Jerome Gambit: En Passant

 

Regarding Mr. James Tarbell, of Upper Alton, Ill., mentioned in yesterday's post (see "Jerome Gambit: Humbling") as looking for opponents to play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) against him, I found his obituary in the March 23, 1906 Springfield Reporter, which included

Springfield, Vermont • 

Fri, Mar 23, 1906

The following was sent in by Mr. George Smiley of Alton, Ill and is from an Alton paper of last week.

...He was a famous chess player, probally [sic] one of the best in the United States, and played in many tournaments. He made a deep study of the game and he furnished many of the chess problems which interested players in years ago. He was beaten seldom and there were few who could match him in playing...

I wish to be remembered so fondly, after my passing.

Jerome Gambit: Humbling

 

Sometimes, when I reflect on The Database, my storage for Jerome Gambit and Jerome-related games - now approaching 96,000 entries - I think that I have accomplished something of note.

Then I run across a bit of information from the chess column for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Sunday, May 02, 1880

Mr. James Tarbell, of Upper Alton, Ill., who has acquired some fame as a correspondence player, would like very much to defend against the Jerome gambit in person or by correspondence. He is at present playing with Mr. Wm. Brown, of this city, and Mr. W. H. Hook of Paducah, Ky.

Cool!

I checked The Database.

Hmm...

No entry on James Tarbell.

No entry on William Brown.

No entry on W. H. Hook.

How disappointing.

I will keep my eyes open, however. 

Readers are asked to, as well.

Jerome Gambit: No Queen, No Problem

One tool a defender often has at his disposal is the exchange of Queens, which can lead to the blunting of an attack.

In the following game, however, Bill Wall's aggression does not appear to be troubled by such a strategy. The game ends with an impending checkmate in 10 moves.

Wall, Bill - Pakyaw

internet, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Nf6 

Raising a familiar question: Jerome Gambit: What About the Rook?

Black protects his Rook on h8, and develops a piece at the same time. 

As I wrote about 16 years ago, in Flaws (Part II)

seen at least as early as in the 5th game of the second match between Mexican Champion Andres Clemente Vazquez and American William Harrington, Mexico, 1876 (Vazquez won the match 12-3-1)

For a more modern take, I consulted The Database, which has 300 games with this move; White scores 76%. 

The second player would have done better offering the Rook on h8 with either Blackburne's defense 7...d6, or Whistler's defense, 7...Qe7.

8.Qxc5 Qe7 

Bill has also seen 8...Nxe4, in  Wall,B-Sigmon,A, internet, 2012 (1-0, 32) and 8...Qe8 9.d3 d6 10.Qxc7+ Bd7 11.Qxd6 Nxe4 12.dxe4 Qxe4+ 13.Be3 Rhd8 14.Nc3 Qxg2 15.O-O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, internet, 2020.

Black probably should have played 8...d6, and after 9.Qe3 Nxe4 he could hope for 10.Qxe4? Re8, but he would be frustrated by 10.O-O.) 

9.Qxe7+ 

Why not? Bill chooses a Queenless middlegame two pawns up.

9...Kxe7 10.Nc3 c6 11.d4 Kf7 12.O-O Re8 13.e5 

13...Nh5 14.g4 Ng7 15.f4 Kg8 

Black's King would prefer to side-step the advancing "Jerome pawns".

White's attack is not hampered by the lack of his Queen.

16.Ne4 Rf8 17.Nf6+ Kh8 18.f5 

Part of the Black's difficulty here is that he is afflicted by a familiar Jerome Gambit defender's malady: his pawn blocks his Bishop which hems in his Rook.

18...b6 19.fxg6 hxg6 20.Rf3 

Eyeing the h-file.

20...Rxf6 

A sand necessity, but things do not get better.

21.Rxf6 Kh7 22.h4 Ne6 23.Be3 Kg7 

White's lead in development is decisive. 

24.Raf1 Nd8 25.h5 gxh5 26.gxh5 Ba6 

Alas, the Bishop is late to the excitment.

27.R1f3 Black resigned

Black's King is in a mating net.

Jerome Gambit: Puzzled Again

I recently stumbled over a small puzzle on page 44 of the Sunday, October 27, 1929 edition of Cleveland's The Plain Dealer.

The "Chess and Checkers" column by David Robb had a section titled "An Old Time Favorite", including [chess notation changed from descriptive to algebraic - Rick]

The following game is taken from an old chess book of the year 1880.

The opening, a Jerome Gambit, is never played in tournament chess, yet in social chess it is often played, as it generally leads into a bright and lively game, as witness the following

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 

This double sacrifice constitutes the Jerome Gambit. It is unsound, but wants very careful meeting, as white can get up a good attack.

The game as given is the same as the well-known Amateur - Blackburne:

6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3 14.gxh3 Bxe4 checkmate 

The problem is the date of the book referred to by Mr. Robb: it is given as 1880.

As I posted here about 7 years ago, in "Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In", Amateur- Blackburne was played in 1884. (Tim Harding is the author of many good books, including Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography).

