Jerome Gambit: Unfinished Symphony (Part 2)

perrypawnpusher - Nivaethan2000
Giuoco Piano Thematic Tournament, Chess.com 2016

In the previous post I suggested that White's last move, 10.Nc3, might not be best, as compared to the direct 10.fxe5, as it allows Black a move to prepare for the capture. Black cannot withdraw his Knight from e5, because of the threat Nd5+, forking King and Queen, but he can either counter-attack on White's Queen, or withdraw his King.

The following illustrative games (there are a lot, but they are worth playing over for a better understanding of the position) primarily feature two players well-known to the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde - MrJoker and Bill Wall - and a player who worked with a series of computers that I introduced years ago in "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (27)"

In 2006 I heard from Jeroen_61 of the Netherlands, who emailed me 

Some time ago when Hiarcs 8 was released after receiving my copy I ran some small tournaments to see how things would go with Hiarcs. Other participants were Junior 7, Shredder Paderdorn (6.02) and Fritz 7. One of the tournaments I conducted with - the Jerome gambit as opening. They are games 40/40' + 40/40' + 40' (round robin two rounds, so 12 games in all). Only two were won by the white side.

...All were posted at a website that Jeroen_61 gave, although an attempt to use the url today got me the message De pagina is niet gevonden, which probably means just what it looks like.

Black uncovers an attack on White's Queen with 10...d6, and White's best is the counter-stroke 11.Nd5+, leading to the following: 11...Kd8 Best (11...Kf7 12.Qb3 (or 12.Qg3 Qd8 13.fxe5+ Ke6 14.Qg4+ Kxe5 15.d4+ Kxd4 16.Qd1+ Kxe4 17.Qf3+ Ke5 18.Bf4+ Ke6 19.O-O-O Kd7 20.Qg4+ Kc6 21.Qf3 Be6 22.Nf6+ Kb6 23.Nd5+ Bxd5 24.Qxd5 Ne7 25.Qb3+ Kc6 26.Qa4+ b5 27.Qe4+ Kb6 28.b4 Bxb4 29.Qxb4 Nd5 30.Qd4+ Kc6 31.Qxd5+ Kb6 Black resigned, MrJoker - AshNazg, Internet Chess Club, 2011) 12...Qh4+  (or 12...Qd8 13.fxe5+ Kg7 14.Nb6 Qh4+ 15.g3 Qxe4+ 16.Kd1 Bg4+ 17.Rf3 Bxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 19.Ke1 Qf2+ 20.Kd1 Qf1 checkmate, MrJoker - goesoef, Internet Chess Club 2011) 13.g3 Qg4 14.fxe5+ Kg7 15.d3 dxe5 16.Nxc7 Rb8 17.Ne8 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest5541035, PlayChess.com, 2014) 12.Qg3 Best (or 12.Qc3 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qxh2 14.fxe5 Bg4 15.Qd3 Ne7 16.Nf4 Nc6 17.Ne6+ Bxe6 18.exd6 Ne5 19.Qe2 Qxg3+ White resigned, Fritz 8 - Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 12...Nd3+ Best (or 12...Qe6 13.fxe5 dxe5 (or 13...Ne7 14.d4 Bxd4 15.Bg5 Re8 16.O-O-O Bxe5 17.Qh4 c6 18.Nxe7 Rxe7 19.Qxh7 Bd7 20.Rf8+ Be8 21.Rdf1 Kd7 22.Bxe7 Qxe7 23.R1f7 Bxf7 24.Rxf7 Re8 25.Qxg6 Kc7 26.Qe6 Kd8 27.Rxe7 Rxe7 28.Qg8+ Kc7 29.g3 Rg7 30.Qf8 a5 31.c3 a4 32.Kc2 a3 33.bxa3 Rh7 34.Qf2 c5 35.a4 Kc6 36.Qe2 Kc7 37.a5 Rh6 38.a4 Rh7 39.Kb3 Rh8 40.Kc4 Ra8 41.Qg4 Rxa5 42.Kb3 c4+ 43.Kb4 Ra6 44.h4 Rb6+ 45.Kxc4 Rc6+ 46.Kd5 Rxc3 47.h5 Rxg3 48.Qf5 Rd3+ 49.Ke6 Kc6 50.h6 Rd2 51.h7 Rh2 52.Qf7 b6 53.Qd7+ Kc5 54.Qb5+ Kd4 55.Qxb6+ Kxe4 56.Qb7+ Kd4 57.a5 Rh6+ 58.Kf5 Rf6+ 59.Kg5 Rf8 60.a6 Black resigned, mrjoker - igort, Internet Chess Club, 2010) 14.d4 Ne7 15.dxc5 Nxd5 16.Bg5+ Ke8 17.exd5 Qxd5 18.Rf2 Be6 19.Rd2 Qxc5 20.O-O-O Rf8 21.Qh4 h5 22.Bh6 Rf5 23.Rd8+ Rxd8 24.Rxd8+ Kf7 25.Rf8+ Qxf8 26.Bxf8 Kxf8 27.Qd8+ Kg7 28.Qxc7+ Kh6 29.h4 Rf1+ 30.Kd2 Rf2+ 31.Ke3 Rf5 32.Qd8 a6 33.Qh8 checkmate, Wall, B - Aburasian, Chess.com, 2010) 13.Qxd3 Best (or 13.cxd3 Qf7 14.Qg5+ White resigned, cliang - parrot, FICS, 2009) 13...Qg7 14.c3 Ne7 15.b4 Bb6 16.Nxb6 axb6 17.Qc2 Qh6 18.h3 Qh4+ 19.Rf2 Be6 20.d3 Rf8 21.a4 Qg3 22.Kf1 Qh2 23.Rf3 Qh1+ 24.Kf2 Bd7 25.b5 Be6 26.c4 Kd7 27.Qc3 Rg8 28.Bd2 Qh2 29.d4 Bf7 30.e5 Nf5 31.d5 Rge8 32.Re1 Nh4 33.e6+ Kc8 34.Rg3 Bxe6 35.dxe6 Rxa4 36.Qb3 Ra8 37.Qb2 Kb8 38.e7 Nf5 39.Rg5 d5 40.Rxf5 gxf5 41.cxd5 Ra4 42.Qe5 Ra2 43.Qd4 h5 44.d6 cxd6 45.Qxd6+ Ka8 46.Re6 Rc2 47.Qd8+ Rc8 48.Qxb6 Rg8 49.Rg6 Rxg6 50.Qxg6 h4 51.e8=Q Black resigned, Wall,B - BBchess engine, Lahore, 2015} 

