Jerome Gambit: Ghosts of Moves Unplayed

Playing a 3-minute game often requires both players to put aside any thoughts of what moves they could have played, or should have mande, but didn't. With more time to reflect, such musings might help in forming future plans, but in blitz, they can haunt ongoing play.

BoomBoomTNT-YT - tyronev1
3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 

Now, Black can choose Blackburne's Defense, 7...d6, or Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7 - both are complicated and dangerous - or amongst a handful of lesser lines, e.g. 7...Bd6.

7...Qe7 

8.Qd5+

We have recently taken a look at this infrequently- played move. See "Jerome Gambit: Largely Overlooked by History".

Recent alternatives:

8.Qxe7+ Kxe7 9.b3 a6 10.Bb2 Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 12.Nc3 Bd4 13.Rae1 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 d6 15.e5 dxe5 16.Bxe5 Rg8 17.Bxc7 Bg4 18.f3 Bh5 19.Bd6 Rad8 20.Bb4 g5 21.Re7+ Kg6 22.Rxb7 Rg7 23.Rb6 Rd4 24.Bc3 Rd8 25.Rxf6 checkmate, Ghigi,N - NN, 5 1 blitz, 2020;

8.Qxh8 Ke6 (8...Qxe4+ 9.Kd1 Qxg2 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.c3 Qxh1+ 12.Kc2 Qe4+ 13.d3 Qa4+ 14.b3 Qg4 15.Bh6+ Nxh6 16.Qxh6+ Kf7 17.Qh7+ Kf6 18.Nd2 Bxf2 19.Ne4+ Kf5 20.Qf7+ Ke5 21.Qf6+ Kd5 22.c4 checkmate, tomkoolen1996 - ThomasBovenkerk, 10 5 blitz, lichess.org, .com, 2020; or 8...Nf6 9.d3 b6 10.Bg5 Bd4 11.c3 Bb7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Qxh7+ Kf8 14.Qxe7+ Black resigned, Anonymous -Anonymous, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 9.Qxg8+ Kd6 10.Qd5 checkmate, decidueyemainbtw -MarcosEngenheiro, Chess.com 2020; and

8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3 Bd6 10.f4 Bxf4 11.Qb3+ Qe6 12.O-O Qxb3 13.Rxf4+ Kg7 14.axb3 d6 15.d4 Ne7 16.Nc3 Bd7 17.Be3 a6 18.Raf1 Rhe8 19.Rf7+ Kh8 20.Bg5 Nc6 21.Bf6+ Kg8 22.Rxd7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest744598, PlayChess.com, 2020.

8...Kg7

The text move looks a little bit better than 8...Kf8, which might place the King in the way of a Rook that wants to be developed, e.g. eronald - ayushsankar1006, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 (0-1, 23). 

9.d4 Bb4+

Not quite as strong as 9...Bb6, levigun - obviously, 5d + 2d GameKnot.com, 2004, (0-1, 11) 

10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 

White has to be careful, with only one piece developed vs three, even with his strong pawn center. Fortunately, Black helps him out.

11...Qxe5 

Exchanging Queens in the Jerome Gambit if often a help to the defender. In this case - a 3-minute blitz game - Black has not looked deeply enough, however.

12.dxe5 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Re8 

14.Nc3 

A bit stronger was 14.0-0 Rxe5 15.Bf4 Re6 16.Bxc7. This possibility seems to haunt both player's thoughts during the next few moves, perhaps unconsciously.

14...Rxe5 15.O-O 

Of course, White can not now play 15.Bf4 Re6 16.Bxc7 because of 16...Nxc3+.

15...d5 16.Be3 

This is a solid move, although, again, 16.Bf4 was on.

16...c6

Black suddenly realizes that the 16.Bf4 skewer could win a pawn, so he moves that pawn to safety. But he overlooks something.

17.Bd4 

Black resigned

The Rook is a goner.

Jerome Gambit: Largely Overlooked by History

I wanted to share another eronald (of lichess.org) game for a number of reasons. He faced one of the more challenging defenses to the Jerome Gambit, he selected a line of play that was recommended over 140 years ago - and which has been scarcely played at all. This game also allows me to tuck in a note from my research that comes from I-do-not-know-where. 

eronald - ayushsankar1006
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

This can lead to either the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6, or Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. Both are complicated and each can be dangerous for the unwary. 

