Jerome Gambit: Too Fast, Too Furious (Part 1)

I was playing my last game in the first round of the "Let's Play The Italian Game" tournament at Chess.com when, suddenly, two opponents made their moves against me in new games. Apparently, the computer scheduler had decided that I would progress to the second round of play, even if I lost the first round game (I didn't; I won it) - so, there I was, with two second round games.

Somewhat disconcerting, each of my opponents was playing quickly - in fact, one of my games ended after a day of play, rather fast given that the time control was one move per day.

Still, I was willing to move with speed, too, as we were contesting a Jerome Gambit - in a line that I had visited several times before. (Alas, I lost the other 3 games, so no more "next" round for more Jeromes.)

perrypawnpusher - TobiasBrunner
"Let's Play The Italian Game" tournament
Chess.com, 2018 

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ 

Years ago, I labeled this finesse "a nudge". It is as old as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, US, 1875 (1-0, 28). In a blitz game, it can get Black wondering what White is up to - using up precious time.

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 

After the game, I put Stockfish 9 in "blunder check" mode to look at the game. Initially, it liked 9.Qc3 Qg5 10.Qg3 Qxg3 11.hxg3, with Black's advantage less than a pawn. That seems a bit silly to me, White moving his Queen 5 times, only to let it be exchanged.

According to The Database, I have reached the diagrammed position 83 times in my games. I must have learned something about the line.

9...Nf6 10.O-O Kf7 

Black sensibly prepares to mobilize his Rook, and possibly castle-by-hand.

A major alternative is 10...Ng4.The proper response is 11.Qg3!,and this is reminiscent of the series of posts I did a while back on "Jerome Gambit Secrets". A strong and experienced Jerome Gambiteer tried 11.Qe2, instead, and perished quickly: mrjoker - weiran, ICC, 2008 (0-1, 14). Another played 11.Qc3 and needed all of his Houdini-like powers to escape and turn the tables: Wall,B - Guest1660564, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 32). 

I have played 11.Qg3 with mixed results: perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 14), perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 49), perrypawnpusher - FiNLiP, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 59). For a couple of more modern examples, from stronger players, see Sheldrick,K - Bhat,V, Australian Open, 2017 (1-0, 20) and Morin,L - Weston,P, Quebec Open, 2018 (1-0, 54)

11.f4 Re8 12.f5 

I have been pretty successful with this thematic move (10 - 4 - 1), chasing the Knight, so I was surprised to see, after the game, that Stockfish 9 recommended 12.Qb3+!? instead. The Database has only one game with that move, a win by Black in 25 moves.

12...Ne5 13.d4 

Here, again, the computer prefers 13.Qb3+, followed by 14.d3, which seems to lock the Queen on the Queenside. (There are no game examples in The Database.) As we will see, Stockfish's preference is based on disliking Black's next move.

13...Neg4 

[to be continued]

What Hole?

Ah! Another unsound attack with the Jerome Gambit by Yours Truly! At first glance, it looks powerful - but, there is a hole in it. (Or maybe more than one...) Lucky for me, my opponent missed his escape, and perished in rolling thunder.

perrypawnpusher - kenkenaitya
blitz, FICS, 2014

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

The Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

I like facing this defense, as it allows White to get rid of the annoying Black dark-squared Bishop and to get his "Jerome pawns" rolling.

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

10.0-0 Rf8 11.f4

Or 11.f3 as in mrjoker - PhlebasP, ICC, 2009 (1-0,35).

11...Kf7

Alternatives:

11...Qe7 was seen in perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 20),  perrypawnpusher - obturator, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 31) and perrypawnpusher - fogab, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 27);

11...Ng4 was seen in perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 47), perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2-1/2, 58) and perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2011 (24); and

11...Rf7 was seen in mrjoker - Mandragora, ICC, 2008 (1-0, 49) and perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 30).

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Neg4 14.Qd3 Kg8 

Black has castled-by-hand, but White already has a small edge.

15.h3 Nh6 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Nc3 a6 18.Qe3 Kg7

Rybka 3 gives a very complicated defense starting with 18...Ne8, and including ...Qe7 and ...Qf6 to exchange (or drive) off White's Queen.

