It has been a while since I took a deep dive into a Jerome Gambit game, so I decided to inspect a 2019 game played by ZahariSokolov, online at FICS. He has 410 games in The Database, scoring 50%. Many of his games explore important lines, and can be quite complicated. ZahariSokolov - GizmoClass FICS, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
What could be more understandable than wanting to hold on to your extra 2 pieces? It is too early in the game to assess whether GizmoClass is naive or knowledgeable in making this move choice. (The Database has 1,121 games with this position; White scores 54%.) 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Nf3+
Aha! The player of the Black pieces knows a bit about the Jerome Gambit, or he has a solid creative streak about him. This Norton Defense, which first appeared in Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1876(0-1, 42), was referred to as "a new departure" in the September, 1876 issue of the American Chess Journal. "[...Qf6] is the usual play. The text move prevents White from castling." The "usual play" appeared in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis of the Jerome Gambit that appeared in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal; as well as in the games Jerome - Shinkman, Iowa, 1874 (0-1, 21) and Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1-0, 43). The text move, 8...Nf3+, can be found in 14 games in The Database, with White scoring a deceiving 71% (Komodo 10 assesses the position as even). It can be contrasted with 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ , the "Nibs" defense, which dates back at least as far as 1899. (The Database has 54 games; White scores 54%.) Interestingly enough, despite Black's apparent knowledge of the Jerome Gambit, only one other game by GizmoClass appears in The Database - a 83-move draw (6...Kf8) played against ZahariSokolov, 6 months earlier. Did somebody "book up", afterwards? 9.gxf3 Capturing the Knight is best, but even the Gambit's creator slipped and chose 9.Kf1 in a game, instead: 9...c6 10.gxf3 Qe7 11.b4 Bb6 12.Bb2 Kc7 13.Qe5+ Qxe5 14.Bxe5+ d6 15.Bxg7 Bh3+ 16.Ke2 Bg2 17.Rd1 Ne7 18.Bxh8 Ng6 19.d4 Rxh8 20.Kf2 Nxf4 21.c3 Rg8 22.Nd2 Kd7 23.Ke3 Rf8 24.Rg1 Bd8 25.Kf2 Rg8 26.Ke3 Nh3 27.f4 Nxg1 28.Rxg1 Rg4 29.Nf1 Bh3 30.Ng3 Rh4 31.Nf5 Bxf5 32.exf5 Bf6 33.Rg3 Rxh2 34.a4 Rh1 35.a5 Re1+ 36.Kf3 Re7 37.Rh3 c5 38.bxc5 dxc5 39.Rh6 cxd4 40.cxd4 Bxd4 41.f6 Rf7 42.Ke4 Bxf6 and Black won, Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876. To be fair, I should mention that I have played 9.Kf1 a couple of times, too - perrypawnpusher - igormsp, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 13), and perrypawnpusher - rheapennata, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0,12) - and ZahariSokolov has gotten away with 9.Kd1, as well inZahariSokolov - LAVAL, FICS, 2015(1-0, 32). I have already argued, elsewhere, that "Good luck is better than a license to steal." 9...Qh4+ 10.Kd1
An earlier mistake that he shied away from was 10.Ke2, as in ZahariSokolov - Quarte, FICS, 2015 (0-1, 17); but it is hard not to enjoy the follies of an early computer against Jack Young: 10.Ke2 Qf2+ 11.Kd3 Qxf3+ 12.Kc4 b5+ 13.Kxb5 Rb8+ 14.Ka5 Bb4+?! 15.Ka4 Qxh1?? 16.Qe5+ Kc6 17.Qd5+ Kb6 18.Qxb5 checkmate How should Black proceed? Of course, 10...Qe7 11.Qd5 checkmate, is not optimal, at least for the defender, ZahariSokolov - GhengusFungus, FICS, 2014. Instead, 10...Qf2 allows White to sue for peace by initiating repeated checks, e.g. 11.Qe5+ Kc6 12.Qd5+ Kb6 13.Qb3+ Ka6 14.Qa4+ Kb6 15.Qb3+ Kc6 16.Qd5+, etc. Actually, the American Chess Journal editor William Hallock, commenting on Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876 (see above) wrote that after 10...Qf2 "Black has the better position". I challenged this notion inperrypawnpusher - Sir Osis of the Liver, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2008, and, when my opponent was unwilling to split the point, I went on to win (1-0, 19). ZahariSokolov had already faced 10...Nf6, which led to an edge for White, but he lost after an unusual and unfortunate oversight: 11.e5+ Kc6 12.exf6 d6 13.Nc3? Bxf5 14.d3 gxf6 15.a3 Qf2 16.Bd2 Qxf3+ 17.Kc1 Be3 18.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 19.Kb1 Qxf4 20.Ka2 Be6+ 21.b3 Qd2 22.Kb2 Rhg8 23.Ne4 Qe3 24.Rae1 Qd4+ 25.Ka2 Bxb3+ 26.Kxb3 Rg2 27.Rd1 Qb6+ 28.Kc3 Rag8 29.Nxf6 Qa5+ 30.Kb3 Qb5+ 31.Kc3 Qe5+ 32.d4 Qxf6resigned, ZahariSokolov - panpanOneTwo, FICS, 2018. Best is probably 10...Ne7, but that is not what GizmoClass played.