Instead, 10...Kd8 allows White to capture the Knight at e5 after all, and the game is roughly balanced: 11.fxe5 Qxe5 12.d4 (or 12.d3 Bb4 13.Qh4+ Ne7 14.Bd2 d5 15.O-O-O d4 16.Bf4 Qe6 17.Nd5 Bd6 18.Bxd6 cxd6 19.Rf6 Qe5 20.Nxe7 g5 21.Qh6 Qxe7 22.Rxd6+ Bd7 23.Rxd4 Kc7 24.Rc4+ Bc6 25.Qh3 b5 26.Rc3 Kb7 27.d4 Bxe4 28.Re1 Rad8 29.Qd3 Rhe8 30.Qxb5+ Ka8 31.Rce3 Qd6 32.Rxe4 Rxe4 33.Rxe4 Qxh2 34.Qf1 h5 35.c3 g4 36.Qe2 Rc8 37.Re8 Rxe8 38.Qxe8+ Kb7 39.Qe4+ Kb6 40.c4 Qg1+ 41.Kd2 Qf2+ 42.Kc3 Qg3+ 43.Kb4 Qf2 44.Qe6+ Kc7 45.Qe7+ Kc8 46.Kc5 Qxb2 47.Qe8+ Kc7 48.Qc6+ Kb8 49.a4 Qb6+ 50.Qxb6+ axb6+ 51.Kd5 h4 52.Ke4 Kc7 53.Kf4 h3 54.gxh3 gxh3 55.Kg3 h2 56.Kxh2 Kd7 57.Kg3 Kc7 58.Kf4 Kc6 59.Ke5 Kc7 60.Ke6 Kb7 61.d5 Kc8 62.Ke7 Kc7 63.d6+ Black resigned, Fritz 5.32 - Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 12...Qxd4 (or 12...Bxd4 13.Rf8+ Ke7 14.Qf3 Qc5 (or 14...g5 15.Rf5 Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 Qg7 17.Rxg5 Qf6 18.Bf4 d6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qe3 h6 21.Bxe5 Qxg5 22.Bf4+ Kf7 23.Bxg5 hxg5 24.Qxg5 Nf6 25.O-O-O Rh5 26.Qf4 Rc5 27.Rf1 Rf5 28.Qxc7+ Kg6 29.Re1 b6 30.h4 Rc5 31.Qg3+ Kf7 32.Qd6 Bg4 33.Re7+ Kg6 34.Qd3+ Rf5 35.c4 Rh8 36.Qg3 Rc5 37.Re6 Kg7 38.Rxf6 Kxf6 39.Qxg4 Rhc8 40.Qd4+ Ke6 41.Qe4+ Kf6 42.Qf3+ Ke6 43.g4 Rxc4 44.Qf5+ Ke7 45.g5 R4c5 46.Qe4+ Kd6 47.Kb2 b5 48.g6 Rc4 49.Qf5 R4c5 50.Qf6+ Kd7 51.g7 Rxc2+ 52.Kb3 R2c4 53.g8=R Rxg8 54.Qf7+ Kd6 55.Qxg8 a6 56.Qxc4 bxc4+ 57.Kxc4 Ke5 58.Kb4 Kf4 59.a4 Kg4 60.Ka5 Kxh4 61.Kxa6 Kg3 62.Kb5 Kf4 63.a5 Ke5 64.a6 Kd6 65.a7 Ke5 66.Kc5 Ke4 67.a8=Q+ Ke3 68.Qd5 Ke2 69.Kd4 Kf2 70.Qe4 Kf1 71.Ke3 Kg1 72.Kf3 Kh1 73.Qc2 Kg1 74.Qg2 checkmate, Junior 7-Hiarcs 9, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 15.Nd5+ Kd6 16.c3 Bg7 17.Be3 Qc4 18.e5+ Bxe5 19.Rd1 Bg7 20.Nb6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Abrok chess engine, Palm Bay, FL, 2015) 13.Bg5+ Ke8 14.Qf3 Qg7 15.Nd5 Bd6 16.O-O-O c6 17.e5 Bb8 18.e6 d6 19.Qf7+ Qxf7 20.exf7+ Kf8 21.fxg8=Q+ Kxg8 22.Rde1 cxd5 23.Re8+ Kg7 24.Re7+ Kg8 25.Bh6 Black resigned, Wall,B - Amyan engine, Palm Bay, FL, 2015. 

