If you are a chess player who enjoys mixing it up in unclear positions - at blitz speed - then the Jerome Gambit is just what you are looking for.
And - if your opponent tries the Blackburne Shilling Gambit? Try the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, of course!
sahistonline - PlatinumKnight
5 0 blitz, FICS, 2017
What makes this game particularly interesting is that both players have over 100 games in The Database - playing both Black and White.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
Of course, White has other alternatives, such as 4.Nxd4, 4.0-0, 4.c3 or 4.d3, but the text, in my opinion, is the most fun. Not recommended is 4.Nxe5?! which is bodaciously met with 4...Qg5!?
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Kxe5 7.cxd4+
Here we see the major theme of the following play: Black is a piece up, but his King is in the center, in danger, facing White's extra pawns. Gobbling pawns will be dangerous; retreating the King to safety should be Black's plan.
7...Kxd4
Maybe just one, Black decides.
Safer was to start the journey home with 7...Ke6. As we shall see, neither player is commited to anything as boring as "safer".
8.Qa4+
There are 71 games in The Database with this move. White scores 43%. Black can be a bit comfortable if he remembers that he has faced this line before. Not too comfortable, though: he lost that game.
Instead, Stockfish 8 recommends 8.Qb3 followed by 9.Nc3. It should be noted that there are exactly 0 games in The Database with these moves. Largely uncharted territory.
8...Ke5 9.f4+
White has also offered the e-pawn with 9.d4+ Kxe4 10.Qc2+ Kd5 11.Nc3+ Kd6 12.O-O Nf6 13.Nb5+ Ke6 14.Nxc7+ Kf7 15.Nxa8 Bd6 16.d5 Re8 17.Bg5 Kg8 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Nc7 Bxc7 20.Qxc7 d6 21.Rac1 Qg6 22.Rc3 Bf5 23.Rg3 Qe6 24.Qxb7 Qf7 25.Qb5 h6 26.a4 Kh7 27.Qc6 Bd7 28.Qxd6 Bxa4 29.Qb4 Bc2 30.d6 Bf5 31.Rc3 Bd7 32.Rc7 a6 33.Qa5 Ra8 34.Qb6 Qe6 35.Qb7 Rd8 36.Qxa6 Qd5 37.Qa7 Qxd6 38.Rc3 Bc6 39.Qa5 Qg6 40.Rg3 Qf7 41.Qxd8 Black resigned, yogasanjay - PlatinumKnight, FICS, 2014.
For a few ideas in this wilderness, playable alternatives include 9.Nc3!?, 9.O-O!? and 9.Qb3!?.
9...Ke6
Prudent. The pawn is poisoned: 9...Kxf4 10.d4+ Kg4 11.Qd1+ Kh4 12.Qf3 Bb4+ 13.Kd1 d6 14.g3+ Kh3 15.g4+ Kh4 16.Qg3 checkmate.
10.f5+ Ke5
Goading White? Surely 10...Kf7 was safer. But, see the note to Black's 7th move. We have a full-fledged battle, here.
11.Nc3
First of all, development.
Stockfish 8 recommends wilder play, starting with pawn checks: 11.d4+ Kf6 12.e5+ Kf7 (of course not 12...Kxf5, i.e. 13.O-O+ Ke6 14.d5+ Ke7 15.Qb4+ d6 16.Qh4+ Ke8 17.Rxf8+ Kxf8 18.Qxd8+ Kf7 19.e6+ Bxe6 20.dxe6+ Kxe6 21.Qxa8) 13.O-O Be7 14.Qc4+ Kf8 15.Nc3 b5 16.Qxb5 c6 17.Qd3 d5 18.Ne2 Nf6 (it is helpful, but not saving, to give a piece back)19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Nf4 Qb6 21.Ne6+ Kg8 22.Nc5 h6 23.Qe3 Kh7 24.b3 Qb4 25.Bb2 Bg5 26.Qd3 Qd2 - and White is better.
11...d5
Black's idea: strike back at White's pawn center.
12.d4+
Also to be considered was the dual-purposed 12.O-O!?
12...Kf6 13.Nxd5+ Kf7 14.Qc4 g6
Cold-bloodedly looking to make a safe square for Black's King, while trying to undermine the White pawns. The computer suggests 14...b5!? 15.Qb3 Qh4+ 16.Kf1 Qxe4 17.Nc3+ Be6 18.Nxe4 Bxb3 19.axb3 Ne7 although White would still be better.
Hardly an easy position to play with the clock ticking.
15.Nxc7+ Kg7 16.Ne6+
Either seeing something, or not seeing something. This settles the game down a bit, although still being better for the first player. In a slower game, 16.Bf4!?, continuing to build tension, could have been explored.
16...Bxe6 17.Qxe6 Qxd4
Both Kings are at risk, and neither army is developed, except for the Queens!
18.f6+
This looks a lot like a time slip. Now Black can do more than cover up. The protective 18.Bd2 followed by 19.O-O-O might lead to an edge for the second player.
