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 in Wall,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
Nice.
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 in Wall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016, (1-0, 32).
10.f4
Bill has played 10.Bg5, instead, in a number of past games - Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22); Wall,B - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com, 2013 (0-1, 41); Wall,B - Guest5111265, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 47) ; Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0,25); Wall,B - U80, PlayChess.com, 2016 (1-0, 29); Wall,B - Smith,J, lichess.org, 2017 (1-0, 20) - and one recent one:
10...Be6 11.f4 Nc6 12.Qd3 Kg8 13.a3 h6 14.Bh4 Qd7 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Rae1 Qf7 17.Rf3 Kh7 18.Rfe3 f5 19.Qe2 Rg8 20.g3 Rg7 21.Qd3 Rf8 22.Kh1 fxe4 23.Nxe4 Bf5 24.c4 Qh5 25.Qd5 Qg6 26.Nf2 Bd7 27.Qe4 Bf5 28.Qd5 Be6 29.Rxe6 Black resigned, Wall,B -Vertufizen, lichess.org, 2017.
10...Nc6 11.Qc4+
Or 11.Qd3 as in Wall,B - Ferreira,J, lichess.org, 2016.
11...Be6 12.Qd3 Kg8
Castling-by-hand, frequently a good defensive strategy for Black.
13.b3 Nb4
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+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3
9.f4 was seen as early as Jerome,A - Shinkman,W, Iowa, (1/2-1/2, 42).
The more restrained 9.f3 was seen in Wall,B - Guest903719, PlayChess.com 2013 (1-0, 47).
More recently Bill has tried 9.Bf4 Be6 10.Nc3 Re8 11.Rad1 Nc6 12.Qd2 Bg4 13.f3 Bh5 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Kf8 16.Qxh5 Kg8 17.Qd5+ Kh8 18.c4 Nb4 19.Qb5 a5 20.a3 Nc2 21.Rf2 Qf6 22.Bg5 Nd4 23.Qxe8+ Rxe8 24.Bxf6 Nxf3+ 25.Rxf3 gxf6 26.Rxf6 Rxe4 27.c5 Re2 28.Rf7 Rxb2 29.cxd6 Kg8 30.Rxc7 Kf8 31.d7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest3687203, PlayChess.com, 2015.
9...b6
One of a number of defenses that Bill has faced:
9...Re8 10.Bg5 (10.f4 Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8 12.Bd2 Kh8 13.f5 Ne5 14.Qd4 c5 15.Qf2 Rf8 16.Rae1 Nfg4 17.Qg3 Qb6 18.b3 c4+ 19.Kh1 cxb3 20.Nd5 Qd8 21.axb3 b6 22.c4 Bb7 23.Nf4 Nf6 24.Ne6 Qe7 25.Nxf8 Rxf8 26.Bg5 Qf7 27.Bxf6 Qxf6 28.Re2 g6 29.Kg1 a5 30.Qf2 a4 31.bxa4 Nxc4 32.fxg6 Qxf2+ 33.Rfxf2 Rxf2 34.Kxf2 hxg6 35.Rc2 Ba6 36.Kg3 Kg7 37.Kf4 Kf6 38.h4 Ne5 39.Rd2 Nd3+ 40.Ke3 Ke5 41.Rxd3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Ferreira,J, lichess.org 2016) 10...h6 (10...Kg8 11.f4 (11.Nd5 Be6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Rad1 c6 14.Nf4 Qb6 15.Qc3 Qc7 16.Rd4 c5 17.Rd2 Rad8 18.Rfd1 Qe7 19.f3 b6 20.b3 Ng6 21.Qe3 f5 22.Nxg6 hxg6 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Qh6 Qg7 25.Qxg7+ Kxg7 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.Rxd6 Kf6 28.c4 Ke5 29.Rd2 a6 30.Kf2 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.Re2+ Kf6 33.Kg3 c4 34.bxc4 bxc4 35.h4 c3 36.Rc2 Rc8 37.Kf4 Bxa2 38.Rc1 c2 39.Ke3 Bb3 40.Kd4 f4 41.Kd3 Rd8+ White resigned,Wall,B - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com 2013) 11...Nc6 12.Qa4 (12.Qd3 Nb4 13.Qc4+ Be6 14.Qxb4 b6 15.Rae1 c5 16.Qb5 d5 17.e5 d4 18.exf6 a6 19.Qc6 Bd7 20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.fxg7+ Kxg7 22.Bxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com 2010) 12...Bd7 13.Rae1 h6 14.Bh4 Ne5 15.Qb3+ Nf7 16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Be6 18.Qa4 Bd7 19.Qd4 g5 20.exf6 gxh4 21.Rd1 Nd6 22.Qd3 Bf5 23.Rxf5 Nxf5 24.Qxf5 Qxd1+ 25.Nxd1 Re1+ 26.Kf2 Rxd1 27.Qg6+ Kf8 28.Qg7+ Ke8 29.Qe7 checkmate, Wall,B - U80, PlayChess.com, 2016) 11.Bh4 c5 (11...Be6 12.f4 c5 13.Qa4 Ng6 14.Bxf6 gxf615.f5 b5 16.Qxb5 Bd7 17.fxg6+ Kxg6 18.Qd3 Kg7 19.Qxd6 Rc8 20.Rad1 Rc7 21.Qg3+ Kh7 22.Nd5 Rc6 23.Nxf6+ Rxf6 24.Rxf6 Qxf6 25.Rxd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com 2014) 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Rad1 