10...c6 11.fxe5 Qxe5 12.d3 

White supports his e-pawn, plans to unleash his dark-squared Bishop, and castle Queenside. This slow idea is probably more effective than 12.Qf3, even if the idea is computer-generated, e.g. 12...Nf6 13.Ne2 (13.d3 Bb4 14.Bd2 d6 15.d4 Qe6 16.O-O-O Ng4 17.d5 Qg8 18.Qg3 Ke8 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Nb5 cxb5 21.Bxb4 Ne5 22.Rxd6 Nc4 23.Qg5 Nxd6 24.Qe5+ Qe6 25.Qxh8+ Kd7 26.Rd1 h5 27.Rxd6+ Qxd6 28.Bxd6 Kxd6 29.Qd8+ Black resigned, Fritz 8 - Fritz 5.32, D1N5TWD1, 2008) 13...Rf8 14.d4 Bxd4 15.Bf4 Qc5 16.O-O-O Be5 17.b4 Bxf4+ 18.Qxf4 Qxb4 19.Qe5+ Kd8 20.Rxf6 Re8 21.Re6 Rxe6 22.Qxe6 Qf8 23.Qe5 Qe7 24.Qd4 b6 25.e5 Bb7 26.Nc3 c5 27.Qg4 Bc6 28.Qf4 h5 29.Nd5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Rc8 31.Qa4 Rc7 32.Qe4 Rc6 33.Qa4 Qe6 34.c4 Rc7 35.Qd1 a6 36.Qe2 Rc6 37.g3 b5 38.h4 bxc4 39.Qxc4 Qf7 40.Qb3 Kc7 41.Qd3 Kc8 42.Rd6 Rxd6 43.Qxd6 Qf1+ 44.Kd2 Qg2+ 45.Kc1 Qc6 46.Qd2 Kc7 47.Qa5+ Kb7 48.Qd2 Qe6 49.Qb2+ Kc6 50.Qg2+ Kb5 51.Qb7+ Ka5 52.Qc7+ Kb4 53.Qb7+ Kc3 54.Qb2+ Kd3 55.Qc2+ Kd4 56.Qb2+ Kd5 57.a3 Qg4 58.Qb7+ Kxe5 59.Qc7+ d6 60.Qe7+ Kd5 61.Qb7+ Ke6 62.Qb3+ Ke5 63.Qb2+ Qd4 64.Qe2+ Kd5 65.Qg2+ Qe4 66.Qd2+ Ke5 67.Qb2+ Kf5 68.Qb8 Qd3 69.Qc8+ Ke5 70.a4 Qc4+ 71.Kd2 Qxa4 72.Qc7 Qd4+ 73.Ke2 Qe4+ 74.Kf2 Qd3 75.Qe7+ Kd5 76.Qe8 Qf5+ 77.Kg1 Kd4 78.Qb8 Ke3 79.Qb3+ Qd3 80.Qf7 Kd2 81.Qa2+ Ke1 82.Qa5+ Qd2 83.Qa1+ Qd1 84.Qc3+ Ke2+ 85.Kh2 Qd4 86.Qa3 Qf2+ White resigned, Fritz 8 - Fritz 5.32, D1N5TWD1, 2008.

12...d6

Alternately: 12...d5 13.Qh4+ (13.Qf3!?) Ke8 14.Bf4 Qe6 (or 14...Qe7 15.Bg5 Qe6 16.O-O-O d4 17.Ne2 Qg4 18.Nf4 Qxh4 19.Bxh4 Ne7 20.Bf6 Rf8 21.Ne2 Bg4 22.Rd2 Bb4 23.c3 dxc3 24.bxc3 Bxe2 25.Rxe2 Ba3+ 26.Kc2 Kd7 27.Ref2 a5 28.Kb3 Bd6 29.e5 Bc7 30.e6+ Ke8 31.Bg7 Rxf2 32.Rxf2 a4+ 33.Kc2 Nf5 34.Bf6 Bd8 35.Bxd8 Rxd8 36.g4 Ng7 37.Rf7 Nxe6 38.Rxb7 Rd7 39.Rb4 Ra7 40.Rc4 Kd7 41.a3 Kd6 42.h4 Ra5 43.g5 Nc7 44.Rf4 Ne6 45.Rf7 Rf5 46.Rxh7 Rf2+ 47.Kb1 Nf4 48.Ra7 Nxd3 49.Rxa4 Ne5 50.Rd4+ Kc5 51.Re4 Nc4 52.Re6 Nxa3+ 53.Ka1 Rh2 54.Rxg6 Rxh4 55.Rh6 Rg4 56.g6 Rg2 57.Rh5+ Kd6 58.Ra5 Nb5 59.c4 Nd4 60.Ra8 Rxg6 61.Rd8+ Kc5 White resigned, mrjoker - far, Internet Chess Club, 2008) 15.O-O-O d4 16.Qf2 (or 16.Bc7 Be7 17.Qe1 dxc3 18.Qxc3 Nf6 19.Kb1 Rf8 20.h3 b5 21.g4 c5 22.Qd2 Bb7 23.Rde1 c4 24.Qa5 cxd3 25.cxd3 Qd7 26.Rf3 Rc8 27.Bh2 h5 28.gxh5 Nxh5 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Qd2 Rd8 31.Rd1 Bxe4 32.Qe3 Qe6 33.Ka1 Bf5 34.Qg1 Bb4 35.a3 Qb3 36.Qe3+ Be6 White resigned, sackville - jayking, GameKnot.com, 2007) 16...b5 (or 16...Ne7 17.Bh6 Bb6 18.Na4 c5 19.Nxb6 axb6 20.a3 Bd7 21.Qf8+ Black resigned, mrjoker - tomnoah, Internet Chess Club, 2010) 17.Kb1 Bb6 18.Ne2 c5 19.Bg5 Ne7 20.Nf4 Qf7 21.Qe2 Qg7 22.Nd5 Bd8 23.Nf6+ Black resigned, Topper76 - mrdenetop, Chess.com, 2011 

Or 12...Bd4 13.Ne2 Bxb2 14.Qf3 Nf6 15.d4 Bxd4 16.Nxd4 Qxe4+ 17.Be3 Qxf3 18.Rxf3 Ne4 19.O-O-O a6 20.Rf4 d5 21.c4 Be6 22.cxd5 Bxd5 23.Nf3 Nc3 24.Re1 Nxa2+ 25.Kb2 Kd7 26.Bc5 Rhe8 27.Rd1 Re2+ 28.Rd2 Rxd2+ 29.Nxd2 Re8 White resigned, tapirus - Yigor, Chess.com, 2011. 

