I want to share some more games and overviews that have arrived in the email. (The notes in the game are mine.) As they used to say, in the heydays of snail mail, "Thanks, and keep those cards and letters coming!"
Hello Rick! So recently, just now, I played a nineteen game match against a similarly rated opponent in 3+0 blitz. As white in all but one game I played the jerome gambit, linking them all would make this email ridiculously long, so I will only link the ones I thought are the best, but If you wish to view them all, CasualGames4ever is my username.
...This one was one of the last games, at which point he had stopped taking the sacrificed knight. I only salvaged a pawn for a piece, but eventually I managed to target his weak points to win more pawns, and soon gained a crushing attack.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 It is interesting that the lichess.org computer considers this move a mistake. Although it is probably not as strong as the routine 5...Nxe5, it is a reasonable move for a defender who is not wanting to be too greedy. 6.O-O Waiting for his opponent to come to his senses and take the Knight. Castling is usually helpful for the Jerome Gambiteer. 6...Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qf6
Ah, yes, an attention test. Did you notice Black's threat of ...Nf3+, winning the Queen? It's always something to be aware of. 9.Qc5+ Qd6 10.Qxd6+ cxd6 11.f4 Nf7 12.b3 Ke8 13. Bb2 Nf6 14. Nd2 Rg8 15. Rae1 Kd8 16. Nc4 d5
Black wants to solve a classic Jerome Gambit problem - his pawn blocks a pawn which blocks his Bishop which confines his Rook... It looks like he has avoided castling-by-hand on the Kingside, in order to place his Rook on g8 and start a counter-attack - but that never happens. 17.e5 Ne4 18.Ne3 b6 19.Nxd5 Bb7 20.c4 Nc5
21.f5 Overlooking Black's threat? I don't think so. This is a 3 0 blitz game, and I think White had a plan to create dangerous chaos on the board, knowing that the defender would not be able to keep up.
21...Nd3 22.e6 dxe6 23.fxe6 Nd6
The simplest, safest move that first comes to mind - but 23...Ng5 was stronger. 24.Ba3 Nxe1 25.Bxd6 Nd3 What could be more sensible? But, it keeps White's attack rolling. 26.Nc7 Rc8 27.Rf7
27...Nc5 Stopping the immediate checkmate 28.Rd7# but that is not all that is in play. 27...Rxc7 was best but would still lose. 28.Rd7+ Nxd7 29.e7 checkmate
The following game shows the dangers (for both sides) that the Jerome Gambit can provide, during blitz play. It is not possible to analyze deeply, and a slip can be fatal - providing the opposition notices. In this case, not so much. Anonymous - Hai_no_Ken 10 5 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Kf6 8.Qxc5
Probably the "cleanest" response to Black's unusual King move. An alternative was 8.d4 (with the threat of 9.Bg5+, winning the Queen) Bb4+ 9.c3 Ke7 (to allow ...Nf6) 10.cxb4. Also seen recently: 8.Qf5+ Ke7 9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qg5+ Nf6 11.d4 h6 12.Qe3 Kf7 13.O-O Re8 14.f4 Rxe4 15.Qb3+ Be6 16.d5 Bxd5 17.Qh3 Kg8 18.Nc3 Be6 19.f5 Bd7 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Qf3 Ng5 22.Qb3+ Kh7 23.fxg6+ Kxg6 24.Qd3+ Kh5 25.Bd2 a6 26.Rae1 Bb5 27.c4 Bc6 Black resigned, gabrielebattaglia - vgiagourta, lichess.org, 2020 8...d6 9.Qe3 N8e7 10.d4 h6 11.f4 Kf7 12.O-O Bg4
This was a blitz game, but the move illustrates the difference between development and just moving a piece. 13.f5 Ne5 Simply giving a piece back. Perhaps he would have done better to force White to open up - and over-extend - his Kingside pawns with 13...Nf8 14.h3 Bg5 15.g4, but the first player would still be better. 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Qb3+ Kf8 16.f6
A classic Jerome Gambit move. 16...gxf6 17.Rxf6+ Ke8 18.Qb5+ c6
19.Qxb7 It is hard to believe that one move could change the nature of the game, but this one does. Not only is White's Queen sidelined (at the price of a pawn) but the weakness of his first rank will quickly be exposed. Hypothetically. 19...Rf8 Instead, 19...Qd4+!? would have put Black on top, i.e. 20.Kf1 Rd8 21.Qb3 (21.Nc3 Bc8 22.Qb3 Ba6+) 21...Qd1+ (21...Bc8 22.Nd2 Ba6+ 23.c4) 22.Kf2 Qe2+ 23.Kg3 Rg8 and White would have to give up his Queen. 20.Rxf8+ Back on track. Black can now do some scary things, but he is only putting off his demise. 21...Kxf8 21.Bxh6+ Ke8 22.Bg5 Qd1+ 23.Kf2 Qe2+ 24.Kg3 Ng6
I know that the old saying is "three pieces and an attack" - but not in this case. 25.Qxa8+ Kf7 26.Qxa7+ Ke6 27.h3 Bh5 28.Qa8 Qxe4 29.Qe8+ Kf5 30.h4 Qg4+ 31.Kh2 Nxh4
Dear White Knight and White Rook, I miss you. Signed, your King. 32.Qd7+ Kxg5 33.Qxg4+ Kxg4 34.Nc3 Bg6 35.Re1 White won on time in a clearly better position.
