A Short Break from the Jerome Gambit

The days are running, and this weekend "Kennedy Kid" Jon will be making his way homeward after his summer stay in Bugembe, Uganda.

It appears that during his stay, working for Skills Plus, he made much more of an impact with his pool (and grant writing) skills than with his chess prowess.

My heartfelt thanks go to the Kadama family: Caesar and Lydia, Jon's homestay parents, and young Evan and Ivy, for watching over our young man.

A debt of gratitude must be expressed, as well, to Mr. Hakim Kirigwa, of Skills Plus, who was Jon's supervisor. You have taught him many things, and I thank you.

The support of the Foundation for Sustainable Development was always essential and well appreciated.

I have emailed several members of the Uganda Chess Federation, including East Africa Chess Champion Harold Wanyama, on the topic of the Jerome Gambit (especially its historical development), although I have not yet heard back from any of them.

I constantly remind myself that what is of great interest to me is often but a trifle to others.

This blog will return to more "serious" Jerome Gambit coverage tomorrow. For today, welcome home soon, Yona San; Sula Bulungi, Uganda!

Goddess Chess

Readers who have not yet visited the Goddess Chess site (or the blogger's Chessville site, as well; see: "Les Femmes des Echecs... & the Jerome Gambit") should stop on by and have their eyes opened wider.


In a recent post titled "The Giuoco Piano a/k/a C50 in ECO terms" Jan mentioned my search for women who -- for whatever reasons -- had played the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). As for the opening itself, she wrote...

I had a vague idea that it must have something to do with chess but for some unknown reason "go fish" pops into my mind whenever I read the words "Jerome's Gambit."

[Ah, Jan you are too cruel. Spot on about the Jerome Gambit -- but cruel. - R.K.]

The other thing "Jerome's Gambit" conjures up is a memory from my murky past long long ago, on a planet far far away...of a street hustler named Boney Jerome who used to hold court on the steps outside the apartment building where I lived at the time.

Boney Jerome tried to lure me into an "unspecified relationship" by attempting to bribe me with large gold and cubic zirconia rings (the gold was probably as fake as the stones), which I always rejected with a sweet smile.

He eventually gave up on me, declaiming to all in the neighborhood that I was way too smart and sassy-mouthed for my own good, always throwing quotes from Shakespeare at him. For my part, I was impressed that Boney Jerome knew the name Shakespeare.

My response was to quote from Emanuel Lasker in the December 1907 issue of Lasker’s Chess Magazine

... The artistic conscience sometimes makes him who has it a coward – or, let us say, a Hamlet of the chess board.

I wonder if Hamlet was a chessplayer. From his character it seems indeed likely. If he was, he probably played a weak but imaginative game, with a craving to improve upon the best move and therefore often missing it.

Hamlets of the chess board are frequent types. Once in the meshes of combination they lose themselves in its intricacies, and evolve ideas that are so infinitely subtle that they have no vitality. Then is the moment when fate, usually with a somewhat brutal, matter-of-fact blow, wakes them out of their dreams.

Although what this has to do with "go fish", I am not sure.

Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XI

Once again taking up arms against the Jerome Gambit! It made me feel like some kind of a turncoat, although I did realize that to actually win the tournament I would need to win with the opening, too.


hogmaster - perrypawnpusher
JG3 thematic www.chessworld.net, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nc3


5...Nf6 6.0-0 Rf8 7.d3 Kg8


A position typical of the modern Jerome Gambit.

8.Bg5 h6
An alternative was 8...d6 9.Nd5 Bg4 10.Qd2 ( 10.Nxf6+ gxf6 11.Bh6 Rf7 12.Kh1 f5 13.Qd2 f4 14.Ng5 Rf6 15.f3 Rxh6 0-1, Rail2Rail - dandoo, JG2 thematic www.chessworld.net 2008)10...Bxf3 11.gxf3 Nd4 12.Kg2 c6 13.Nxf6+ gxf6 14.Bh6 Rf7 15.c3 Nxf3 16.Kxf3 f5 17.d4 fxe4+ 18.Kxe4 d5+ 19.Kd3 Qh4 20.Kc2 exd4 21.Qg5+ Qxg5 22.Bxg5 dxc3 23.Rg1 Rxf2+ 24.Kxc3 Kf7 25.Raf1 Ke6 26.Rxf2 Bxf2 27.Rf1 Bc5 28.h4 b5 29.Rf6+ Ke5 30.Rxc6 d4+ 31.Kd3 Kd5 32.Rc7 a5 33.Rxh7 Rf8 34.b4 Bxb4 35.Rd7+ Ke5 36.Rb7 Rf3+ 37.Ke2 Ra3 38.Rxb5+ Ke4 39.h5 d3+ 40.Kd1 Rxa2 41.Bf6 Rh2 42.Kc1 d2+ 43.Kd1 Rh1+ 0-1 hogmaster - Sir Osis of the Liver, JG3 thematic www.chessworld.net 2008

9.Bh4 d6 10.h3 Be6 11.Nd5 Bxd5 12.exd5 Nd4 13.Nxd4 Bxd4 14.c3 Bb6


Careful play and the exchange of pieces brings me step-by-step closer to a won endgame.

