If you are familiar with the opening that you are playing, that's a plus. If you are unfamiliar with the opening that you are playing, that's a minus. Sometimes that overshadows the soundness or unsoundness of the opening that you are playing.
jfhumphrey - ruiaf
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O
As with yesterday's post concerning bemillsy - leoarthur
blitz, FICS, 2012, here we have a delayed Jerome Gambit, transposing into a "modern" version of the Jerome.
4...Nf6 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bb6
Another way to go astray, with all the best intentions: saving the Bishop, giving back a piece, staying a piece up.
Best: 7... Bxd4
8.dxe5 Nxe4
Instead, Black had 8...Ne8 when White could sue for peace with 9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Qb3+ Kf8 11.Qf3+ etc. (Instead, Teterow - bassosoolo, blitz, FICS, 2011, continued 9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Rd1 and Black lost on time in 42 moves.)
9. Qd5+
An improvement on 9.Qg3+ in jfhumphrey - Gurucool, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 21).
9...Ke7 10.Qxe4
10...Rf8
Collapsing.
11. Bg5+ Black resigned
The following game has a surprise move in a less-than-usual line, and when I researched it in earlier posts, I found a number of editorial errors. Strange...
bemillsy - leoarthur
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O Bc5
See "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 4)".
5.Bxf7+
A delayed Jerome Gambit move order (or a transition to a "modern" Jerome Gambit line, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 Nf6), although there are about 550 examples in The Database. I have never played the line, but of course Bill Wall has, as have GeniusPawn, GmCooper, HauntedKnight, hinders, sTpny, Teterow, DragonTail and jrhumphrey, to name just a few.
The line was looked at in the games aymmd - MOMLASAM, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 19) and Wall, B - Guest848078, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 10) although there were diagram errors and references that subsequently needed correction in both posts.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nf3+
A surprise, but not as strong as the routine 7...Bxd4.
8.Qxf3
The correct capture, with a roughly equal game.
8...Bxd4 9.Bg5
Overlooking something, perhaps already short of time.
9...Bxb2
Surprisingly, not Black's strongest move, although it does lead to some advantage. Rybka prefers 9...d6 10.Nd2 h6 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 Re8 13.f3 Qe7 14.Rad1 Be6 15.b3 Kg8 with a clear advantage.
10.Nd2
White should try 10.Qb3+, as after 10...Kg6 11.Qxb2 Kxg5 12.e5 he has chances against Black's uneasy King.
10...Bxa1 11.Rxa1 d6 White forfeited on time.
Imagination and sheer force of will help the Jerome Gambiteer take a "bad" or "lost" position and make something out of it. In the following game, White finds himself in deep trouble (definition: playing White in the Jerome Gambit); and focusing only on his subsequent loss would blind observers to the actual chances that he created for himself.
HauntedKnight - Makaroni
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
This line has advantages and disadvantages over 6.Qh5+, and, at one time, was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference.
4...Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4
At first glance it looks like Black is in a panic, throwing pieces around and leaving some en prise. As I pointed out in "Gloom and Doom", however, this is a strong counter-attack for Black.
8.dxe5
Previous experience (including a couple of earlier games by HauntedKnight) has not been encouraging for White (8.0-0 seems "best"):
8.0-0 Nc6 9.cxb4 (9.Qf3+ Qf6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qd5+ Qe6 12.Qxe6+ dxe6 13.cxb4 Nxd4 14.Na3 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Nf6 16.Re1 Nxc1 17.Raxc1 c6 18.Nc4 Rd8 19.e5 Nd5 20.Nd6+ Ke7 21.Re4 a5 22.b5 cxb5 23.Rh4 h5 24.Nxb5 Nb4 25.Nd6 Bd7 26.Nxb7 Rdc8 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.h3 Rc2 29.Nxa5 Rxb2 30.a3 Nd3 31.f4 Ne1 32.Nc4 Rxg2 33.Nb6 Rc2 34.Nd5+ exd5 35.f5 Nf3 White resigned, Gamin - JumpNMustangII, FICS, 2001) 9...Qxe4 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Nc3 Qf5 12.b5 (12.Qb3+ d5 13.Nb5 Ne8 14.Nc3 Be6 15.b5 Ne7 16.Rae1 Nd6 17.Qb4 Rhc8 18.Re2 Ng6 19.Rfe1 Nh4 20.f3 Kg8 21.Bf2 Nxg2 22.Kxg2 Rf8 23.Bg3 Qxf3+ 24.Kg1 Nf5 25.Rxe6 Nxg3 26.hxg3 Qxg3+ 27.Kh1 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 h6 29.R6e2 Qg3+ 30.Rg2 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Rf1 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Rh7+ Kxh7 34.Qe7+ Qxe7 35.Kg2 Qf7 36.Kh2 Qf3 37.Nxd5 Rh1 checkmate, Deep Sjeng 1.5 - Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 12...Nb4 13.Rc1 c6 14.a3 Nbd5 15.Qb3 Re8 16.Rce1 b6 17.h3 Bb7 18.g4 Qf3 19.g5 Ne4 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Qd3 Nxg5 White resigned, RevvedUp - Crafty 19.19, blitz 2 12, 2006;
8.cxb4 Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 (9.Be3 Qxg2 10.Rf1 Nf3+ 11.Ke2 d5 12.Nc3 Bg4 13.Qb3 Nxd4+ White resigned, jfhumphrey - hvutrong, FICS, 2010) 9...Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Nc6 11.Rd1 Nxb4 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Re1 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Rxe1+ 15.Kxe1 d5 16.Be3 Bf5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3 Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 White resigned, Teterow - geneve, FICS, 2011;
8.Qe2 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 Nc6 10.g3 Qe7 11.Qc4+ d5 12.Qxd5+ Be6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qf3+ Kg7 15.d5 Ne5 16.Qd1 Bg4 17.Qd4 Nf6 18.Bg5 Nf3+ White resigned, Maza - aqeel, FICS, 2003.