If it's raining outside, you can put on a hat, rain coat, and boots, and carry an umbrella. That will help. If you only take out a little parasol from the last cocktail you had - it won't provide much shelter. So it is, when you are facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). You may not need the most exacting defense - say, Whistler's, or the "annoying defense", or even Jerome's defense - but you will need to have some kind of defense prepared. Otherwise, you will just get soaked. Witness the following game. It shows how White can wrap things up early. Wall, Bill - Dippoldi PlayChess.com, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
6...Bb4+ This can work, if it is followed up correctly. 7.c3 Bd6 According to The Database, Black has won every time he has played the alternative, 7...Qh4!?- 13 times - except for the 2 times that it was played against Bill Wall. 8.dxe5 Bxe5
Bill points out that 8...Bf8 and 8...Be7 were the way to go. White would have only a small advantage, if any. 9.Qd5+ Also successful was 9.Qh5+ - 9...Ke6 10.Qf5+ Kd6 11.Na3 Ne7 12.Nc4+ Kc6 13.Qxe5 d6 14.Na5+ Kd7 15.Qg5 c6 16.Nc4 b6 17.Bf4 Ng6 18.Qf5+ Kc7 19.Qf7+ Qd7 20.Bxd6+ Kb7 21.Qf3 b5 22.Ne5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Ka6 24.g3 Bb7 25.a4 c5 26.axb5+ Kxb5 27.O-O Rhe8 28.c4+ Kc6 29.Rad1 Rxe5 30.Rxd7 Kxd7 31.Qf7+ Kc8 32.Qf8+ Kc7 33.Qxg7+ Kd6 34.Qxb7 Ree8 35.Rd1+ Ke6 36.Qd7+ Kf6 37.Rd6+ Ke5 38.Rd5+ Kf6 39.Rf5+ Kg6 40.Qf7+ Kh6 41.Rh5 checkmate,Sir Osis of the Liver - Crusader Rabbit, Jerome Gambit Tournament 4, ChessWorld, 2009. 9...Kf6 Just about as effective as 9...Kf8, seen in Wall, - Holzkopp, PlayChess.com, 2017(1-0, 27). 10.f4 Deadly enough was 10.h4 - 10...Ne7 11.Bg5+ Kg6 12.Qxe5 d6 13.Qxe7 Qxe7 14.Bxe7 Re8 15.h5+ Kf7 16.Bg5 Rxe4+ 17.Be3 Bf5 18.Nd2 Re6 19.O-O-O a5 20.Rde1 Rae8 21.Nb3 Re5 22.Nd4 Bg4 23.Kd2 c5 24.Nb5 Rd5+ 25.Kc1 c4 26.Nc7 Black resigned, HauntedKnight - anaribusm, FICS, 2012. 10...Qe7
Also coming to no good end: 10...Kg6, as in Wall,B - Guest6953174, PlayChess.com 2016 (1-0, 15) and 10...c6 11.fxe5+ Kg6 12.Qd6+ Kf7 13.O-O+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest11386950, PlayChess.com, 2019. 11.fxe5+ Qxe5 Even LuigiBot could not escape, trying 11...Kg6 - 12.O-O Nh6 13.Rf3 Rf8 14.Rg3+ Kh5 15.Qd1+ Rf3 16.Qxf3+ Kh4 17.Rh3 checkmate, Fandral - LuigiBot, FICS, 2013. 12.O-O+ Black resigned
Pete Banks. If you have followed this blog for a long time, you know that he is a member in good standing of the modern Jerome Gambit Gemeinde. You have seen many of his games here - online and over-the-board - under his own name (an example) or his online "blackburne" handle. You may even have read about him in International Master Gary Lane's "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com, or in IM Lane's bookThe Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008). Yes, he still finds time to play the occasional Jerome Gambit. Welcome back to the blog, Pete. (By the way, I will make a number of references in my notes to "The Database", which is my collection of almost 60,000 Jerome Gambit and Jerome-related games. The vast majority of the games were played online by club level players, making statistics representative of their/our level of play.) pb-hal - HEIGRO Chess.com, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5