My preference to play, and not to face, is Whistler's. See "More (Update): Whistler's Defense" for a discussion.

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qd5+ 

The highly dangerous (for White) 8.Qxh8 appeared in Jerome - Norton, D., correspondence, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 20) and Jerome - Whistler, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15). Jerome was fortunate to gain a half point from the two games. The December, 1876 issue of  American Chess Journal, commenting on the Whistler game, recommended 8.Qd5+ without analysis.

Then 8.Qd5+ practically disappeared from the face of the earth. Perhaps it should be referred to as Jerome Gambit Secrets #12 ?

I have in my notes something from a 2020 1 0 bullet game at
lichess.org - the players are not named

If played correctly 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qd5 + Kg7 9.d4 Bb4 + 10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 Bd6 12.Qxe7 + Bxe7 13.f3 White plays one piece, and for the second they have more space and two pawns - you can still play very much (position on the interactive whiteboard), both on the one and the other side. Although, objectively speaking, Black has a win, but you need to make fairly accurate moves, let's recall the game of the unforgettable Mikhail Tal - how many could hold their position after the Tal victims, who turned out to be objectively won in the home analysis?

It is not every day that you see the Jerome Gambit and the Magician from Riga mentioned in the same paragraph! 

Of course, Tal has already been mentioned on the blog: see "The Evans-Jerome Gambit Returns (Part 1)" and "Correctness".

8...Kf8 

If, instead, 8...Kg7, the game continued 9.d4 Bb6 10. Bg5 Nf6 11.e5 Nxd5 White resigned, levigun - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004. This is the only other 8.Qd5+ game in The Database.

9.O-O c6 10.Qc4 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 

12.Qf4+ 

White declines the pawn (12.Qxd5), as Black could then develop his Bishop or Knight, attacking the Queen with tempo. 

12...Nf6 13.d4 Bd6 14.Qd2 Qe4 

This looks a bit odd, although Black retains his advantage.

Given that this was a 5-minute blitz game, and taking into consideration Black's previous move, perhaps he was planning to set up the Bishop + Queen battery, but at the last second, noticed that 14...Qe5 would drop Her Majesty?

15.Re1 Qh4 16.Qh6+ Qxh6 17. Bxh6+ Kf7 18. Nc3 Ng4 

ayushsankar1006 continues to press his attack, even with Queens off of the board. Both players now ignore the pawn at h2 for a short while.

19.Bg5 Be6 20.Nb5  

Perhaps planning to allow the h-pawn capture, and then trap the Bishop with g2-g3, while limiting where the prelate could otherwise retreat to? Or, was the clock ticking? In any event, 20.h3 was probably the move to make. 

20...Bxh2+ 21.Kh1 a6 

The fly in the ointment. The Knight is invited to leave.

22.Nc7

Likely the clock.

22...Bxc7 23.f3 White resigned

Jerome Gambit: A Mockery of Common Sense

I really enjoyed the game in the previous post, so I looked in The Database for some more games by the Jerome Gambiteer obviously. The next game is even more wild, as White takes even greater risks - and wins.

obviously - grobnic
GameKnot.com, 2004

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

This can lead to the infamous Blackburne Defense (7...d6), or the much-less-known but much-more-dangerous Whistler's Defense (7...Qe7).

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qxh8

The Database is notoriously lean when it comes to either early Jerome Gambits, or over-the-board games. Coverage of Whistler's Defense is a good example.

There are 3 early correspondence games by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1876, 1879) where he scored 0-2-1.

Then, over 100 years later, there are then a handful of online games at FICS: 1 in 1999 (0-1); 1 in 2001 (1-0); 3 in 2003 (1-1-1); and then 10 in 2004 (4-5-1) - 7 of which involved obviously.

So, White's 8th move in the current game (capturing the Rook) probably deserves the same annotation it garnered in The American Chess Journal, June 15, 1876, when it showed up Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1876 -

Played experimentally; and analysis will probably show the capture to be unsound. 

Analysis has since shown the capture of the Rook to be unsound - but, then again, analysis, even back in the 1870s, showed the Jerome Gambit itself to be unsound...

