a "guest"). Louis also played the Jerome Gambit at the 2015 Quebec Open. See "The Jerome Gam' again".

All of which brings us to a couple of Jerome Gambit games that Louis played at the 2018 Quebec Open.

Okay, so the Jerome Gambit is playable. But - how do you play it?


Morin, Louis (1900) - Guipi Bopala, Prince Eric (1900)
Quebec Open, Quebec, 2018
40 moves / 90 minutes, then 30 minutes

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

Okay, this looks like the ideal time to unleash the Jerome Gambit. Black is an 11 year old - barely older than this blog. What could he know about Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's pet line?

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

A wise choice. Black avoids the discomfort associated with 6...Ke6, and ducks the tactical edginess of 6...g6 7.Qxe5. He simply wants to give back a piece and take his King out of the action.

On the other hand, White has over 80 games with this position in The Database. He knows what he is doing.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6

According to The Database, Louis is 12 - 4 - 2 against alternatives.

9.d3 

If you have played your share of Jerome Gambits, or explored games presentd on this blog, chances are that this move gave you a chuckle.

Why? Because sometimes White's strategy becomes a bit psychological - instead of racing ahead in some sort of wild attack, he signals that he will slowly and carefully work with his pawns (see "Jerome Gambit: In Pawns We Trust"). Like I wrote a couple of years ago

Steinitz said that the player with the advantage must attack, or risk losing that advantage. White prepares to face that attack, relying on solid "Jerome pawns" instead of planning an attack of his own with f2-f4.

Of course, if Black wants to protect his advantage, he has to take back the move 6...Kf8.

9...Kf7 10.O-O Rf8 11.c3 Kg8 12.d4 Bb6 13.f3 Qe7 14.Bg5 Qf7 15.Nd2 Bd7 

Black has the advantage of a piece vs two pawns, and his two Bishops are not to be discounted. Still, you can almost hear MrJoker saying "Hit me".

16.b3 a6 17.Kh1 Rae8 18.Rfe1 Be6 19.Rad1 Nh5 20.Qf2 Nf4
21.Qe3 c6 22.Bxf4 Qxf4 23.Qxf4 Rxf4

From a purely "objective" point of view, Black has to be smiling: he has escaped a tricky opening, the Queens are off the board, and there is no White attack in sight. On the other hand: what to do, what to do, what to do...

24.g3 Rff8 25.Kg2 a5 26.h3 Rf7 27.f4 g6 28.Rf1 h5 29.Nf3 Bd8 30.c4 b5

All this "doing nothing" is exhausting, even as White's pawns slowly advance like a pack of zombies. Black can hold back no longer.

31.d5 cxd5 32.cxd5 Bxh3+ 33.Kxh3 Rxe4

Argh. Black has returned his piece for a couple of pawns. He should not be too happy about his Bishop, as White's Knight will find outposts that will make it an equal game.

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit Secrets #8

?!?!?

I'll admit that sometimes when I examine "secrets" in the Jerome Gambit - recommended moves that have not, or have barely, seen the light of day, or lines that are obscure - it can seem as if things remain concealed, even after my work. Consider the following.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

Black messes with White's plans by bringing his King to safety, instead of taking a second piece. The Database has 212 games with this position, and White scores 54%. Stockfish 9 sees Black as less than a pawn ahead (depth of search 32 ply).

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.O-O Bd6 

Black clearly has aggressive intentions, as he points his dark-squared Bishop toward the enemy Kingside.

I was surprised to find only 2 games in The Database with this move, one being perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18).

By the way, Stockfish 9's suggested line of play, after a long "thought", instead of the text, is 7...g6 8.d3 Kg7. Recommending simply castling-by-hand in such a fluid position is not a lot of guidance for Black, and certainly should be encouraging for White. 

8.f4

One finesse in the Jerome Gambit that can often test the first player is which pawn to move first, the f-pawn or the d-pawn?

I am pleased to see that jfhumphrey chose the more accurate 8.d4 in his FICS blitz game again kirtz in 2012: 8.d4 Be6 9.e5 Be7 10.f4 Ke8?! 11.f5 Bd5 12.Qh5+ Bf7 13.Qg4 h5 14.Qxg7 Rh6? 15.Bxh6 Black resigned

Of course, I chose the text.

It is maddening to see that if you give Stockfish 9 a lot of time to think - 49 ply! - it suggests 8.d4 for White, and then 8...g6 (blah) for Black.

Certainly a human player is more likely to answer 8.d4 with 8...Qh5!? White should continue with 9.f4, taking advantage of the chance to form a "Jerome pawn" center. He can then counter 9...c5 with 10.c3 and then answer 10...c6 with 11.Qd3. After that, the computer likes 11...Bc7 12.Nd2 Nf6 13.e5 Nd5 14.f5 cxd4 15.cxd4

analysis diagram




White's "Jerome pawns" are on the march and are holding Black's two Bishops in check, at least for now. When White plays Nf3, it will challenge the placement of Black's Queen, after all. The position is dynamically equal.

So, of course, the computer recommends 15...Nb4 16.Qc4 Nd5 17.Qd3 Nb4, etc. with a draw by repetition of position. 

By the way, my game continued

8...g6

Okay, maybe there is something to that move.

9.d4 Bd7

Stockfish 9 prefers 9...Kg7 10.Nc3 Qh4 11.Qd3 Nh6 12.h3 Bd7 with an even game. Much of that should look familiar by now.