8...Qxe4+ 9.Be3
HauntedKnight has a very creative idea: let Black choke on captured material while White castles Queenside and uses open lines for his pieces.
An earlier 9.Kf1, which might be "objectively" stronger, did not fix things in HauntedKnight - hellg, FICS, 2010.
9...Qxg2 10.Rf1 Be7 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qe2 Ke8
13.Nd2 Qxh2 14.0-0-0 Qxe5
15.Rfe1 Kd8 16.Qc4 Qg7
Black prepares for trouble.
17.Bd4 Nf6 18.Ne4 h6
White is down a piece and two pawns, but his Rooks are knocking on Black's front door, While Black's are still in the garage.
19.Bxf6
Rybka suggests preparing for a breakthrough with 19.Be5, as in 19...d6 20.Nxd6 cxd6 21.Rxd6+ Bxd6 22.Qd4 Qd7 23.Bxd6 Rf8 24.Be7+ Ke8 25.Bxf8+ Kf7 26.Re7+ Qxe7 27.Bxe7 Kxe7
analysis diagram
Both Rybka and Houdini see White as having almost equalized in this unbalanced position.
With the text, White clears the lines for his Rooks, but Black's defensive resources prove sufficient to hold off the attack.
19...Bxf6 20.Nxf6 Qxf6 21.f4
21...d6 22.Re4 Bf5 23.Red4 Qe6 24.Qb4 Qxa2 25.Qxb7
White's Queen has finally broken through, but so has Black's.
25...Qb1+ 26.Kd2 Qc2+ 27.Ke3 Re8+ 28.Kf3 Qe2+ 29.Kg3 Re3+ 30.Kh4 Qf2 checkmate
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the King of Draws
Many lines in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) feature the premature development of White's Queen. Black must deal with this, often by exchanging Queens, or find his King at risk.
The following game turns this dilemma on its head, however: White does not move his Queen early; Black develops his own Queen, anyhow, but is unable to exchange it; White forces the exchange of Queens himself; and then White goes on to create a checkmate attack, anyhow.
Wall,B - Caynaboos
FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3
7...Bxc3+
A straightforward way to return the piece while keeping the initiative. The strongest reply, as we have seen before, is the snarky 7...Qh4, as in Teterow - geneve, lightning, FICS 2011 (1-0, 19).
8.Nxc3 Nc6 9.0-0 Qf6
The move ...Qf6 can frequently be strong against the Jerome Gambit, but mostly as a threat to exchange Queens and extinguish White's attacking chances. In this case, the more pedestrian 9...d6 might have been stronger.
Interestingly enough, White forces the exchange of Queens himself a few moves later.
10.e5 Qg6 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Nb5 Kd8
13.Qf8+ Qe8 14.Qxe8+ Kxe8 15.Nxc7+ Ke7 16.Nxa8 Nxd4 17.Bg5+ Ke6
White is the exchange and a pawn ahead, but the significant advantage that he has is in his development: even without Queens on the board he can whip up an attack on the enemy King.
18.Nc7+ Kxe5 19.Rae1+ Kd6 20.Bf4+ Kc6 21.Rc1+ Kb6 22.Nd5+ Kb5 23.Rxc8 Ne6
24.a4+ Kxa4 25.Ra1+ Kb3 26.Be5 Black lost on time
Mate was unavoidable.
Although I have occasionally been accused of having the demeanor of Mr. Rogers on muscle relaxants, I do have times when I am serious, or even downright gloomy – take the "Update: 8...Qf6" post, for example.
Here is another cautionary tale.
Teterow - geneve
lightning, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
This move, rather than 6.Qh5+, was originally Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's preference.
6...Bb4+
This is an odd move, but it reflects an inconvenient fact, that Black has many ways of dealing with the Jerome Gambit, including choosing which piece(s) he wants to return – and in what way.
The move deserves a look, if only because it has been played by dismissive humans ("sure, why not?") and calculating computers.