Or 12...Bb4 13.Qh4+ (13.Bd2!?) Nf6 14.Bd2 Rf8 15.Nd5+ cxd5 16.Bxb4+ d6 17.O-O-O d4 18.Bd2 Be6 19.Bg5 Bxa2 20.b3 h5 21.Rd2 Rf7 22.Rdf2 Raf8 23.Kb2 Bxb3 24.cxb3 b6 25.Bh6 Rg8 26.Bf4 Qe6 27.Bg5 Rgf8 28.Bh6 Qg4 29.Qxg4 hxg4 30.Bxf8+ Rxf8 31.b4 a6 32.Kb3 Ke6 33.Ra1 Ra8 34.Rfa2 Rc8 35.Rc2 Ra8 36.Rc7 g5 37.Kc4 Ne8 38.Rc6 Ke5 39.Kb3 b5 40.Rcxa6 Rc8 41.Rf1 Ke6 42.Kb2 Rc3 43.Ra3 Rxa3 44.Kxa3 Nf6 45.Rc1 Nd7 46.Kb2 d5 47.Rc6+ Ke5 48.exd5 Kxd5 49.Rg6 Ne5 50.Rxg5 Ke6 51.Kc2 Kd5 52.h4 gxh3 53.gxh3 Ke6 54.Rh5 Kd5 55.h4 Ke6 56.Rh6+ Ke7 57.Rb6 Nf3 58.h5 Ne1+ 59.Kd2 Nf3+ 60.Ke2 Ng1+ 61.Kf2 Nh3+ 62.Kg3 Ng1 63.h6 Kf7 64.Rxb5 Black resigned, Fritz 8 - Fritz 5.32, The Jeroen Experience, 2003 

Or 12...Nf6 13.Qh4 Bd4 14.Bg5 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 Qxc3+ 16.Ke2 Qxc2+ (16...Rf8 17.Rxf6 Rxf6 18.Rf1 Ke8 19.Bxf6 Qxc2+ 20.Ke3 Qc5+ 21.d4 Qa3+ 22.Kf2 Qxa2+ 23.Kg1 Qf7 24.Bg5 Qg7 25.Rf6 d6 26.Qf4 a6 27.Bh6 Qe7 28.Rf8+ Kd7 29.Rf7 c5 30.Rxe7+ Black resigned, Junior 7 - Fritz 5.32, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 17.Bd2 Qb2 18.Rxf6 Qxf6 19.Bg5 Rf8 20.Bxf6+ Rxf6 21.e5 Black resigned, Wall,B - XCCY, FICS, 2011. 

13.Qh4+ 

A little more attention to the dark squares...

13...Ke8

Black's response is fine, although it is not the only one. For example, 13...Kd7 14.Rf7+ Ke8 15.Rf3 (15.Rxh7 Qd4 16.Ne2 Qf2+ 17.Qxf2 Bxf2+ 18.Kxf2 Rxh7 19.Bf4 Ke7 20.Bg5+ Nf6 21.Rf1 Bd7 22.Ke1 Rf8 23.Nf4 Be8 24.h4 Bf7 25.d4 Kd7 26.Bxf6 Bc4 27.Nd3 Rhf7 28.e5 c5 29.Rf4 Bxd3 30.cxd3 Ke6 31.Rg4 cxd4 32.Rxg6 Kd5 33.g4 dxe5 34.g5 Rc8 35.h5 Rc1+ 36.Ke2 Rc2+ 37.Kf3 Rd2 38.h6 Rxd3+ 39.Kg4 Rc7 40.Rg7 Rc2 41.h7 Ke4 42.Re7 Rg2+ 43.Kh5 Rh3+ 44.Kg6 Rgh2 45.Rxe5+ Kf3 46.Re7 d3 47.Bc3 d2 48.Bxd2 Rxd2 49.Kg7 Rdh2 50.g6 b5 51.Rxa7 b4 52.a4 Ke3 53.Rb7 Rh5 54.Rxb4 Ra5 55.Rb8 Rxa4 56.b4 Ra6 57.h8=Q Rxh8 58.Rxh8 Kf4 59.Kh7 Kg5 60.g7 Rh6+ 61.Kg8 Rc6 62.Kf7 Rf6+ 63.Ke7 Rf3 64.g8=Q+ Kf4 65.Qc4+ Kg3 66.Rg8+ Kf2 67.Qc2+ Ke3 68.Qc3+ Ke2 69.Rg2+ Rf2 70.Qc2+ Kf3 71.Qxf2+ Ke4 72.Ke6 Kd3 73.Rg3+ Kc4 74.Qc5 checkmate, Fritz 8 - Deep Sjeng 1.5, The Jeroen Experience, 2003) 15...Ne7 16.Bg5 Rf8 17.Rxf8+ Kxf8 18.O-O-O Ng8 19.Ne2 Bb6 20.d4 Qe6 21.Qxh7 Qf7 22.Qh8 Bg4 23.Re1 Qxa2 24.d5 Re8 25.Rf1+ Bf5 26.Ng3 Qa1+ 27.Kd2 Ba5+ 28.Ke2 Qa2 29.Kf3 Qc4 30.exf5 gxf5 31.Bh6+ Ke7 32.Qh7+ Kd8 33.Bg5+ Kc8 34.Qxf5+ Kb8 35.Qf7 Rc8 36.Ra1 Bc7 37.Be3 c5 38.c3 Qb3 39.Ne4 Qc2 40.b4 a6 41.bxc5 dxc5 42.d6 Bb6 43.Rc1 Qd3 44.Nf2 Qb5 45.d7 Rd8 46.Bf4+ Ka7 47.Rd1 Qc6+ 48.Ne4 Qa4 49.Rd2 Qc6 50.Rd6 Qc7 51.Kf2 c4+ 52.Ke2 Nh6 53.Bxh6 Bc5 54.Be3 Bxe3 55.Kxe3 a5 56.Qd5 Kb8 57.Nc5 Ka7 58.Ne6 Black resigned, Junior 7 - Deep Sjeng 1.5, The Jeroen Experience, 2003. 