Pete has never been a fan of playing 7.Qd5+ - the nudge - first. Maybe after this game he will give it a whirl. 7...d6 8.Qe3 Nf6
Compare this position with the one that comes about after 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 where Black's King currently blocks his Rook's access to e8. Consulting The Database, the position in the diagram has been reached 403 time, with White scoring 49%. (Pete's own record is 17 games with this position, scoring 53%.) That always has to be compared with similar statistics after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+: 14,456 games with White scoring 46%. The implication is that White is on the right track, according to Jerome Gambit praxis. 9.d4 This move shows up in 73 games in The Database; Pete has played it 5 times previously. It is thematic, but rather risky - an odd thing to say in a Jerome Gambit game. Still, instead of "open" play, Stockfish 10 recommends a transition to "close" play, with 9.f3 (appearing only 4 times in The Database, scoring 50%) d5 10.d3. 9...Nxe4
This is the thing: Because the White King and Queen are on the open file, Black can snatch the e-pawn. As is the case in Jerome Gambit practice, however, out of the 73 times that this position has been reached, per The Database, Black found this move only 4 times. Knowing the "best" move in the Jerome Gambit often confers a significant advantage, and having a "mind map" of how play usually unfolds increases this. (I wonder if Pete remembers that 9...Nxe4 was played against him by Sir Osis of the Liver in the Jerome Gambit tournament at ChessWorld.com, a full ten years ago. Probably.) 10.Qb3+
No doubt Pete was thinking Nice move, there, but I'm the one playing the Jerome Gambit, and it takes more than one nice move to stop me. 10...d5 11.O-O c6 12.Nc3 Re8 13.Nxe4 Rxe4 14.Qf3+
This is funny: one of the larger "errors" of the Jerome is "too many Queen moves". Pete's psychological punch yields immediate results, as Black relaxes too soon. 14...Bf5 As my boss used to say, "Really? Really??" Precisely the blunder that I have been expecting. 15.Qxf5+ Kg8 16.Bg5 Qf8
Black refuses to try to add more chaos to the position with 16...Qb6, threatening 17...Qxb2 (and possibly a later ...Qxd4), even though it would lead to a relatively balanced "unbalanced" game. On the other hand, White is quite willing to be "distracted" from his attack and go into an endgame a pawn up, with little risk. 17.Qxf8+ Rxf8 18.Rae1 Rfe8 19.Rxe4 Rxe4 20.Be3 Ne7 21.Re1 Nf5
It is always interesting to observe a Bashi-Bazouk attack turn into a quiet endgame with advantage. A cool drink after an active workout. 22.c3 b6 23.Kf1 Nxe3+ 24.Rxe3 Rxe3 25.fxe3 a5
There is not much more to say. The game plays out until White's extra pawn prevails. 26.a4 b5 27.axb5 cxb5 28.Ke2 Kf7 29.Kd3 Ke6 30.e4 dxe4+ 31.Kxe4 g6 32.g4 Kd6 33.h4 b4 34.cxb4 axb4 35.b3 Ke6 36.d5+ Kd6 37.g5 Kc5 38.Ke5 Black resigned
White's King will escort the d-pawn to the 8th rank.
