Jerome Gambit: Winning Ugly is Still Better Than Losing Ugly (Part 1)

Whew.

I just finished another Jerome Gambit game in the third round of the Giuoco Piano Thematic tournament at Chess.com, It was not pretty at all. You could say that I was losing - up until my opponent resigned. Of course, that is the "objective" evaluation of the Jerome, anyhow.

Yeah.

perrypawnpusher - IlToscano
Giuoco Piano Thematic, Chess.com, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 

This defense is solid and good. It also avoids the complexities of 8...Qh4+, which I faced in perrypawnpusher - constipatedguru, blitz, FICS, 2017 (1-0, 20).

9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 

Staying away from 10.Qxe5+ which has given me mixed results, and a loss most recently: perrypawnpusher - djdave28, Italian Game Tournament, Chess.com, 2014, (1-0, 22); perrypawnpusher - djdave28, Italian Game Tournament, Chess.com 2015, (1-0, 32); and perrypawnpusher - Altotemmi, Giuoco Piano Tournament, Chess.com, 2016, (0-1, 51) 

10...Nf6 

Easily an improvement over 10...Ke7, which I faced in perrypawnpusher - gtomlinson, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 28) and 10...h6, which I faced in perrypawnpusher - paulpee, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 71).

11.d3 

About the same as 11.Nc3 as in perrypawnpusher - Dogyou, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 21). 

11...Kc6 

Black wishes to avoid the embarassment of getting his Queen pinned to his King - a trick that might work in blitz (see below) but this game was played at 3 days per move.

Or Black could play 11...Ke7 as in perrypawnpusher - PREMK, blitz, FICS, 2005, (1-0, 14); perrypawnpusher - karleinkarl, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 16);  and perrypawnpusher - vz721, Italian Game thematic, Chess.com, 2013 (1-0, 29); 

Or 11...Rf8 as in perrypawnpusher - BronxBoyII, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18); perrypawnpusher - udofink, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 13);  perrypawnpusher - mconst, blitz, FICS,  2010 (1-0, 42); and perrypawnpusher - recreation, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 13);  

Or 11...Bb4+ as in perrypawnpusher - ViennaMike, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19); 

Or 11...Re8 as in perrypawnpusher - Estebang, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 28) 

Or 11...Bd4 as in perrypawnpusher - Rossgil, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26) 

12.c3 Bb6 13.Bf4 Qh5 14.Nd2 

I was not pleased to see the Queens leave the board, but I didn't have a better idea.

14...Qxf3 15.Nxf3 d6 

I added all of the game links above to show that I was supposed to be familiar with this line, and therefore supposed to know what I was doing against IlToscano. Yet, he has done very well, and the one pawn that I have for my sacrificed Bishop is clearly inadequate compensation.

I decided that I should again do what far better players than me have done in similar Jerome Gambit situations - abandon the "attack at all costs" idea, and let my opponent, who has the advantage, do the attacking. If he was not going to slip up when defending, perhaps he might err when atacking? Psychology is always a part of Jerome play.

[to be continued]

A New Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit

It is always nice to come across a Jerome Gambit game with a player who is new to me, and who appears to be new to the gambit.

In the following game White achieves a significant advantage, and then follows a sedate course to the full point. While it may be fun to point out some slam-bang checkmates along the way (it is worth playing them all out), it is always important to remember that "a win is a win". The end is inexorable, either way.

filipokpok - djernigan
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+

The "nudge", usually a sign that the player is at least a little bit familiar with Jerome Gambit theory.

7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Ne5 

This move is not so much "bad" as it is provocative. It is perhaps telling that there is only one other game in The Database with this move.

10.O-O Nf6 11.d4

An improvement over 11.f4 as in perrypawnpusher - mconst, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 25).

11...Neg4

"When in doubt, neglect your development and attack the enemy Queen."

12.Qe2 Qe8 13.Nc3 c6 14.f4 Bd7 

Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit dynamic: Black has a somewhat restricted development (especially on the Queenside) while White has a menacing pawn center. Both need plans. Perhaps Black could threaten to undermine the "Jerome pawns" with 14...b5!? instead. 

15. f5 Nh6

Falling in with White's plans. Perhaps, analagous to the previous note, Black could look at 15...c5!?