We must remember, however, that "all is new that has been forgotten", and that both players in the current game probably had little information on either the Whistler or the Jerome to guide them. That said, obviously obviously had some knowledge of the opening, as he scored 4-0-1 with the Black pieces, and 2-0 with the White pieces.

For that matter, The Database contains 59 games with the Whistler Defense, and White scores 57% - an indication that things are complicated enough that the first player will have his chances, at least in club play.

8...Qxe4+

This is the way to show that White's King is in more danger than Black's.

Bill Wall, who seems to be able to get away with just about anything in the Jerome Gambit, once experienced 8...Qf6 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Sepoli, Chess.com, 2010.

9.Kd1

This move is about as strong as 9.Kf1, e.g. 9...Nf6 10.d3 (10.Nc3 Qxc2 11.h4 b6 12.Qd8 Ba6+ White resigned, grobnic - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 10...Qd4 (10...Qf5 11.f3 Bf8 12.Nc3 d5 13.h4 Qd7 14.h5 Bg7 15.hxg6+ Kxg6 16.Rh6+ Bxh6 17.Bxh6 b6 18.Ne2 Qf7 19.Qf8 Qxf8 20.Bxf8 drawn Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876) 11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Bxc5 Qxa1?! (12...d6 13.Ke2 Qxc2+ 14.Nd2 Bg4+ White resigned, flatchio - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 13.Qf8+ Ke6 14.Qe7+ Kf5 15.Ke2 Qe5+ 16.Qxe5+ Kxe5 17.Re1 d6 18.Kf3+ Kf5 19.Bd4 Kg5 20.h4+ Kf5 21.Re7 Nd5 22.g4 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL 2017.

9...Qg4+

This move is good, but perhaps not quite as strong as 9...Qxg2, e.g. 10.Re1 (10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.Re1 d5 12.d4 Bg4+ 13.Kd2 Qxf2+ 14.Re2 Qxe2+ 15.Kc3 Qc4+ 16.Kd2 Qxd4+ 17.Ke1 Qd1 checkmate, blackburne - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008) 10...Qf3+ (going for a repetition in a winning position) 11.Re2 Qh1+ 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ drawn, Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, 40 0, FICS, 2011.

Black risked most of his advantage with the reasonable precaution 9...Nf6, although he was still able to outplay his opponent: 10.f3 Qh4 11.Nc3 b5 12.Qd8 Qg5 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxg5 Nxg5 15.d4 Be7 16.d5 h5 17.h4 Nh7 18.Bf4 d6 19.Ke2 Nf6 20.Rhd1 Bb7 21.Bg5 Nxd5 22.Bxe7 Nxe7 23.g4 hxg4 24.fxg4 Rh8 25.Rf1+ Ke8 26.h5 gxh5 27.g5 Rg8 28.Rg1 Bc8 29.Kd2 Bg4 30.Rg3 Rxg5 31.Re1 Kd7 32.Rh1 a5 33.Re1 h4 34.Rge3 Nd5 35.Re4 h3 36.R4e3 Nxe3 White resigned, vallabhan - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004

10.Ke1

White improves on the historical 10.f3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Re1 d5 13.Qh4 Qxf3+ 14.Re2 Bg4 15.Nc3 Bf2 White resigned, Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876.

10...Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Rf1 Qe4+

Again, good, but not best (12...d5). It is still hard to see how White will survive, but he does have a material advantage...

13.Kd1 d5

Chess can be incredibly cruel.

White's defense here has in good part consisted of shuttling his King back and forth. Black now plays the move recommended in the last note - and it turns over the advantage to his opponent.

It appears he needed to play 13...Qf3+ first. What difference does the check make? White shows with his next move.

14.f3 

In what appears to be a mockery of common sense, Stockfish 8 now claims that White has a clear advantage, giving 14...Qf4 15.Nc3 c6 16.Ne2 Qf6 17.d3 Bf5 18.Ng3 Re8 19.Nxf5 Qxf5 20.Bd2 Bd4 21.Kc1 Re7 22.Qh4 c5 23.a4 Re2 24.Kd1 Rg2 25.Qd8+ Kg7 26.Kc1 Bxb2+ 27.Kxb2 Rxd2 28.Qc7+ Kh8 29.Qxc5 Qxd3 30.Rf2.

