Incorrect, Unsound and Unplayable

The other day I was looking through Niels Jorgen Jensen, Tom Purser and Rasmus Pape's Elephant Gambit monograph when I ran into something interesting in the "Introduction" that applies equally to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)

...it is evident that many openings – the Sicilian Defense, for example –  have been diffused almost beyond reasonableness. Consequently, if you play the Sicilian, as black or White, you must accept the probability that your opponent has studied the latest grandmaster variations to the beginning of the endgame.

On the other hand, if you play something off the beaten track – let's say the Elephant Gambit – you can be quite secure that your opponent has no prepared variation; quite the contrary, he will be forced to play chess on his own. This can give you a pronounced psychological advantage: your opponent is likely to be facing his first Elephant, and has studied no variations, and the only thing he might have is some vague recollection of having read that the opening is incorrect, unsound, and unplayable. He will be looking for easy refutations, and may become frustrated when he does not find them. The pressure will all be on him. After all, he will appear ridiculous if he cannot beat an "unplayable" opening.

London Calling... Ten Months of Blog

Dear Jerome Gambit Gemeinde,

It's time to note that jeromegambit.blogspot.com has had daily posts (over 300 of them) for ten months now – an infant compared to many wonderful chess sites, but almost a toddler beside them. And there is still much room to grow!

We've not only explored the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) on these pages, but thanks to the creativity of many members, we've also taken on a host of loosely-named Jerome Gambit "relatives":

Abrahams Jerome Gambit

Bishop's Opening Jerome Gambit

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit

Boden-Kieseritzky Jerome Gambit

Danvers Jerome Gambit

Evans Jerome Gambit

Fried Jerome Attack

Jerome Elephant Gambit

Philidor Jerome Gambit

Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit

Sicilian Jerome Gambit

Best wishes, all!

Rick Kennedy ("perrypawnpusher")

London Calling... Seven Months of Blog

Dear Jerome Gambit Gemeinde,

Another month has passed, this blog has reached 215 consecutive daily posts, and different outrageous lines of play continue to pop up here.

Beside obscure lines in the Giuoco Piano (see "Don't make me go Jerome all over you..."), the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (see "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit", "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit 2", "Blackburne Shilling Gambit: The Trapper Trapped? (Part I)" and "Blackburne Shilling Gambit: The Trapper Trapped? (Part II)") and the Abrahams Jerome Gambit (see "'Tis A Puzzlement...", "The Abrahams Jerome Gambit (Part I)" and "The Abrahams Jerome Gambit (Part II)") there's even been a couple of Evans Jerome Gambits (see "Evans Jerome Gambit" and "Hoist by my own petard...").

Throughout 2009 I will continue to add games, analysis and history on these lines.

I also got wondering the other day: is there another totally obscure and disreputable tactical opening line or gambit that I could go digging for information about, while I'm researching the Jerome Gambit?? Certainly 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 and 1.d4 e5 would meet criteria – except the Elephant and Englund Gambits have been lifted out of obscurity by modern analysis and games.

Readers and members of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde are encouraged to make suggestions in the "comments".

Best wishes,

Rick Kennedy ("perrypawnpusher")

p.s. Visitors to this site have come from 73 different countries, and from 49 of the 50 states & Washington DC.

Jerome meets the Elephant

Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Martin Moller of Denmark (see "Trading up!") has been at it again, showing his creativity and sense of adventure in another snappy game.

When facing 1.e4 I always answer with the Elephant Gambit, an opening I very seldom meet when playing White, but just the other day on ICC my opponent gave me 2. --- d5 ! But now that I study the Jerome I thought : let me give this Elephant a Jerome lesson !? Here is the game, 5 min. blitz as usual.

Moller - HipHop elephant
ICC 5 min blitz, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5


3.Nxe5 Bd6 4.d4 dxe4 5.Bc4 Bxe5


The "book" move for White now is 6.Qh5.

6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qh5+


7...Kf8

Sixty years ago, Black tried 7... g6 8.Qxe5 Nf6 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Qf4 Qe7 11.Qxc7 Qb4+ 12.Nc3 Nd5 13.a3 Qxb2 14.Nxd5 Qxa1+ 15.Ke2 Qxd4 16.Qf4+ Nf6 17.Rd1 Bg4+ 18.f3 exf3+ 19.gxf3 Rhe8+ 20.Ne3 Qxf4 21.Bxf4 Bf5 22.Kf2 Rac8 23.c4 b6 White resigns, Elbert - Diemer, Germany 1948

8.Qxe5 Nc6 9.Qc5+ Nce7 10.Bg5 Nf6 11.Nc3 b6 12.Qc4


12...h6 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Nxe4 Kg7 15.0-0-0 Nd5 16.h4 Be6 17.Qe2 h5 18.Qd3 Nf4 19.Qe3 Nxg2


Black has been playing well, and keeping the game even, but this move hangs a piece.

20.Rhg1 Bg4 21.Rxg2 f5 22.Nc3 Kf7 23.Rdg1


Simpler was 23.f3, but remember, this is a 5-minute game.

23...Re8 24.Qh6 Rh8 25.Qf4 Qf6 26.f3


26...Bh3 27.Qxc7+ Ke6 28.Rg6 Qxg6 29.Rxg6 checkmate


graphics by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"