As a therapist in my "day job" I often have the opportunity to help my clients expand their understanding of consequences of behaviors by asking them to look further: "And then what...?"
In the following game Black does a good job of defusing the primar threat behind White's 6th move, but he then becomes lax at just about the time he should have asked himself "And then what...?"
Wall,B - Guest1459913
Playchess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Qe2
A quiet move that you can find in a number of Bill's Jerome Gambit games.
6...d6
Dodging the misfortunes of 6...h6 7.Qc4+ in Wall,B - DarkKnight, Cocoa Beach, FL 2012 (1-0, 23); 6...Rf8 7.Qc4+ in Wall,B - Roberts,C, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 17), Wall,B - Hamilton,E, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22) and Wall,B - NFNZ, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15).
An alternate was 6...d5 as in the rare Wall,B - Samvazpr, Chess.com, 2010 (0-1, 25)
7.Qc4+ Be6?
You can almost read Black's mind: I took care of that move with 6...d6. Now I strike back by attacking the Queen with my Bishop!
8.Ng5+
Oh, well, yes, there is that...
8...Kg6 9.Nxe6 Qd7
10.f4
Threatening 11.f5+ Kf7 12.Nxc5+, winning the Queen.
10...h6 11.fxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxc5 Nxc4 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.d3 Nce5 15.0-0 c6
Players like myself (and perhaps Guest1459913) are often relieved, if not downright hopeful, when we find ourselves facing a strong player like Bill, being "only" a pawn down - with Queens off of the board, to boot.
This is usually an error in thinking: strong players can wield that extra pawn the way ordinary players wield an extra piece.
16.h4 Rhf8 17.Bd2 Kh5 18.Ne2 Kxh4 19.Nd4 g5 20.Nf5+ Kh5 21.Nxd6 b6
In case anyone is paying attention, White now has a protected passed pawn.
22.d4 Ng4 23.Nf5 Kg6? 24.Ne7+ Kh5
25.Nxc6
This wins another pawn, although Bill points out that 25.Rf3! was stronger.
25...Ndf6 26.Bb4 Rfc8 27.Ne7 Rxc2? 28.Rf3
Threatening 29.Rh3 mate
28...Ne3 29.Rxe3 Rxb2 30.Rh3+ Kg4 31.Rf1 Nxe4 32.Nd5 Re2 33.Ne3+ Rxe3 34.Rxe3 Ng3 35.Rff3 Nh5 36.Bd6 Rd8 37.Re4+ Nf4 38.Bxf4 Black resigned
I just played my first blitz Jerome Gambit in a few months, and am again amazed that it seems the more I study the opening (to prepare these posts) the worse my chess play seems to get. (Detractors can laugh here.) Having staggered through a blunder-fest to reach a R+P vs R+2Ps endgame which I drew as time was running out on both myself and my opponent (the game has been discretely inserted into The Database), I again wondered if I finally needed to take up playing the Catalan...
Nah. Where's the fun in that?
If a defender decided not to take on Philidor1792 in his favorite Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit variation, that would make a lot of sense - but it would not be a guarantee of success. Sometimes, there is no escape.
Philidor1792 - guest2723
Internet online game, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4
Passing on the 7...Bd6 variation which he played earlier.
8.Qxd4 Qe7 9.Bg5 Nc6 10.Qd3 d6 11.0-0-0 Be6
White has a pawn for his sacrificed piece, but his Queenside castling adds a dynamism to the game.
12.f4 h6 13.Bh4 Bg4 14.Rde1 Rad8
Black plans to forestall e4-e5, but trouble arrives from another direction.
15.Nd5 Qe6 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.h3 Bh5 18.g4 Bxg4 19.hxg4 Qxg4
Under pressure, Black returns a piece for a couple of pawns, but his position contains danger for his King.
20.Rhg1 Qe6 21.e5 dxe5 22.Qg6+ Kf8 23.Qg7+ Black resigned
Today, Philidor1792, two pieces down, could have pushed for a tiny but more, but settles for a draw in "his" variation.
Philidor1792 - NN
2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
Again, the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4
And, again, the pawns vs pieces variation.
8...Nc4 9.Qd3
This is a TN and an improvement upon 9.e5 of Philidor1792 - Guest1895, internet online game, 2013 (1-0, 28).
9...Nb6 10.e5 Bb4 11.0-0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Nfd5
13.c4 Ne7 14.f5 d5 15.e6+ Kg8 16.f6 Bxe6 17.fxg7 Kxg7 18.Bg5 Qd6
The "Jerome pawns" have advanced and torn a hole in Black's Kingside position. Despite the fact that Black is two pieces up, he should have looked at 18...Qe8, when White can force a draw as in today's game.