14...Bg4 

It is difficult to explain this move. It is tempting to suggest a mouse slip, but the time control for this game was 5 days per move.

15.fxg4+ Nf6 Black resigned

After 16.Rxf6+ Ke8 17.Nc3!? White's pieces will be able to protect his King from too many Queen checks, while Black's King will be open to great dangers.

Jerome Gambit: Thematic and Aggressive

The following game shows how gambiteers would love the Jerome Gambit to proceed. White's play is thematic and aggressive, while Black's errors tend to be reasonable-looking moves that do not stand up to the situation they are played in. (I should point out that the time limit for the game was several days per move.)

obviously - vallabhan
GameKnot.com, 2004

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6

Elsewhere I have referred to this move as "somewhat inexact", as it saves one threatened piece while allowing another piece to go by the board. See "Reliable".

Stronger alternatives are the proactive 8...Kc6 and the counterattacking 8...Qh4+.

9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qf2

Putting the Queen on the f-file, where it can be backed up by a Rook on f1, and threaten the enemy King. It also increases the tactical complexity of the position by not guarding the pawn on e4.

11...Nf6 12.f5

I am amazed that this move hasn't been repeated, according to The (55,560 games) Database, as it is the essence of Jerome-ness.

The alternate move 12.d3 has 4 wins and 3 losses.

12...Ne5

If Black plays the logical 12...Nxe4, then Stockfish 8's main line recommendation is 13.Qf3 Ng5 14.Qg3 Ne4 15.Qf3 with a draw by repetition - which may make sense to a computer, but probably not to a human.

I would be more inclined to answer 12...Nxe4 with 13.Qe2, when after 13...Bxf5 14.O-O Qd7 15.d3 Rae8 16.dxe4 Kd8 17.Nc3 Be6 the game is even, but not over.

13.d4 Nc6

This removes the Knight from danger, and puts pressure on White's d4 pawn. Nonetheless, cranky Stockfish 8 prefers 13...Nf7. (That move seems a bit defensive, and I am not sure that a human would be thinking "defense" a piece up - but maybe he should.)

14.Nc3 Re8 15.Bg5 Kf8 16. O-O-O h6 17. Bh4 Bd7

White's moves flow, and the position screams "pawn storm on the Kingside". It doesn't happen, but only because White breaks up Black's Kingside instead.

18.Rhe1 Qc8

Getting out of the pin of the Knight on f6, and getting off the possibly soon-to-be hot d-file; but Black needed to do something drastic, like 18...Kg8 19.Nd5 Rf8 20.e5 Nxd5!? 21.Bxd8 Rxf5 22.Qg3 Nxd8 23.exd6 cxd6 24.Qxd6 Bc6, when he would have three pieces for his Queen, but White should still be better. (Yes, I had help in figuring this out.) 

19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Qh4 Kg7 21.Nd5 Qd8

Black is in a lot of trouble on the Kingside. The better way of defending his f-pawn, 21...Rf8, still leads to problems, for example 22.Qg4+ Kh8 23.Qg6 Bxf5!? 24.exf5 Qd7 25.Qxh6+ Qh7. Returning the extra piece has allowed Black's Queen to participate in the defense of his King, but White has two extra pawns - and his Rooks are bound to cause trouble as they move up and over to the g- and h-files.

22.Re3 Bxf5

Yes, White's e-pawn cannot capture the Bishop without giving up the Rook, but that was never the  plan.

23.Rg3+ Kh8 24.Qxh6+ Bh7 25.Qg7 checkmate

But Blackburne Made It Look So Easy!

The most famous Jerome Gambit game is the one by Blackburne, where he sacrificed material as Black to build a counter attack that led to a Queen sacrifice and checkmate.

Never mind that subsequent analysis and play has shown that, "objectively", the best Black should be able to hope for is a draw.

The fact is, the Blackburne Defense leads to sharp and complicated play, and it is important to have a concrete knowledge of the line - if either Black or White wishes to survive. As we have seen, and will see in the game below, "half a defense is worse than no defense at all..." Better to "Commit It To Memory".

fehim - KramMan
blitz, FICS, 2015

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5
d6

Here we go! To capture the excitement of the play ahead, it is fun to return to Geoff Chandler's comparison of the Blackburne Defense with "Mars Attacks!"