14.Bf4 Qe7 15.Bg5 Qg7 

White has some positional pressure - on the dark squares, along the f-file - and an advantage in development, although not (yet) full compensation for his sacrificed piece. He can finally castle, then plan to double his Rooks.
16.0-0-0 Be6 17.Rf3 Black forfeited on time

Quite a surprise. As my opponent subsequently forfeited on time his game with the White pieces - and forfeited games to other players as well - something in the "outside world" must have intervened.

By the way, after the game, Stockfish 7 suggested that instead of doubling Rooks, I consider 17.d4!? Bxd4 18.Rxd4!? (eliminating the dark square Bishop) with the following possibility 18...Qxd4 19.Qf4 Qg7 20.Qxd6 Bc4 21.Rd1 when Black is still in a bind, although the computer still puts him ahead by only about 3/4 of a pawn. A deep idea, not anything I had considered.

One Step Behind

My opponent's play was bold enough to give me trouble, and even if he did not solve all of the mysteries of the Jerome Gambit, he played a game which left me feeling constantly as if I were one step behind. 

 perrypawnpusher - magza
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 Be6

This move provokes f2-f4 by White, but it is only the beginning of Black's sharp play.

10.0-0

Or 10.f4 as in mrjoker - Melbourne, blitz, ICC, 2008 (1-0, 38), mrjoker - tomnoah, ICC, 2009 (0-1, 42), perrypawnpusher - GabrielChime, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 33); perrypawnpusher - udofink, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29), and perrypawnpusher - Kingsmeal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 25).

10...Kd7

My opponent practically screams "Come and get me!"

Alternatives include 10...Qf6, as in perrypawnpusher - OverwiseMan, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24); 10...Nf6, as in perrypawnpusher - dirceu, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 16) and perrypawnpusher - nmuffjgp, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 22); and 10...h6 as in MrJoker - pds1, ICC, 2011 (1-0, 28).

(All of the games referred to can be found in The Database.)


11.f4 N6e7 12.f5 Bf7 13.d4 Bc4 14.Rd1 Nf6

Black's pieces keep close watch on White's "Jerome pawns."

"Just a couple more moves," I told myself, "and I'll have an even game."

15.b3

Either 15.e5 or 15.Na3 might have been a tiny bit better.

15...Ba6 16.Nc3

A curious move.

I know that I did not play 16.e5 because I was worried about 16...Nxf5, but that was just poor "analysis", as 17.Qf3 wins back the sacrificed piece with advantage to White. Black does better to answer 16.e5 with 16...Ng4, and after 17.Qg5 he holds his own (or better) in the tactics on the Kingside.

Consistent was 16.c4 followed by 17.Nc3.

16...Re8

This move was my "opportunity", the one that usually comes knocking in the Jerome Gambit. Black's best was 16...Qf8 working against the line given concerning 15.e5. In fact, White's next move should be 17.e5.

17.Qg5 Rg8 18.e5 Nfd5

19.Bb2

Developing the Bishop, protecting the Knight, uniting the Rooks: and it all still feels too slow.

After the game, Houdini suggested 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Qg4 (coming soon: c2-c4) with an edge for White.

19...h6 20.Qd2 Nxc3 21.Bxc3 Nxf5

Bleh. A score-and-one moves, and White has little to say about his position, while Black's pieces are beginning to glow again.

22.d5 Qe7

Possible, and better, was 22...dxe5

23.e6+ Kc8 24.Bb2 b6 25.c4 Kb7

Black has castled-by-hand on the Queenside, and his light-squared Bishop looks a little bit odd. White has his dark-squared Bishop on a strong diagonal, and a protected, passed pawn at e6.

Houdini gives Black only a slight edge, but the question is: Where will White get his play? Black's pieces are well-placed to defend against the one plan that suggests itself, infiltrating along the f-file to f7: 26.Rf1 Raf8 27.Rf2 g6 28.Raf1 h5.

26.b4

Opting to stir things up on the Queenside.

26...Bxc4 27.Rdc1

Making the same kind of mistake referred to in the notes to White's 16th move, concerning 16.e5. Here the right move was 27.Qf4, although after 27...Bxd5 28.Rxd5 g6 Black has returned his extra piece for some pawns, and is a pawn ahead.

White's e-pawn would be weak, not strong, and that would give Black the advantage in the long run.

White's game now just flows from bad to worse.

27...b5 28.a4 a6 29.a5 g6 30.Rxc4 bxc4 31.Rc1 Qg5 32.Qxg5 hxg5 33.Rxc4 Ne3

White's sacrifice of the exchange only means that he is now a Rook behind.

34.Re4 Nxd5 35.Rg4 Rae8 36.Rxg5 Nxb4 37.Rg4 Nd3 38.Bc3 Rxe6 39.Rd4 Nc5 40.Rb4+ Kc6 White resigned

Dealing with Harassment

I have read that Grandmasters can look at a complicated position and almost immediately, without apparent analysis or evaluation, decide that a certain piece "must" go to a particular square. How different that is from my own experience...

perrypawnpusher - louarn
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

Earlier this year we had played a couple of Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit games that I had won in 21 and 49 moves.

4.Bxf7+

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

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 N8e7

Planning for play on the f-file, especially targeting the square f5, which seems to be a magnet for "Jerome pawns".

10.0-0 Rf8

An interesting alternative is 10...d5, seen in perrypawnpusher - OverwiseMan, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 27).

11.f4

Or 11.d4, as Louis Morin (mrjoker) has played successfully in a couple of games, guest6567 - guest4702, ICC, 2004 (1-0, 26) and mrjoker - tomnoah, ICC, 2008.