In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+) game, White reaches a point where he has an overwhelming advantage. He figures out a win by checkmate, and pursues it, bypassing faster mates - in a blitz game, this is not unusual, and a win is what is necessary, not necessarily the fastest win. otipicni - Yusiflimunire 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+
Here we have the classic Jerome Gambit imbalance: Black has an extra piece, White has 2 extra pawns. Black's capture 6...dxc6 was designed to slow down White's possible d2-d4, but, as the game develops, the move becomes possible. Also, the capture turns White's e-pawn into a protected passer, which may be telling, much later in the game. 10.Ne2 Kf7 11.d4 Bb4+ 12.c3 Ba5 13.b4 Bb6
It is still a battle of pieces vs pawns, and Black's 2 Bishops look valuable, but the defender is lacking the usual counter-stroke, ...d7-d5. 14.O-O Bc4 15.Rf2 h5 16.e5 Ne4
A strange oversight - in a 3 0 blitz game, however. 17.fxe4+ Ke6 18.Nf4+ Kd7 19.Ng6 Qe8 Choosing to give up the exchange, rather than play the stultified 19...Rh7. 20.Nxh8 Qxh8
Hoping to build a Kingside attack, anyhow. 21.Bg5 Rf8 22.Rxf8 Qxf8 23.Qxh5 Bd3
Things are getting a litte sloppy, perhaps an indication of the impact of the clock, this being a 3 0 game. 24.Qg6 Strong enough, although sharp-eyed Readers may have spotted 24.Qg4+ leading to 24...Qf5 (ouch) 25.Qxf5+ Ke8 26.e6 Bxd4+ (what else?) 27.cxd4 Bc4 28.Qf7 checkmate. 24...a5 25.b5 Okay, but there was also the march of the terrible "Jerome pawn": 25.e6+ Kc8 26.e7. 25...cxb5 26.Rd1Bc2 27.Rd2 Ba4 28.Rf2 c5
A slip, but he was already facing a forced checkmate, so trying to clear the a7-g1 diagonal for his Bishop was as good as anything. 29.Rxf8 cxd4 30.Qxg7+ White has figured out his winning line, and that is enough. Readers, without the clock ticking, may want to find some alternatives. 30...Kc6 31.Rf6+ Kc5 32.Qxb7 dxc3 33.Qxb6+ Kb4 34.Qd4+ Ka3 35.Rf3 Kxa2 36.Qxc3 b4 37.Qd2+ Kb1 38.Rf1+ Bd1 39.Rxd1 checkmate
The following game shows White grabbing the initiative and pressing for advantage. This forces Black's pieces back, and then the defender is unable to deal with what follows. Wall, Bill - anonymous lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6
A reasonable response. 7.dxe5 Qh4 This might look surprising, but Bill was 7-0 against it before this game. 8.Qf3+ Ke8 9.Nc3 c6
Black has castled-by-hand. White starts his pawns forward to grab the initiative. 20.f4 Nc7 21.f5 Qf7
The Queen would be safer at h5. 22.e6 dxe6 23.fxe6 Qxf1+ A tactical oversight. 24.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 25.Kxf1 Bxe6 After 25...Nxe6, Black would have a Rook and a Knight for a Queen and a pawn. 26.Bxc7 Black resigned
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+
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 following Jerome Gambit blitz game arrived with notes from the chess site's computer. Often, the computer analysis is helpful. Sometimes, however, it just highlights the differences between silicon and human play. CasualGames4ever - lankesh1941 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
The lichess.org analysis engine labels this move a "Blunder". Well, yes, technically it is. However, in human vs human blitz play at the club level, it is more of an invitation to interesting play! 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
The engine labels this an "Inaccuracy", which is a bit harsh. The move is played frequently and keeps Black's piece for two pawns advantage. 7.Qd5+ Ke7 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3
9...Be6 The know-it-all chess engine calls this a "Blunder". It allows White to play 10.f4, with the threat of f5, forking Black's pieces. 10.d4 Kf8 11.Nc3 12.f4 Re8 13.O-O Bf7
Black says: Come and get me! Any Jerome Gambit player would oblige. 14.f5 Nh4 15.Qg3 h6 Planning something drastic. 16.Rf4 g5
This would work, if White couldn't capture en passant. 17.fxg6 Nxg6 18.Qxg6 Qe6 19.Qxe6
The cranky computer doesn't like this move, but it is perfectly reasonable: White is playing a blitz game, and he is happy to move on to a Queenless middlegame two pawns up. 19...Rxe6 20.d5 Rg6 21.Nb5 c5 22.Nxa7 Nf6 23.Nb5 Rhg8 24.Nxd6
Cold-blooded. White's Knight has been collecting pawns, even though this means that his King will have to take a vacation on the Queenside. Perhaps the clock was beginning to influence play? 24...Rxg2+ 25.Kf1 Rg1+ 26.Ke2 Bh5+ 27.Kd3 Rd1+ 28.Kc4 Ke7
White is still winning, but he is no longer comfortable. 29.Kxc5 A slip, as Black can now kick the enemy King away with 29...Nd7+, and then grab the Knight. Instead, 29.Nf5+ Kd8 30.Ne3 would have consolidated his position and won more material. It definitely feels like the clock is affecting both players, now. 29...Rgg1 To win the Bishop, of course. 30.Nc8+ Kd7 31.Rxf6 Kxc8 32.Be3 Rxa1 33.Bxg1 Rxg1 34.Rxh6
Whew! White now has 5 pawns for Black's extra piece. Push those pawns! 34...Bd1 35.e5 Bxc2 36.e6 Rg6 37.Rxg6 Bxg6 38.d6 Bf5 39.Kd5 Bh3 40.a4 Bg2+ 41.Ke5 Kd8 42.b4 Bc6 43.b5 Bf3 44.a5 Be2 45.a6 bxa6 46.bxa6 Bxa6
