Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up

It's time to do a bit more tidying up (see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up") on the blog – looking back on older posts and updating things since the last effort...

Relationships with the ChessPub.com forum remain cordial, if distant (see "Jerome Gambit: Duck-Billed Platypus of Openings"). I posted a short message there with a link to this blog, and some people have followed it over, placing the site 13th in referrals to jeromegambit.blogspot.com, according to Google Analytics. Of course the actual number is 1/16 th of those who came over from the Something Awful website (see "Something Awful", "Something Awful Again" and "Return to Awful"), just to keep things in perspective.

"Is it September already?" requires a number of updates. To date there has been no Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona, as far as I know. I still have an observer near the scene, though (see "Driving Distance"). Bill Vallicella's very interesting and ever-challenging Maverick Philosopher website has a new location. A review copy of Benjamin Hale's book Philosophy Looks at Chess has arrived, and when I get past my current writer's block (i.e. spending all of my writing time on this blog, instead of writing reviews for Chessville) I'll have my say about it.

An update to "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)" would have to include chessfriend and game-contributor Martin Moller, of Denmark (see "Jerome meets the Elephant", "Jerome Gambit Strikes in Denmark!" and "Deadly Duel in Denmark" ) Unfortunately, the tournament mentioned in "A Jerome Gambit Gemeinde Adventure in Denmark" did not proceed as expected, and it is not likely that we will see further Jerome Gambit games from it.

The possible connection betwen Winston Churchill and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (see "From the Email Bag...") has been traced a bit. Churchill's mother was the American, Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill; 1854-1921). Jennie's father was Leonard Jerome (1818-1891) of New York City fame and fortune. Leonard's father was Isaac Jerome; his grandfather was Aaron Jerome; his great-grandfather was Samuel Jerome. Samuel's father, Timothy Jerome, according to thePeerage, in 1710 "fled from France to England. In 1717 he sailed from the Isle of Wight to settle in Connecticut." Papers from the military records of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (born in Four Mile Point, New York, see "The Man, The Myth, The Legend...") show that upon his death in 1902, his widow, Jennie Jerome (the name is an interesting coincidence) filed for a survivor pension. One affadavit was signed by Edgar Jerome and Martha Millis, listed as brother and sister of Alonzo, living in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Further research, of course, is needed to make any link, such as an Alonzo Wheeler Jerome-linked homestead in Connecticut.

In a comment to "Why not join in the discussion?" Pete Banks wrote the following:

Hi Rick,

I sent my latest escapade to Gary Lane after I sent it to you, as he'd asked for Jerome examples. Here is the relevant part of his reply: 'Did Rick Kennedy ever have his article published in the Germanmagazine he mentioned called Kaissiber? Anyway, you won't be able to use the opening as a surprise weapon for much longer because in November a winning game of yours is mentioned in my book "The Greatest Ever Tricks and Traps in the Opening" published by Everyman. Cheers Gary'

So a Jerome Gambit is to appear in print! Perhaps we'll get a revival going!

A check of the Everyman Chess website shows that Gary Lane's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps is available now. Perhaps it should be included as the next entry in the "Jerome Gambit Scrapbook".

By the way, as for the Kaissiber saga, see "To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)", "Breaking News..." and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up". I'm still hopeful.

Regarding the "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser series" Part I, Part II, Part III and PartIV, I have another instructive, exploratory "human vs computers" match coming up, where the protagonist, "RevvedUp" (a pseudonym of my invention), alternates between playing Black and playing White, using the line played by the computer in the previous game as his choice in the current one – thus extending his Jerome Gambit "book" through the use of the computers' praxis...

Familiar

Here's a familiar "guest" (Louis Morin) playing a line we are familiar with (see "A Real Game") – suddenly wandering off into unfamiliar territory. Happily, he escapes – a theme not unfamiliar to Jerome Gambit devotés...

guest653 - guest643
ICC blitz game 2 12, 2001

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qxc7


A very dangerous time to be grabbing material, as Black now has counter-play similar to that of Whistler's Defense (see "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter VIII"). Safer was the routine 9.Qe3.

9...Qxe4+ 10.Kd1 Qg4+ 11.f3 Qxg2


12.Re1+ N8e7 13.Qc3 Nf4


Black's Knight moves in for the kill, but he probably would have done better with 13...Rf8 with play against the f3-pawn. The text move actually "protects" that target.

