Looking for more information about an old post by fat lady: 08 May '06 16:54I think the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5) is quite playable way beyond 1600. An opening which is much worse, but still better than the one which started this thread, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7 Kxf7 5.Nxe5. I played through a game of Alekhine's once where an amateur tried this against him. Alekhine tried sucessfully to hang onto both the pieces. WHO can tell me ANYTHING about the game???? Thanks. Perrypawnpusher
First response:
I suspect that Fat Lady, who was one of the finest posters ever to grace this forum, might have been misremembering this game of Blackburne's: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3 14.gxh3 Be4# Data Fly
Second response:
Mr. Fine-poster also seems to have mis-remembered black trying to hold on to any pieces, let alone both of them
BigDoggProblem
But I was most impressed by a return message from Fat Lady,
Hi Perry, I will have a think and get back to you. My memory of it is that Alekhine played Ke6 and then held onto both pieces, rather than saccing his rooks as per the Blackburne game from 1880. I've got quite a lot of old chess books and magazines and maybe the Alekhine game came from one of them (I certainly can't find it online anywhere). I feel sure it was Alekhine because he is, and always has been, my favourite player. Best wishes,
Oh, no, my expectations are soaring again! Is this going to be "the real thing", or another disappointment?? Stay tuned.
Occasionally, I like to turn to the internet to search for "Jerome Gambit" or "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+", just to see if something new or old turns up. Mostly, I find links to this blog (of course) but occasionally I find games or analysis or comments that are worth sharing. For a recent example, see "Evergreen?" Sometimes, however, I find references that drive me to distraction. For example, there was the poster, years ago, who referred to the above series of moves as the "Salvio Gambit"... And I don't know how many times I have been excited to see someone post that the Jerome Gambit is their "favorite" opening - only to contact that person and learn that he or she has not saved any of their games...
08 May '06An opening which is much worse [than the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5) ], but still better than the one which started this thread, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7 Kxf7 5.Nxe5. I played through a game of Alekhine's once where an amateur tried this against him. Alekhine tried sucessfully to hang onto both the pieces.
Really? Alekhine playing 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 - my guess as to what was referred to in the "hang[ing] onto both the pieces" line.
Show me the game!
Give me a reference!
An opponent!
A date!
A location!
Anything...
That would be awesome! I'm afraid that it's not going to happen, though... Alekhine?? Anyhow, I've posted on the site's forum, and have emailed fat lady. I'm not holding my breath, though waiting for a response. I don't expect to learn anything more. Still... I looked in Alekhine's My Best Games of Chess;The Games of Alekhine by Caparrós and Lahde' and Alexander Alekhine's Chess Games, 1902-1946, by Skinner, Alekhine and Verhoeven - just in case. Sometimes my devotion to the Jerome Gambit truly drives me to distraction.
While it has been suggested that "the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it", there are those who prefer to go one step further, and offer their own aggressive gambit in turn. Philidor1792 - Stranger Casual Game, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 About 4 years ago this blog discussed ways to approach this move (instead of 4...Bc5) in "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense" Parts 1, 2, 3, 4. 4.Bxf7+
As we have seen earlier in Philidor1792's play, after the alternative 4.Bb3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ we would have a Delayed Jerome Gambit (see "Jerome Gambit-Inspired Play (Part 4)") An early peek at this 4.Bxf7+ line occurred in "What's Going On Here?", and an early game was presented in "Opening Tale"; but much of what is in The Database on this line is from Philidor1792's games. (In some, below, he appears as "You".) By the way, all of the referenced games can now be found in The Database. 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Some alternatives: 5.c3 Bc5 6.d4 in sTpny - yimansmellsbad, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 28); 5.Ng5+ in caovas - tomi36, 1 1 blitz, lichess.org, 2013 (1-0, 27) and KillerBishop - TheMentalist, 40 5, lichess.org, 2013 (0-1, 17); 5.d4 d5 (5...exd4 6.e5, yorgos - perrypawnpusher, blitz, FICS 2009, [1-0, 48]) intomas2013 - tomi36, 1 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2013 (1-0, 22); 5.d3 d5 (5... d6 in viejoasquerosos - Killyourking, Redhotpawn.com, 2004 [0-1, 27]) cnselway - boycey, net-chess.com, 2001(0-1, 11); and, finally 5.0-0 Bc5 6.Nc3, leobrazer - perrypawnpusher, blitz, FICS, 2009(0-1, 48), transposes into a variation of the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. 5...Nxe5 6.d4 Neg4
I hope Readers have stayed through all of the history and games above, as this game is about to get very violent. After all, Black has two extra pieces, and he can use them as he wishes. 8.Kxf2 Ne4+ 9.Ke1 Qh4+ 10.g3 Nxg3 11.Qf3+
Black's counter-attack has slowed, but he still has the advantage - starting with a safer King. 16.Ne4 Ne3+ 17.Ke2 Rf8 At this point, Black's plans begin to go haywire - shortness of time? 18.Qxe3 Qxe3+ 19.Kxe3
The game is even - but not for long. 19...d5 20.Nf6 Bf5 21.Nxd5 Be4 22.Kxe4 c6
From the latest collection of Jerome Gambit and Jerome-inspired games by Philidor1792... Philidor1792 - Stranger Casual Game, Chess-Samara.ru, 2014 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
The Evans Gambit. 4...Bb6 5.b5 Na5 6.Bxf7+
With a Jerome Gambit twist. 6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf8 8.Bb2
Black has three pieces for the Queen - but White has three extra pawns. 11.d3 Bxb5 12.0-0 Re8 13.Nc3 Bc6 14.Ne2 Ke7 15.Ng3 Kd8 16.Kh1 h6 17.f4 Kc8
Black has castled-by-hand - to the Queenside. An interesting battle lies ahead. 18.Nh5 Nxh5 19.Qxh5 Bd7 20.c4 Bd4 Possibly not well thought out, as it surrenders two pieces for a Rook. 21.Qxa5 Bxa1 22.Rxa1 a6
It is time for the "Jerome pawns" to assert themselves. 23.e5 Bc6 24.d4 g5 25.d5 Bd7 26.g3 Bf5 27.Kg1 gxf4 28.gxf4 Rhg8+ 29.Kf2 Bh3 30.Rg1 Rxg1 31.Kxg1 Rg8+ 32.Kf2 Rg2+ 33.Kf3 Rg8
Not 33...Rxh2, because of 34.Kg3, winning a piece. Now Black's game collapses. 34.d6 cxd6 35.exd6 Bg4+ 36.Ke4 Re8+ 37.Kd5 Bf3+ 38.Kc5 Bc6 39.Qc7 checkmate
Philidor1792 would be having a lucky day, indeed, if he were now able to pull off the "scholar's mate" - 3...Nf6? 4.Qxf7#. 3...Qf6 4.Bxf7+ Qxf7 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxe7+ Nxe7
The game has experienced an interesting transformation, almost transposing into an Abrahams Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Ke8* 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxe7+ Nxe7, like the game in the previous post. (See "A New Abrahams Jerome Gambit", as well as "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" Part I and Part II).
