Another Distant Relative?

As promised, I have done more research on an opening variation that I previously looked at (see "A Bridge To... Somewhere" and "Abridged") as a possible inspiration to Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in his creation of the Jerome Gambit.

A variation of the Scotch Gambit - called either the Sarratt Attack or the Vitzthum Attack - has similar sacrifical fireworks on f7: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5!? with the possible followup of 5...Nh6 6.Nxf7+ Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5.

The earliest example I have seen is 

Sarratt,J - NN
casual game, 1818
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng5 Ne5 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5 Black resigned

Two other relevant examples are

Conrad Waldemar Vitzthum von Eckstaedt - Baron Tassilo von Heydebrand under Laso
Leipzig, 1853
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.f4 d6 8.0-0 Na5 9.Bd3 Ng4 10.h3 Nf6 11.Qf3 h6 12.Bd2 Nc6 13.b4 Bb6 14.b5 Nd8 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nd7 17.Nxf7 Nxf7 18.e6 Qxe6 19.Bf4 Nf6 20.Nd2 0-0 21.Bc4 Qf5 22.Qb3 Qh5 23.Rae1 Kh8 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.Rxe4 Nd6 26.Re5 d3+ 27.Kh2 Qh4 28.Bg3 Bg1+ 29.Kh1 Rxf1 30.Bxh4 Bd4+ 31.Kh2 Bxe5+ 32.Bg3 Bxg3+ 33.Kxg3 d2 White resigned


Conrad Waldemar Vitzthum von Eckstaedt - Adolf Anderssen
Leipzig, 1855
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.f4 d6 8.h3 Na5 9.Bd3 Nf5 10.Nxf7 g6 11.Qe2 Ng3 12.Qf3 Nxh1 13.Nxh8 Qh4+ 14.Kd1 Nf2+ 15.Ke2 Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Be6 17.Qb5+ Nc6 18.Qxb7 d3+ 19.cxd3 Nd4+ 20.Kd1 Bg4+ 21.hxg4 Qh1+ White resigned


I have also found several more Blackburne games

Charles H. Stanley - Joseph Henry Blackburne 
Manchester, 1862
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qd5+ Kg7 10.Qxc5 d5 11.b4 dxe4 12.Bb2 Re8 13.b5 Re5 14.Qc4 Be6 15.Qa4 e3 16.0-0 Rg5 17.f4 e2 18.fxg5 exf1Q+ 19.Kxf1 Qd5 20.Nd2 Rf8+ 21.Kg1 Bh3 22.Nf3 Rxf3 23.gxf3 Qxg5+ 24.Kf2 Black announced mate in 6 moves


Joseph Henry Blackburne - Alexander Steinkuehler
Manchester, 1872
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 0-0 7.0-0 d6 8.h3 Qe7 9.f4 Be6 10.Bd3 f5 11.Nd2 Kh8 12.Ndf3 fxe4 13.Bxe4 Bf5 14.Re1 Bxe4 15.Rxe4 Qd7 16.Bd2 d3+ 17.Kh2 dxc2 18.Rae1 a5 19.Bc3 Kg8 20.Nxh7 Bf2 21.Qg6 Bxe1 22.Nhg5 Rf6 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.Qh8+ Ng8 25.Nh7+ Kf7 26.Nfg5+ Kg6 27.Nf8+ Raxf8 28.Qh7 checkmate


Joseph Henry Blackburne - William R. Ballard
blindfold simul 1 of 5 London, 1872
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.0-0 Ne5 8.Bb3 d6 9.h3 Ng8 10.f4 d3+ 11.Kh2 Nf6 12.Qd1 Neg4+ 13.hxg4 Nxg4+ 14.Kg3 h5 15.f5 Be3 16.Bxf7+ Kf8 17.Qxg4 hxg4 18.Bxe3 Qe5+ 19.Bf4 Qxb2 20.Nd2 dxc2 21.Nc4 Qc3+ 22.Ne3 Bd7 23.Kxg4 Ba4 24.Nd5 Qd3 25.Bg6 Rh6 26.Ne6+ Kg8 27.Ne7+ Kh8 28.Rh1 Qd1+ 29.Raxd1 cxd1Q+ 30.Rxd1 Bxd1+ 31.Kg3 Rh1 32.Bd2 Bh5 33.Bc3 Rg8 34.f6 Bxg6 35.Nxg6+ Kh7 36.f7 Black resigned


Joseph Henry Blackburne - Henry William Birkm Gifford
The Hague, 1874
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.f4 0-0 8.0-0 d6 9.f5 d3+ 10.Kh1 dxc2 11.Nc3 Ne5 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.f6 Ng6 14.fxg7 Kxg7 15.Qxh6+ Kxh6 16.Ne6+ Kh5 17.Be2+ Kh4 18.Rf4+ Nxf4 19.g3+ Kh3 20.Nexf4 checkmate