15.Kh1 Qd7 16.Qc2 Nxd5 17.c4 Nf4 18.Bg3 Nxh3


Offering a piece for a few pawns and open lines against the White King. Hogmaster declines.

19.Rae1 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Rxf4 21.Re4 Raf8



22.Qe2 Rxf2 23.Rxf2 Rxf2 24.Qg4 Qxg4 25.Rxg4 Rxb2 0-1

Les Femmes des Echecs...& the Jerome Gambit

I was emailing Chessville neighbor JanXena ("Les Femmes des Echecs" – news, games, and witty & urbane commentary) the other day when I got to wondering: did I know how many women were creative enough, courageous enough, carefree enough – or downright foolish, reckless, and bored enough – to play the Jerome Gambit?

That turns out to be a difficult question, in no small part due to to the fact that a large percentage of the Jerome Gambit games in my database (about 80%) are internet games, played pseudonymously.

We've already seen ("My Jerome Gambit Database") this brevity:

Brescak - Hefti
EU-ch U10 Girls, 1998

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

A few years ago Pete Banks ("blackburne") sent me a half dozen games from ChessWorld played by a creative and adventurous woman who explained her chess philosophy

Hello! Oh, I know that I make often the opening with these moves as you mentioned...but unfortunately I NEVER have read a book or any theoretic things about it or even about chess. That's because I'm just learning by doing, I play most of moves very fast and as you can see, I play very often. So with the time I have my favourite openings, but am always open to try new ones or "unconventional" moves.... For me the game is interesting just by doing and I realized that I will get better with many many losses... that takes probably more time than studying the theory, but if I should study it, it wouldn't be fun any more for me.

Here's a game example. White overcomes the disadvantage inherent in the opening, gains the distinctly better game after Black's King wanders too far afield, and had some fascinating checkmates available – before things unravelled.

Plejade - The Cunning Sly
www.ChessWorld.net, 2003

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 Ke8 6.Bg5 Nge7 7.Qd2 h6 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 d6 11.Nc3 a6 12.0-0-0 Bb6 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 c5 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Ke7 17.Rhe1 Bc7 18.f4 Re8 19.f5 Kf6 20.Rf1 Qe7 21.Qf4 d5 22.Qh4+ g5 23.Qxh6+ Ke5 24.Qh3 Rh8 25.Rfe1+ Kd6 26.Qd3 d4 27.g4 Rxh2 28.c3 Rah8 29.cxd4 Ba5 30.dxc5+ Kxc5 31.Re5+ Kb6 32.Qb3+ Ka7 33.Rxa5 Qc7+ 34.Kb1 Qxa5 35.e7 Re2 36.Rd5 Qxd5 37.Qxd5 Rxe7 38.f6 Rc7 39.f7 Rf8 40.Qf5 Rfxf7 41.Qxg5 Rf1+ 42.Qc1 Rcxc1 checkmate

In another game sent to me I will refer to the players as they were presented.

Yesterday and the day before, I tried to orchestrate some J. Gambits at gameknot's blitz program... I played 15-20 games and was only able to get in one Jerome Gambit, which I won, although I missed a quicker, and nicer, mate which I saw while reviewing the game just now before sending it.

My opponent may have been a stronger player than he appears in this game. His play seemed a little contemptuous at first and it's more likely he underestimated the power of the open lines against his exposed king. Protecting his knight rather than moving it, only to lose it, cost him the game.