Of course, Black's 4th move, above, is illegal, but if he were to play, instead, 4...Kf8, and the game proceeded similarly otherwise with 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.Qxe7 Nxe7, that would be a legitimate Abrahams Jerome Gambit; and if Black were later to play ...Kf7 to allow castling-by-hand, as inPhilidor1792 - guest543, www.bereg.ru, 2014, the transformation would be complete. By the way, I have not been able to find many games starting 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5 Qf6 (or 3...Qe7) 4.Bxf7+ (although I did speculate about the line and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in "Proto-Jerome Gambits? (Part 2)"), but all of them have been put into The Database. I plan on checking through my issues of Randspringer to see if there is any analysis there.
If all of this seems a bit egregious, I should remind Readers of Emmanuel Lasker's best, if not the last, words on the Jerome Gambit, responding to a letter to “Our Question Box” in the March 1906 issue ofLasker’s Chess Magazine
No; the Jerome gambit is not named afterSt. Jerome. His penances, if he did any, were in atonement of rather minor transgressions compared with the gambit.
The picture at the top of this post is of St. Jerome. 7.c3 d5 8.d4 Bb6 9.e5 c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.f4 Nbc6 12.Nf3 Be6
You have to have faith in the "Jerome pawns" to play on in this kind of position. 13.Na3 Bxa3 14.bxa3 0-0-0 15.Be3 Rhf8 16.Ng5 Bf5 17.Kf2 h6 18.Nf3 Be4
Although both sides have passed pawns, White's are better placed, and Black's defense is difficult - especially at the end of a 5-minute game. 38...Nd5 39.h6 Ra3+ 40.Bxa3 Black resigned
The following game is typical of Philidor1792: an interesting opening line, pawn play against the extra piece, some sharp tactics - all executed at blitz pace. Philidor1792 - guest543 3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
I have referred to this as the Abrahams Jerome Gambit (see Part I and Part II), after Gerald Abrahams, who, in his The Chess Mind (1951) and The Pan Book of Chess (1965) referred to the line as the Jerome Gambit or Jerome's Gambit. Other authors may have made this attribution, earlier - I would be glad to hear from Readers. To date, I have not been able to find a game or analysis by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome with the line. My guess is that Abrahams decided that the presence of Bxf7+ was enough to make it Jerome's. This kind of mis-attribution has occurred before. Joseph Henry Blackburne, in annotating his famous destruction of the Jerome Gambit (see "Nobody Expects the Jerome Gambit!"), referred to it as the "Kentucky Opening". After some investigation (see "The Kentucky Opening" Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as "The Kentucky/Danvers Opening"), I ran across analysis of 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 - "the Kentucky Opening" - published in the Dubuque Chess Journal at around the same time the magazine was introducing the world to the Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+. My conclusion [T]he Queen move in the Jerome Gambit, and the Queen move in the Kentucky Opening are an outstanding – but similar – feature in each opening, something which likely caught Blackburne's eye. 3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 d6 6.Qg3 Nf6
White is in trouble, and seeks counterplay against Black's King. 36.f5 gxf5 37.gxf5 Nxd2
Just the break White was looking for! Now he has a forced checkmate, featuring a Queen sacrifice. 38.fxe6+ Kg8 39.Qxg7+! Kxg7 40.Rhg1+
Alas! White is short of time, and goes for the repetition of position and the draw. With a few more seconds he would have found 40.Rfg1+ Kf8 41.Rxh8+ Ke7 42.Rg7+ Kxe6 43.Rh6 checkmate. 40...Kh7
Black, in turn, misses the saving 40...Kh6. 41.Rh1+ Kg8 42.Rhg1+
See the note to White's 40th move.
Drawn
I suspect that, given the choice of an extra piece or an extra couple of pawns, a chess master would usually prefer the piece - unless those were the only things left on the board besides the Kings, in which case the promotion power of the pawns would give them an edge.
As Philidor1792 shows in the following game, at the club level the pawns can be for choice in the tug-of-war with a piece. We have seen many times previously that Philidor1792 is not afraid to exchange Queens in the Jerome Gambit; and here he gives a good example of how to press ahead. Just follow along.