7.c3 Qh4
How's that for a kick in the head? Just when you were saying to yourself, "Well, at least he didn't play 6...Qh4!?"
By the way, as long as I am mentioning 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf6+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4, it is necessary to correct and update some of what I wrote in "A Pie-in-the-Face Variation" about a year and a half ago.
Today The Database contains 167 games with the 6.d4 Qh4 line. That's 26 games less than I thought that I had in November 2009, but perhaps that is a result of subsequently cleaning up my databases.
Also, 50 of the current games – about 30% of the 6.d4 Qh4 line – are now human-vs-human encounters, as opposed to only 8 (4%) in the original post. White's scoring has dropped from 50% to 29% amongst humans, which is in the right direction, but it is the ridiculously high 74% for all of the games in The Database. (Again, that is the impact of computer-vs-computer games largely selected by the source for White wins.)
8.cxb4
The dynamics of the current position are very similar to that of the position without 6...Bb4+ 7.c3. What that means is that White's best move here after 7...Qh4 has to be 8.0-0. Rybka 3, given 5 minutes per move in "blunder check" mode, further suggested 8...Nc6 9.cxb4 Qxe4 10.b5 Nce7 11.Re1 Qf5 12.Re3 Qxb5 13.Nc3 Qb6 14.Qh5+ Qg6 15.Qc5 b6 16.Qxc7 Qc6 17.Qe5 d6 18.Qg5 h6 when Black has an edge (about 3/4 of a pawn).
analysis diagram
I am not convinced that this is the best path for Black to take, however.
If I were playing the defense, after 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4 8.0-0. I would prefer the as-yet-unplayed 8...Ng4, answering 9.h3 with 9...Be7. Perhaps Rybka downgrades this line a bit because White can exchange Queens with 10.Qxg4.
Anyhow, the text move is very dangerous and Black takes charge.
8...Qxe4+ 9.Qe2
A bit better is 9.Kf1, covering the g2 pawn, but after 9...Qd3+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+ 11.Kxe2 Nc6 Black is clearly better in an uncomplicated game. As it it, the game transposes into this line.
9...Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Nc6
11.Rd1 Nxb4 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Re1 Re8+ 14.Kf1 Rxe1+ 15.Kxe1 d5
16.Be3 Bf5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3
A final slip.
18...Nc2+ 19.Ke2 Nxa1 Black resigned
Looks like there is more work to be done on the 6...Bb4+ variation. With wins in The Database by Jerome Gambit Gemeinde members Darrenshome, HauntedKnight, jfhumphrey, stretto, Teterow, yorgos and, of course, Bill Wall – there is plenty of hope.
A couple of years ago I noticed an odd Jerome Gambit variation that appeared only about "Once A Year", which was a good thing, as it included a slip by White that led to a quick checkmate of White. "Quick" as in "a handful of moves" and as in "very little time elapsed" as the games were played at lightning speed.
In January I realized that "It must be a new year..." Now I have to admit that sometimes lightning "strikes twice". Pay attention, and don't let this happen to you!
Teterow - tepes
lightning game, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qf6
7.dxe5 Qxf2 checkmate
This column was inspired by several recent Jerome Gambit games where White won, although he could have made use of a shortcut to win even faster. With a dicey opening like the Jerome, you grab what you can, when you can!
Because of lessons learned last year, as we will see, this post could also be titled "What jfhumprey learned".
Teterow - Neca
lightning, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
6...Bd6
Black does better with 6...Bxd4 and best with 6...Qh5.
7.dxe5 Bxe5
Despite my previous championing of 8.Qh5+, I think that 8.Qd5+ is simplest and strongest, winning back the piece and leaving White a pawn up, with a safer King.
The current game continued 8.0-0 and White won in 30 moves. A similar game between the same players, the same day, also continued 8.0-0 and White won in 35 moves.
By comparison, HauntedKnight - oldway, blitz, FICS, 2011 continued 8.Qh5+ (1-0, 19), as did HauntedKnight - evgehy, blitz game FICS, 2011 (1-0, 64) and HauntedKnight - sarahdaniel, blitz, FICS, 2011, (1-0, 9; hard to beat that). Again, all games were wins, but 8.Qd5+ might have led to a quicker conclusion in 67% of them.
In light of the above, it is educational to play over jfhumphrey - Cibola, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 28) and jfhumphrey - biryuk, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 65) – again, each having reached the third diagram, above – if only to appreciate the later jfhumphrey - stefanomnn, blitz, FICS, 2010 where White discovered 8.Qd5+ and was rewarded with 8...Resigns.
As I pointed out in "Once A Year" it seems that about that often the following Jerome Gambit gamelet gets played.
It is early in the year, so perhaps there is still time for some late "New Year's resolutions" that might eliminate this kind of thing from happening again.
We can hope. After all, it was a lightning game.
Teterow - Neca
lightning, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. d4 Qf6 7. dxe5 Qxf2 checkmate.