19.Qg3+

Here, and for the next few moves, Rybka 3 prefers e4-e5. Then, when I finally play the move, it prefers something different. The reason? See the note to Black's 23nd move.

19...Kf7 20.Qh4 Rg8 21.Qxh6 Rg7

22.e5?

First White should play 22.Rae1.

22...dxe5 23.dxe5 Ng8

Instead, 23...Qd4+ 24.Rf2 Qxe5 gives Black the edge. White must always be wary of the Black Queen check and capture, if he plays the e4-e5 break.

24.e6+ Kf8 25.Qf4 b5

Here Rybka 3 suggests that Black try his luck in a Rooks and pawns endgame (where he is still worse): 25...Nf6 26.Rad1 Qe7 27.Nd5 Qc5+ 28.Ne3 Qe7 29.Ng4 Nxg4 30.hxg4 Bxe6 31.fxe6+ Kg8 32.Qc4 Rg6 33.Rfe1 b5 34.Rd7 bxc4 35.Rxe7 Rg7 36.Rd7 c3 37.bxc3 Re8 38.Rxg7+ Kxg7 39.e7 Kf6.

Now White finishes off the game in sparkling style.

26.Rad1 Qe8 27.f6 Rg6 28.f7 Qe7 29.fxg8Q+ Kxg8 30.Qf7+ Qxf7 31.exf7+ Kf8 32.Rd8+ Ke7 33.f8Q+ Ke6 
Black resigned as I played 34.Re1

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Bypassed in Time

Some lines in the Jerome Gambit and related openings get a lot of attention on this blog, while others get short shrift. Below, Black uses a rare defense to the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, White misses the best response, and, after a relatively short tussle, the first player loses.

Clearly I have some educational work to do.

lorecai - ffdallagnol
blitz, FICS, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 

It is rare that I can give the history of my attention to a particular line in short order, but with "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (2)", "Please don't do that", "My Turn Again" and "BSG: Later on in theDiscussion" that's about it.

Reflecting how often Bill Wall mines The Database for ideas for play (see "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"), I feel compelled to point out that I did not provide ffdallagnol with the games collection so that he could ambush lorecai with something rare.

6.Qh5

Looks aggressive, but best, leading to only a small edge for Black, is 6.c3, as Houdini 3 lays out: 6...d6 7.Nc4 Ne6 8.d4 Nf6 9.f4 d5 10.Ne5 dxe4 11.f5 Nc5 12.0-0 Nd3 13.Nxd3 exd3 14.Qxd3 Kf7 15.Bg5 Be7 16.Nd2 Re8 17.Rae1 Kg8 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Qe4 Qd6 20.Rf3 Kh8 21.Rg3 Bd7 . I'll have to track down some of the relevant games.

6...Qe8 7.Qg5+

Wanting to keep the attack alive, but best play at this point, alas, was exchanging the Queens followed by 8.Kd1.

7...Nf6 8.Na3 d6 9.Nec4 

9...b5 10.Ne3 b4

This pawn charge is fun, but not best.

11.Nd5+

White can stir up more mischief with 11.e5 bxa3 12.exf6+ gxf6 although he still would be worse.

11...Kd7 12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Qxf6

Hoping the attack on the Rook on h8 will give him time to save his Knight on a3. In a way, he succeeds.

13...Qxe4+ 14.Kf1 Qe2+ 15.Kg1 Qe1 checkmate

Beware the Jerome Gambit!

Well, Okay, maybe that title is a bit over-done...


How about: Do Not Underestimate the Jerome Gambit ?


Or: Laugh At Your Own Risk.


perrypawnpusher (1798) - narvi (1957)
Italian Game - Round 1, Chess.com, 2012


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

I am generally happy when my opponent plays this line, as it usually means that he is working things out over-the-board. It also gives me the opportunity to grab his annoying dark-squared Bishop, and set up play with the 2 "Jerome pawns" against his extra piece.


