In Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games, it seems that victory for the attacker turns on a few things happening, while defeat turns on a few things not happening. In a 5-minute game, sometimes that works out, and sometimes it doesn't. But - the games are always exciting.
ratconspiracy - titulajebordo
5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qe7
10.d4
About equal to the text are:
10.O-O Nf6 11.Nc3 Kf7 12.f4 Re8 13.d3 b6 14.b3 Bb7 15.Ba3 Qd7 16.Rae1 Kg8 17.Qg3 c5 18.Bb2 Rad8 19.f5 Ne5 20.Ne2 Qf7 21.Nf4 Bc8 22.h3 Nh5 23.Nxh5 Qxh5 24.Rf4 Qf7 25.Rh4 Bb7 26.Rf1 Qf6 27.Rhf4 Rc8 28.Rg4 Re7 29.Bxe5 dxe5 30.Rg5 h6 31.Rg6 Qf7 32.Rxh6 Rd8 33.Rg6 Red7 34.h4 Rd6 35.h5 Rxg6 36.hxg6 Qf6 37.Qg4 Qd6 38.g3 Qd7 39.Kg2 Qe7 40.Rh1 White won on time, angelcamina - RomainTristan, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020;
10.Nc3 c6 11.d4 Nf6 12.O-O Kf7 13.f4 Ng4 (13...Re8 14.f5 Nf8 15.Qf3 Kg8 16.Re1 h6 17.Bf4 N8h7 18.h4 Bd7 19.Bg3 Rad8 20.e5 Nd5 21.Ne4 dxe5 22.dxe5 Rf8 23.Nd6 g5 24.Rad1 gxh4 25.f6 Qe6 26.Bxh4 Ng5 27.Qh5 Qg4 28.Qg6+ Black resigned, Anonymous - Anonymous, 3 0 bltiz, lichess.org, 2020) 14.Qf3 d5 15.f5 dxe4 16.Qxg4 Nf8 17.Nxe4 h5 18.Qf4 Nd7 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Bd2 Nb6 21.Rae1 Qf6 22.Re8+ Qf8 23.Rxf8+ Kxf8 24.Qd6+ Kg8 25.Qd8# ChessBrah - samuelwillwin, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020;
10.d3 Nf6 11.O-O Ng4 12.Qe2 Nh4 13.Nc3 Be6 14.f4 g6 15.h3 Nh6 16. f5 N6xf5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Re1 K7 19.Nd5 Qd7 20.Nxc7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest701131, PlayChess.com, 2019
10...Nf6 11.Nc3 a6 12.O-O Ng4
The Knight's attack on the Queen should serve no purpose. For example, if now 13.Qd3 Qh4 14.h3 and it will have to move.
13.Qg5 Qxg5 14.Bxg5 h6 15.Be3 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Ne7
White has 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but they are not mobile. The exchange of Queens has taken the life out of his attack, as well. It will take some pluck and some luck to make progress.
17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bg4 19.e4 Rf8 20.e5 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Ke7 22.e6 Rf8
The protected, passed pawn is something of value, but for now it is effectively blockaded. If there were an attack on the tied-down King, White might be able to make something of the position. In the meantime, too many pawns are stuck on the same colored squares as the Bishop.
23.c4 Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Bf5 25.c5 Be4 26.c6 bxc6 27.dxc6 Bxc6 28.Ke2 Kxe6 29.Kd3 Bxg2 30.Kc4 c6
Black is clearly better. But, is time on his side?
31.b4 Bd5+ 32.Kc3 g5 33.a4 h5 34.b5 axb5 35.axb5 cxb5 36.Kb4 Bc4
37.Ka5 g4 38.Kb6 h4 39.Kc7 g3 40.hxg3 hxg3 41.Kc6 g2 42.d5+ Bxd5+ 43.Kxb5 g1=Q
44.Ka6 Qb1 45.Ka7 Bh1 46.Ka6 d5 47.Ka5 d4 48.Ka4 d3 49.Ka3 d2 50.Ka4 d1=R 51.Ka5 Rd8 52.Ka6 Ra8 checkmate
A tough fight. Remember the hunter's lament: Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"
Recently I received the following Jerome Gambit game. At first, I did not know what to make of it.
Anonymous - Anonymous
5 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Nf6 9.Qxd8 White won
That was kind of strange... Except, a couple of days later, the same line played out in another game, a 3 0 blitz, although the defender struggled on for a dozen more moves before resigning.
