Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter III

It wasn't long at all – the very next game of mine to finish, as it turned out – when I again had someone walk into my "preparations."

perrypawnpusher - Sir Osis of the Liver
JG3 thematic www.chessworld.net, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Nf3+

This follows the previously mentioned ("Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter II") correspondence game Jerome - D. P. Norton, 1876, although he did not immediately capture Black's Knight, replying 9.Kf1, and the game continued 10...c6 10.gxf3 Qe7 11.b4 Bb6 12.Bb2 Kc7 13.Qe5+ Qxe5 14.Bxe5+ d6 15.Bxg7 Bh3+ 16.Ke2 Bg2 17.Rd1 Ne7 18.Bxh8 Ng6 19.d4 Rxh8 20.Kf2 Nxf4 21.c3 Rg8 22.Nd2 Kd7 23.Ke3 Rf8 24.Rg1 Bd8 25.Kf2 Rg8 26.Ke3 Nh3 27.f4 Nxg1 28.Rxg1 Rg4 29.Nf1 Bh3 30.Ng3 Rh4 31.Nf5 Bxf5 32.exf5 Bf6 33.Rg3 Rxh2 34.a4 Rh1 35.a5 Re1+ 36.Kf3 Re7 37.Rh3 c5 38.bxc5 dxc5 39.Rh6 cxd4 40.cxd4 Bxd4 41.f6 Rf7 42.Ke4 Bxf6 and wins

9.gxf3 Qh4+ 10.Kd1 TN Qf2

The American Chess Journal editor William Hallock assessed Black as better after this move. Not so. Black probably has the edge, though, after 10...Ne7 11.Qe5+ Kc6 although 12.b4!? would keep things interesting.

11.Qe5+ Kc6 12.Qd5+ Kb6 13.Qb3+ Ka6 14.Qa4+ Kb6 15.Qb3+ Kc6 16.Qd5+ Kb5 17.Nc3+

White has a draw here, which I would have been happy with.

Black, however, believes in his extra piece and misplaces his King.

17...Ka6 18.Qc4+ Kb6 19.Qb5 mate

A much happier outcome – for me, any way.

The Joy of Discovery (Part III)

In my further search for any information on the chess player Sgt. W. A. Harris of Brownsville, Texas – see "The Joy of Discovery (Part I)" and "The Joy of Discovery (Part II)" – I hoped to find clues in John Randolph's Marsmen in Burma (1946), his tale of and tribute to the 124th Cavalry, the last mounted unit in the United States Army.

The MARS TASK FORCE was one of two American Long Range Penetration Units which saw action in far-off Burma. With a mission to circle around and behind Jap[anese] lines through dense Burma jungles and over high mountains, it made history for itself which is matchless among the unique chronicles of world War II.

Although a chess player himself, Randolph has only two chess references in his book.

On the U.S.S. General H. W. Butner, the troop ship that took the 124th across the Pacific, he noted activities including

Card games, checkers, dominoes, "Salvo" (battleship), and men learning to play chess.

When the men were getting ready to hit the trail in Burma, they had to divest themselves of everything except the essentials.

Things not edible were almost 100% excess baggage. My mother-in-law sent me a tremendous volume of chess plays. to ease my conscience, I slipped up on another chess player, M/Sgt. Arnold M. Rouse, from Houston, dropped it and ran. I have never inquired if he burned it, buried it, or gave it to some native.

Randolph does not mention a Harris in his recounting. His selection of photographs includes one of 15 members of the 124th from Brownsville, Texas, so maybe Harris is included there.

For now, this trail has become impassible.

(The above regimental print is available from the offical Marsmen online store: http://store.marsmen.org)

We are not alone...

I was wandering the Internet the other day when I came upon an interesting blog -- HANGING PAWN :: Tip's Chess Blog sub-titled A Patzer's experiments with Engines and Unorthodox Chess Openings

Of course, what caught my eye was his information on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), featuring computer vs computer games – http://hangingpawn.blogspot.com/2008/07/jerome-gambit.html

You might want to drop by the blog, though, because the author, Randy Tipton of Baltimore, Maryland, is researching and playing a whole handful of unorthodox chess openings, including:

Bird's Opening
Bird's Opening - 1.f4 e5
Bird's Opening - Hobb's Gambit
Bird's Opening - Sturm Gambit
Dutch Defense - Korchnoi Attack
Jerome Gambit
Nimzovitch Defense - Lean Variation
Nimzovitch Defense - Wheeler Gambit
Polish Defense - 1.c4 b5

Polish Defense - 1.d4 b5
Polish Defense - 1.Nf3 b5

Tell him perrypawnpusher said "Hi!"

The Joy of Discovery (Part II)

I was excited to discover the Jerome Gambit game Harris - Quayle 1944, and decided to see if I could obtain the Los Angeles Times chess column referred to in the "L A TIMES 1881-1955" database – see "The Joy of Discovery (Part I)."

I contacted the Los Angeles Public Library, and Librarian Teni Bedrosian was quick to send me a PDF file of Herman Steiner's "Chess" column for January 7, 1945.

