?????
The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) revolves around the question: Is Black's King actually safer at d8? For a while, the surprising answer seems to be Yes, but quickly - this is a 1 0 bullet game - a resounding No takes its place.
angelcamina - traan
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3
Recently, White avoided the retreat, with two different outcomes:
9.Qxe7+ N8xe7 10.O-O Kf7 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.d3 Kg8 13.Bg5 Nc6 14.Nd5 d6 15.Nxc7 Rb8 16.Nd5 Nd4 17.c3 Nc6 18.f4 Bg4 19.d4 Be2 20.Rf2 Bc4 21.b3 Bxd5 22.exd5 Nce7 23.c4 Nf5 24.Re1 Nxd4 25.Be7 Nxe7 26.Rxe7 Nf5 27.Re6 Rbe8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.g4 Re1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke2 Nxg4 33.b4 Nxh2 34.c5 dxc5 35.bxc5 Ng4 36.c6 bxc6 37.dxc6 Nf6 38.c7 Kf7 39.c8=Q Nh5 40.Qc7+ Kg6 41.Qxa7 Nxf4+ 42.Kd2 h5 43.Qa6+ Kg5 44.Qa5+ Kg4 45.a4 h4 46.Qa8 h3 47.Qh1 Kg3 48.a5 Ne6 49.a6 Nc7 50.a7 g5 51.Qb7 h2 52.Qxc7+ Kg2 53.a8=Q+ Kg1 54.Qc1+ Kf2 55.Qf8+ Kg3 56.Qfa3+ Kg2 57.Qc6+ Kg1 58.Qg3+ Kf1 59.Qcf3 checkmate, Anonymous - Beatboxer47, 3 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; and
9.Qxc7 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Nf4 11.Rg1 Qe2 checkmate, ianfencer - Evern, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
9...Nf6
Or 9...d6 10.O-O Nf6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8 14.b3 c6 15.Ba3 d5 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 17.e5 Ng4 18.Qg3 Nh6 19.d4 Nef5 20.Qd3 g6 21.h3 a6 22.g4 Ne7 23.Rae1 Be6 24.Na4 Kh8 25.Nc5 Bc8 26.f5 gxf5 27.gxf5 Bxf5 28.Rxf5 Nexf5 29.e6 Rg8+ 30.Kh2 Rg3 31.Qe2 Rag8 32.Qe5+ R3g7 33.Rg1 White won on time, angelcamina - albatronus, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
10.Nc3
Or 10.d3 d5 11.O-O dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxe4 13.Qa3+ Qe7 14.b4 Be6 15.Re1 a5 16.c3 Kf7 17.Be3 axb4 18.Qb2 bxc3 19.Nxc3 Rhe8 20.Bg5 Qa3 21.Qd2 Rad8 22.Qc2 Bc4 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.Ne4 Bd3 25.Qxc7+ Qe7 26.Qxe7+ Rxe7 27.Rad1 Red7 28.Nc5 Rd5 29.Nxb7 Ba6 30.Nxd8+ Black resigned, Atti0130 - smarlny, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.
10...d6 11.O-O
Alternately, 11.d4 Kf7 12.O-O Re8 13.f4 Nxe4 14.f5 Nf8 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Qb3 Kg8 17.Nf6+ Black resigned, croc_master - Krog, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.
11...Ke8
Black believes his King will be safer on d8. He plans to bring his Rook to e8 to pressure White's e-pawn.
12.d4 Kd8 13.f4 Re8 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5
15...Ng4 16.Qg3 Qc5+ 17.Kh1 h5
Black pushes his attack, even as his King sits on an open file.
18.h3 h4
Following the advice, If someone attacks one of your pieces, attack one of his, a more valuable one if possible.
19.Qf3 Nh6 20.f5
The "Jerome pawns" are on the march.
20...Nxf5 21.Qd3+ Bd7 22.Rxf5 c6 23.Rf7 Re7 24.Bg5
Black's King is no longer safe.
24...Nxe5 25.Bxe7+ Qxe7 26.Rxe7 Nxd3 27.Rxd7+ Kxd7 28.cxd3 Kc7
29.Rf1 Rd8 30.Rf7+ Kb6 31.Na4+ Kb5 32.b3 White won on time
Every once-in-a-while I get the sense that I am learning from my mistakes and using in later games what I learned from earlier games. Upon reflection, this gives me a small sense of accomplishment.
perrypawnpusher - smarlny
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8
Black is content with the material advantage that he has, and backs his King away from danger. Let White do what he will!
I am always tempted now to play 6.Qh5, the Banks Variation (after Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks) but I am still uncertain how to best meet 6...Qe7.