Joseph Henry Blackburne - Arthur Davy
blindfold simul 1 of 10 Sheffield, 1874
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.0-0 d6 8.h3 Ne5 9.Bb3 Bd7 10.f4 Qf6 11.Nd2 Qg6 12.Qh4 f6 13.Ne6 Bxe6 14.Bxe6 Nef7 15.Nf3 Qxe4 16.Re1 d3+ 17.Kh1 Qb4 18.c3 Qb6 19.Bxf7+ Kxf7 20.Qh5+ Kf8 21.f5 Nf7 22.Re6 Bf2 23.Bd2 Qxb2 24.Rf1 Bg3 25.Qg4 Be5 26.Qc4 c5 27.Qxd3 Qxa2 28.Nxe5 fxe5 29.Rxd6 e4 30.Qg3 Qc4 31.Rd1 Nxd6 32.Qxd6+ Kf7 33.Qd7+ Kf6 34.Bf4 Black resigned

A Bridge To... Somewhere?

Yesterday's game, Byrne [Bryne] - Farwell, San Francisco, 1859, serves as a curious bridge between two pieces of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) history. On the one hand, as we have seen, the opening moves transpose to what later will become known as the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. On the other hand, it introduces to this blog a player, Willard B. Farwell, who has a couple of other games in the historical California chess database — one of which approaches the question of what games might have influenced Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in the creation of his gambit (see "A Distant Relative?").


Farwell,W - Jones,E
San Francisco, 1859


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 

This is the Scotch Gambit, but, hold on.


4...Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6


And now, a relatively familiar set of moves...*


6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5 

The game is about even, although White went on to lose in a miniature (9...d5 10.e5 Re8 11.f4 Nxe5 12.fxe5 Rxe5+ 13.Kd2 Qg5+ 14.Kd3 Re3+ 0-1).


I checked the position after White's 7th move in the ChessLab online database, and discovered a line of games with a whole host of familiar names, on both sides of the board, including:


Labourdonnais - Haxo, Gilvoisin, 1837 (1/2-1/2, 33)
Shumov - Jaenisch, St. Petersburg, 1850 (1-0, 20)
NN - Harrwitz, Paris, 1852 (0-1, 13)
Meek - Morphy, Alabama, 1855 (0-1, 21)
Montgomery - Allison, New York, 1857 (0-1, 59)
Kennicott - Morphy, New York, 1857 (0-1, 24)
Steinkuhler - Blackburne, Manchester, 1861 (0-1, 24)
Ranken - Staunton, London, 1866 (0-1, 24)


Could this be the trail of another "godfather" of the Jerome Gambit? I will be digging deeper...




*-Opening analysis of the time warned against 5...Ne5, because of 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5, going back at least as far as Sarratt - NN, 1818.. Familiar?

Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part II)

Wilhelm Steinitz never faced the Jerome Gambit, as far as we know, but he did encounter Meitner's counter gambit – see "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part I)" – in an exhibition game during the same year that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis first saw print. Steinitz's play is a good example of how to combat such a wild-eyed attack.

Steinitz,W - Steinkuehler,G

simultaneous exhibition, Great Britain, 1874

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+

4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.Ke3 Qf4+ 6.Kd3 d5 7.Kc3 Qxe4 8.Kb3 Nc6

Hamppe - Meitner, Vienna 1872 continued instead with 8...Na6, with the Knight intending to go to c5.

White's King is still uncomfortable, and he needs to take pains to keep it safe.

9.c3 b5

Perhaps underestimating the strength of White's forced reply.

More promising seems to be 9...d4 10.Qf3 Be6+ 11.Ka3 Qh4 with the idea of 12...Qe7+. Of course, the b-pawn is off-limits (10.Bxb5 Rb8).

10.Nc5 Na5+ 11.Ka3 Nc4+ 12.Bxc4 Qxc4 13.d4 a5

It seems important to mention that the future World Champion is handling the White pieces, although his next move effectively ends the "King hunt" part of the game.

14.Qe2 Qxe2 15.Nxe2 e4

Black now has a protected passed pawn, as well as a 4-to-2 Kingside pawn majority. However, White has an extra piece and better development.

16.b3 Ne7 17.Bf4 c6 18.Kb2 f6 19.a4

Steinitz begins to take command.

19...Kf7 20.axb5 cxb5 21.Bc7 Nc6 22.Nf4 Ne7 23.Rhf1 Re8 24.Bxa5 g5

Putting the pawns into motion, but it looks like the last "Hurrah!"

25.Ne2 f5 26.g3 Kg6 27.Bc7 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 Nc6 29.b4 Rf8 30.Ra8 Kg7 31.Bd6 Re8 32.Kc2

Steinkuehler's pinned "bad Bishop" is of very little help. When Steinitz's King reaches the battlefield, the struggle will truly be over.

32...Rd8 33.Be5+ Nxe5

The resulting passed pawn is an annoyance, rather than a target.

34.dxe5 Rf8 35.e6 Rg8 36.Kd2 Kf6 37.Ra7 Rg7 38.Rxg7 Kxg7 39.Ke3 Kf6 40.Nd4 1-0