How to explain Black's 8th move? A weak chess player? A hurried-by-the clock chess player? A scared-by-the-Jerome-Gambit chess player? An overconfident-and-therefore-inattentive chess player?
I finally decided that I had been onto something when I wrote "Half a defense is worse than none at all..." a decade ago.
My guess is that 7 out of 10 players who have ever heard of the Jerome Gambit had been exposed to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4#
What if the defenders in both recent games remembered only a part of Blackburne's defense, or remembered it incompletely?
"Hmm... silly Jerome Gambit... accept the sacrificed Bishop... accept the sacrificed Knight... give back a Rook... trap the enemy Queen with my Kight - No, wait, I was supposed to play 8...Qh4 first!!"
I found an earlier game with even more pain.
KONB - elmflare
standard, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6
This time the Queen is trapped, but take note of White's next move. Meanwhile, Black repeats Blackburne's killer attack on the King, including sacrificing another Rook, and his Queen.
10.Nc3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4+ 15.Nxe4 Black resigned
White's Knight on c3 - instead of a pawn, as the Amateur played against Blackburne - ruined Black's fireworks display.
So, is 10.Nc3 White's way out of his Blackburne nightmare?
Actually, a game played at the end of May of this year said: No!
flash_ahaaa - thefinalzugzwang
2 1 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3
10...Bh3 11.Qxa8
Best might have been 11.Qxf6+ Kxf6 12.gxh3 Qxh3, with a Rook, a Knight and a pawn for his Queen, although Black would still be better.
11...Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 White resigned
Surprisingly enough, Grandmaster Larry Evans had discussed this line in his Chess Catechism (1970). He gave 10...Bh3 a "!". In discussion on this blog, "GM Larry Evans and the Jerome Gambit", Bill Wall pointed out 10...Ng4, that elmflare played, above.
(Is 10.Qd8!? the real solution to White's trapped Queen? That's a long story, and one that will have to wait for another day.)
The fate of Black's b-pawn overshadows much of the following game. It never falls - but the defender's attention is distracted enough that White makes progress elsewhere and slowly overwhelms the position.
Wall, Bill - Guest173767
PlayChess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qd5+
8...Ke8
Yes, Black can offer the b-pawn with 8...Be6. This was seen in Wall, Bill - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 23) and Wall,B - Guest249301, PlayChess.com 2013 (1-0, 30).
There are other ways to decline:
8...Ke7 as in Wall,B - Guest4395, Internet, 2001 (1-0, 18) and Wall,B - Guest3157671, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 28); and
8...Kf8, Wall,B - Chung,J., Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 25).
9.d3
Or 9.d4 as in Wall,B - Am53, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 14) and Wall,B - Guest7665109, PlayChess.com, 2019 (1-0, 22).
9...h6
Or 9...c6 in Wall,B - Seven11, Chess.com, 2008 (1-0, 51).
10.O-O c6 11.Qb3 Qf6
12.Nc3 b5
Still worrying about the b-pawn possibly falling to the enemy Queen.
13.a4 Rb8 14.axb5 cxb5 15.Rxa7 Be6
Can you feel it? The weather is changing...
16.Qb4 Bd7 17.Nd5 Qf8 18.Nc7+ Ke7 19.f4
Black resigned
Black is feeling the Rook's pressure along the 7th rank, and will soon face more uncomfortable line-opening with e4-e5, plus the annoying f4-f5. It is all too much.
I just resigned my Jerome Gambit game in the third round of the Italian Game Classic tournament at Chess.com. Truth be told, I ran out of ideas, in a bad position.
That's just one way that I am not as smart as Bill Wall - he never seems to run out of ideas. There are other ways, to be sure, and I will get to them.
In the mean time, I have to congratulate my opponent, who steadily and clearly out-played me, even more than I had feared.
Most likely I will finish in 3rd place in the tournament, out of 5 players, behind the undefeated Winawer99, and LttlePrince.
perrypawnpusher - LttlePrince
Italian Game Classic tournament, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
For the record, I had played this line against AndrewLLL earlier this round, winning in 18 moves. I was a bit worried that LttlePrince might notice, and learn from that game - as well as my blog notes.
This headache was just recently compounded, when I advanced to the fourth round of the Italian Game Battlegrounds tournament at Chess.com, along with TamasHK - and AndrewLLL (we had tied for top in our section and both moved on). So I can expect both of them to stop by and peruse this game coverage, too. (Hi, guys.)