16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Nd5 19.e6 Nxc3 20.bxc3 Bc8

If you are a tactical maniac, then the game is already over.

If you would like a quiet, step-by-step game that leads to "1-0", you can find that here, too.

Let's continue.

21.Rae1

Solid. When the "Jerome pawns" advance, they will sweep everything before them.

Alternately, there is 21.Qe5 h5 22.Qxh8+ Ke7 23.Qg7+ Kd8
24.Rad1+ Bd7 25.Rxd7+ Kc8 26.Rc7+ Kd8 27.Rd1+ Qd7 28.Qxd7 checkmate. Check it out, the thematic moves are instructive.

21...Qe7

Black's strongest defense is 21...Rg8, but then comes 22.e7+ Kf7 23.Qh5+ Kf6 24.Qxh6+ Kf7 25.Re6 Bxe6 26.Qxe6+ Kg7 27.f6+ Kh6 28.f7+ Rg6 29.Qe3+ Kg7 30.Qe5+ Kh6 31.Rf5 Rxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Qg8+ 33.Kh3 c5 34.Qe6+ Qg6 35.f8=Q+ Rxf8 36.exf8=Q checkmate. Of course, the defender would probably turn over his King before the 36th move.

22.f6

Well, that certainly would be enough for me to quail on defense.

Black does not take the hint, so perhaps it is okay to mention 22.Qe5 Rg8 23.f6 Qxe6 24.Qc5+ Kf7 25.Rxe6 Bxe6 26.Qe7+ Kg6 27.Qxe6 Rgf8 28.Qf5+ Kf7 29.Qxh7+ Ke6 30.Qe7+ Kd5 31.Rf5+ Kc4 32.Rc5 checkmate 

22...Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Qd5 

24.c4 

Black's Queen has escaped from under the footsteps of White's pawns, and White will have none of that: it is time to get his sacrificed material back, followed by a solid Rook and pawn endgame.

Alternately, there was 24.e7+ Ke8 25.f7+ Qxf7 26.Rxf7 Kxf7 27.Rf1+ Ke8 28.Qe5 Bh3 29.gxh3 Kd7 30.e8=Q+ Rhxe8 31.Rf7+ Re7 32.Rxe7+ Kd8 33.Qc7 checkmate. Remember, you attack your way and I'll attack my way...

24...Qxe6 25.Qxe6

It is silly to even mention the alternative: 25.Qd2 Kf7 26.Qxh6 Ke8 27.f7+ Kd8 28.Rxe6 Bxe6 29.Qxe6 Rf8 30.c5 h6 31.Rd1+ Kc7 32.Rd7+ Kc8 33.Qe8+ Rxe8 34.fxe8=Q checkmate

25...Bxe6 26.Rxe6 Kf7 

As filipokpok planned.

27.Re7+ Kg6 28.Rxb7

The text is enough. Congratulations if you also saw 28.Rg7+ Kh5 29.g3 c5 30.Rf5 checkmate 

28...Rhf8 29.f7 

White has this all figured out. (He could have been distracted by 29.Rg7+ Kh5 30.Rf3 c5 31.Rh3 checkmate.) 

29...a5 30.Rc7 Ra6 31.c5 a4 32.Rd7 Ra5 33.Rd6+ Kg7 34.Rxc6 Rxf7 35.Rxf7+ Kxf7 

Often in blitz "simpler is better" and so White has been willing to give up his advanced f-pawn to swap Rooks. There are more passed pawns available!

36.Rxh6 Kg7 37.Rc6 Rb5 38.Kg1 Rb2 39.Ra6 Rxc2 40.Rxa4 Rxc5 41.g4 Kg6 42.h4 Black resigned

Splendid!

[This is post #2,100 for the blog. August 2015 was also the 4th most visited month for jeromegambit.blogspot.com. Many thanks for the support and encouragement of Readers everywhere - Rick]

"Why Did He Play That Move?" Redux

Shades of "Why did he play that move?": my opponent would have been well-served by asking himself that, after my 12th move. As a result, what could have been an interesting tangle got short-circuited.

perrypawnpusher - Makeyourmove,
blitz, FICS, 2013

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 

This is a standard position in the 6...Ng6 Jerome Gambit - this is the 45th time for me. 