Sarah - not Sarah
10 min.blitz http://www.gameknot.com/ 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.f4 c5 9.Qc3 Qh4+ 10.g3 Qh6 11.Nd2 b5 12.fxe5 b4 13.0–0+ Ke6 14.Qc4+ Ke7 15.Qf7+ Kd8 16.Qf8+ Kc7 17.Nc4 Qe6 18.Rf7+ Bd7 19.Rxd7+ Qxd7 20.Qxa8 Qb5 21.exd6+ Kd7 22.Qxa7+ Kc6 23.d7 Nf6 24.Ne5+ Kd6 25.Nf7+ Ke7 26.Nxh8 (I missed 26. d8=Q+ Ke6 27. Qde7#) 26...Nxd7 27.Bg5+ Ke6 28.Qa8 Qc4 29.Qe8+ Kd6 30.Rd1+ Kc6 31.Qxd7+ Kb6 32.Bd8+ Ka6 33.Rd6 checkmate

Finally, a game of my own -- my first loss with the Gambit. ("The excuses are all there, waiting to be made" Tartakower could have said.)

perrypawnpusher - MsD
FICS rated blitz game 3 0 2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Qe7 10.d3 Be6 11.0–0 b6 12.Nc3 Rae8 13.f4 Ng4 14.Qf3 h5 15.f5 gxf5 16.exf5 Bd7 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Rae1 Qf8 19.Rxe8 Qxe8 20.Re1 Qd8 21.Bg5 Rg8 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Qd5+ Kg7 24.Qf3 Rf8 25.Qg3+ Kh8 26.Qe3 Qxf5 27.Qd4+ Rf6 White forfeits on time 0–1

Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter X

Time to unleash another unpleasant surprise for White...



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

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4


At one point Alonzo Wheeler Jerome preferred 6.d4 over 6.Qh5+. It is not clear why he gave the move up and moved on to the Queen check. Perhaps he ran into the text (and forgot to mention it).

Black's sixth move was first seen (at least in my database) in Sorensen - Anonymous, Denmark 1888, and qualifies among the many refutations of the Jerome Gambit.

7.0-0 Ng4 8.h3 Bb6

Sorensen - Anonymous continued: 8...Bd6 9.e5 Bxe5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 12.f4 Ng6 13.Nc3 d6 14.Be3 Ke7 15.Rae1 Kd8 16.Nb5 Nf6 17.Qc4 Ne8 18.Bf2 Qf6 19.Bd4 Qh4 20.Rxe8+ Kxe8 21.Nxc7+ Kf8 22.f5 Ne5 23.f6 gxf6 24.Qd5 Kg7 25.Qxd6 Rg8 26.Rxf6 Qxf6 27.Bxe5 and White won

9.Qf3+

Taking the Knight with 9.hxg4 was probably simpler.

9...N4f6 10.e5 Bxd4 11.exf6 Nxf6
My "attack" has been rebuffed, but by returning a piece for two pawns I've simply left Black with a piece advantage.

12.c3 Bb6 13.Nd2 Rf8 14.Ne4
An unfortunate oversight.

Now it is possible for Black to just grind things out by developing his pieces and exchanging them off. It is not spectacular chess, only winning chess.
14...Qxe4 15.Qd1 d5 16.Re1 Qf5 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 Bd7 19.Rf3 Qe5 20.Qd2 Rae8 21.Re3 Qd6 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.b3 Qe5 24.Rf1 Bc6 25.Kh1 Qe2 26.Qc1 d4 27.cxd4 Qe4 28.d5 Qxd5
Black has managed to scare up some threats on the King while he's at it.
29.f3 Kg8 30.Rd1 Qe6 31.Qf4 Nd5 32.Qd4 Ne3 33.Rc1 Bxf3 34.Kg1 Nxg2 35.Rxc7 Qe3+
According to plan, although 35...Qg6 was probably sharper.
36.Qxe3 Nxe3 37.Kf2 Bc6 38.b4 Nd5 0-1

Overrated!

Well, it's offical: all the games of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Tournament that I was participating in at ChessWorld.net have been completed.

While I will continue to bring you my struggles, one-by-one, in more of the "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter Whatever" posts I thought I would tip my hand by sharing the fact that I scored 16-2-0, meeting my goal of going 9-0-0 against the Jerome Gambit, while racking up a defensible 7-2-0 record with the Gambit.

That result was good enough for first place, although because of my ridiculously over-inflated rating, I lost over 100 rating points with it.

Still, I finished three points ahead of Temmo, at 13-5-0.

Following quickly were Kevin the fruitbat with 12-6-0, Sir Osis of the Liver with 11-6-1, Hogmaster with 10-6-2 and Blackburne with 10-7-1.

Hogmaster had the second-best score with White with the Jerome Gambit: 6-3-0.

Temmo and Sir Osis of the Liver were equally cruel with Black to the Jerome Gambit, scoring 8-1-0 against it.

The field finished with drewbear at 8-10-0, Gary_Seven at 5-13-0, brain50 at 3-15-0 and Capt.Mandrake at 0-18-0.

London Calling... Two Months of Blog

This Jerome Gambit blog has been up a couple of months, with daily posts.

Visitors have stopped by from the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States (37 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia).



Readers' comments are always welcome, as are any history, games or analysis you would care to share.