Jerome Gambit. "Swindle". But I Repeat Myself.

The following game is my first completed Jerome Gambit from the ongoing Chess.com "Giuoco Piano Tournament" (3 days/move). I got rattled by early comments by my opponent, veered off into a variation I was unfamiliar with, and was only able to survive because of a "swindle" - which sounds like the standard tale when White wins in this opening, anyhow.

perrypawnpusher - shalloworange
"Giuoco Piano Tournament", Chess.com, 2016

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+

At this point I received a message from my opponent

Hello Rick, I think you just taught me a lesson about how to handle games with weaker opponents (just give them 'material odds' by choosing play accordingly). So thank you for the lesson, let's have fun. (Unless I am completely misreading things, in which case at least you will be having fun about this comment  :-)  )

My response was pretty straight-forward, but I suspected that someone who understood my giving "Jerome Gambit odds" might be prepared for a fight. 

I don't think I know enough chess to teach anyone a lesson. I just finished a tournament with lots of serious chess and I would like to have some fun in this one.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+Kd6 8.Nc3

I usually play f2-f4 here, but, like I said above, I was a bit spooked, so I decided to play something even further off of the beaten path.

8...c6 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Bf4

Here I have to admit, as I have in the past, that I do not always share everything that I have discovered about the Jerome Gambit.

Some of it is out of respect: go back to earlier blog posts to some of the games played by the top Jerome Gambiteers, and you will see that frequently they are thinly annotated by me. Who am I to publicly judge MrJoker, Philidor 1792, Bill Wall - and a host of other brighter (than me) lights?

Including Geoff Chandler ("greenpawn34"), who once played 10.Be3 here greenpawn34 - Homedepotov, redhotpawn.com, 2008 (1/2-1/2, 22)

10...Qf6 11.O-O-O Qxf5 12.Rxd4+ Kc5

I again exchanged messages with my opponent.

Er, um... I did not expect you to go after the rook. This will take some thought (auto complete [on my phone] suggested "meds"?!).

His response

Quite openly: I was entertaining also Ke6, and that is probably what I would have played against an equal opponent because I thought that Ke6 would probably be a relatively safe way to keep some material advantage. But hey, you said you wanted to have fun and I am all for having fun, too :-)

I was surprised by my opponent's move because it seemed dangerous for Black to advance his King like that.

13.Be3

Wow! A Queen sac!?

No, no, no, no, no.

Merely a swindle.

Once I found the move, I worked through every move by Black's Queen in response, and eventually was convinced that they would all lead to checkmate.

13...Qe6 14.Rd5+ Kc4 15.Rc5+ Black resigned

It is checkmate the next move.

I am just the kind of guy who looks like he would protect a Rook, overlooking the fact that he should complete the exchange of Queens instead.

Just the kind of guy who would play the Jerome Gambit.

But, let's be fair. If Black had played 13...Kb6 instead of moving Her Majesty, I would have had nothing better to play than 14.exf5, recapturing the Queen, after all.

We would then have been back to debating if the two extra White "Jerome pawns" balanced out the extra Black piece.

But, I appreciate shalloworange's willingness to contribute to a fun game. Well, at least it was fun for me.

Go for Broke

When playing a go-for-broke opening like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it can be difficult sometimes to decide whether to play a solid, if calm, move, or continue to play wild, attacking shots. In the following game, DREWBEAR 63 takes time to play a "normal" couple of moves – and gets overtaken by eddie43.


DREWBEAR 63 - eddie43
JGTourney4 ChessWorld, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Nc3

More frequently seen is 8.f4, which has its own problems, starting with 8...Qh4+.

8...c6 9.0-0

A dynamic alternative was shown by Jerome Gambit Gemeinde honorary member Geoff Chandler: 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Qf6 12.0-0-0+ Kc7 13.Qh3 d5 14.Qg3 dxe4 15.Rhf1 Qe7 16.Rf7 Qxf7 17.Qxe5+ Kb6 18.Na4+ Ka6 19.Nc5+ Kb6 20.Na4+ Ka6 21.Nc5+ Kb6 22.Na4+ Ka6 drawn, greenpawn34 - Homedepotov, redhotpawn, 2008

9...Qf6

Coming to the rescue.

10.Qh3 Kc7 11.Qg3 d6 With a safe King, Black's two extra pieces are looking large.