14.d4 Nfd5 15.Qb3 Rf8


The same idea, in a different situation, is not the same thing...

In blitz games things can get overlooked, and Black's move has a major problem, even if it is understandable: he is hammering away at the White King and forgets that what he should do now is move his own King with 15...Kd8.

16.Qxd5 Qxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Rxf3

The heat is off of White, and he can now begin to take the initiative himself.

18.Bg5 Rf7 19.Nc3 h6 20.Bxe7 Rxe7 21.Kd2 d6 22.Nd5 Rxe1 23.Rxe1+ Kd7


White has both a "good" Knight against a "bad" Bishop and a "good" Rook against a "bad" one.

24.Re7+ Kc6 25.c4 g6

Not well thought out. Of course 25...Bd7 was necessary, but Black's Kingside pawns will fall quickly and White's passer will then be the advantage he needs to win.

26.Rc7 checkmate

Lame, Lamer, Lamest

I just took a look at PC World magazine's list of the Top 11 Lamest Blogs ("After an Internet-wide search, here are the 11 blogs that depressed -- er, uh -- impressed us the most with their lameness.") and noticed that this blog is not listed.

I don't know to feel relieved or disappointed...

Actually, the Jerome Gambit is so far "below the radar" that it would probably take sonar to pick it up.

Still, a Gemeinde can hope, can't it??

"This site may harm your computer"

I love to use Google and other search engines to find Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) references.

I just ran across the following, though, and I have no interest at all in discovering what it says!

Beware: don't try it yourself, either!

Mfkiqpl旅行社旅游线路预订程序-留言板 - [ Translate this page ]
This site may harm your computer.... %PPP, http://q92bp.cn/jerome/jerome-gambit.html jerome gambit, 358, http:// 84ygp.cn/freemason/freemason-facts.html freemason facts, kfyis, ...www.xyzq.gov.cn/lvyou/guestbook.asp?page=4010 - Similar pages

Pulling A Rabbit Out of A Hat

My latest Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) – by transposition the game became one of the "modern" variations (see "Jerome Gambit: Chapter IV" and "Jerome Gambit: A Closer Look (Part III)") – was pretty routine, although I was pleased to have missed an "opportunity" to lose dramatically. It's better to learn the wrinkles after the game.


perrypawnpusher - islanderchess
FICS blitz game, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

That's okay. I can wait a move or two. See "Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit"

4.0-0 Bc5

That's better.

5.Bxf7+ Kxf7

It's like we started out 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 h6.

6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6

A novelty – and a good one.

8.Qxe5 Nf6

The right move was the retrograde 8...Bf8, since then 9.Qxh8 Bg7 would lead to the win of the White Queen. Moving quickly, I might have fallen for that. Ouch!

Now we have a typical Jerome-Gambit-gone-right, where White is up a couple of pawns.

9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 11.Qf4+ Kg7 12.d4 Rf8 13.Qg3 g5

14.Nc3 c5 15.f4 cxd4 16.Ne2 Ne3 17.Bxe3 dxe3 18.Qxe3 gxf4 19.Nxf4 Qg5

Not much has changed. White is still ahead by 2 pawns.

My opponent does not heed the advice: when you are ahead, exchange pieces; when you are behind, exchange pawns.

20.Nd5 Qxe3+ 21.Nxe3 Be6 22.Nf5+ Bxf5 23.exf5 Rae8 24.Rae1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Rxf5 26.Re7+ Kf6 27.Rxb7 Rc5

My endgame technique is rusty, but not enough to change the outcome of the game.

28.Rxa7 Rxc2 29.Rb7 Rc1+ 30.Kf2 Ke5 31.Rb3 Rc2+ 32.Kf3 d5 33.Re3+ Kf5 34.Re2 Rc4 35.g3 h5 36.b3 Rc5 37.Ke3 Rc3+


This loses another pawn.

38.Kd4 Rf3 39.Kxd5 Kg4 40.b4 h4 41.gxh4 Kxh4 42.b5 Rd3+ 43.Kc4 Rd7 44.b6 Rb7 45.Kc5 Rxb6 46.Kxb6 Black resigns

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

How Many...?

Here's a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ) game that has puzzled me mightily. It is, among other things, an exploration into the question "How many pawns provide White compensation for his sacrificed piece?"

guest585 - guest983

ICC 2 12, 2001

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 Qe7

Counter-attacking the center – and White would prefer not to exchange Queens.