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Qxe4

Wait a minute... Sure, Black flashes out his Queen to h4, all big and bad and scary. But - then what? Certainly not to pawn-grab. What did he miss? What did he miss??

Hint: 9...Nf6! Black wants to trap White's Queen and make threats against her (as well as the King), eventually offering his other Rook as well.

10.Qxh7+

This is not going to go well for Black.

10.d3 worked in AlgozBR - khuizen, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 17)

10...Kf8 11.Nc3

Or 11.d3 Qe2 (or 11...Qf5 in obviously - dmyze, GameKnot.com, 2004 [1-0, 20]; or 11...Qe6 in ubluk - bfcace, Chess.com, 2012 [1-0, 18]) 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qh7+ Kf6 15.Qxc7 Bf5 16.Nc3 Qxc2 17.Nd5+ Kg5 18.Qe7+ Kh6 19.h4 Rh8 20.Qg5+ Kg7 21.Rae1 Rf8 22.h5 Bxd3 23.h6+ Kg8 24.Nf6+ Kf7 25.Nh7 Kg8 26.Nxf8 Bxf1 27.Rxf1 Bxf2+ 28.Rxf2 Qc1+ 29.Qxc1 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - pedroregistro, FICS, 2015

11...Qf5

Or 11...Qxc2 12.Qh4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - LtPoultry, blitz, FICS, 2010; or 12.d3 Qxd3 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rfe1+ Kd8 15.Qxg8+ Kd7 16.Qe8 checkmate, DREWBEAR 63 - blackburne, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009.

12.d3 Nf6 13.Qh4

This move is okay, as White is up the exchange plus a couple of pawns, so he can consolidate. He could continue his attack, however, with 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rae1+ Be6 15.Qg7.

13...Kg7 14.Be3 Be6 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Qf6

The next few moves bring some excitement, but the game is pretty much over. Black's slip at move 23 just ends things

18.c3 Rh8 19.f4 c6 20.c4 Qh4 21.Qxe6 Qxh2+ 22.Kf2 Qxf4+ 23.Ke2 Qg4+ 24.Qxg4 Black resigned

Victory From the Jaws of Defeat

The following game gave me a good laugh. I've included a lot of sidelines, and some decent earlier games (available from The Database). Black (rated almost 400 points higher) plays just fine - until he takes his eye off the ball for one second. That is enough for White to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.

Philidor1792 - abarmard765
lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 Be6 

