Defending against a "refuted" opening like the Jerome Gambit is easy - until it isn't. It is not good enough to just play the "right" moves. The followup moves also have to be correct. And the ones after those. Until you get to the playing level where people look at your game and mumble "and the rest is a matter of technique", you would be well advised to treat the Jerome with some seriousness. Wall, Bill - Anonymous lichess.org, 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 Re8 10.Bg5 Kg8
We have an ordinary Jerome Gambit position: Black has a piece for a pawn, and has prudently castled-by-hand, while White has pressure on f6, and hopes to get his "Jerome pawns" rolling with f2-f4. 11.Nd5 An alternate was 11.f4, e.g. 11..c5 (or 11...Nc6 12.Qd3, as inWall,Bill - Foman, Chess.com, 2010[1-0, 22] or 12.Qa4 as in Wall,Bill - U80, PlayChess.com, 2016 [1-0, 29]) 12.Qd2 Nf7 13.Rae1 Bd7 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Rxe5 16.Rxe5 Nxe5 17.Qe1 Ng6 18.Nd5 Be8 19.c4 Bf7 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.Bxf6 Qd3 22.b3 Re8 23.Qf2 b6 24.Bb2 Qe3 25.Qxe3 Rxe3 26.Kf2 Re8 27.Rd1 Ne5 28.Bxe5 Rxe5 29.Rd7 a6 30.g4 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.a4 bxa4 33.bxa4 c4 34.Rd1 c3 35.Rc1 Rc5 36.Ke3 Bb3 37.Kd4 Rc4+ 38.Kd3 c2 39.a5 Rc5 40.a6 Ra5 41.Kc3 Ba4 42.Kc4 Rxa6 White resigned,Komodo 5 - Wall/Rybka, Florida, 2018. 11...Ned7 Overly cautious, perhaps anticipating f2-f4. Better was 11...Be6, as in Wall,Bill - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com, 2013(0-1, 41). Now, White gets to pull off a small tactic. 12.Qc4 Kh8 13.Nxc7 Rb8 14.Nxe8 Qxe8 15.Qc7 Ra8
White has a Rook and 2 pawns for 2 pieces. Stockfish 10 says that is plenty enough for a clear advantage, but there is still work to be done. 16.Rad1 Qxe4 Black cannot afford this pawn grab. 17.Rfe1 Qc6 18.Qd8+ Ng8 19.Re8 Ndf6
A slip, but defense was difficult. 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qxf6 checkmate
Jerome Gambit games are often about tactics. Sometimes White develops an attack and tactics help bring him the point. Sometimes Black defends well, and White must look for the tactical chance to pull even, or take the advantage. All that calculation can lead to tactic fatigue and miscalculation, as in the following game. Wall, Bill - Guest3211185 PlayChess.com, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
A standard position for the variation. One plan for White is to develop his pieces, advance his f- and e-pawns, and take aim at the enemy King who is sitting on a half-open file. 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 9.f3 a more conservative setup, was seen in Wall,B - Guest903719, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0,47). 9...Re8 This move seems more dynamic than 9...c6, as seein inWall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016, (1-0, 32). 10.f4
14.Qd2 d5 Possibly Black was looking toward 15.exd5 Bf5, doubly attacking c2. White's response doesn't rule out the Bishop move, but it makes it more complicated. 15.e5 Ng4 Moving the Knight away from the attack. Messy would have been 15...Bf5 16.exf6 Nxc2 17.g4 Nxa1 18.gxf5 Qxf6 19.Bb2 d4 20.Ne2 Nxb3 (desperado) 21.axb3 c5 although Black, with a Rook and 2 pawns (one passed and protected) for 2 pieces, would still have the advantage. Black's "hovering" Knights can be useful for attack on either or both wings, but figuring out what exactly to do takes time and brain effort. 16.f5 d4
Black figures: why not hit the center, too? Things are getting pretty complicated, and the better calculator will prevail. 17.Nb5 Bf7 With two pieces hanging, Black's best move was to ignore them and play 17...Ne3!? To make that work, after White wins two (three?) pieces for a Rook with 18.Qxb4 Nxf1 19.fxe6 it was necessary to find 19...Qh4!? when White will discover (one way or the other) that the Black Knight cannot be taken due to checkmate. White can defend with 20.h3, but after 20...Qg3 the Knight is still off limits. He does best with the piece swap 21.Bf4 Qxf4 22.Rxf1 (there!) When 22...Qe3+ 23.Kh1 Qe2!? will net the c-pawn for Black. Then White's counter-grab, 24.Nxd4 will be met with 24...c5!? 25.Nxc2 (forced) cxb4 will leave Black the exchange ahead, and White's center pawns (one will fall) are not adequate compensation. All this makes my head hurt. 18.Qxb4 Rxe5 19.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 20.Nxd4 Rd8
Black and White have made their way through the excitement, and the position is about equal, with Black's piece activity blancing White's extra pawn. 21.Bb2 Red5 22.Rf4 Ne3 23.Re1 Rxd4
After all that brain work, this miscalculation is unfortunate. 24.Rxd4 Rxd4 25.Bxd4 Nxc2 26.Re4 Black resigned
Black is only down the exchange, but White's Rook will win at least one pawn. The defender will get ground down.