8.Qc4+ d5

What's a pawn between friends? White will now have three for his Knight, but Black is planning to develop his pieces quickly and then squash his opponent like a bug!

Calmer was 8...Qe6 9.Qc3 (9.Qxe6 Kxe6 10.0-0 Nf6 11.f4 Ne7 12.f5+ Ke5 13.d3 d5 14.Bf4+ Kd4 15.c3+ Kc5 16.e5 Bxf5 17.exf6 gxf6 18.Bxc7 Rac8 19.Ba5 Bxd3 20.Rxf6 Nc6 21.Na3 d4 22.cxd4+ Nxd4 23.Rd1 Be4 24.Bb4+ Kd5 25.Rd6+ Black resigned, obviously - levigun, www.GameKnot.com, 2004) Qxe4+ 10.Qe3 Qxg2 11.Rf1 Qxh2 12.d3 Nf6 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Ne4 d5 15.Ng5+ Kf8 0-1 Nestor250168 - drewbear, www.chessworld.net, 2007

9.Qxd5+ Be6 10.Qxb7 Re8

Materialists are probably getting nervous here, and the computer – a classic material-grabber – agrees, suggesting instead 10...Nf6 11.d3 Rhb8 with superior development and approximate equality.

11.d3 h6 12.Nc3 Nf6 13.Be3

I don't care how many pawns White has for his piece, he looks like he is in terrible danger. Yet, Rybka 3 insists that White can have another serving with 13.Qxa7 and get away with it.

13...Rhf8

Consistent; but sliding the other Rook over to confront the Queen was better.

14.0-0

Rybka still prefers the pawn-grab at a7.

14...c5 15.Qxe7+ Nxe7 16.Bxc5 Kg8 17.Bxa7 Ng6 18.f4 Black resigns

Amazing.

A Real Game

Here is Louis Morin again, showing that when it comes to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), if Black doesn't quickly hammer out one of the available refutations then White has the opportunity to make a real game out of it – and maybe a real win, too.

guest1730 - guest1656
ICC 2 12, 2001

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7



Part of the interest of the Jerome Gambit is how many different ways Black solves his situation. In this case, he chooses a slow method that allows White to equalize. The alternative, 8...Qe7, maintains Black's advantage.

9.0-0 b6 10.Qe3 Bb7 11.f4 Rf8 12.d4 d6 13.f5 Nh8 14.g4 Qd7 15.c4


White has been playing out his trumps – his pawns – and is looking to attack. Black would do best now to get his King out of the center by castling-by-hand, to the Kingside or the Queenside.

15...Nf7 16.Nc3 Kd8 17.b3 h6 18.h4 g5 19.h5



Prudently avoiding opening the Kingside – otherwise Black might have a avenue of counter-attack. White must also be aware of possible dangers along the a8-h1 diagonal.

19...Nc6 20.Ba3 Qe8 21.Rad1 Kd7



Making room for his Rook to get to d8, but this is risky and encourages White to break in the center.

22.e5 Nfxe5 23.dxe5 Qxe5

Black has returned his extra piece for two pawns (often a good strategy in the Jerome Gambit), and now offers to exchange Queens. White's protected passed pawn at f5 could prove a nuisance in the endgame, but perhaps the second player judged the position to be defensible.

24.Qd3 Rae8 25.Rde1


Despite White's determined play, Black is still doing fine.

25...Qd4+ 26.Qxd4 Nxd4 27.Rxe8 Rxe8 28.Bb2 Nf3+ 29.Kf2 Nh2


Black needs to be careful that his minor piece gymnastics do not get him into trouble.

30.Rg1 Bf3 31.Rg3

Better: 31.Kg3

31...Bxg4 32.Rg2 Bxf5 33.Rxh2


Oddly, the players' roles have been reversed: White now has the extra piece, while Black has the extra two pawns. The second player continues in a way suggesting that he was either short on time, or disspirited at the turn of events.

33...c6 34.Kf3 Rf8 35.Kg3 Be6 36.Ne2 c5 37.Bg7 Rf1 38.Bxh6 Ra1 39.Nc3 Rg1+ 40.Kf2 g4

Hastening the end.

41.Kxg1 g3 42.Rg2 Bg4 43.Rxg3 Bxh5 44.Ne4 Kc6 45.Rg5 b5 46.Rxh5 bxc4 47.bxc4 a5 48.Bf4 a4 49.Rh6 Kb6 50.Rxd6+ Ka5 51.Bd2 checkmate