Black continues to develop and prepare for castling-by-hand - impressive, for a player who, at least according to The Database, has not played or faced a Jerome Gambit (at least on FICS).

10.0-0 Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.f5

This position appeared as early as Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match (1), 1876 (1-0, 34).

This is my 10th game with it on the board, having won 6 and lost 3 to date. Twice my opponents made it easy for me - and now, today.

Why does White allow Black to take his e-pawn? 

12...Rxe4 13.fxg6+ 

Zwischenzug.  Intermediate move.

13...hxg6

After equally incautious 13...Kxg6 White has 14.Rxf6+ Qxf6 15.Qxe4+ as in perrypawnpusher - mconst, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 18).

Black's best is 13...Kg8 and after 14.gxh7+ then 14...Kh8 (14...Kxh7 allows 15.Qd3) when White has an edge; he should focus on development, as Houdini suggested after the game, 15.Qf2 Rg4 16.d3 b6 17.Nd2 Bb7 18.Nf3. 

14.Qxe4 Black resigned 

perrypawnpusher - bnxr, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 29) continued another 15 moves, with the same result.

Too Clever (or not clever enough) for My Own Good

The following game is mostly the result of preparation and my understanding of a particular line in the Jerome Gambit: my opponent dismissed my chances and fell into a tactical shot that put me a piece ahead. Then I refused to allow him a paltry pawn in return (temporarily) – and I got clobbered! The final position is a wonderful tribute to mconst's creativity and counter-punching!

perrypawnpusher - mconst
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

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

Last year our game continued 6...Kf6, perrypawnpusher - mconst, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 42 ).

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

Earlier this year my opponent was successful with the provocative 9...Ne5 in perrypawnpusher - mconst, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 25).

10.0-0 Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.f5 Rxe4

The same oversight that bnxr made against me earlier this year. 

13.fxg6+ Kxg6

It was better to retreat with 13...Kg8, when White will only be slightly better.

14.Rxf6+ Qxf6 15.Qxe4+

I was hammering out my moves, and, except for all those Queenside pieces still parked in the garage, I was feeling fine.

15...Bf5

Now all that is necessary is for me to see that after 16.Qe3 Bxc2 White can regain the pawn with 17.Na3 Bf5 18.Nb5 and "the rest is a matter of technique".

Some piece development would help, too.

16.Qc4 Rf8

Here 16...Re8 would have been crushing. 

17.Qf1 Qd4+ 18.Qf2

Clueless as to what is coming.

18...Bd3

White resigned

Really nice. Which I could think of such stuff.

Reminds me of a cartoon I used to watch as a kid, when Quickdraw McGraw would say to his sidekick, "I'll do the thin'in' around here, BabaLouie, and don't you forget it!"

Two Positions

In the following game my opponent out-played me, encouraging me to extend a shell of "Jerome pawns" which he then cracked like an egg. I'd like to look at a couple of interesting positions from the game, neither of which I "solved" correctly.

 perrypawnpusher - mconst
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

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

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Ne5

This is the first position. Black is clearly being provocative, asking for the d-pawn or the f-pawn to kick the Knight to g4. I've not seen it before.

Instead, I've seen 9...Nf6 in perrypawnpusher - hogmaster, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld, 2008 (1-0, 37); perrypawnpusher - joejox, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1/2- 1/2, 27); perrypawnpusher - DysonLin, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 23); perrypawnpusher - Mences, blitz, FICS,  2009 (1-0, 38); perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 25);  perrypawnpusher - SkypeFro, blitz, FICS 2010 (1-0, 39);   perrypawnpusher - BishopChris, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22);

I've also faced 9...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - jamtaylo, blitz, ChessWorld Welcome JG, 2009 (1-0, 27).

10.0-0 Nf6 11.f4

Likely better is 11.d4, which would cause me to re-think my understanding of how to play this position. The attraction of the move is obvious: kicking the Knight on e5 and opening the c1-h6 diagonal for White's dark squared Bishop. It also means that White should then answer 11...Neg4 (not the best response) with 12.Qd3, giving up, at least for the moment, the idea of pinning Black's Knight along the f-file with either the Rook or Queen and then attacking it with e4-e5.

11...Neg4

This is probably not as solid as 11...Nc6 but it is much more annoying.