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5
9.Ne2
Previously, I had played 9.f4 in perrypawnpusher - joseluislopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55) and 9.Bg5 in perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 22). I did not like how Black damaged my Queenside pawns in that first game, so I chose the text as a way of avoiding the Bishop-for-Knight swap.
According to The Database, 9.Ne2 was a novelty when I played it against AndrewLLL. I hadn't come up with anything better - so I played it again, against LttlePrince.
9...c6 10.f4 Bc7 11.e5 Ne4
A slight improvement over 11...Nd5, which AndrewLLL had played. This Knight seems to be floating in air, but, once it is cemented in place, it becomes a dominating force.
12.Qd3
Ah, yes. A decade ago, Wall, B - Stevanovic, R, Chess.com, 2010 had continued, instead, 12.O-O Bb6+ 13.Nd4 Bxd4+ 14.Qxd4 Qb6 15.Be3 Qxd4 16.Bxd4 and Black had succeeded in swapping Queens, exaggerating his Knight-for-a-pawn material edge. Since the game was a rare thing - a loss by Bill - I had figured that I could "improve" on his play by avoiding similar excitement along the a7-g1 diagonal. Fair enough; but, as I have pointed out, I am not as smart as Bill Wall...
12...d5 13.Be3 Bf5 14.Qb3 Bb6 15.O-O-O Bxe3+ 16.Qxe3 Qb6
This was my preparation for the line - no need to search for the game, it hasn't been posted on the blog, see "Do I Share Everything? No" - I even had an "answer" to "save" my Queen.
17.Nd4 g6
Well, my King has castled, and my Rooks are linked - but his Rooks are linked, too. White's chances must lie in mobilizing his "Jerome pawns", starting with h2-h3, perhaps preparing this with g2-g3 in order to counter-act Black's possible prophylaxis with ...h7-h5 and ...h5-h4.
Instead, I decided upon a joke plan that probably would have worked in 1-minute bullet chess, and might have worked in 5-minute blitz chess, but had no place in a 3-days-per-move tournament.
18.Nxf5 gxf5 19.Qh3
See? Who could possibly resist 19...Nf2, forking both of my Rooks and my Queen?
Is this chess or stand up comedy?
[to be continued]
I am used to playing over 1-minute (no increment) Jerome Gambit games by angelcamina. Occasionally I have wondered, what would happen if he had more time to work his magic?
Recently I found out - he sent me a 5-minute game that got weird, fast, and that's saying something for a Jerome Gambit.
For some enlightenment, I did what I usually do: turning to The Database I looked at some of the games with that line that had been played previously. There were only 5, I'm not sure how many of those games had a grip on the line, either.
So, I turned to my trusted Komodo 10 for insight - you can probably guess how that turned out.
Finally, I reviewed my blog, and, although I had peeked at the line, before - see "Boris isn't so hot..." and ''Jerome Gambit Hammer" - there was still more to be said.
Here's how it all came down...
angelcamina - nanangtisna
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 g5
Here's a position you don't see very often. What is it all about? What is Black getting at?
It is possible to get a hint by looking at a Bill Wall game that continued 8.fxe5 Qf8, as if Black were offering a counter-gambit followed by a threatened Queen check at f2. Bill wasn't impressed, however, and quickly found a solution after 9.Rf1 Qe7 10.Qg4+ Kxe5 11.Qf5+, Black resigned, facing a mate in 1, Wall,B - Lisandru, Chess.com, 2012. The defender's Queen should have gone to g7 instead of e7, but 10.d4 would have then cemented White's avantage.
8.fxe5 Kxe5
After a long think (26 ply), Komodo 10 passes up this move, as well as 8...d5 and 8...Ne7, and chooses Stockfish 7's suggestion from 4 years ago, 8...Nf6 9.exf6 Qxf6 10.Rf1 Qg6 11.Qe2 Ke7, with White up about a pawn and a half.
But nanangtisna's choice of move is reasonable.
9.Qf7
Setting up a mating net.
Previously, 9.Rf1 was seen in GuestCRJQ - Despistado, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26), Wall,B - Boris, sparkchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 16) and Vlastous - PornobeshKumar , internet, 2016 (1-0, 13).
Also successful was 9.c3 Be7 10.d4+ in Black,D - Boris, sparkchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 18).