11...Bd7

With an eye toward putting the Bishop on the a8-h1 diagonal. Both 11...Nc6, as in perrypawnpusher - taman, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 35), and 11...c6 as in perrypawnpusher - Kovrad, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 16) were also playable. 

 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Ng4

As always, retreating to c6 was better, but harassing the Queen is irresistible. A quick peek at the New Year's Database shows that I have over 45 games with a Queen at e3 being attacked by a Knight at g4!

You would think that by now I would have come up with the proper response for White.

14.Qg5

An interesting idea, but I had forgotten that I had tried something similar in one of my games against MRBarupal and my pawn at e4 (as well as the square itself) proved weak. It should not be surprising, therefore, that Rybka prefers 14.Qe2 (although it sees the game as even after my move).

14...Nf6 15.e5

Rushing forward into trouble. First: 15.Nc3

15...dxe5 16.dxe5 Ne4

There's that weak e4 square again.

17.Qxg7

The position may look dangerous for Black at first glance, but White has two pieces attacking five pieces (six, if you count the enemy King) and the pair of advanced "Jerome pawns" doesn't make up the difference.

 17...Nxf5 18.Qxh7 Qe7

Exchanging Queens takes the heat off of Black's King and preserves his advantage, although 18...Be6 was even stronger.

19.Qxe7+ Kxe7 20.Nc3 Nxc3 21.bxc3 Nh4

Hoping to exchange another piece, bringing the game closer to a won endgame, as White's pawns will be no match for Black's extra piece.

However, this was just the kind of slip that I was hoping for as it allows me to reverse my fortunes.

22.Ba3+ Ke6 23.Rxf8 Rxf8 24.Bxf8 Kxe5

Up the exchange and two pawns, White now has the winning chances.

25.Bg7+ Kd5 26.Rd1+ Kc6 27.Kf2 Nf5 28.Bd4 b5

I think this must have been a mouse-slip.

29.Bxa7 Kb7

Allowing the exchange of Bishops only hastens the end.

30.Bd4

See above. 

30...Ka6 31.Be5 Be6 32.Bxc7 Bxa2 33.Ra1 Kb7 34.Rxa2 Kxc7

35.g4 Nd6 36.Kf3 Nc4 37.g5 Ne5+ 38.Kf4 Ng6+ 39.Kf5 Ne7+ 40.Kf6 Nd5+ 41.Kf7 Nxc3 42.g6 Ne4 43.g7 Nd6+ 44.Kg6 Black resigned

Tomorrow is another day...

When I play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I stay with the main lines and let my opponent do the innovating. Often he'll play a "Theoretical Lemon" (TL) rather than a "Theoretical Novelty" (TN).

The times when my opponent improves on past theory and play? Well, as they say, tomorrow is another day...

perrypawnpusher  - frencheng
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

As recently noted, this response has the highest success rate (56%) for Black in the games in the New Year's Database.

The move appeared first in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's 1874 analysis of the Jerome Gambit in the Dubuque Chess Journal. The article contained an interesting caveat:

It should be understood that Mr. Jerome claims in this New Opening "only a pleasant variation of the Giuoco Piano, which may win or lose according to the skill of the players, but which is capable of affording many new positions and opportunities for heavy blows unexpectedly."

7.Qxe5 Qe7

A strong choice. An earlier game with the same opponent continued: 7...d6 8.Qg3 Qe7 9.d3 d5 10.0-0 dxe4 11.Re1 Qd6 12.Bf4 Qd4 13.Be5 Qd7 14.Rxe4 Qf5 15.Qxg7+ Ke8 16.Bg3+ Qxe4 17.dxe4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - frencheng, blitz FICS, 2010.

8.Qf4+

A similar idea (with a different response) was seen in blackburne - JFRAY, ChessWorld,  2004: 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.0-0 d6 10.Qf3 Be6 11.Nc3 c6 12.d3 h6 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Nf6 15.d4 Rf8 16.e5 Nd5 17.exd6 Rxf3 18.dxe7 Rxf1+ 19.Rxf1 Kxe7 20.Nxd5+ Bxd5 21.b3 Rf8 22.c4 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 Be4 24.Kf2 Bb1 25.a3 Ba2 26.c5 Bxb3 27.e4 Ke6 28.Kf3 b6 29.Kf4 bxc5 30.dxc5 g5+ 31.Ke3 Ke5 32.Kd3 a5 33.g3 h5 34.h3 h4 35.g4 a4 36.Kc3 Bd1 37.Kb4 Kxe4 38.Ka5 Kd5 39.Kb4 Bxg4 40.Kxa4 Bxh3 41.Kb4 Bf1 42.a4 h3 43.a5 h2 White resigned 

A fundamental alternative at this point is for White to exchange Queens, something that Louis Morin ("mrjoker") has explored in a number of games.

An early experiment did not go well: 8.d4 Qxe5 9.dxe5 Ne7 10.Nd2 Ng6 11.Nf3 b6 12.0-0 Bb7 13.Re1 Re8 14.b3 Nxe5 15.Nd2 Ng4 16.Re2 Ke7 17.h3 Nxf2 18.Rxf2 Rhf8 19.Nf3 Bxe4 20.Bb2 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Rxf3 22.Re1+ Kd8 23.Ref1 Rxf2 24.Rxf2 Re2, White resigned, guest393 - guest664, ICC, 2001.