7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

10.0-0 Ng4


This move indicates more than a wish to harass the Queen. Black plans to exchange Queens, stifling any of White's ideas for a quick attack. This is one downside of the 6...Ng6 line.


11.Qg3


As we have seen before, 11.Qe2 is a surprisingly quick route to trouble for White, as in mrjoker - weiran, ICC, 2008.


11...Qh4


I have faced 11...h6 in perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 14); 11...h5 in perrypawnpusher - Riversider, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18); and 11...Rf8 in perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 49); and only the last move gave me trouble.


12.Qxh4 Nxh4 

13.f4


This may be a tiny bit better than 13.d4. For that matter, 13.Nc3 may be just as good as the text. Of course, transpositions can occur, to.


13...Rf8


This looks like the beginning of castling-by-hand, but Black eventually opts to move his King toward the Queenside.


Bill Wall, who has played the Jerome Gambit many times, successfully, has reminded me on more than one occasion that although Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation has its refutations, not many of the people who defend against it actually know them. At the very least, it costs time on the clock to suss them out.


14.d3


It is probably a tossup as to whether 14.f5 or 14.Nc3 are better.


14...Ng6 15.Nc3 c6 

White's plan is to advance his "Jerome pawns" and make some kind of mischief. At the same time, he has to be aware that one of Black's defensive ideas is to return the extra piece for two pawns.


Black seems unsure about taking a decisive step, and puts his moves together as necessary. 


16.Bd2 Kd8 17.f5 Ne7 18.h3 Ne5 19.g4 

White feints at the Kingside, but I mostly wanted to secure the pawn at f5 before advancing the e-pawn.


19...Kc7 20.Bg5 Kd8


Complications. Black wants his Rook on the f-file to restrain White's f-pawn. At the same time, he needs to protect his Knight at e7; and putting the Rook at f7 would allow White to drive the Knight at e5 to the Queenside with d4. Still, events that follow suggest that 20...Ng8 might have been more in line with what Black hoped for.


21.d4 Nf7 22.Bf4 

22...a5 


Black plans to put his Bishop at a6, and kick White's Knight with b7-b5-b4. This struck me as a bit odd, but my opponent was rated a good bit more than me, so what did I know? 


Rybka's suggestion after the game isn't any more dynamic: 22...g6 23.Rae1 b6 24.Rf3 h5 25.f6 Ng8 26.g5 Re8 27.Rfe3 Bd7 28.Kg2 with an even position. 


23.e5 dxe5 24.dxe5 b5 


After the game Rybka suggested that Black could keep White's advantage small by sacrificing the exchange: 24...Nxf5 25.gxf5 Bxf5 26.e6 Bxe6 27.Rad1+ Ke7 28.Be3 Ke8 29.Bc5 b6 30.Bxf8 Kxf8.


I'm pretty sure that neither my opponent nor I were thinking along those lines!


25.e6 Nh8 

White's advantage in development has to be decisive here. It is almost as if he sacrificed a piece to get to this position. Oh, wait - he did!


26.Rad1+ Ke8 27.Bc7 Ba6


Black should be thinking about returning a piece for a couple of pawns, but the risk is that White's remaining "extra" pawn is liable to be advanced and dangerous.


28.Rd6 

I had looked at the stronger 28.Rd7 Nd5 29.Nxd5 cxd5 but had only considered the mundane follow-up, 30.Rxd5, whereas 30.Rxg7 would have created serious threats from the advancing e- and f-pawns. 


28...Nd5 29.Nxd5 cxd5 30.Rxd5 b4 31.Rfd1 g6 

Black has chased away White's Rook from f1, and has pressure on the white pawn at f5, but White's development decides the game.


32.Rd8+ Rxd8


White sets his e-pawn up to Queen after 32...Ke7 33.R1d7+ Kf6 34.g5+!? (34.e7 mops up after 34...Re8 35.Rxa8 Rxa8 36.Rd8 Kxe7 37.Rxa8 Nf7 38.Rxa6 but without the pawn Queening) 34...Kxg5 35.e7


33.Rxd8+ Ke7 34.Bd6+  After this shot, Black resigned

I was really happy to find the Bishop move, the Rook "sacrifice" is a sham: 34...Kxd8 35.e7+ and the pawn will both capture the Rook and promote to a Queen.