12.Qf3 Nh6

13.h3 Kf7 14.e5 Ne8 15.g4 Rf8 16.Qd5+ Be6 17.Qxb7 Qh4

Here's the second position of interest. The question is: Is Black bluffing?

He had the choice of the ordinary 17...dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg8 19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 20.Qe4 Nf7 which is about equal.

Instead, he offers a Rook.

18.Qg2

I played this too quickly, but it is worth looking at 18.Qxa8 d5, locking the Queen out. The alternatives to the pawn move, 18...Qxh3, 18...Nf6 and 18...Nxg4, are all well met by 19.Qg2.

When White then covers his h-pawn with 19.Kg2, Black has 19...Nd6, exposing an attack on the Queen.

As Her Majesty runs back home, Black breaks through: 20.Qxa7 Ne4 21.Qa3, however I have not been able to find anything better for Black than either 21...Bxg4 or 21...Nxg4 each which yield nothing more than a draw through perpetual check after 22.hxg4.

18...Rb8 19.f5 Bc8 20.d4 Bb7 

The game is complicated, and my play from here on out is not good.

21.Qh2

White needed to shield himself from that Bishop with 21.d5 dxe5 22.c4, when Black might have a slight edge.

21...Kg8

Prudent, but there were good attacking chances with 21...Nxg4.

22.Nd2

White needed to get rid of that Knight with 22.Bxh6
22...Nxf5

Even more deadly was 22...Nxg4, but my game was collapsing fast.

23.gxf5 Qxd4+ 24.Rf2 Rxf5 25.Nb3 Qd1+ White resigned

Disdainful Defender Defense

There is something very strange about the Optical Illusion Variation of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). I am happy for the wins that it has brought me, even if it is probably more correctly termed the "Disdainful Defender Defense."

perrypawnpusher - mconst
blitz FICS, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6

This is a very reasonable defense. Black gives back one of his two extra pieces, and threatens to kill White's attack by trading Queens.

9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3

A quick look at the updated New Year's Database shows that in the 15 games featuring the exchange of Queens, 10.Qxe5+, White won 8, lost 6 and drew 1, so maybe that move needs further investigation.

10...Nf6

Black develops a piece and strikes at White's center, forcing...

11.d3

11...Rf8

With a 4-to-1 lead in piece development (the King is a strong piece!) my opponent develops yet another piece, threatening an uncovered attack on my Queen... But he has missed something.

As pointed out "In The Beginning...", Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's first analysis of his gambit, appearing in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, noted of White's 11th move: "Compelling either K or Q to move as White threatens Bf4; or Black can play ...g5".

Sound advice.

12.Bf4 Qxf4 13.Qxf4+ Kc6

Black has two Bishops against White's Queen and extra pawn. Up until now, all of my opponents resigned quickly. Much to his credit, mconst decided to fight it out.

14.e5

Since I am likely to run into this position again, it is probably worth remembering that 14.Nc3 is stronger, possibly followed by Queenside castling. 

14...Nd5 15.Qe4 d6 16.c4

Even stronger was 16.Nc3

16...Bf5 17.Qxd5+ Kd7 18.Qxb7 Bxd3

19.exd6 Bxd6 20.Qb5+ Kc8

21.Qd5 Re8+ 22.Kd2 Rb8 23.Qxd3

White is now ahead a Queen – and I admit that I had grown impatient at my opponent's unwillingess to resign. This was a bad mental state for me to be in, as it gave extra force to Black's counter-attack...

23...Rxb2+ 24.Kd1

24...Rd8 25.Nd2 Bb4

26.Qf5+ Kb8 27.Qb5+ Ka8 28.Qc6+ Kb8 29.Qb5+

It was embarassing to consider forcing a draw while a Queen ahead... I calmed down enough return (a lot of) material to break the attack.

29...Ka8 30.Qxb4 Rxb4 31.Kc2

I was pretty sure that an extra piece would be enough...

31...Rb6 32.Rab1 Rbd6 33.Rhd1 Rh6 34.Nf3 Rf8 35.Rd7 Rc6 36.Kc3 a6

This mistake simplifies things.

37.Rxg7 Rf4 38.Nd2

38...Rf2 39.Rf1 Rxf1 40.Nxf1 Rf6 41.Ne3 Kb7

42.Rxh7 Black resigned