Nc4 14.Qc1 Qb6 15.b3 Ne5 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.f4 Ng4 18.f5 c4+ 19.Kh1 Nf2+ 20.Rxf2 Qxf2 21.fxe6+ Rxe6 22.Rf1 Qd4 23.Qxh6 Qxc3 24.Qh7+ Ke8 25.Qg8+ Kd7 26.Qxa8 cxb3 27.Qxb7+ Qc7 28.Qxc7+ Kxc7 29.cxb3 Rxe4 30.Kg1 Re6 31.h4 d5 32.h5 Kd6 33.g4 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Rc1 Re7 36.Kf3 d4 37.Rc6 Rd7 38.Ke2 d3+ 39.Kd2 Rd4 40.Rc7+ Kg8 41.Rxa7 Rxg4 42.Kxd3 Rh4 43.a4 Rxh5 44.a5 Rb5 45.Kc4 Rb8 46.a6 f5 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.a7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5111265, PlayChess.com 2014;
9...c6 10.f4 Ng6 (10...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) 11.Be3 Re8 12.Rad1 Bg4 13.Qc4+ Kf8 14.Rxd6 Nxe4 15.Rxd8 Raxd8 16.Nxe4 b5 17.Bc5+ Ne7 18.Bxe7+ Rxe7 19.Qxc6 Be2 20.Re1 Bc4 21.b3 Bd5 22.Qc5 Rdd7 23.Ng5 Rc7 24.Qd6 Rcd7 25.Qb8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Uscanac, lichess.org, 2016;
9...c5 10.Qd2 Nc4 11.Qd3 Be6 12.f4 Bg4 13.Qxc4+ Be6 14.Qb5 Black resigned, Wall,B - TryToBeg, lichess.org, 2016; and
9...Rf8 10.f4 Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8 12.Bd2 Be6 13.Rad1 a6 (13...Bf7 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bg6 16.f5 Ne5 17.Qh3 Be8 18.Rf4 Qf6 19.Qg3 Bb5 20.a4 Bd7 21.Rdf1 Rac8 22.b3 Rce8 23.c4 b6 24.Bc3 Rf7 25.h3 c6 26.dxc6 Bxc6 27.Rd1 Qe7 28.Bb4 Rf6 29.Kh2 Bb7 30.Qf2 g6 31.Qg3 Kh8 32.Rfd4 Rxf5 33.Rxd6 Rg5 34.R6d2 Rxg3 35.Bxe7 Rxb3 36.Bf6+ Kg8 37.Rd8 Kf7 38.Rxe8 Kxf6 39.Rf1+ Kg5 40.Rxe5+ Kh6 41.Rf7 Ba6 42.g4 Rb2+ 43.Kg3 Rb3+ 44.Kf4 g5+ 45.Rxg5 Bxc4 46.Rf6 checkmate, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016) 14.Nd5 Bg4 15.Rde1 Bh5 16.Bc3 Nxd5 17.exd5 Ne7 18.f5 Bf7 19.Qd4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016.
10.f4 Ned7 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.Qxe5 Re8
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.
Wall, Bill - U80
PlayChess.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
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 see Wall,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
Black has prudently castled-by-hand and is "objectively" better.
Or 10...h6 11.Bh4 c5 (11...Be6 12.f4 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com, 2014 [1-0, 25]) 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Rad1 Nc4 14.Qc1 Qb6 15.b3 Ne5 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.f4 Ng4 18.f5 c4+ 19.Kh1 Nf2+ 20.Rxf2 Qxf2 21.fxe6+ Rxe6 22.Rf1 Qd4 23.Qxh6 Qxc3 24.Qh7+ Ke8 25.Qg8+ Kd7 26.Qxa8 cxb3 27.Qxb7+ Qc7 28.Qxc7+ Kxc7 29.cxb3 Rxe4 30.Kg1 Re6 31.h4 d5 32.h5 Kd6 33.g4 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Rc1 Re7 36.Kf3 d4 37.Rc6 Rd7 38.Ke2 d3+ 39.Kd2 Rd4 40.Rc7+ Kg8 41.Rxa7 Rxg4 42.Kxd3 Rh4 43.a4 Rxh5 44.a5 Rb5 45.Kc4 Rb8 46.a6 f5 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.a7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5111265, PlayChess.com, 2014.
11.f4
A rare reversal: 11.Nd5 Be6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Rad1 c6 14.Nf4 Qb6 15.Qc3 Qc7 16.Rd4 c5 17.Rd2 Rad8 18.Rfd1 Qe7 19.f3 b6 20.b3 Ng6 21.Qe3 f5 22.Nxg6 hxg6 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Qh6 Qg7 25.Qxg7+ Kxg7 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.Rxd6 Kf6 28.c4 Ke5 29.Rd2 a6 30.Kf2 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.Re2+ Kf6 33.Kg3 c4 34.bxc4 bxc4 35.h4 c3 36.Rc2 Rc8 37.Kf4 Bxa2 38.Rc1 c2 39.Ke3 Bb3 40.Kd4 f4 41.Kd3 Rd8+ White resigned, Wall,B - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com, 2013.
11...Nc6 12.Qa4
Bill tried 12.Qd3 in Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22)
12...Bd7 13.Rae1 h6 14.Bh4
Better than 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Qb3+ Kh7.
14...Ne5
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
24...Qxd1+ 25.Nxd1 Re1+ 26.Kf2 Rxd1 27.Qg6+
Kf8 28.Qg7+ Ke8 29.Qe7 checkmate