10.Nc3

Also playable are 10.e5 and 10.Be3, although I kind of like 10.c4!? - although it might be too much of a good thing.

The game finished up with: 10...Nh6 11.f5 Qh4 12.e5 Nxf5 13.exd6 cxd6 14.g4 Re8 15.gxf5 Bxf5 16.Qf3 Qxd4+ 17.Kh1 Kg7 18.Qf2 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit Secrets #5

Time to look at a couple more "secrets".

Ten years ago I played a Jerome Gambit game that started off

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 

Black then played a relatively weak move that had showed up only once before in The Database.

8...Ne7

When I posted the game on this blog, back then, I recommended, instead, 8...Qh4!?, which had been played a number of times before - as early as a supposed 1899 telephone game - and which continued to be played, year after year. (So: 8...Qh4 isn't much of a "secret".)

9.Qxe5+ Kc6

As a measure of the imbalance of the position, in one of my games, Black resigned at this point.

10.d4

In my blog notes I recommended as better 10.Qc3!?. Curiously, of the 5 subsequent games with that move in The Database, 4 were played by me - and only once did I remember my improvement, but not the proper followup.

The idea, of course, is 10.Qc3 b6 11.b4 and White wins back his piece after either 11...d6 or 11...d5.

So, 10.Qc3 is still enough of a "secret" that private eye "Cliff Hardy" overlooked it in a Jerome Gambit game of his this year - although, since he was playing "blindfold", perhaps "overlook" isn't the right word...

After 10.d4, however, only 2 games in The Database have Black's proper response, 10...d6!? - an almost "secret" move that caught me by surprise, although I was still able to deliver checkmate in 20 moves. The Jerome Gambit is like that, folks.

Stockfish 9 suggests my game should have gone 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5!? 12.exf5 Rg8 13.Qxh7 Bd4 with Black for choice - despite being down material, and despite having his King on c6.

Cliff Hardy noted in assessing his own game that after 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5 12.exf5 Qe8+ 13.Kd1 Bxf5 "...if anything, Black has an edge, despite his two-pawn deficit. Note that 14.dxc5? now would be crushed by ...Qh5+. Instead White should try the sharp 14.d5+!? when Black would be prudent to reply 14...Kb6, with in an unclear position where White's King is in more danger than his counterpart, and Black's 2 Bishops and better Rooks give him the more threatening prospects."

There you go: 10.Qc3!? and 10.d4 d6!?, two secrets for the price of one.

Jerome Gambit: Refutation - Just Like That

It is often fun to see how Black works to dispose of the Jerome Gambit - an opening that appears so bad that it can be vanquished on-the-spot by a quickly assembled-at-home response.

I got to play an online blitz game the other day, and it was reassuring to see that tradition is still respected.

perrypawnpusher - SSGSSGSSG
5 5 blitz, FICS, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 

The Two Knights defense. I have to try for a Jerome, anyhow.

4.Nc3 Bc5 

Now I can get a Jerome out of this.

For some reason I am always uneasy playing this line. Hmmm. Let me check The Database...

I thought so. I have played 60 games with the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit line, and have scored only 74%.

That compares to the regular Jerome Gambit move order, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, which I have played 319 times and have scored 82%.

Or the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, which I have played 58 times, and have scored 88%.

Even with the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bxf7, which I have played 58 times, I have scored 78%.

(It has to be me. I just checked Bill Wall's statistics, and he scores "only" 92% with the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, vs 93% with the regular Jerome.)    

5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bb4

There you have it. Problem solved. Stockfish 9 even gives Black a 1/3 of a pawn advantage here. Now to finish White off.

8.dxe5 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nxe4

10.Qd5+ 

How rude.

This kind of thing happens in blitz games all the time. Three of my past games ended at this point: perrypawnpusher - ohforgetit, blitz, FICS, 2010; perrypawnpusher - KnightIsHorse, blitz, FICS, 2011; and perrypawnpusher - Sonndaze, blitz, FICS, 2011. 

10...Kf8 

Or 10...Ke8, as in perrypawnpusher - Aerandir, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15). 

11.Qxe4 d6 

12.O-O Qe7 

I had seen 12...dxe5 13.Qxe5 Qe7  before (but, of course, did not remember it) in perrypawnpusher - obmanovichhh, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 39).

The text has a weakness (putting the Queen on a dangerous diagonal) that 12...Qe8 might have avoided. 

13.Ba3 Be6 

Probably stronger than 13...c5, which was seen in perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 17); but Stockfish 9 prefers 13...Kf7.

14.exd6 cxd6

Okay. Time to take stock. White has recovered his sacrificed piece, with better development and a safer King. His extra pawn is not a big deal, as it is doubled and isolated - a fair reminder that lazy play could lead to a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame that Black could draw easily.

So - What weakness in Black's position should White focus on?

15.Rae1 

I decided to pin the Bishop and put pressure on it.

If you thought, instead, that White should go after the d-pawn with 15.Rad1, threatening Black's Queen and King along the a3-f8, Stockfish 9 agrees with you.

15...Kf7 16.f4 g6 

17.f5 gxf5 18.Rxf5+ Kg7 

19.Qxe6 

Sure, this works, but so does 19.Qg4+ Kh6 20.Rh5 checkmate. Ooops.

Now Black has to exchange Queens and go into a lost endgame - or face checkmate.

19...Qc7 20.Qf6+ Black resigned