Morin is quite comfortable playing Queenless middlegames and endings with two pawns for a piece, as further games showed: 8.Qxe7+ Nxe7 (8...Bxe7 9.d4 d6 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.f4 Ke8 13.h3 Be6 14.b3 d5 15.e5 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.f5 Bd5 18.c4 Bf7 19.e6 Bg8 20.Be3 h6 21.Rf4 Bh7 22.g4 Bf6 23.Rd1 Ke7 24.d5 cxd5 25.Bc5+ Ke8 26.cxd5 b6 27.Ba3 Rd8 28.d6 Be5 29.Rxe4 Bxd6 Black resigned, mrjoker - tomnoah, ICC, 2008) 9.c3 (9.0-0 d6 10.c3 Bb6 11.d4 h6 12.f4 g6 13.Be3 Kg7 14.Nd2 Bd7 15.Rae1 Rae8 16.Nf3 Bb5 17.Rf2 d5 18.Ne5 dxe4 19.c4 Ba6 20.b3 Nf5 21.Nd7 Bxd4 22.Bxd4+ Nxd4 23.Ne5 c5 24.Rxe4 b6 25.Re3 Rhf8 26.Rg3 Re6 27.h4 Rxf4 28.Rxf4 Ne2+ 29.Kh2 Nxf4 30.Nf3 Bb7 31.Nd2 Re2 32.Nf1 Rxg2+ 33.Rxg2 Nxg2 34.Ng3 Nxh4 White resigned, mrjoker - blunt7569, ICC, 2008) 9...Kf7 (9...d5 10.d4 Bb6 11.e5 Be6 12.0-0 Ke8 13.Na3 c5 14.Nb5 Kd7 15.Be3 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Nc6 17.f4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bf5 19.h3 Bxd4+ 20.cxd4 Rac8 21.Rac1 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Rc8 23.Rxc8 Kxc8 24.g4 Bb1 25.a3 g6 26.Kf2 Kd7 27.Kg3 Kc6 28.h4 Kd7 29.h5 Ke6 30.Kh4 gxh5 31.Kxh5 Bg6+ 32.Kh6 Be4 33.f5+ Kf7 34.Kxh7 Bf3 35.g5 Black resigned, mrjoker - Epimacus, ICC, 2009; 9...b5 10.d4 Bb6 11.0-0 d6 12.Be3 g6 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Nd2 Bd7 15.Rae1 Kd8 16.f4 Kc8 17.Bg5 Re8 18.h3 Kb7 19.g4 Ng8 20.Kg2 Rf8 21.f5 h6 22.Bf4 g5 23.Bg3 Rae8 24.e5 Bc6+ 25.Kh2 dxe5 26.dxe5 Rd8 27.Nb3 a5 28.Rd1 a4 29.Nd4 Bxd4 30.cxd4 Bd5 31.a3 c6 32.Rfe1 Ne7 33.Rd2 Rde8 34.e6 Nxf5 35.gxf5 Rxf5 36.e7 Kc8 37.Bd6 Kd7 38.Bc5 h5 39.Ree2 g4 40.Rf2 Rf3 41.Rxf3 gxf3 42.Rd1 Rg8 43.Rg1 f2 44.Rxg8 f1Q 45.e8Q+ Kc7 46.Qc8 checkmate, mrjoker - PhlebasP, ICC, 2008) 10.d4 Bb6 11.Be3 Rf8 12.Nd2 d6 13.0-0 Kg8 14.f4 c6 15.Rae1 Bd7 16.h3 Rf7 17.Kh2 Raf8 18.g4 c5 19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Bxc5 dxc5 21.f5 Ng6 22.fxg6 Rxf1 23.gxh7+ Black resigned, mrjoker - PhlebasP, ICC, 2009.

8...Nf6 9.d3

In a relevant, correspondence game, Jerome himself faced his own gambit and survived: 9.Nc3 c6 10.d3 d6 11.h3 h6 12.0-0 g5 13.Qg3 Qe5 14.Ne2 Qxg3 15.Nxg3 Ke7 16.c3 Be6 17.a4 a5 18.Be3 Ba7 19.d4 Rag8 20.f4 gxf4 21.Bxf4 d5 22.Be5 Rf8 23.exd5 cxd5 24.Rae1 Rhg8 25.Nf5+ Kd7 26.Nxh6 Rg6 27.Nf5 Ne4 28.Ne3 Rxf1+ 29.Rxf1 Bb6 30.g4 Bd8 31.Kg2 Kc6 32.b3 Bg5 33.Nd1 Nd2 34.Rh1 Bh4 35.b4 axb4 36.cxb4 Nc4 37.Nc3 Nxe5 38.dxe5 d4 39.Ne4 Bd5 40.Kf3 Rg8 White resigned, Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence 1880.

9...d6 10.0-0 Kf7 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.Nd5

12...Qd8

A significant improvement over 12...Qe5 of perrypawnpusher - jonathankochems, blitz FICS, 2010, which continued 13.Nxc7 Qxf4 14.Bxf4 Rb8 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bf5 17.Rae1 Bb4 18.Re2 Rbc8 19.a3 Bc5 20.b4 Bd4 21.Bxd6 Rfe8 22.Rfe1 Bc3 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Rxe8 Kxe8 25.Bc5 a6 26.Kf1 Bb2 27.a4 Bd7 28.a5 Ba4 29.c4 Bc2 30.Ke2 Bc3 31.Ke3 Kd7 32.Ke4 Be1 33.f4 Bc3 34.Bd4 Bxb4 35.Bb6 Kd6 36.f5 Bc3 37.g4 Bf6 38.Ke3 Ke5 39.Bc7 checkmate

13.Bd2

Stronger was 13.Be3, although Black would still have the advantage.

13...Kg8

Black has castled-by-hand, has the two Bishops, and plans to swap off White's advanced Knight, leaving doubled pawns.

White needs to stir up some trouble before the game simply settles down to being bad for him.

14.Qg3 Nxd5 15.exd5 Qf6 16.Bc3

16...Bd4 17.Rae1 Bxc3 18.bxc3 b6

19.c4 Bb7

Black's Bishop will "bite on granite" here, but the move connects his Rooks.

20.Re6 Qc3 21.Re7 Rac8

The first good news that I've had in a while: my opponent is uneasy with my Rook on the seventh. How uneasy?

22.Rfe1 Qf6

That's uneasy enough for me.

It clearly was time to go for the draw by offering to repeat the position, before my opponent thought otherwise. 