Or 9...Nh5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.Nd2 a)11.Qxh5? Qxf2+ 12.Kd1 Qxg2 13.Re1 (a)13.Qh4 Qxh1+ 14.Kd2 Qg2+ 15.Kc3 Qg1 16.Qf4+ Ke8 17.Nd2 Qd4+ 18.Kb3 Qb4 checkmate, chessmanjeff - Gardenz, FICS, 2012) 13...Bg4+ 14.Qxg4 Qxg4+ 15.Kd2 Qf4+ 16.Kc3 Qxh2 17.Bd2 Qe5+ 18.Kb3 a5 19.a4 Bd4 20.Nc3 g6 21.Rf1+ Kg7 22.Rf3 Rhf8 23.Raf1 Rxf3 24.Rxf3 Bxc3 25.Bxc3 Qxc3+ 26.Kxc3 Rf8 27.Rg3 h5 28.b3 Kh6 29.Kd2 g5 30.Ke3 h4 31.Rg1 h3 32.d4 Kh5 33.e5 dxe5 34.dxe5 g4 35.Ke4 h2 36.Rg2 h1B 37.Kd4 Kg5 38.Rg3 b6 39.c4 Rf4+ 40.Ke3 Rf3+ 41.Rxf3 Bxf3 42.e6 Bc6 43.e7 g3 44.e8Q Bxe8 45.Kf3 Kh4 White resigned ZahariSokolov - Jiracek, FICS, 2014; b)11.Qxf6+ Nxf6 12.h3 (b)12.Nc3 c6 13.Na4 Bb4+ 14.Bd2 Bxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Be6 16.f4 b5 17.Nc3 Ke7 18.Rhe1 b4 19.Ne2 c5 20.c4 a5 21.h3 Rhf8 22.a3 b3 23.Rf1 g6 24.Rae1 Nd7 25.g4 Bg8 26.g5 Bf7 27.Kc3 Rab8 28.h4 Nb6 29.Kd2 Kd7 30.Rf2 Be6 31.Ng3 Na4 32.f5 Bxc4 33.dxc4 Nxb2 34.Kc3 Na4+ 35.Kd2 b2 36.Kc2 Nb6 37.Kxb2 Nxc4+ 38.Ka2 a4 39.Rc2 Nxa3 40.Kxa3 Rb3+ 41.Ka2 Rxg3 42.f6 Re8 43.e5 dxe5 44.Rxc5 Kd6 45.Rc4 Rg2+ 46.Ka1 a3 47.Ra4 Rf2 48.Rd1+ Kc5 49.Ra7 h5 50.Re7 Ra8 51.Rxe5+ Kc6 52.Red5 Ra4 53.Rd6+ Kb7 54.R6d4 Rxd4 55.Rxd4 Kc6 56.Rd3 a2 57.Rd8 Kc5 58.Rb8 Kd5 59.Rb6 Ke5 60.Ra6 Kd5 61.Rxa2 Rf1+ 62.Kb2 Rf2+ 63.Kb3 Rf3+ 64.Kb4 Rf4+ 65.Kb5 Kd6 66.Ra6+ Kd7 67.Kc5 Rxh4 68.Ra7+ Ke8 69.Rg7 Rg4 70.Rxg6 Rg1 71.Rg8+ Kf7 72.Rg7+ Ke8 73.g6 Kf8 74.Kd5 h4 75.Ra7 Rxg6 76.Ke6 Kg8 77.Ke7 Kh7 78.f7 Rg7 79.Kf6 Rg6+ 80.Kf5 Black resigned,  destinyx - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004) 12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.f4 Kf7 15.Nc3 Nb6 16.a4 a5 17.Nb5 c6 18.Nc3 Bb4 19.Bd2 Rf8 20.g4 Kg8 21.f5 Nd7 22.e6 Nf6 23.0-0-0 d4 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.dxe4 Bd6 26.Rde1 Be5 27.g5 b6 28.Rhf1 Ba6 29.Rf3 Bc4 30.c3 c5 31.e7 Rf7 32.f6 gxf6 33.Rg1 Rg7 34.Rg4 fxg5 35.Rf5 Bd6 36.Bxg5 dxc3 37.bxc3 Re8 38.e5 Be6 39.Rf6 Bxe7 40.Rg3 Bxf6 41.exf6 Rg6 42.h4 h6 43.Bf4 Rxg3 44.Bxg3 h5 45.Bc7 c4 46.Bxb6 Ra8 47.Kd2 Kf7 48.Bd4 Bd7 49.Ke3 Bxa4 White resigned, raes - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004; c)11.Be3?! Qxf3 12.gxf3 Be6 13.Bxc5 dxc5 14.Nc3 Nf4 15.Ne2 Nxe2 16.Kxe2 Ke7 17.f4 g6 18.h4 Rad8 19.h5 Bg4+ White resigned, obviously - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004; 11...g6 (11...Be6? 12.Qxh5 Qxf2+ 13.Kd1 Qxg2 14.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 15.Nxf3 Bg4 16.Ke2 Ke7 17.Bg5+ Kd7 18.Raf1 Bxf3+ 19.Rxf3 Rhf8 20.Rhf1 Rxf3 21.Rxf3 Rg8 22.c3 h6 23.Bh4 g5 24.Bg3 a6 25.Rf7+ Kc8 26.d4 Ba7 27.Rh7 h5 28.Rxh5 g4 29.Ke3 Black resigned, lamacuk -tomwhufc, GameKnot.com, 2007) 12.0-0 Kg7 13.Qxf6+ Nxf6 14.c3 Bg4 15.d4 Bb6 16.f3 Bd7 17.Nc4 h6 18.Re1 Rhe8 19.Kf2 d5 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.e5 Nh7 22.Be3 Nf8 23.g4 Ne6 24.Kg3 g5 25.h4 Rf8 26.Rh1 Bb5 27.Rh2 Rf7 28.Rah1 Raf8 29.Rf2 Bd3 30.hxg5 Nxg5 31.Bxg5 hxg5 32.Re1 Re8 33.Rh2 Bg6 34.a3 Rf4 35.e6 Re7 36.Re5 Kf6 37.Rhe2 c6 38.a4 Re8 39.Re1 Rh8 40.e7 Re8 41.b4 Bc2 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Bd3 44.Rd1 Bc2 45.Rc1 Ba4 46.Rce1 Bb5 47.Re6+ Kf7 48.R6e5 Kf6 drawn, Philidor1792 - Dayana2006, Chess.com 2015. 