6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.0-0 Ne7
The alternative, 7...Nf6, is as old as Jerome,A - Brownson,O, Iowa, 1875 (½-½, 29).
7...Bd6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18) and 7...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 74).
8.d3
After the game Rybka 3 pointed out that here White can already "punish" his opponent for his inaccurate 7th move by playing for a draw with 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.Qf3+ Kg8 11.Qb3+, etc.
As if.
8...Ng6 9.Be3 Bd6
Not wanting to open the f-file for White's Rook with 9...Bxe3, Black positions the Bishop on the attacking diagonal b8-h7.
The piece continues to shuffle from square to square, however, and I wonder if, upon reflection, my opponent would have preferred to simply have exchanged it.
10.f4 Qh4 11.Nd2 Kf7
To castle-by-hand, but, somehow, this never happens.
12.Nf3 Qe7 13.e5 Bc5 14.d4 Bb6
15.Qd3
Preparing f4-f5, but the move was playable immediately, thanks to a tactical trick that would not have been too hard to find, if I had looked for it: 15.f5 Bxf5 16.Ng5+ followed by 17.Rxf5.
15...h6
Obviously my opponent saw the Knight check from g5. This gives the "Jerome pawns" time to rumble, however.
16.f5 Nf8
This game was beginning to feel like my game against irak: comparing White's Rooks (linked) and Black's Rooks (on their home squares, two pieces between them), there has to be an attack coming.
17.f6 gxf6 18.exf6 Qe6
Taking the pawn on f6 would have been deadly, but the danger remains.
19.Rae1 Qd5 20.Ne5+ Ke8 21.c4 Qa5
White now has a number of ways to win. The flashiest would be to sacrifice two pieces with 22.f7+ Kd8 23.Bg5+ hxg5 24.Nxc6+ bxc6 25.Qe3 and mate is inescapable.
I found something simpler.
22.Bd2 Qxa2 23.Ng6+
I thought that the loss of a Rook would prompt my opponent to resign, so I looked no further, missing all of the fun that could happen after 23.f7+.
23...Kd8 24.Nxh8 Qxb2 25.Nf7+ Black resigned
I've never seen the show "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?" but I suspect that I know the answer, and it wouldn't be a flattering one...
The following game, another bizarre Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (why am I still playing this opening??), I get befuddled, as usual, and wind up taking refuge in a draw by repetition.
perrypawnpusher - FrankMCMLVII
blitz 13 0, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5
5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...d6
Nice move. Not the best (7...Bd6), but with some thought behind it.
8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Qe2
There was no need to panic: 9.Qh5+ Nxh5 White resigned, Alby - stoneeybridge, FICS, 2000;
There were alternatives: 9.Nd5 Nxd5 10.exd5 Re8 11.Qh5+ Ng6+ 12.Be3 Rxe3+ 13.fxe3 Qh4+ 14.Qxh4 Nxh4 15.0-0+ Ke7 16.Rad1 b6 17.e4 Ba6 18.Rf4 g5 19.Rg4 h5 20.Rxg5 Kf6 21.Rxh5 Ng6 22.Rf1+ Kg7 23.Rff5 Re8 24.d6 cxd6 25.Rd5 Nf4 26.Rhg5+ Kh6 27.Rdf5 Rxe4 28.h4 Ne2+ 29.Kh2 Rxh4 checkmate, yorgos - blore, FICS, 2009;
or 9.0-0 Be6 10.Bf4 Ng6 11.Bg3 Qe7 12.Nb5 Rhd8 13.Qf3 c6 14.Nc7 Rac8 15.Nxe6 Qxe6 16.e5 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Qxe5 18.Rae1 Qg5 19.Qb3+ Kf8 20.Qxb7 Nh5 21.Re3 Nf4 22.g3 Nh3+ 23.Kh1 Black resigned, theboy - Montblanc, FICS, 2001.