It is quite possible that Plain Dealer's chess columnist got his dates wrong. 

I also have had a hard time finding any chess books from 1880 that reference the Jerome Gambit.

I suppose that I could go out on a limb and point out that in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), by Joseph Henry Blackburne, the game is given as having taken place "around 1880".  Perhaps there is where 1880 came from for Mr. Robb.

Jerome Gambit: Messy

Sometimes the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) creates a logical, flowing game; sometimes it produces a game of fits and starts, with offsetting errors and, simply, a bit of a mess.

Witness the following game.

 

perrypawnpusher - sinipete

Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 Bd6 8.Qc3 

Deciding not to exchange Queens, e.g. 8.Qf5+ Qf6 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 as in perrypawnpusher - dogofthesouth, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2 - 1/2, 59) and perrypawnpusher - LeiCar, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 34)

8...Qf6 

Or the Knight can go to f6, as in perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 30).

9.d4 Qe7 

10.Nd2 c6 11.O-O Bb4 12.Qd3 

12...a5 

He would have done better to strike the center with 12...d5.

13.f4 

The computer much prefers 13.c3 b6 14.Rf2 Ba6 16.Qh3 Bd6 17.e5.

13...a4 

The same advice as for Black's 12th move.

14.Nf3 

The same advice as for White's 13th move. 

14...d6 

The same advice as for Black's 12th move. 

15.f5 

The same advice as for White's 13th move.

15...h6 

White's "Jerome pawns" have taken hold of the center.

For the moment, White is better (development, King safety), but that will change.

It was that kind of game.

16.e5 b6 17.c3 Ba6 18.c4 d5 

19.Nd2 

I had considered 19.b3, but after 19...axb3 20.axb3 I could see that Black had 20...Bxc4, attacking my Queen and at the same time uncovering an attack on my Rook at a8. What I foolishly missed was that I could then play 21.Rxa8+ when Black has to give up his Queen to block the check, as 21...Kf7 would be met by 22.e6+ Kf6 23.Bg5!+ hxg5 24.Qe3 Kxf5 25.Nh4+ Kg4 26.Qf3+ Kxh4 27.Qh3 checkmate.

19...Bxd2 20.Qxd2 Bxc4 21.Rf3 c5 

Black's plan is to blow up White's center before it becomes any more dangerous.

22.Qf2 cxd4 23.f6 

Too hurried.

23...gxf6 24.exf6 Qe2 

A strong counter. 

25.Bf4 d3 

Things are still messy, but if Black eliminated Queens with 25...Qxf2+ 26. Kxf2 it is likely his extra piece would give him the advantage. 

26.Qxb6 

Suddenly, White is better. His attack on the enemy King prevails over the threat of two (albeit doubled) passed pawns.

26...Qe8 

Not enough, but his position was troubled. 

27.f7 

This move is okay, and I liked my passer better than his, but 27.Bd6+ would have led more directly to mate.

27...Qd7 28.fxg8=Q+ Kxg8 29.Qg6+ Kf8 30.Bd6 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: You Still Have to Find the Moves (Part 3)

                        

The following game is another "twin", following in the footsteps of three previous games - although, separated by a few years.

It ended abruptly, while my position was still, admittedly, worse.

Jerome Gambit.

perrypawnpusher - Seishiro_Chess

Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 

                                   

9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qxe5+ Kxe5 

11.b4 Bd4 

Instead, 11...Bb6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - djdave28, Chess.com, Italian game tournament, 2014 (1-0, 22). 

12.c3 Bb6 13.d4+ Ke6 

Black can take the e-pawn (see perrypawnpusher - djdave28, Italian Game tourney, Chess.com, 2015 [1-0, 32] ) and survive, but why borrow trouble? The text preserves his advantage.

14.O-O 

A bit better was 14.Bb2. 

14...Nf6 15.Nd2 d6 16.Bb2 

Black resigned

This came as a bit of a surprise, especially since the game was still following perrypawnpusher - Altotemmi, Giuoco Piano Thematic Tournament, Chess.com, 2016 (0-1, 51).

A look at the crosstables showed that my opponent had resigned all of his games.

Jerome Gambit: You Still Have to Find the Moves (Part 2)

 

The following game is a twin of the previous on - a fraternal twin, not an identical one. Similar look, but not quite the same.

Check it out.

Seishiro_Chess - perrypawnpusher

Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Whistler's defense.

8.Qxh8 

Same dangerous choice. 

8...Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 

9...Qh4 10.g3 Qh3+ 11.Ke1 

                                                       

11...Nf6 

Against wofwerner I played the weaker 11...Qg2.

Now, with the White Queen sidetracked, I could focus on the White King.

12.d3 Qg2 13.Rf1 d5 

This seems to be an exit for my opponent's Queen, but he misperceives.

14.Qd8 Qxf1+

Seeing 15.Kxg1 Bh3+ 16.K-moves Rxd8 similar to wolfwerner - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024   White resigned