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.
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
I have been trying for peaceful, not frenetic, Jerome Gambit games, slowly and steadily progressing toward victory. The following game is a good model for me. White gathers "small advantages" and calmly moves toward victory. But then...
Petasluk - krausepeter
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.f4 g6
Black mixes up defensive systems -- or something. The Database shows 9 wins for White against 0 losses prior to this game. 7...Qf6 or 6...d6 would have been fine for Black.
8.Qxe5+
Here Black resigned in Petasluk - Meshu, FICS. 2011, played about a week earlier.
Superpippo has played, and gotten away with 8.f5+ in Superpippo-vacaboja, FICS, 2002 (1-0, 37) and 8.Qh3+ in Superpippo-ustad, FICS, 2002 (1-0, 34), but those moves are not to be recommended.
8...Kf7 9.Qd5+
There are nudges and then there are nudges... Actually, 9.Qxh8 was a little better, as in Ghandybh-duboak, Chess.com, 2009 (1-0, 16).
9.Qxc5 was also playable, as in grobnic - vallabhan, GameKnot.com, 2004 (1-0, 24).
9...Ke8 10.Qxc5 d6 11.Qd4 Nf6 12.0-0 Qe7
White is a comfortable two pawns up. There is no need for an immediate "bashi-bazouk attack", as calm development will do.
13.Nc3 Rf8 14.d3 c5 15.Qe3 Ng4
If anyone, Black could heed the advice not to attack prematurely.
16.Qf3 h5 17.h3 Ne5 18.Qg3 h4 19.Qe3 Nc6 20.Bd2 Be6 21.Rae1 Kd7
Both sides have developed, and Black's King has found some shelter, but the story remains the same: a comfortable advantage for White.
22.a3 Rg8 23.e5 d5
Black keeps the position closed, but now White has a protected passed pawn. For now the e-pawn is blockaded, but it remains another advantage to be realized in the future.
24.Qf2
Setting his eyes on the Black pawn at h4.
Instead, Rybka 3 recommended for White the involved pawn sacrifice on the Queenside, 24.Nb5 b6 25.c4 hoping to open attacking lines against Black's King.
It's not hard to side with Petasluk's choice. Besides, he is rated higher than his opponent, and might want to let him come up with the "brilliant" ideas.
24...Raf8 25.Nd1
Perhaps White was thinking of following this up with c2-c3 and d3-d4, erecting a center wall?
In any event, danger for him is brewing on the Kingside, and White needs to strike first, as Rybka 3 points out: 25.b4 g5 26.bxc5 gxf4 27.Rb1 Kc8 28.Nb5 Bxh3 29.Nd6+ Kb8 30.Rxb7+ Qxb7 31.Nxb7 Rxg2+ 32.Qxg2 Bxg2 33.Rb1 Bh3 34.Nd6+ Ka8 35.Nb5 a6 36.Nc7+ Ka7 37.Kh2 Bg4 38.Nxd5 Nxe5 39.Bxf4 Nf3+ 40.Kg2 Whew! That's a lot to figure out in a blitz game.
25...g5
This is what Black has been aiming for. Now White has to counter-punch and mix it up; there is no more "peaceful".
26.c4 gxf4 27.Bxf4 Bxh3 28.e6+ Kd8
29.Ne3 Bxg2 30.Nxd5
In the smoke of the battle, White goes astray. Clearly time was short for him, and attacking the enemy Queen is in general a good strategy, but here there was a discovered check to deal with.
Rybka 3's suggestion lets the air out of the position, almost like each army consuming the other, with a draw as the result: 30.Nxg2 h3 31.Qe3 hxg2 32.Rf2 Qh7 33.Rxg2 Rxg2+ 34.Kxg2 dxc4 35.dxc4 Ke8 36.Bg3 Qc2+ 37.Qe2 Qxe2+ 38.Rxe2 Rg8 39.Kh3 Nd4 40.Re4 Rg6 41.e7 Nf3 42.Bf4 Ng5+ 43.Bxg5 Rxg5.
Both White's steady peaceful build-up and Black's savagery in counter-attacking would thus have been "rewarded".30...Bxd5+ 31.Kh2 Rg2+ 32.Qxg2 Bxg2 33.Kxg2 Rg8+ 34.Kh3 Nd4 35.Be3 Ke8
Here White forfeited on time.
Chessfriend Welton Vaz ("Ghandybh" at Chess.com) has tried his hand at the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) after receiving the database of games from the first year of posting on this site (see "Happy Birthday: Twelve months of blog...") – and the result was pleasant; for him, any way (see "Shock and Awe").
If you have a moment, why not stop by his "Chess, Science Fiction and Peace" blog?
Ghandybh - duboak
Chess.com, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.f4 g6
Black seems to remember something about this opening... Something about maybe a Blackburne game...? Something...?
7...Qf6 or 7...d6 were good ideas; 7...g6 was not.
8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxh8
A better capture than taking the Bishop, although that won for White, too: 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qd4 Nf6 11.0-0 b5 12.d3 c5 13.Qc3 Be6 14.f5 gxf5 15.exf5 Bd5 16.Bg5 Rg8 17.Qd2 Qf8 18.Bxf6 Kxf6 19.Nc3 Bc6 20.Rae1 Bxg2 21.Rf2 Bh3+ 22.Kh1 Bxf5 23.Ref1 Rg5 24.Ne4+ Black resigned, grobnic - vallabhan, GameKnot, 2004
9...Qh4+ 10.g3 Qh6 11.Qc3 b6
Black had bad luck on one long diagonal. He hopes to have better luck on the other one.
12.d4 Be7 13.Qc4+ Kf8 14.0-0 c5
White has the better center, better development, and a safer King.
15.f5
15...Qe3+
An illusion, but Black is still doomed after 15...g5, for example: 16.f6 Nxf6 17.Qd5 Rb8 18.Bxg5 and White will crash through.
16.Bxe3 Black resigned