Here is another look at the 6...Qh4 defense in the Jerome Gambit, discussed in the previous blog post. Again, Bill Wall has the White pieces. This is pretty heavy going, and there is plenty to study in the notes, too. Or, you can just enjoy the main game, as, after a dozen moves, Bill decides enough is enough and goes after the enemy monarch. Wall, Bill - IraHaru lichess.org, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
It is time for White to start putting the pressure on. Curiously, Stockfish 8 prefers 13.Nd5 and recommends that Black sacrifice the exchange to keep an edge in the game: 13...Rg8!?14.Nxc7 Ne5 15.Nxa8 Bb7 16.f3 Qxc5+ 17.Kh1 Bxa8. Going after the King makes more sense to me. 13...Ke7 Now it's time for the Knight to step in. 14.Nd5+ Kd8 15.cxb6 axb6 16 Qf7 Qd4
Centralizing the Queen, stepping out of the possible exposed attacks by White's Queen (after the Knight moves), and protecting the f6 pawn. Alas, it leads to disaster. 17.Rad1 Qxb2 18.Rfe1 Ne5 19.Qe7 checkmate
Speaking of "brighter lights" in the world of the Jerome Gambit (see previous post), here is Bill Wall's latest game. The ending should be rated "PG" for either "Parental Guidance advised" or simply "Plain Gory". The King hunt is brutal Wall, Bill - Anonymous lichess.org, 2016 (analysis by Bill Wall) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4
7.O-O Ng4 One of a number of moves that keeps Black's advantage. 8.h3 Bd6
Aggressive, but 8...Bb6 was probably better. It was the choice of several computers ( Deep Shredder 10, Deep Sjeng 1.5, Hiarcs 11.1, Shredder Paderborn) in computer vs computer tournaments in 2002, 2003 and 2008, for example. It also appeared in Sir Osis of the Liver - perrypawnpusher, JG3 thematic, Chessworld.net, 2008 (0-1, 38) and Wall,B - Rajiv, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 33). 9.e5 Nxe5 Giving the piece back is "scientific" but it leads to an equal game, according to Stockfish 7. With 9...Bxe5 Black returned a Bishop, instead, in Sorensen,S - X, Denmark, 1888 (1-0, 27). Another piece return was the wild 9...Nxf2 inDarthballz - Leftang, FICS, 2011, (1-0, 25). Bill points out 9...Be7 10.hxg4 d6. 10.dxe5 Bxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 12.Re1 d6
Bill points out the tricky12...Bd4 13.Nc3 Bxf2+ 14.Kh1 Bxe1 15.Bg5+, when Black will lose his Queen to either White's Bishop or Knight (when it comes to e4 with check). 13.Rxe5 dxe5 14.Qd8+ Ne7 15.Qxh8 Qe4
Abandoning his King to chaos. Instead, Black had the prudent 15...Kf7, both protecting his pawn at g7 and the square at f8. If he wanted an exciting draw, he could try 15...Bxh3!? 16.Qxa8 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qg4+ and he could repeat the position with Queen checks. 16.Qf8+ Ke6 The bad news begins. The alternative: 16...Kg6 17.Qe8+ Kf6(17...Kf5 18.Qf7#) 18.Nc3 Qxc2 19.Qf8+ Kg6 20.Qxe7. 17.Bg5 Qb4 Several other options, from Bill: 17...Ng6 18.Qg8+ Kd6 19.Qd8+ Kc6 20.Nc3 Qxc2 21.Qd5+ Kb6 22.Qb5# ; or 17...Qxc2 18.Qxe7+ Kf5 19.Qxg7; or 17...Nc6 18.Nc3 Qxc2 19.Qg8+ Kf5 20.Qxg7 Qxb2 21.Qf6# 18.Qxg7 Instead,18.Nc3 Qxb2 leads to checkmate. 18...Bd7
The White b-pawn is still poisonous, and 18...Qxb2 would again lead to checkmate. Best is probably 18...Nf5, but it still leads to misery, e.g. 19.Qg8+ Kd7 20.Nc3 Nd6 21.Rd1 Qd4 22.Rxd4 exd4 23.Qxh7+ Kc6 24.Ne2 Nf5 25.Bd8 as Bill notes. 19.Qf6+ Kd5 20.Nc3+ Kc4 Or 20...Kd4 21.Be3+ Kc4 22.Qf7+ Be6 23.Qxe6+ Nd5 24.Qxd5#; or20...Kc5 21.Qxe7+ Kc4 22.b3+ Kxc3 23.Qxe5+ Qd4 24.Bd2+ Kxd2 25.Qxd4+ Kxc2 26.Rd1 Rd8 27.Qd2#. Black's King is not coming back from this journey. 21.b3+ Kxc3 Or 21...Kd4 22.Rd1+ Kc5 23.Be3+ Qd4 24.Rxd4 exd4 25.Qxd4+ Kc6 26.Qc5#; or21...Kc5 22.Qxe7+ Kb6 23.Qxb4+ Ka6 24.Qa3+ Kb6 25.Be3+ c5 26.Nd5+ Kc6 27.Qxc5#. 22.Qxe5+ Qd4 If 22...Kxc2 then 23.Rc1+ Kd3 24.Qe3# 23.Bd2+ Kxd2 Or 23...Kb2 24.Qxd4+ Kxc2 25.Rc1# ; or 23...Kxc2 24.Qxd4 Rd8 25.Rc1# 24.Qxd4+ Kxc2 If 24...Ke2 25.Qe3# 25.Rd1 Threatening 26.Qd2 mate Black Resigned
