Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (11)

In this second round of games, chess detective RevvedUp and his computer companions exlore a defense to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) that simply returns one of the two pieces that White has sacrificed.


Play initially revolves around the e4-pawn and the e-file, but long term strategies will involve the familiar pawns-vs-piece struggle.

RevvedUp - Crafty 19.19
blitz 2 12, 2006

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

Seen as early as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, U.S.A., 1875 (1-0, 28). I have over 110 examples in my database.

7.Qxc5 Nf6 8.Nc3


The alternative was seen: 8.0-0 Re8 9.Nc3 b6 10.Qc4+ Kf8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd5 c6 13.Qd4 Bb7 14.b3 Nh4 15.Bb2 Qg5 16.g3 White resigns, Sidran - Thompson, email,1992

8...d6

Or 8...b6 9.Qc4+ Ke7 10.d3 h6 11.Nd5+ Nxd5 12.Qxd5 c6 13.Qh5 Qe8 14.b3 Nf8 15.Qxe8+ Kxe8 16.Bb2 Ne6 17.0-0 Rg8 18.f4 Bb7 19.f5 Nc5 20.f6 gxf6 21.Rxf6 h5 22.Rh6 Rg5 23.Bf6 Rg4 24.Rxh5 Kf7 25.Bd4 Ne6 26.Rf1+ Kg6 27.h3 Rxg2+ 28.Kxg2 Kxh5 29.Be3 Rg8+ 30.Kh2 Rf8 31.Rf5+ Kg6 32.Re5 c5 33.a3 Nf4 34.Re7 Bc6 35.Kg3 Nxh3 36.Kg4 Nf2+ 37.Kg3 Nd1 38.Bf4 Nc3 39.Be5 Ne2+ 40.Kg4 Rf7 41.Re8 d5 42.Rg8+ Kh6 43.Rg5 Bd7+ 44.Kh4 Nf4 45.exd5 Ng6+ 46.Rxg6+ Kxg6 47.d6 Rf2 48.c3 Rf3 49.d4 cxd4 50.Bxd4 Kf5 51.Kh5 Rh3 checkmate, Garrido - Garcia, http://www.chessat-krays.com;

8...Re8 9.d3 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 11.Qf3+ Kg8 12.0-0 Rf8 13.Qg3 c6 14.Be3 d5 15.exd5 cxd5 16.Rfe1 d4 17.Bxd4 Qxd4 18.Re4 Qxf2+ 19.Qxf2 Nxf2 20.Re2 Ng4 21.Rae1 Bf5 22.h3 Nf6 23.g4 Bd7 24.g5 Nh5 25.Nd5 Bxh3 26.Ne7+ Nxe7 27.Rxe7 b6 28.Rc7 Rac8 29.Rxa7 Rxc2 30.b4 Rg2+ White resigns, blackburne - kelly, www.ChessWorld.net 2004

9.Qe3 d5

Other games: 9...Re8 10.d3 ( 10.0-0 d5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Qb3 Rxe4 White resigns, Bullit52 - SIRMO, www.chessworld.net 2007) 10...Kg8 11.0-0 Bd7 12.Qg3 a6 13.Bg5 Qc8 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nd5 Kf7 16.f4 Bc6 17.Ne3 Rg8 18.f5 Ne5 19.Qh4 Rg7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Rf4 Qd7 22.Rh4 Rg5 23.Qh6 Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Nxh4 25.Qxh4 d5 26.Ng4 Rg7 27.Nxf6+ Kh8 28.Nxd7 Bxd7 29.Qf6 dxe4 30.dxe4 Bc6 31.Kf3 Re8 32.Re1 Kg8 33.Qd4 Rf7 34.Kf4 h5 35.Re3 h4 36.g3 Rfe7 37.e5 h3 38.g4 Bg2 39.g5 Black resigns, blackburne - savage13, www.chessworld.net 2007

10.Qf3 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Re8 12.d3



A slip on unfamiliar ground. Necessary first was 12.Qb3+, as in 12...Kf8 13.d3 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Rxe4+ 15.Be3 b6, where Black's advantage is still very clear.

12...Bg4 13.Qe3 Rxe4 14.dxe4 Qd1 checkmate




Ouch!

"Brilliant but not sound"

"The past isn't dead," they like to say in my field.
"It isn't even past."

Wright - Hunn
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1874
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4

According to the November 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal: "Brilliant but not sound."

One hundred and thirty years later, a book by Jude Acers and George S. Laven, The Italian Gambit and A Guiding Repertoire for White - 1.e4, showed that the move, properly followed up, was quite playable.

I couldn't resist asking one of the authors about the Jerome. Replied Laven,

The Jerome Gambit was looked into only briefly during The Italian Gambit study. This was done by me and the editor Robert Snow who is a strong expert (elo 2172 - at that time) and was rejected. We felt Black was better in every reasonable line. Jude, totally rejected it and it is nowhere to be found in the book.

Oh, well.

4...exd4

DCJ: "The German Handbuch gives as best variation 4...Bxd4 5.c3 Bb6 6.Ng5 Nh6 7.Qh5 0–0 8.f4 exf4 9.Bxf4 d6 10.Rf1 Qe7 and Black should win."

The Italian Gambit focuses instead on the Miami Variation 4...Bxd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Be3 and the Koltanowski gambit 6.0-0 Nf6.

FIDE Master and ICCF International Master Allan Savage remarked in his review that 4...exd4 "opens Pandora's box via transpositions to the Max Lange, Rossolimo System, Moller Attack, Steinitz-Sveshnikov (!) or Scotch-Goring Gambit!"

5.Bxf7+
DCJ: "An unsound variation of Jerome's double opening. Note that it is the P at Q5 that gives the second player such a wonderfully harassing position later in the game."

5...Kxf7

I have about 40 games with this line in my database, out of the opening move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 exd4. I have not played the line, but I have beaten it the two times I have faced it.

This notion of a "Delayed Jerome Gambit" will be explored in later posts.

6.Ng5+

DCJ: "SK5 à la Jerome is better than SS5." [The Dubuque Chess Journal here uses descriptive notation with "S" for "Springer" instead of "N" or "Kt" for "Knight."]

6...Kf8 7.Qf3+ Qf6 8.0–0 Ne5

DCJ: "Why not Q takes Q, making his relative strength still greater?"

9.Qh5

DCJ: "Well meant, since SxRP would win a Pawn and the Exchange, if not attended to."

9...Qg6 10.Qe2 Nf6
DCJ: "The beginning of a splendid combination, that might, however, have been frustrated by SKB3."

Of course, Black would still have a winning game.

11.Kh1 h6 12.f4 Neg4

DCJ: "The coolness exhibited by Mr. H and his indifference to his opponent's attacks, are accounted for when his farsightedness is appreciated, the evident reply PB5 does not disturb him in the least."

13.f5 hxg5

14.Qxg4

DCJ: "Evidently the Queen cannot be taken with safety. PKR3 is better than taking the Springer."

Objectively, taking the Queen is White's "best" of many losing options: 14.fxg6 Rxh2+ 15.Kg1 d3+ etc.

"Safest" might be "Resigns".

14...Rxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Nxg4+ 16.Kg3 Qh5 17.Nd2 Qh4+ 18.Kf3 Nh2+ 0–1