23.R1e6 Qd4 24.Re4 Qf6 25.R4e6 Qd4 26.Re4 Qf6 27.R4e6 Qd4 28.Re4 Qf6 29.R4e6 Qd4 30.Re4 Qf6 31.R4e6 Qd4 Game drawn by repetition
 
I was happy to split the point here – tomorrow, after all, is another day.

No Ideas vs No Time

The following game is a standard Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+): White sacrifices a piece for two pawns, eventually gets his piece back for one pawn and enjoys a small edge.

Then – he has no idea what to do next.

perrypawnpusher  - taman
blitz FICS, 2010

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

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

One of the standard refutations, although it does allow White to get rid of the enemy dark-square Bishop, which in turn allows an early f2-f4 and a march of the "Jerome pawns".

7.Qd5+

I still like this "nudge" and my opponent often takes time to try to  figure out What is he doing?? (I just want the Black King on the back rank, to interfere with any plans of castling-by-hand; plus, I want my opponent taking time to try to figure out what I'm doing...) 

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3

9...N8e7

I haven't seen this move played often, although it is very logical: Black will bring his Rook to f8.

10.f4

Or 10.0-0 Be6 (10...Rf8 11.d4 Rf7 12.f4 Nc6 13.f5 Nge7 14.g4 Kf8 15.c3 Kg8 16.Na3 Qf8 17.Bd2 Bd7 18.Rae1 a6 19.c4 Re8 20.e5 dxe5 21.dxe5 Nxe5 22.Qxe5 Nxf5 23.Qxc7 Rxe1 24.Bxe1 Bc6 25.Qb6 Nh4 Black resigned, mrjoker - tomnoah, ICC, 2008) 11.d4 c6 12.f4 Bc4 13.Rf3 Qd7 14.b3 Bf7 15.f5 Nf8 16.f6 gxf6 17.Rxf6 Bg6 18.Ba3 Ng8 19.Rxd6 Qg4 20.Nd2 Rd8 21.e5 Rxd6 22.exd6+ Kd7 23.Re1 Ne6 24.Qe5 Qxd4+ 25.Qxd4 Nxd4 26.Nc4 Nxc2 27.Ne5+ Kd8 28.Rf1 Nxa3 29.Rf8+ Be8 30.d7 Ke7 31.dxe8Q+ Kd6 32.Nf7+ Black resigned, Chemistry - Chamaeleon, ICC, 2003

10...Rf8

11.0-0 Nc6 12.f5 Nge5 13.d4 Ng4 14.Qg3 h5

See "Out of a clear sky..." for tales of Knights-that-go-to-g4.

15.Be3

I didn't like this move, but I couldn't think of something better. After the game Rybka suggested 15.h3 Nf6 16.Nc3, since after 16...Nxd4 White has 17.e5 dxe5 18.Qxe5+ Kf7 19.Rd1 Nc6 20.Qe2 Qe7 21.Qc4+ Ke8 22.Bg5 Ne5 23.Qd4 Nc6 24.Qc4 Ne5 25.Qd4 Nc6 26.Qc4 Ne5 when it suggests that White take the draw by repetition.

analysis diagram






15...Nxe3 16.Qxe3 Qf6 17.c3

This was probably the hardest move in the game for me to play. Too often I try to get Jerome Gambit to act like The Incredible Hulk – you know, Hulk Smash!! – when a quieter and more effective line is available.

17...g6 18.Nd2 g5

Confidently preparing for a counter-attack, but I do not think that this is best, as it lets my pawns advance.

19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qxe5 21.Qxe5+ Nxe5

22.Rae1 Kf7 23.Rxe5 Kf6

I was happy to reach this position, being a pawn up in the end game – always a reasonable outcome for a refuted opening.

I think my opponent was happy, too, having turned away a scary attack – in fact, it is not immediately clear how much Black's Bishop vs Knight (pawns on both sides of the board) advantage offsets that extra pawn.

The truth is that White is quite a bit better here, but that understanding is based on a tactic that I missed.

24.Re2

Consolidating.

Instead, the Rook needed to remain active: 24.Rc5. Black's best response would have been to activate his Rook as well, with 25...Re8. I saw this far, but also saw that after 25.Rxc7 Black simply had 25...Bxf5, swapping pawns.

The trick is that White then has 26.Rc5 (the active Rook again) Re5 27.Rxe5 Kxe5 28.Nf3+ – when Black cannot now protect his pawn at g5 with 28...Kf6 because of 29.Nd4, winning the Bishop. After 28...Kd5 29.Nxg5 it is clear that White's Knight plus two pawns will outweigh Black's Bishop.

analysis diagram







24...Bd7

The pawn was free to be taken, instead. 

25.Ne4+ Kg7 26.f6+

Simpler and better was to exchange the sickly f-pawn for Black's g-pawn, 26.Nxg5 Bxf5, remaining with an edge. I could see that, but I kept thinking: there has to be more in this position – and I couldn't find it.

The only things going right for me at this point were that I was ahead on time, and that my opponent continued to think that I was up to something.

26...Kg6 27.Rfe1

Same criticism: better to let the weaky go with 27.f7 Rxf7 28.Rxf7 Kxf7 29.Nxg5+.

27...h4

Suspecting (correctly) that I was just shuttling pieces at this point, (trying not to make things worse) my opponent went in for a plan that would eat up a few moves – he was beginning to feel the time crunch.

28.c4 g4 29.Rf2

29...Rae8 30.Rfe2 Bc6 31.Nd2 Rd8

32.Ne4 h3 33.gxh3 gxh3 34.Kf2 Rde8 35.Kg3 Black forfeited on time

White has a small edge in the final position, but Black can exchange his Bishop for White's Knight and then win the f6-pawn, leaving White to win the h3-pawn. It is not clear then that White's extra pawn at h2 would be worth much in a two Rook vs two Rook endgame.