Under the heading "Correspondence Game" was the introductory note "A short game by Ladderite E. H. Quayle of Westwood, Cal., and Sgt. W. A. Harris of Brownsville, Tx."

Interesting!

Blackstone, in his database, gives Quayle's first name as "Ernest" – an educated guess on his part, or based on research of his own?

The Ernest H. Quayle Papers (1920-1939) includes five (of seven) journals by the naturalist (think: similar to Darwin and the Beagle) which currently reside in the University of Utah Mariott Library Special Collections.

I wrote to Manuscripts Librarian Dr. Stan Larsen for further information about Quayle's chess playing, if any. Unfortunately the diaries do not appear to have any chess content.

Ernest H. Quayle lived in Los Angeles in the early 1930s, but at the end of the decade he was involved Westwood is district in western LA.

As for Sgt. Harris, 1944 was war time, and Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas was where the 124th Cavalry Regiment was stationed. The 124th remained a mounted unit until its deployment in the China-Burma-India theater of operations.

The Joy of Discovery (Part I)

Research in chess often entails a whole lot of digging with little to show in return. Some days, however, good fortune strikes.




I was checking out the website of the Southern California Chess Federation the other day and noticed that they had two downloadable files containing a large number of games from the Los Angeles Times chess column – 1881 to 1985.

Thanks to John Blackstone for all his hard work in uncovering and assembling the games.

A few clicks, a quick search in ChessBase, some crossed fingers – and, yes, there was a new Jerome Gambit game!

Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.
Los Angeles, California, USA 1944
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

We've seen this line before, by Lt. Whistler and J.H. Blackburne – "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!"; "Mars Attacks!"; "Flaws (Part I)"; and "Flaws (Part II)".

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8

This move is the recommended improvement over 10.c3 in Amateur - Blackburne, London 1885.

10....Bd7

Troublesome for Black, who would keep things complicated (if in White's favor) instead after 10...Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3 Bf5

11.Qxc7 Bb6 12.g3

A plan with a hole in it.

White should free his Queen with 12.Qxd6. He would still have to deal with Black's ambitious pieces, but his position is solid and his material advantage should win in the end.

12...Qh3 13.Qxd6 Bc6

White will now have to give up his Queen in order to hold off mate. Instead, he gives up his King.

14.g4 Qxg4+ 0-1
Mate is unavoidable.


(Artwork compliments of Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws")

Beware: Mad Dog!

My buddy A B Hailey
likes to adopt the nickname "Mad Dog"
when he's playing chess.

He's partial to the Evans Gambit and the Sicilian Dragon.

He's been known to ball-bat my Blackmar Diemer Gambits and Latvian Gambits, too. (One of our games shows up in Tony Kosten's The Latvian Gambit Lives!)

Somehow "Mad Dog" got interested in playing the Jerome Gambit... Probably the bad influence of good friends, or something like that.

I like to refer to him as the "unluckiest Jerome Gambit player in the world."

You've seen his first effort in "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter II," abhailey - peonconorejas, net-chess.com, 2008 (0-1, 20) -- just his luck to find someone with the calculating skills of a computer to overturn past theory and execute a nifty Queen sac!


Does "Mad Dog" give up? Of course not!

He comes right back with another Jerome:


abhailey - cruciverbalist
net-chess.com, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7
Yippie...

By accident or design Black plays Whistler's Defense -- one of the numerous refutations of the Jerome Gambit.

8.Qf4+ Nf6

He, he, he...

One of the "problems" with a refutation, though, is you have to play it properly. After 8...Qf6 "Mad Dog" can finish his day playing "World of Warcraft." After the text, he's back in the game.

9.e5 Re8 10.d4 Bxd4 11.Qxd4 Qxe5+ 12.Qxe5 Rxe5+ 13.Be3 Nd5

Oddly enough, up until this point the game has been following Jerome - Jaeger, correspondence, 1879 which continued with the inaccurate 13...Ng4, but then Black simply outplayed White: 14.0–0 d5 15.Nc3 c6 16.Bd4 Re7 17.h3 Nh6 18.g4 b6 19.f4 Bb7 20.b4 Rc8 21.Na4 Re4 22.c3 Ba6 23.Rf2 Bb5 24.Nxb6 axb6 25.Bxb6 Rce8 26.Kg2 Ke6 27.a4 Ba6 28.Bc5 Kd7 29.Rb1 Rb8 30.Kg3 Rc4 31.Rc1 Ng8 32.f5 Nf6 33.Ba7 Rbxb4 34.Kg2 Ne4 35.Rf3 Rb2+ 36.Kh1 Rxa4 37.fxg6 Raa2 38.Bg1 hxg6 39.Re1 Nf2+ 40.Bxf2 Rxf2 41.Rg3 Be2 42.Kg1 Bf3 43.Re3 Be4 44.c4 Rh2 45.Kf1 Jaeger announced a mate in three at this point. 0–1

In our game, the attacker chomps on and does not let go.




