Sometimes the recipient of a gambit is skeptical. Free material? Why not grab all I can get?? The gamiteer adds: It will cost you. In the following game Black happily receives a Bishop and then a pawn. When offered a Knight, he scarcely resists the temptation. White then shows that his "generosity" should have been taken seriously, as well. Philidor 1792 - NN 2015 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3
As I play through new (to me) Bill Wall games, I am surprised at how many people throw the Blackburne Shilling Gambit back at his Jerome Gambit. Maybe they really expect him to play 4.Nxe5?!. Maybe they don't know about the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The fact is, when it comes to the BSJG, Bill's been there - and has the points to prove it.
White has two choices here, and two pieces of advice. The Database has 98 games with 8.Qxg6, with White scoring 58%; and 369 games with 8.Qxh8, with White scoring 52%. On the other hand, Stockfish recommends 8.Qxh8 and after 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 gives Black the edge. As is often the case in club chess, the player who knows better what is going on in the game has the advantage - as the following moves show. 8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Qxh8
White gathers in the Rook, after all. He has a Rook and four pawns against Black's extra two pieces. Still, Black races to take advantage of White's "sidetracked" Queen and attack the enemy King, only to wind up dropping a piece in the process. 11...Qg5 12.O-O Nf4 13.g3 d6 Or 13...Ne2+ 14.Kg2 Nf4+ 15.Kh1 Qg4 16.f3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Creel,A, Chess.com, 2010. 14.Nc3 Nh6 15.d3 Ne2+ 16.Nxe2 Black resigned
Sometimes I play over the games of the top Jerome Gambit players and shake my head in wonder, admitting I don't know how he does it... So many times Black seems to be better - until he loses. Clearly, the Jerome is not only a study in the psychology of error, it is a school for learning about (successful) chess struggle. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
The Abrahams Jerome Gambit. 3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.d4
It is interesting to note a couple of FICS games with a player with a similar name to White's, which give alternative responses: 6.Qxe7+ Nxe7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 c6 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Re1 Be5 13.Bg5 Bxc3 14.b3 h6 15.Rad1 hxg5 16.Re2 d5 17.Re3 d4 18.e5 Nd7 19.Re4 Nd5 20.Rd3 Nf4 21.Rxf4+ gxf4 22.Kg2 Nxe5 23.h3 Nxd3 24.cxd3 g5 25.Kf1 Kf7 26.Kg1
Rhe8 27.a4 Re2 28.b4 Rd2 29.h4 Re8 30.Kh2 gxh4 31.b5 Rxf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rxd3 34.Kxf4 Rh8 35.Kg4 Re3 36.Kf5 cxb5 37.Kf4 bxa4 38.Kf5 a3 39.Kf4 Kg7 40.Kf5 Rf8+ 41.Kg4 Re4+ 42.Kh5 Rf5 checkmate, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006; and 6.d3 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Nd5 Na6 12.Nf4 Qe8 13.h3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 h6 White forfeited on time, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006. 6...Qxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3
Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit endgame, with the "Jerome pawns" vs Black's extra piece. "Objectively" the edge is to the second player, although it is his responsibility to show it.
17.Rd3 Ng5 18.f3 Rhd8 19.h4 Ne6 20.Rhd1 Ne8 21.Bg3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Rd8 23.Kd2 Nf6 24.b3 Nh5 25.Bh2 Ke7 26.Ke3 h6 27.Rxd8 Kxd8 28.Be5 Ke7 29.f4 b5
Black's King successfully blockades the central "Jerome pawns", his b-pawn restrains White's Queenside, and even though he has given up a pawn, he seems to have stymied the first player's momentum.
Except for one move.
36.c4 White's game now becomes dyamic on the Queenside.
36...bxc4 37.b5 Nb8 38.b6 Nf6 This slip allows White to clarify things quickly with the win of a piece. 39.Bd4+ Kd6 40.e5+ Black resigned
Some themes repeat themselves regularly in the Jerome Gambit. White's Queen-check that allows gathering in an errant Knight is one example, as Bill Wall shows in the game below. Suprise followed by disappointment and disspirited play on behalf of the defender is another. Wall, Bill - Guest7492034 PlayChess.com, 2014 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O
We have seen another idea, 4.Bb3 Bc5 5. Bxf7+, in Philidor1792 - bichara22, Online chess, 2013 (1-0, 15). 4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Re8
Instead, 7...Bd6 was recently seen in "A Tale of Two Knights". 7...Re8 is reminiscent of Wall,B - Santiago,D, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 28) I've faced it a few times myself, 8.dxc5 Kg8
This was Black's idea, to return a piece and castle-by-hand. 9.f4 Ng6 10.e5 Ne4
Playing "aggressively" against White's obviously erronious aggression. If chess were only this kind. 11.Qd5+ Kh8 12.Qxe4
Black does not have enough compensation for his material deficit. His play shows that he is unsettled. 18.Be3 Rbc8 19.Nb5 bxc5 20.Nd6 Rb8 21.Nxb7 Rxb7 22.Bxc5 Re8 23.b4 d6 24.Bxd6 Black resigned
With three pawns for his sacrificed piece, White is willing to play against Black's structural weaknesses (doubled isolated b-pawns, restrained d-pawn, blocked in Bishop) in stead of an attack on the King.
Black's slip on his next move makes the task easier. 16...Nh5
The safer retreat was 16...Nh7. 17.g4 Nhxf4 18.d4 d6 19.exd6 Bxg4 20.Bxf4 Kg8
White is comfortably up two passed pawns. He does not have to be in a hurry. 21.Bg3 Bh3 22.Rfe1 Rf8 23.Nd5 Rad8 24.Ne7+ Kh7 25.Nxg6 Kxg6
26.Re3 Rf6 27.Be5 Rfxd6
This combination overlooks something. 28.Bxd6 Rxd6 29.Rxh3 Rxd4 30.Rb3 Black resigned
As we have seen in recent posts, the "simple" job for the defender against the Jerome Gambit is to remain steady, play good moves, not panic, pay attention - maintain a "steady as she goes" focus. Wandering from this path, however, can have immediate negative consequences, as the following game demonstrates. Philidor 1792 - NN 2015 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
A little bit better might have been 8.dxe5. 8...Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nxe4 Black's King is a bit drafty, but otherwise he is doing well. 10.Nd2 Nxd2 11.Qxd2 Re8 12.Qf4+ Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand, and his light-squared Bishop can be developed. 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 c6 15.b3 Bf5 16.Rad1 Qb6 17.Rd4 Re6 18.f3 Rae8 19.f4 Rg6
White remains calm, as well. If Black has an advantage, let him show it. 20.Rf2 Rf8 21.g3 h5 22.h4 Be6 23.Qd3 Rf5 Black has established blockades at e6 and f5, but it is not clear where he will be going with that. 24.Kh2 Qc7 25.c4 Qf7 26.cxd5 Bxd5
Black keeps improving the position of his pieces. 32.R2d3 Qc5 33.Rd2 Rg4 34.Qd3 g6 35.bxa6 bxa6 36.Re2 Qb6 37.Qc3
White's patience helps Black envision a reasonable, but flawed idea: to develop his last piece, his King, to e6 to blockade White's passed e-pawn. However, the monarch steps into danger. 37...Kf7 38.Rxd5 cxd5 39.e6+ Ke8 "Best" for Black was to give up his Queen with 39...Qxe6 but after 40.Rxe6 Kxe6 41.Qc6+ Kf7 42.Qxa6 it is clear that White's passed a-pawn will rule the day. 40.e7 Black resigned