12.Na4 Bb4 13.c3 Ba5 14.d4 Nd7 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Qe6 17.Qxg7 Qxe5

18.Bf4

With 18.Qxe5 Nxe5 19.Bf4 White could have reclaimed one of the missing pieces, and found himself back in familiar two-pawns-for-a-piece Jerome Gambit territory. The text wins the exchange, but allows Black to develop his remaining pieces.

Further resistance becomes more difficult.

18...Qxf4 19.Qxh8 Ndf6 20.Qg7+ Bd7 21.Rad1 Qxa4 22.Rd4 Qxa2 23.Rfd1 Rd8 24.g4 h6 25.f4 Bb6 White resigned.

Wasn't me!

When I was more active in over-the-board play, I played in a few tournaments sponsored by the Bishops Chess Club at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio (you can check out some of Tom Green's Bishops Chess Club News). Somehow I managed to be absent when the following game was played:

Keusal - Freihofner

Trick or Treat Mini Swiss, C,

Bishops Chess Club, 2006

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Ng6+ Black resigned

White bypasses the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit which he could have had with 4.Nc3, and instead goes Jerome-ish with 4.Bxf7+. Black was knocked out of his socks.

Although... It only seems fair to present a game that continued past the point where Black resigned: in this second game, Black outplays his opponent and achieves checkmate.

fsilverman - eforry

net-chess.com, 2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Ng6+ hxg6 8.Qxh8 d6 9.Qh4+ Nf6 10.0-0 c5 11.Nc3 Be6 12.Re1 Kd7 13.d3 a6 14.Bg5 Be7 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Qa4+ Nc6 17.Ne4 b5 18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.Qh4 Bf7 20.Qg4+ f5 21.Qf4 Qf6 22.c3 a5 23.f3 a4 24.Re3 Rh8 25.g3 Ne5 26.h4 Bd5 27.g4 Qxh4 28.Rxe5 dxe5 29.Qxe5 Qh1+ 30.Kf2 Qxf3+ 31.Ke1 Rh1+ 32.Kd2 Rxa1 33.Qg7+ Kd6 34.Qxg6+ Ke5 35.Qe8+ Kf4 36.Qb8+ Kxg4 37.Qxb5 Qf2 Checkmate

Which isn't the full story... as White's "killer move" in game one, forcing resignation, could have been replaced with the stronger 7.Qf7+, when White's advantage is clear after the quirky line 7...Kd6 8.d4 Qf6 (look familiar?) 9.f3 Nc5 10.Nc3 c6 11.dxc5 Kxe5 12.f4+ Kf5 13.Qh5+ Ke6 14.f5+ Qxf5 15.Qe8+ Be7 16.Qxh8.

All of which only means... that Black should have answered 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ with 6...g6 (instead of 6...Ke7). After 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8 Qf6 9.Qxf6 Nxf6 the game is about equal.

Which hardly seems fair - and it's not. Black should answer 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ with 5...Kg8 and win!

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws

Stuff happens...

Well, well, well...

It seems that greenpawn34, at RedHotPawn.com, recently decided to try out the Jerome Gambit in a blitz game, against the willing Homedepotov:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

"Elsewhere on here" greenpawn34 posted, "I advocated playing the Jerome Gambit. I practise what I preach in this very good natured four minute game."

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5 6.Qh5 Ke6 7.Qf5 Kd6 8.Nc3

Practically a "TN" - I have only one other game with it in my database, another internet blitz game from 7 years ago.

8....c6 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Bc1-e3 Bxe3

There is nothing wrong with this move, per se, but I sense an underlying theme of cooperation that will doom Black.

11.fxe3 Qf6 12.O-O-O+ Kc7 13. Qh3 d5 14. Qg3 dxe4

Not the best time to stop and snack.

15.Rhf1 Qe7 16.Rf7!

Guaranteeing indigestion.

16....Qxf7 17.Qxe5+ Kb6 18.Na4+ Ka6 19.Nc5+ Kb6 20.Na4+ Ka6 21.Nc5+ Kb6 22.Na4+ Ka6+ draw

"Good fun – it's what the chess pieces were designed for" smiled greenpawn34 gracefully, "Thank you Homedepotov for the compliment on my Rook sac."

And then, suspecting that he might receive some celebrity or notoriety for his game – is the point half-lost or is the point half-won, I wonder? – he noted: "I've not looked at it yet – I bet some wise guy is going to show me a forced win when I took the perpetch."

Rest easy, greenpawn34. It's a draw.

An impressive one.

Who knew that the best way to get out of a two-piece-down situation was to sacrifice a rook?