9...Bg4
There were still plenty of alternatives: 9...Nfg4 10.Bd2 Be6 11.0-0-0 Qd4 12.f4 Nf2 13.Be3 Black resigned, Wall - Yperalilos, Chess.com, 2010;
or 9...Qd4 10.Be3 Qb4 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.0-0 Qd4 14.Qh5+ Ke6 15.Rad1 Qb4 16.Nd5 Rh7 17.Qf5+ Kd6 18.Qxh7 Qxb2 19.Nxf6+ Ke6 20.Qxh6 Qxc2 21.Ne8+ Ke7 22.Nxc7 Rb8 23.Qh7+ Kf6 24.Rd6+ Kg5 25.Qf5+ Bxf5 26.exf5 Qxf5 27.Rd5 Qe4 28.f4+ Kf5 29.Rxe5+ Qxe5 30.fxe5+ Kxe5 31.Re1+ Kd6 32.Nb5+ Kc6 33.Nxa7+ Kb6 34.h4 Kxa7 35.g4 c4 36.Rc1 Rg8 37.g5 Rh8 38.Rxc4 b5 39.Rb4 Kb6 40.Rg4 Kc5 41.Kg2 b4 42.Kg3 Kb5 43.g6 Rg8 44.h5 Ka4 45.h6 Re8 46.g7 Re3+ 47.Kf4 Rc3 48.g8R Rc4+ 49.Kf3 Ka3 50.Ra8+ Kb2 51.Rxc4 b3 52.axb3 Kxb3 53.Rca4 Kb2 54.Rc8 Kb3 55.Ra7 Kb4 56.Rb7+ Ka5 57.Ra8 checkmate, yorgos - capitainehaddock, FICS, 2009;
or 9...Rf8 10.f4 (10.Bg5 Kg8 11.Nd5 Qd6 12.0-0-0 Nxd5 13.Rxd5 Qe6 14.Rhd1 Nf7 15.Bf4 b6 16.Bxc7 Bb7 17.R5d2 Qxe4 18.Qg4 Qxg4 19.Rd8 Nxd8, White resigned, tintagel - smarlny, FICS, 2009)10...Bg4 11.Qf2 Nc6 12.0-0 Kg8 13.Qxc5 Qd4+ 14.Be3 Qxc5 15.Bxc5 Rfe8 16.e5 Nd7 17.Be3 b6 18.h3 Bf5 19.g4 Bxc2 20.Rac1 Bg6 21.f5 Ndxe5 22.fxg6 Nxg6 23.Bf2 Nce7 24.Bg3 Rac8 25.Nb5 Nd5 26.Nxa7 Ra8 27.Nb5 Rxa2 28.Nxc7 Nxc7 29.Bxc7 Rxb2 30.Rcd1 Nh4 31.Bd6 h6 32.Bc7 Ree2 33.Rd8+ Kh7 34.Kh1 Nf3 35.Rdd1 Rh2+ White resigned, stretto - Kjaran, FICS, 2008.
10.f3 Bh5
The Bishop did better to return to e6. Still, Black is still better.
11.Be3 b6 12.0-0 Rb8
I wasn't sure what my opponent was planning with this move, but I decided to get my "Jerome pawns" moving.
13.g4 Bg6 14.g5 Nh5 15.f4 Nc6 16.f5
16...Nd4
Leading to only a slight disadvantage, instead, was 16...Kg8 17.fxg6 hxg6 18.a3 Kh7 – an odd way to castle-by-hand.
17.fxg6+ Kxg6 18.Qg4
Later, Rybka preferred 18.Qd3
18...Rf8
After this move, Rybka saw Black as being more than a Rook worse. I still can't see that.
19.Bxd4
Returning the game to even. Here's Rybka's recommended line: 19.Nd5 Re8 20.Nf6 Nxf6 21.gxf6+ Kf7 22.fxg7+ Ke7 when 23.Bg5+ wins Black's Queen – for starters.
analysis diagram
Anyone who saw White's possible Knight maneuver and sacrifice – good for you!
19...cxd4
Black insists on getting into trouble – 19...Qxd4+ would have kept the game even.
20.Qe6+
White, in turn, keeps insisting on giving up his advantage, instead of playing the winning: 20.Rxf8 Qxf8 21.Nd5 – another cool Knight move that I missed.
analysis diagram
20...Kxg5 21.h4+
I figured that there had to be a checkmate here, but I was wrong: Rybka pointed out later that I could have (should have) grovelled for a draw with: 21.Rxf8 Qxf8 22.Rf1 Qd6 23.Rf5+ Kh4 24.Rxh5+ Kxh5 25.Qh3+ Kg6 26.Qf5+ repeating the position.
21...Kxh4 22.Qe5
I suddenly had the feeling that things had gone terribly wrong.
They had.
22...dxc3 23.Qh2+ Kg5 24.Qe5+ Kh4
Of course, if my opponent had found 24...Kg6 here, I'd have been ruined. He seemed caught up in my "brilliant" sacrifice of my Knight to achieve the draw, or perhaps he felt he was escaping mate...
25.Qh2+ Kg5
Here 25...Kg4 wins for Black.
27.Qh2+ Kg5 28.Qe5+ Kh4 29.Qh2+ Game drawn by repetition ½-½