Probably best is Komodo 10's (and Stockfish 7's!) 9.d4+, as 9...Bxd4 10.Bxg5 Nf6 11.Bxf6+ Kxf6 12.Rf1+ Kg7 13.Rf7+ Kg8 14.Rf3 Bf6 15.Nc3 Kg7 remains, as I noted
a line worth looking at in detail as an example of building an attack.
9...d5
Often this strike at the center, opening up lines for development, serves Black well in the Jerome Gambit. Here, though, 9...Nf6 might have been better, although White could meet it with 10.d4+, with play similar to that in Vlastous - PornobeshKumar, Internet, 2016.
It is worth pointing out, again, that this is a 5-minute blitz game, and it is always easier to come up with improvements after the fact.
10.Qg7+
Out of the blue, Komodo 10 prefers 10.b4. It takes a moment to realize that it has not just found a way for White to castle - 10...Bxb4 11.0-0 - as it further recommends that Black answer with 10...Nf6, giving up a piece to 11.bxc5. No, the b-pawn advances to allow White to subsequently fianchetto his dark squared Bishop.
The idea 10.b4 Bd4 11.c3 Bb6 12.d4 reminds me of a suggestion that Stefan Bücker made to me in a similar line, back in 2004, when I still hoped to have my Jerome Gambit article published in his fantastic chess magazine, Kaissiber. See, fittingly, "Delusions of Grandeur".
[to be continued]
I like to play over Bill Wall's Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games. They are exciting, and they often make the opening seem so normal.
Wall, Bill - Anonymous
lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+
One way to deal with the pawn fork.
7.c3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3
The alternative is 8.Nxc3, and Bill has played that, too.
8...Nc6
The game has a bit of a hypermodern feel to it, Black's piece vs White's pawns.
9.O-O
White is happy with his pawn center, and leaves it in place, for now. A wild alternative was 9.d5 Ne5 10.f4 Nc4 11.0-0 Qe7 12.Qd4 Nd6 13.e5 Nf5 14.Qf7, which Komodo 10 sees as still in Black's favor, and which FM Stefan Bücker would probably enjoy.
9...d6 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Qb3+ Kf8
Black hasn't quite castled-by-hand, as his King blocks in his Rook.
12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Nxe5
Instead, the Knight on f6 needed to retreat.
14.Bc5+ Ke8 15.Re1 Nfd7
The "best" Black has is to surrender both Knights with 15...Qd5 16.Qxd5 Nxd5 17.Rxe5+ Kf7 18.Rxd5.
16.Qe6+ Black resigned
Sometimes the pace of White's attack in the Jerome Gambit can be a bit of smash and bang. In the following game, Black adopts a defense that eliminates that possibility, but the steady drip, drip of the game spells loss for the defender, anyhow.
Wall, Bill - SCMJ
FICS, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
If you play the Jerome Gambit long enough, you will face this nameless defense. Sometimes, it appears as if Black is saying, "If it is good for you to sacrifice a Bishop at f7, then it must be good for me to sacrifice a Bishop at f2!" Other times, it appears to be almost a psychological counter-gambit - instead of accepting 2 sacrificed pieces, Black prefers to gambit a pawn, himself, to quickly reach a quiet Queenless middlegame that is probably not White's intention when he played 4.Bxf7+.
8.Kxf2 Qf6+
Wall - Guest2115687, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 21) , and Wall - Guest592370, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 30 ) saw 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6+, etc. Bill varied once, after 8...Qh4+, with 9.Kf1, in Wall - Guest1443273, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 36), which still continued 9.Qf6+, etc.
9.Qxf6+ Nxf6
White can play on, with little risk, and a small advantage.
10.Nc3
10.Kf3 was tried in Wall - Guest4380606, PlayChess.com, 2015: 10....d6 11.Nc3 Bg4+ 12.Kg3 Rhe8 13.Rf1 Kg7 14.Rxf6 Kxf6 15.Kxg4 Black resigned
10...d6 11.d3 a6 12.Bg5 Kg7
It is Black who is lulled by the quiet of the position. Safer was 12...Be6.
13.Bxf6+ Kxf6 14.Nd5+ Kg7 15.Nxc7 Rb8
16.c3 Rf8+ 17.Ke3 b5 18.h4 Rf7
This drops another pawn, and the game becomes a technical affair.
19.Ne8+ Kg8 20.Nxd6 Rf6 21.e5 Re6 22.d4 Bb7 23.Nxb7 Rxb7 24.Ke4 Black resigned
White's well-placed King, and his "Jerome pawns" will eventually bring home the full point.