14.0–0 Nxe3 15.fxe3+ Kg7 16.Nc3 a6 17.Rf3 b5 18.Raf1 Bb7

My analysis buddy Rybka sees the position as equal, and recommends a line where White forces the draw: 18...b4 19.Rf7+ Kg8 20.Rf8+ Kg7 21.R1f7+ Kh6 22.Rh8 bxc3 23.Rhxh7+ Kg5 24.h4+ Kg4 25.Rf4+ Kg3 26.Rf3+ Kg4 27.Rf4+ etc.

19.Rf7+ Kh6 20.Rxd7 Rxe3 21.Rxc7 Be4 22.Re7 Rd8 23.Rxe4 Rxe4 24.Nxe4

The extra piece and pawn are enough to win.

24...Rd4 25.Re1 a5 26.h3 a4 27.c3 Rd5 28.Rf1 Re5 29.Nd6 Re2 30.Rf2 Re1+ 31.Kh2 Re7 32.Nxb5 g5 33.c4 Kh5 34.c5 Re8 35.c6 Rc8 36.c7 h6 37.Rf7 Kg6 38.Rd7 Kh5 39.Rd8 Rxc7 40.Nxc7 Kh4 41.Rd6 g4 42.g3+ Kg5 43.h4+ Kf5 44.Rxh6 Ke5 45.Re6+ Kf5 46.h5 a3 47.bxa3 Kg5 48.h6 Kf5 49.h7 Kg5 50.h8Q Kf5 51.Qf6 checkmate

Later "Mad Dog" even "Jerome-ized" a semi-Italian opening by meeting 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 with 4.Bxf7+ -- but that is a story for another time,

(Mad dog, sheriff artwork compliments of Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws")

Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter II

When the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit thematic tournament started, I was faced with 18 games to be played at the same time.

I'll present them in the order they finished -- some ended much earlier than others.

Realize, too, that playing over these games may cause serious injury to your funny bone. You may laugh until your sides ache, or snicker until your family and friends begin to worry about you.

That's ok -- we did, too. Remember: these are amateurs vs. amateurs. This is Edward Lasker's Chess for Fun (with the occasional Chess for Blood thrown in). 

perrypawnpusher - drewbear JG3 thematic www.chessworld.net, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 

An interesting line that I refer to as "Nib's Defense," which made its first appearance in the American Chess Magazine of June 1899 in a comical article lampooning a new pastime, chess by phone. 

In a constructed game the author, "R.F.," overcame continued line noises and interruptions to use the Jerome Gambit to defeat "Nibs" in a dozen moves -- erroneously claiming checkmate, by the way. 

It was not until the internet game abhailey - peonconorejas, net-chess.com, 2008, that it was realized that Black had a Queen sacrifice that won brutally: 9.g3 Nf3+ 10.Kd1 Ne7 11.e5+ Kc6 12.Qe4+ d5 13.exd6+ Nd5 14.gxh4 Bg4 15.Qa4+ b5 16.Qa6+ Nb6 17.c4 Nd4+ 18.Ke1 Rhe8+ 19.Kf2 Nf5+ 20.Kf1 Bh3 mate

9.Kd1

I had prepared this "Theoretical Novelty" based on my study of the game Jerome - D.P. Norton, correspondence, 1876, a line of analysis of which our game would transpose to after 9...Nf3+ 10.gf Qf2. The annotator of that game suggested that now "black has the better position" – but I knew different.

9...Qg4+

Yeow! That was no TN – that was a "TL", a "Theoretical Lemon"!

10.Ke1 Qxf5

And White will be now down two pieces for two pawns, with Queens off of the board and no counterplay.

11.Resigns

What a start to the tournament!
Congratulations to drewbear for driving a large truck through the hole in my analysis.
By the way, I must publicly apologize to blackburne, who copied my TL in the same tournament – against drewbear, as well – and went down in flames. True to his fighting spirit, though, he stayed at the board longer than I did: 10.Qxg4 Nxg4 11.e5+ Ke6 12.Rf1 Nxh2 13.f5+ Kxe5 14.d4+ Bxd4 15.Bf4+ Kxf5 16.Bxh2+ Ke6 17.Bxc7 Bxb2 18.Re1+ Kf7 19.Be5 Bxa1 20.Bxa1 Nf6 21.Rf1 Re8 22.Nc3 Kg8 23.Nb5 Rb8 24.Nd6 Re6 25.Nf5 d5 26.g4 Re4 27.g5 Bxf5 28.gxf6 Bg4+ 29.Kd2 g6 30.f7+ Kf8 31.Rh1 h5 32.Rf1 Be6 33.Bc3 Bxf7 34.Kd3 Rbe8 35.Kd2 d4 36.Bb4+ Kg8 37.a3 Bc4 38.Rg1 Kh7 39.Rg3 Rg4 40.Rf3 Re2+ 41.Kc1 Rgg2 42.Rf7+ Bxf7 0–1
Two other players followed up against me (and against nobody else, except blackburne, above) with His Nib's Defense, perhaps hoping to repeat drewbear's success. Those games will be covered in later chapters.