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!

The Other Side

Sidran - Vong, 1992 (see "Offside!") was only an eyeblink look at the Jerome Gambit-style response to the 3...Na5 defense in the Italian Game. Strong? Weak? The line deserves further attention.

Benyovszki - Meyer

IECC email, 2001
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5

In our previous game we saw 6.Qg4+ Kf6 7.d4 d6 8.Bg4 checkmate, Sidran - Vong, Compuserve email, 1992.

The text move is not as strong. Interesting is 6.d4 Nf6 with an unclear, but perhaps equal position.
6...Nf6 7.Qf7+

This is not going to lead to success – but Black has the advantage (a smaller one) after 7.Qf5+ Ke7.

7...Kxe5 8.d4+ Kxe4

The position is complicated, and Black misses his chance for 8...Kxd4! 9.Be3+ Ke5 ( 9...Kxe4? 10.Nc3+ Kf5 11.0-0-0 d5 12.Rxd5+ Qxd5 13.Nxd5 and White is winning) 10.Nd2 c5 11.0-0-0 Kd6 12.e5+ Kc6 13.exf6 Qxf6 with significant advantage.

Likewise 8...Kd6 9.e5+ Kc6 10.exf6 Qxf6 would have been better for Black.

9.Nc3+ Kf5

This move leads to a mate-in-nine, but 9...Kxd4 only puts off the inevitable: 10.Be3+ Ke5 11.0-0-0 d5 12.Bd4+ Kd6 13.Bxf6 Kc6 14.Bxd8 Bd6 15.Qxd5+ Kd7 16.Bxc7 Nb3+ 17.axb3 Ke7 18.Rhe1+ Kf6 19.Ne4+ Kg6 20.Qg5+ Kf7 21.Nxd6+ Kg8 22.Re8 checkmate

10.Nd5

Ooops!

White needed to find 10.g4+! Kxg4 11.Rg1+ Kh3 12.Rg3+ Kxh2 13.Bf4 d5 14.Ne2 Qd6 15.0-0-0 Nb3+ 16.axb3 Qxf4+ 17.Nxf4 Bf5 18.Rg2 checkmate.

Now he loses.

10...Qe8+ 11.Ne3+ Ke4 12.f3+ Kxd4 13.c3+ Ke5 14.Nc4+ Nxc4 15.Qxc4 Kf5+ 16.Kf2 Qd8 17.Re1 Kg6 18.Re5 d5 19.Qh4 Ng4+ White resigns.

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

Offside!

While putting together a post on a rare variation of the Italian Game (see "Don't make me go Jerome all over you...") I recalled a similar idea – and a similar response – with colors reversed in the old Hamppe -Meitner game (see "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part I), (Part II), (Part III) (Endnote) ).


That got me thinking: are there any examples of an earlier "offside" Knight?

It didn't take me long to round up a number of examples.

Sidran - Vong
email, 1992

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+

The Jerome-ish solution. Naturally there is also 4.Nxe5 Nxc4 ( 4...Qe7 5.Bxf7+ Kd8 6.d4 Nf6 7.Bg5 d6 8.Nc3 dxe5 9.dxe5+ Nd7 10.Bxe7+ Bxe7 11.e6 Bb4 12.exd7 Bxd7 13.Be6 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Black resigned, Chung - Bonney, corr 1995) 5.Nxf7 Kxf7 6.Qf3+ Nf6 7.Qc3 d5 8.exd5 Nb6 9.b4 Qe7+ 10.Kf1 Qd7 11.a4 Nxa4 12.Rxa4 Qb5+ 13.d3 Qxa4 14.Bg5 Bd6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.h4 Qxb4 17.Qxb4 Bxb4 18.f3 Bc5 19.Nd2 Bd4 20.Ne4 a6 21.c3 a5 22.cxd4 Kf8 23.Nxf6 c6 24.dxc6 bxc6 25.f4 c5 26.dxc5 Kf7 27.Ne4 Kf8 28.c6 h6 White resigned, Matogrosso - Jappe, Utrecht 1992

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

Alternately 5.d4 d5 6.exd5 exd4 7.Ne5+ Kf6 8.Qxd4 Ke7 9.Bg5+ Nf6 10.0-0 b6 11.b4 Be6 12.bxa5 Qxd5 13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qb4+ c5 15.Qa4 Qxe5 16.Nd2 Bh6 17.Nc4 Qd4 18.Rfe1 Kf7 19.Nxb6 axb6 20.Qc6 Qd5 21.Qc7+ Kg6 22.axb6 Rhc8 23.Qg3+ Kf7 24.Rad1 Qb7 25.Rxe6 Kxe6 26.Qh3+ Ke7 27.Qxh6 Qxb6 28.Qg7+ Ke6 29.Qd7+ Ke5 30.Rd5+ Black resigned, bigbreakout - iggydog, www.GameKnot.com 2005

5...Ke6 6.Qg4+ Kf6 7.d4 d6 8.Bg5 checkmate

Well, that was... awkward.

Surely Black had better defenses...

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"