19.Bxe7
White is willing to split the point today. If he wanted to continue with complications, he could try Rybka 3's recommendation : 19.Bf6+ Kg8 20.c5 Qd7 21.cxb6 Ng6 22.bxc7 Qxc7 23.Rae1 (White's Bishop is, for the moment, more useful living at f6 then being exhanged at h8) Bf7 24.Qd2 Qd6 25.Qh6 Qf8 26.Qh3 Re8 27.Qd7 Rxe1 28.Rxe1 h6 29.Bxh8 Kxh8 30.Qxb7 when White has an edge.
19...Qxe7 20.Qg3+ Kh6 21.Qe3+ Kg7 22.Qg3+ Kh6 23.Qe3+ Drawn
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, The King of Draws
Here we have Philidor1792 demonstrating another example of the opening presented in the previous post. How can White possibly win?
It has been said before: the Jerome Gambit may not be anything to try against a computer, but it continues to provide interesting play against people.
Philidor1792 - guest2723
Internet online game, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4 Neg4
Rare, but recently seen in Skirving - PAMpamPAM, standard, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 32)
9.e5 Bb4 10.O-O Bxc3 11.bxc3 d5
Deviating from Philidor1792 - Computer, 2011 (0-1, 43)
12.f5 Nxe5
Black logically returns a piece, missing the fact that his Knight on f6 cannot move away, so it will actually cost him two. He would do better with 12...Re8 13.exf6 Nxf6
13.dxe5 Ne4 14.Qh5+ Kf8 15.f6 g6 16.Qh6+ Ke8
Black's lack of development proves his undoing. Of course, the "Jerome pawns" contribute.
17.Qg7 Rf8 18.Bh6 Rf7 19.Qg8+ Kd7 20.e6+ Kxe6 21.Qxd8 Black resigned
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, The Wizard of Draws
Sometimes it seems that if the Jerome Gambit didn't look so bad, it wouldn't turn out so good...
Philidor1792 - guest1895
Internet online game, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4
This is a line that Philidor1792 has explored a number of times (see the series started with "Where Do Ideas Come From? Part 1").
The central conflict between three White pawns and three Black pieces seems overwhelmingly in the defender's favor, especially since he has two extra pieces. However, veteran Jerome Gambit players know that appearances are often deceiving, and against human players (especially those who become overconfident, and, thus, inattentive) the play can often become favorable for the attacker.
8...Nc4
This move seems to have first been played in a couple of games against Rijndael/Ryndael at FICS (see "New Player, Old Line" and "Updated").
9.e5 Bb4 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Ne4
Now we have another curious pieces vs pawns matchup.
12.d5 Nxc3 13.Qd3 Nb6 14.Qxc3 Nxd5 15.Qb3
Black's advantage seems to have shrunk (15.Qe4 and 15.Qf5+ were interesting alternatives) and his King looks vulnerable. Can White scare up threats quickly enough?
15...c6 16.Qh3 d6 17.Qh5+ g6 18.Qh6 Qf8 19.Qh4 Bf5 20.Bb2 Rg8
21.Qxh7+
It was a bit more accurate to precede this with 21.c4 Nc7 22.exd6 Qxd6, but Black's game falls apart any way.
21...Ke8 22.exd6 Kd8 23.c4 Bd3 24.cxd5 Bxf1 25.Qc7+ Ke8 26.Re1+ Be2 27.Rxe2+ Qe7 28.Qxe7 checkmate
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, The Wizard of Draws
So far, the recent Opening Report on the Jerome Gambit (see 1, 2 and 3), based on the 27,000+ games contained in TheDatabase, has had few surprises. I'd like to point out a couple of interesting findings, however, before pursuing a deeper look.
The Opening Report highlights a number of games from an interesting 2008 30-game human vs computers match (starting with "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)"
This post starts an extended series (which may be interrupted from time-to-time for news, games or analysis) wherein the intrepid "RevvedUp" (a good chess player) and his trusted companions Hiarcs 8, Shredder 8, Yace Paderborn, Crafty 19.19 and Fritz 8 explore the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) by taking turns playing the White and Black pieces.
The human moves first, and takes notice of the defense the computer plays. In the next game, where he moves second, the human plays that defense against a new computer – and sees how it attacks. In the third game, the human plays the recent attack against his new computer foe. Collectively, the players drill deeper and deeper into the Jerome Gambit.
It also shows that Jerome Gambit players sometimes prefer chaos to clarity, as recommended responses to the Jerome Gambit Declined (again, based on the examples in TheDatabase) - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 or 4...Ke7 - are given as 5.Nc3 and 5.Nxe5, respectively.
The straight-forward Bishop retreat 5.Bb3 (as well as its cousin, 5.Bd5) is stronger.
We will use the ChessBase Opening Report to dig deeper into the Jerome Gambit (through the eyes of TheDatabase), but first there are a few new interesting games from Philidor1792 to look at.