Almost

Sometimes the person playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) gets just enough assistance from the defender that the opening can almost look like it really does lead to a powerful attack...

perrypawnpusher - obturator
blitz, FICS, 2012

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 Nf6

10.0-0 Rf8 11.f4

Equally strong was 11.d4, as in fehim - cybernoid, FICS, 2006: 11...Be6 12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Ne7 14.exf6 Rxf6 15.b3 Nd5 16.Qe4 Qd6 17.Bb2 Rh6 18.g3 Kd7 19.Rd1 Re8 20.c4 Bg4 21.Qxg4+ Black resigned.

Instead, 11.f3 was the introduction to an ultimate "Jerome pawn" game, mrjoker - PhlebasP, ICC, 2009 (1-0, 35).

11...Qe7

I have also faced 11...Rf7 in perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 30) as has Louis Marin, in mrjoker - Mandragora, ICC, 2008 (1-0, 49);

as well as 11...Ng4 in perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 24), perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 47), and perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 58).

12.Nc3

Also possible was 12.f5 Ne5 13.Nc3 b6 14.d4 Nc4 15.Qg5 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Qxe4 17.Qxg7 Bxf5 18.Bh6 Rf7 19.Qg5 Kd7 20.Rae1 Qxd4+ 21.Kh1 Nd2 22.Rxf5 Rxf5 23.Qxf5+ Kc6 24.Bxd2 Qxd2 25.Rf1 Re8 26.Qf3+ Kc5 27.Qa3+ Kc6 28.Qa4+ b5 29.Qa6+ Kd7 30.Qxb5+ c6 31.Rf7+ Re7 32.Qb7+ Kd8 Black resigned, holofernes - kdosch, FICS, 2001.

12...Ng4

Also seen is 12...c6 as in perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 20), although 12...Kf7 with plans to continuing castling-by-hand may be best.

13.Qg3 Bd7 14.f5 N6e5 15.d4 d5

Black returns a piece and undermines White's pawn at f5, but this might be less painfully accomplished (at least the first step) by 15...Nf6 16.dxe5 dxe5.

Now White's game takes a step forward.

16.Nxd5 Qd6 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Bf4 Qc5+ 19.Kh1 Nf7 20.Nxc7+ Ke7


21.Nxa8

I was pleased to be the exchange and a few pawns ahead, but 21.Qh4+, continuing the attack on the King, was stronger.

21...Rxa8 22.Bg5+

This was a nervous, short-of-time move. Better was the straight-forward 22.Qxg7.

22...Ke8 23.c3 Bc6 24.Rae1 h6 25.Be3 Qc4 26.Qxg7 Bxe4 27.Qg8+ Kd7 28.Qxa8

I had my clock back under control, and needed only avoid a serious blunder to bring home the point.

28...Qc6 29.Rd1+ Kc7 30.Bf4+ Kb6 31.Qg8 Black resigned

Another Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit

Like the first "Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit", here is a game "that readily illustrates the highs and lows, attractions and pitfalls of that offbeat opening."


perrypawnpusher - jgknight
blitz, FICS, 2011

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 Nf6

10.0-0 Ng4

This move has more behind it than just being annoying. It's been played against me by Riversider, lorecai and pitrisko, but jgknight's follow-up has more potential poison.

11.Qg3 Rf8

The assessment of the position here is that Black is a bit better, but White should read his daily horoscope: As long as White guards the squares e2 and f4 and leaves the square h3 open, he should be okay.

Cryptic? Follow along.

12.h3

Uh-oh...

White should have tried 12.d3, 12.d4, 12.f4 or 12.Nc3.

12...N4e5

Instead, Black had 12...Nf4, protecting the Knight at g4 because of the awakward threatened fork at e2. After 13.Nc3, though, the follow-up 13...Nh5 shows just how bad things have gotten for White. Rybka 3 now recommends giving up the Queen with 14.Qxg4 as "best", as even the more hopeful-looking 14.Qd3 collapses after 14...Ne5, when 15.Qe3 is met by 15...Nf3+ 16.gxf3 Nf4 and White's King is in dire straits.