Knowing the Jerome Gambit well gives the attacker several advantages, including the ability to "make something out of nothing" because of his understanding of typical play. Too, there is a danger for Black that, having reached an "even" position, he might lessen his attention - and invite disaster. Wall, Bill - Ryusak lichess.org, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Black has returned the sacrificed piece for what he believes is an equal game. He has forgotten the old saying: When White equalizes in the Jerome Gambit, he has the advantage. How else to explain the quick end to the game? 14.Qg3 Qd4+ 15.Kh1 Ba6 16.Bh6
A nice sacrifice that moves the advantage in White's direction. 16...gxh6 17.Rad1 Qg4 Black had to try 17...Bxf1 18.Rxd4 Bxg2+, although White would still have an edge after 19.Kg1!? Now Black loses his Queen, and checkmate is forced. 18.Rxf6+ Kxf6 19.Qxg4 Black resigned
Oh, my. Bill Wall just sent me his latest Jerome Gambit game and I wrote back and said it was an example of "existential chess". I was thinking about the idea of a "negative halo effect" that I had touched on in earlier posts (see "Halo Effect", "Feeling Lucky", "Kick Me" and "Dizziness Due to Success"). I mean the perception that if one starts a game with the "wrong" opening then one can be expected to continue to produce "wrong" chess and the whole game can be expected to be equally "wrong". How dare Bill, instead, follow up with strong play, avoid missteps and win with a mating attack?? It reminds me of a quote from Justin E. H. Smith's essay "The Flight of Curiosity"
To take an interest in that false belief is not to reject the truth, but only to wish to fill out our picture of the truth with as much detail as possible, and not because of some aesthetic inclination to the baroque, but rather because false theories are an important part of the puzzle that we ... should be trying to complete: that of determining the range of ways people conceptualize the world around them.
White has only a pawn for his sacrificed piece. However, beyond the "theory of infinite resistance" this particular White has a lot of experience (over 400 games in The Database, for example) and if there are tricks, traps or nuances to be exploited, he will know about them or be ready to find them. 8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3 Instead, for 9.f3 seeWall,B - Guest903719, Playchess.com, 2013 (1-0, 47). The related 9.f4 was seen as far back as Jerome,A - Shinkman,W, Iowa, USA, 1874 (1/2-1/2, 42). 9...Re8 Recently played: 9...c6 10.f4 c5 11.Qf2 Neg4 12.Qd2 Rf8 13.h3 Nh6 14.e5 Nh5 15.g4 Ng3 16.Rf3 Qh4 17.Kg2 Bxg4 18.hxg4 Nxg4 19.Qd5+ Ke7 20.Qxb7+ Ke6 21.Qd5+ Kf5 22.Qd3+ Ke6 23.Qxd6+ Kf7 24.Qd5+ Kg6 25.Rxg3 Qh2+ 26.Kf3 Qf2+ 27.Kxg4 Rxf4+ 28.Bxf4 h5+ 29.Kh4+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ g6 31.Qxg6+ Kh8 32.Qg7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016. 10.Bg5 Kg8
Cute. Better, though was 14...Kh8 15.Qb3+ Nf7 There are plenty of complications to offer White, including: 15...Be6 16.Qa4 b5 17.Qxb5 c6 18.Qa4 Neg4 19.Qxc6 Rc8 20.Qa6 Bc4 21.Qxa7 Bxf1. 16.e5 Bill is not interested in either 16.Qxb7 Rb8 17.Qxa7 Rxb2 18.Nd5 Rxc2 or 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Qxb7 Qd4+ 18.Kh1 Qb6. The truth lies elsewhere. 16...dxe5 A bit of a better choice for Black is 16...Be6, when either 17.Bxf6 or 17.Qxb7 dxe5 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 would be good for him; although the draw with 17.Qa4 Bd7 18.Qb3 Be6 19.Qa4 etc might arise. 17.fxe5 Be6 18.Qa4 As Bill points out, again not 18.Qxb7 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Rf4 (20.Rd1 Qb8) 20...Rb8. 18...Bd7 Instead, 18...Nxe5 19.Rxe5 Qd7 20.Bxf6 Qxa4 21.Nxa4 gxf6 22.Rc5 c6 23.Rxf6 looks about equal. 19.Qd4 Not 19.Qf4 g5; nor 19.Qa3 Nxe5 nor 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qh4 f5. This Wall guy is becoming troublesome by avoiding trouble! 19...g5
This looks like either frustration or impatience. 20.exf6 gxh4 Or 20...Rxe1 21.Bxe1 Bc6 22.Qe3. 21.Rd1 Now Bill goes from threat to threat, first threatening 22.Qxd7. 21...Nd6 22.Qd3 Threatening 23.Qg6+. 22...Bf5 Time to give some material back, but not 22...Kh8 23.Qg6 Nf5 24.Rxf5 Bxf5 25.Qg7 checkmate 23.Rxf5 Bill gives the alternative 23.f7+ Kxf7 24.Rxf5+ Nxf5 25.Qxf5+ Kg7 26.Rd7+ Qxd7 27.Qxd7+ and White would also be better. 23...Nxf5 24.Qxf5