10.c3 Bb6 

Or 10...Qd7 11.Be3 Kf7 12.0-0 Rhf8 13.f4 Bg4 14.Nd2 Bh5 15.d4 Bb6 16.e5 Nd5 17.Ne4 Bg6 18.Ng5+ Kg8 19.Bd2 a6 20.Rae1 dxe5 21.fxe5 c5 22.e6 Qe7 23.Nf3 Bf5 24.Bg5 Qc7 25.e7 Qxg3 26.hxg3 Rfe8 27.Nh4 Bd3 28.Rf3 Black forfeited on time. naffets - pckong, FICS, 2008. 

11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 Qd7 13.0-0 Ke7 14.f4 Rhf8 15.f5 Bf7 16.Nd2 Bh5 17.Rae1 Kf7 18.d4 Rae8

19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qc6 

White has temporarily equalized, as 21.Qg3 would show.

21.Qg5 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 Rxe5 23.Nb3 Qe7 24.Rxe5 Qxe5 25.Nd4 Re8 26.Ne6 Kg8 27.Qxg7 checkmate

In the Balance

In the following game Philidor1792 takes on a higher-rated player, side-steps some historical pitfalls, and shows that an advanced "Jerome pawn" is the match for Black's extra piece.

Philidor1792 - Dayana2006
Russia Central Federal District vs Flyi, Chess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

This defense is as old as Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis in the March 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, and appeared in a game as early as Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880, (0-1, 40).

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 Nh5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.Nd2 

Practice shows the error of 11.Qxh5?: chessmanjeff - Gardenz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 18) and ZahariSokolov - Jiracek, FICS, 2014 (0-1, 45).

Also not recommended is 11.Be3?! Qxf3 12.gxf3 as in obviously - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (0-1, 19).

White has done better with 11.Qxf6+, e.g. destinyx - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (1-0, 80) and  raes - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (0-1, 49).

11...g6

Black should not temporize with 11...Be6?, as then the capture of the Knight 12.Qxh5 is playable, i.e. 12...Qxf2+ 13.Kd1 Qxg2 14.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 15.Nxf3 as in lamacuk - tomwhufc, GameKnot.com, 2007 (1-0, 29).

12.0-0 Kg7 13.Qxf6+ Nxf6

Philidor1792 has been comfortable taking the two extra pawns vs Black's extra piece in blitz games, where strategy is sometimes no deeper than "push the 'Jerome pawns' ". Here he works just as effectively at a slower time limit.

14.c3 Bg4 15.d4 Bb6 16.f3 Bd7 17.Nc4 h6 18.Re1 Rhe8 19.Kf2 d5 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.e5 Nh7 

22.Be3 Nf8 23.g4 Ne6 24.Kg3 g5 25.h4 Rf8 26.Rh1 Bb5 27.Rh2 Rf7 28.Rah1 Raf8 

29.Rf2 Bd3 30.hxg5 Nxg5 31.Bxg5 hxg5 32.Re1 Re8 33.Rh2 Bg6 34.a3 Rf4 35.e6 Re7 

36.Re5 Kf6 37.Rhe2 c6 38.a4 Re8 39.Re1 Rh8 40.e7 Re8 41.b4 Bc2 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Bd3 44.Rd1 Bc2 45.Rc1 Ba4 46.Rce1 Bb5 47.Re6+ Kf7 48.R6e5 Kf6 Drawn

In light of the coming repetition of position, the players agreed to split the point.