Oh, if only White's Queen could have escaped to h3 in respnse to 13...Nh5!

Let's continue a bit further in this "Day in the Life". Black does not take advantage of his opportunity, and soon the Jerome Gambiteer is looking pretty good.

13.f4 Nc6 14.f5 Qh4 15.Qe3 Nge5 16.d4 Nc4 17.Qd3 b5

I've seen similar c4-Knights in my games against saltos, VGxdys, parlance and pitrisko. The game is about even.

18.a4 Ba6

Tempting tactical fate.

After the game Rybka 3 suggested 18...Bxf5 19.axb5 N4e5 20.dxe5 Nxe5 21.Qe3 Qxe4 with the game still about even.

19.b3

This made the most sense to me, but Rybka much preferred 19.axb5 Bxb5 20.Nc3 Nb4 21.Qe2 c6 22.Nxb5 cxb5 23.b3 Nxc2 (23...Nb6 24.Qxb5+) 24.Qxc2 Nb6. If you saw that line of play and realized at the end that White is not merely up a pawn, but has great attacking chances (starting with 25.Qc6+), good for you!

19...N4a5 20.axb5 Nb4

Black's Knights are tripping all over each other, but my tactical sense of what is going on fails me even faster than my opponent's does.

21.Qe2 Bb7 22.Rxa5 Bxe4 23.Re1

More direct, and stronger, was 23.Rf4.

23...d5 24.Ba3 Nxc2 25.Bxf8

At first glance it looks like White is a Rook up. But, of course, Black can capture the Rook at e1. Oh, well, that still means that when the Black Knight and White Bishop come off the board, things will still be even, right? Well, not exactly...

25...Nxe1 26.Nd2 Kxf8 27.Nxe4 Qxe4 28.Qxe4 dxe4

What we have here is a messy game that computers analyze as won for Black. In other words, simply another day in the life of the Jerome Gambit...

29.Kf2 Nd3+ 30.Ke3 Re8 31.Rxa7 Nc1 32.Rxc7 Nxb3 33.b6 Na5

And, just like that (almost) White is winning (again).

Well, at least according to Rybka 3.

34.Rc5

I was looking for a draw here, and so I was paying more attention to capturing Black's pawn on e4 than I was to promoting my b-pawn.

The trick to understanding the position is to realize that Black's pieces are all tied down. His King is confined to the 8th rank. His Rook has to stay on the e-file and protect the pawn at e4. His Knight dare not wander, as White can try b6-b7 and Rc7-c8 as soon as possible.

Black can play with his pawns on the Kingside, but when those moves run out, he will be faced with trouble. In the meantime, White's d-pawn can advance as well...

So, White's best was 34.b7 simply adding to Black's misery. Rybka 3 suggests 34...Nxb7, but after 35.Rxb7 the Rook-and-pawns endgame is strongly in White's favor: extra pawn, passed d-pawn, Black's weak e-pawn.

34...Nb7 35.Re5 Rxe5

My opponent pretty much acknowledged with his play here that I would like to escape into a drawn end game, and he goes along with my play. Little did he (or I) realize that this move again gives me winning chances.

36.dxe5 Nc5

37.b7

Going along with the same plan that my opponent was going along with which was my plan... which was wrong. 

It was late in this day in the life of the Jerome Gambit, and I missed the simple 37.Kd4, nudging away Black's protecting Knight and finally allowing me to play 38.Kxe4.
37...Nxb7 38.Kxe4 Ke7

Here the "Jerome pawns" offset Black's extra Knight, and we go through the motions of exchanging everything off.

39.g4 Nc5+ 40.Kd4 Nd7 41.g5 Nf8 42.h4 g6 43.Ke4 gxf5+ 44.Kxf5 Ng6 45.h5 Nf8 46.g6 hxg6+ 47.hxg6 Nxg6 48.Kxg6 Ke6 49.Kg7 Kxe5 Neither player has mating material, Drawn