18...Nxf6 19.Rf1 Bb4+ 20. Ke2 Rae8
White resigned
I recently ran across an unusual line in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit that led to some interesting play - no doubt "enhanced" by the blitz time limit. White's creativity is to be applauded.
sahistonline - sriwijaya
5 5 blitz, FICS 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4
Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Kxe5
7.f4+
A rare, but interesting idea. Most recommended is 7.cxd4+ leading to an equal game.
7...Kxe4
Not 7...Kxf4 which gave White an immediate payoff after 8.Rf1+ (8.Qh5!?) Ke5 9.cxd4+ Kxd4?! 10.Qa4+ (10.Rf5!?) Ke5 11.d4+ Ke6 12.Qb3+ (12.d5!?) Kd6?! 13.Qd5+ Ke7 Black resigned, drakorg - borodin, FICS, 2002.
Best, as always in this line of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, was to retreat the King, e.g. 7...Ke6.
8.d3+
White should not seek to immediately recover his sacrificed material, i.e. 8.cxd4 Kxd4 (8...Kxf4 leads to mate 9.Rf1+ Kg5 10.d3+ Kg6 11.Qg4+ Black resigned, jorgemlfranco - FoldZero, FICS, 2012; 8...d5!?) 9.O-O Bc5 10.Kh1 Qh4 11.Qa4+ Kd5 12.Nc3+ Kd6 13.d4 Bb6 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Qb4+ Ke6 16.Rae1+ Kf7 17.Qc4+ Kg6 18.f5+ Kh5 19.Ne2 d5 20.Qd3 Ne4 21.Nf4+ Kg4 22.Qf3+ Kxf5 23.Ng6+ Kxg6 24.Qf7 checkmate, richiehill - steadylooking, FICS, 2011.
Best is to lock the enemy King in the center with 8.Qh5.
8...Kd5 9.Qh5+
The King is free. White might as well play 9.cxd4 and accept that he is worse.
But, remember, this is a blitz game!
9...Kc6 10.cxd4 Qe7+ 11.Kf2 Nf6 12.Qf3+ Nd5
In the BSJG, as well as in the Jerome Gambit, Black should always be concerned about blocking in his light-squared Bishop, which in turn blocks his Rook. Best, therefore, was 12...d5!?.
13.Nc3 Qd6 14.Be3 b6 15.Rac1 Kb7 16.Nxd5 c6 17.Nc3
Black has castled-by-hand on the Queenside.
White's advantage isn't his extra, doubled pawn, it is his great lead in development.
17...g5 18.Rhf1 Be7
Black would have done better to stick with his original idea 18...gxf4 19.Qxf4 Qxf4+ 20.Bxf4 d5 and White has only an edge.
19.Nb5
More direct was opening the position with 19.d5!?
19...Qd5
How ironic: Black erred earlier by putting his Knight on this square, now he is mistaken putting his Queen there. Then as now, ...d5!? was the move with near equality. The locked up pieces will never become part of the game.
20.Qxd5 cxd5 21.fxg5 Rf8+ 22.Kg1 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 Bd8
24.Nd6+ Ka6 25.Nxc8 Rxc8 26.Rxc8 Black resigned
In the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, Black has high hopes that his third move will bamboozle White and lead to a killing attack. However, in the following game, Black's fourth move practically cedes the point. If this is a "Jedi Mind Trick", it is no match for a good blaster at your side...
sahistonline - aguisou
blitz, FICS, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Ke7
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined.
A word to the wise defender: Don't.
In 475 games in The Database, White scores 70%
For a good discussion of this Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined see "Idées Fixes et Manqués",
5.Nxe5!?
This complicating move appears in 201 games in The Database, where White scores 66%.
That is a good bit better than 5.Bd5, which appears in 10 games in The Database, where White scores only 50%. Half-way measures, it seems, score half the time.
"Best" according to Houdini, is 5.Bb3, which appears in a mere 14 games in The Database, where White scores "only" 68%. Perhaps the retreat is too "conservative" for many Jerome Gambiteers!
On the other hand, 5.Nxd4 appears in 78 games in The Database, where White scores 70%.
Alternately, 5.Bc4 appears in 32 games in The Database, where White scores 75%.
Finally, 5.Bxg8 appears in 102 games in The Database, where White scores 77%.
So, for White: hang onto your piece with 5.Bb3, or swap it off with 5.Bxg8; but you are by no means limited to these two good, contrasting, ideas.
5...Nf6 6.Bc4
White can tell his opponent what Al Capone said in "The Untouchables" - You got nothing.
6...d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.c3 Nf5 9.Qf3 White won by adjudication
I've had my problems in the past with adjudication at FICS (see "A Sneaky Way to Defeat the Jerome Gambit") but things look fine here. Down two pawns, with less development and an unsafe King, Black is finished.
Declining any kind of Jerome Gambit can only be justified for "psychological" reasons, as the defender is swapping at least an even game - and often a better game - for a worse one. Yet, as the new batch of games added to The Database shows, it still happens.
lksharma - Zaprax
blitz, FICS, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Ke7
There is no need to decline the Bishop, as Black gets a roughly even game with the capture.
5.Nxe5 d6
White has scored 61% from this position, in 130 games in The Database. Given that the first player is two pawns up, that relatively low success rate is probably a reflection of play at the club (and blitz) level.
6.Qh5
This looks aggressive ("one more log on the fire") but has not always worked for White - see crokit - sahistonline, blitz, FICS, 2011 for one other time out of ten games that it did - and the more prosaic 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 would not hand over the advantage to the second player as the text does.
6...dxe5
This move is good for Black, but challenging the White Queen with 6...Nf6 was even stronger.
7.Qg5+ Kd7
Again, 7...Nf6 was the move. It looks as if Black were responding to the possibility of 7...Kxf7 8.Qxd8, giving up his Queen; but, had he chosen that move order, after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kf1 Bd6 10.Nc3 Nxa1 the game would have been about even.
analysis diagram
8.Qxe5 Nxc2+
Falling for the bait. Houdini prefers consolidation with 8...c5 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Bb3 Bd6 11.Qg5 Kc7 12.d3 Kb8 13.Bf4 Re8 14.Bxd6+ Qxd6 15.0-0-0 a6 16.f4 Qc7 with Black as slightly better.
analysis diagram
9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qe6 checkmate
If there are already adequate ways to deal with Black's audacious 3...Nd4, the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, why should White bother to introduce a Jerome Gambit theme? As the following game illustrates, a few small errors on Black's part can quickly add up to a hopeless game.
sahistonline - BDJ
standard, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.c3
An interesting alternative to the direct 6.Qh5+. Black's response, instead of just retreating his Knight (6...Ne6), causes trouble for the defense.
6...Bd6 7.cxd4 Bxe5 8.Qh5+
The move still has bite. Black's best response is to shift his King to f8.
8...g6 9.Qxe5+ Qe7 10.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 11.Kf1 Kf7 12.Nc3 d6 Black resigned
There is a fine line in chess between "chaos" and "complications" – and the Jerome Gambit and its relations, in this case, the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit – tend to trample all over that line, especially in blitz chess.
crokit - sahistonline
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Ke7 5.Nxe5
Needlessly complicating the position – but what is chess without complications?
5...d6
An earlier battle between the two players continued 5...Nf6 6.c3 d6 7.cxd4 dxe5 8.Qb3 Nxe4 9.0-0 Qxd4 10.Qf3 Nxd2 11.Bxd2 Bg4 12.Bg5+ Kd7 13.Qxb7 Rc8 14.Qb5+ c6 15.Qb7+ Rc7 16.Qb8 Rc8 17.Qb3 Bc5 18.Be3 Qd6 19.f3 Bxe3+ 20.Kh1 Be6 21.Bxe6+ Qxe6 22.Rd1+ Ke7 23.Qxe3 Black resigned, crokit - sahistonline, FICS, 2011.
6.Qh5
Letting slip the thread of the game. Earlier in the year Black faced the stronger 6.Bxg8 (good at move 5 as well): 6...Rxg8 7.c3 (7.Nd3 Ke8 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qd5 Nxc2+ 10.Kf1 Rg7 11.Nf4 Re7 12.d3 Nxa1 13.Qc4 a6 14.b3 Bd7 15.Bb2 Nxb3 16.Qxb3 Bc6 17.Bf6 Qd7 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.Ne6 Kd7 20.Nf4 Bh6 21.g3 g5 22.Nd5 Qe6 23.Kg2 Rf8 24.Nd2 Qf7 25.Rf1 Bb5 26.a4 Bc6 27.Qc4 g4 28.Qc1 Bxd5 29.exd5 Qxd5+ 30.Kg1 Qxd3 31.Rd1 Qd4 White resigned, Doctoroldhead - sahistonline, FICS, 2011) 7...dxe5 8.d3 Ne6 9.Qh5 h6 10.0-0 g6 11.Qe2 Ke8 12.Be3 Qd6 13.Nd2 b6 14.Nc4 Qd8 15.Nxe5 Bd6 16.Nc4 Be7 17.d4 Bg5 18.f4 Bh4 19.b4 Bb7 20.d5 Ng7 21.Ne5 Nh5 22.Nf3 Be7 23.Ne5 Bf6 24.Nxg6 Ng3 25.hxg3 Bxc3 26.Rac1 Bxb4 27.Qh5 Qd7 28.Ne5+ Black forfeited on time, Darthnik - sahistonline, FICS, 2011.
6...Nxc2+ 7.Ke2
Probably best was 7.Kd1, as after 7...Nf6 8.Ng6+ hxg6 9.Qxh8 Nxh8 Black does not have as great an advantage as after the text.
7...Nf6 8.Ng6+ Kxf7 9.Nxh8+ Ke7
Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. (...Kg8 looked safe enough)
10.Qf7 checkmate
