Recently I received some Jerome Gambit games from long-time unorthodox openings expert Bill Wall. He pointed out
My chessbase database says I have played 352 Jeromes without transposition and I just now discovered the statistics page with a 93% winning advantage. I have 168 games with 6.Qh5 (90% winning percentage) and 138 games with 6.d4 with a 90.6% winning percentage. Pretty even. I have now played 50,817 chess games that I have a recorded game since 1969. I should hit 51,000 before the end of the year.
One reason (besides skill and knowledge) that Bill does so well with the Jerome Gambit is that his opponents do not take the opening seriously - to their dismay, as he does. Wall, Bill - Guest412053 PlayChess.com, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6
This is trouble. The Bishop could have gone to e7 or f8, with or without checking at b4 first. 7.dxe5 Bxe5 A tale similar to the game: 7...Bb4+ 8.c3 Ba5 9.Qd5+ Ke8 10.Qxa5 Black resigned,Wall,B - Guest1227654, PlayChess.com, 2017. 8.Qd5+ Or 8.Qh5+ Ke6 9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Na3 Qf6 11.Nc4+ Ke7 12.Bg5 d6 13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qf3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Nikelin, lichess.org, 2017. 8...Kf6
Not the only, or safest, way to move the King. There was: 8...Kf8 9.Qxe5 d6 (9...Qe7 10.Qxc7 [10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.Nc3 d6 12.O-O Qe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Rf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest539122, PlayChess.com, 2015]10...Qxe4+ 11.Kf1 d5 12.b3 d4 13.Ba3+ Ne7 14.Nd2 Qe6 15.Re1 Qd7 16.Bxe7+ Black resigned,Wall,B - Guest851465, PlayChess.com, 2017) 10.Qb5 (10.Qd4 Nf6 11.O-O c5 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Bf4 a6 14.Bxd6+ Kf7 15.e5 Bb5 16.c4 Black resigned,Wall,B - Guest5856753, PlayChess.com, 2016) 10...Nf6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Qd3 Be6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Ke7 16.O-O-O Ne8 17.f4 g4 18.Bh4+ Nf6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qg6 Qf8 21.fxe5 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016. 9.f4 Bd6 Apparently offering to return the piece, after all, once White has played the fork 10.e5+. Black has tried other moves against Bill, as well: 9...Qe7 10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Rf1+ Kg6 12.Qf7 checkmate, Wall,B - Vicher, lichess.org, 2016; and 9...c6 10.Qxe5+ Kf7 11.O-O Qe7 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qb5 dxe5 18.fxe5+ Kg7 19.Qxd5 Re8 20.c3 Qxe5 21.Qf7+ Kh8 22.Bg5 Qxg5 23.Qxe8+ Kg7 24.Qf8 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL, 2016. 10.Qg5+
The real threat, winning Black's Queen. One of Bill's games last year continued 10...Kf7 11.Qxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org 2016, but in this game, here Black resigned
Here is the last game of the Philidor1792 - Slayman match, testing a particular opening. With a time control of 2 0, the outcome rests on any number of things, including the "33rd piece" - the clock.
Again: a 2-minute game is almost too fast for me to breathe, let alone play interesting chess. Nice work, gentlemen. Philidor1792 - Slayman 2 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3 Nc6
After the first three moves we have come to expect, White tosses in 4.Nf3 and Black adds 4...Nc6, bypassing the Urusov Gambit and moving on to the Two Knights Game, although lichess.org labels the line "Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Dubois Reti Defense". 5.Bxf7+ The Jerome-ish sacrifice. 5...Kxf7 6.e5 Ne4 7.c3 d5
Again, White seeks to develop after 7...dxc3 8.Nxc3, and again Black does not cooperate - this time moving his other d-pawn. 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Nbd2 Rf8 10.O-O Bxd2 11.Bxd2 Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand and retains his extra piece. White's protected passed "Jerome pawn" is not yet a factor in the game. 12.h3 Be6 (In a slower game it would be worth pointing out 12...Rxf3 13.Qxf3 Nxd2 ) 13.Be3 Qe8 14.Rc1 Qh5
15.Kh2 White sees there will be trouble on the Kingside, but might have done better to offer the exchange of Queens with 15.Ng5. 15...Bxh3 16.Ng1Qxd1
Black does White a favor. The Queen exchange takes the energy out of the attack - but it also makes calculation in the position a bit easier; and the second player still maintains his advantage. 17.Rfxd1 Be6 Black has the extra piece - but the clock is ticking away. 18.f3 Rad8 19.fxe4 dxe4 20.Ne2 Nb4 21.Rxc7
When in doubt, and time trouble, grab material. Stockfish 8 recommends the rambling line 21.Nf4 Bg4 22.Rd2 c6 23.Kg3 Bf5 24.Rf2 Nd3 25.Nxd3 exd3 26.a4 h6 27.Rcf1 Be4 28.b4 Rxf2 29.Rxf2 Bd5 30.Rd2 Bc4 31.Rf2 g5 32.Rf1 Kg7 33.Rf2 Rf8 34.Rxf8 Kxf8 35.Kf2 Ke7 36.Bc1 Ke6 which it sees as favoring Black, but which looks pretty drawish due to Bishops-of-opposite-colors. 21...Nd3 Not enough time to figure out 21...Nd5 22.Rc3 Bg4 23.Rd2 Bxe2 24.Rxe2 Nxc3 25.bxc3 Kf7 and the extra exchange helps Black. 22.b3 White won on time.
Continuing to present the games from the bullet match at lichess.org between Philidor1792 and Slayman, using the unusual Jerome Gambitish line mentioned a couple of posts ago - see "Jerome Gambit: Strange Beast". Philidor1792 - Slayman 2 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2017 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bxf7+
Here we go. Philidor1792 was successful with this line in this rocket-fast match, winning three games, drawing one, losing none. 4...Kxf8 5.e5 Ng8
As we have seen, the best defense starts with 5...Qe7 6.Qe2 Ne8. However, in a 2 0 game you barely have time to breathe, let alone analyze deeply. Knowing anything about the line is a great advantage. 6.Nf3 Bc5 7.c3 d3
Black has no intention of helping White's development with 7...dxc3 8.Nxc3. 8.Qxd3 Bb6 9.O-O Ne7 10.Qc4+ Kf8 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bf4 Rg8
"Objectively" Black is better, with a piece for a pawn, but his position is horribly cramped and undeveloped. 13.Nbd2 g5 14.Bg3 Nbc6 15.Ne4 Nf5 16.Nf6 Nxg3
In a game with a slower time control, exchanging Queens would not be the best plan. Here White is up the exhange, and he can calculate better (and faster) with fewer pieces on the board. 22.Nc4 d5 23.Nxb6 axb6 24.a3 Be6 25.Rae1 c5
Black needs to activate his Queenside pawn majority. 26.Re3 d4 27. cxd4 cxd4 28.Re4 Rd8 29. Rd1 d3 30.Rd2 Bf5
39.Rxd3+ An option always available to the one ahead the exchange. 39...Bxd3 40.Kxd3 Kxb2 41.Kd4
Nice. White could have decided to run his a-pawn, but after 41.a4 Kb3 42.a5 c5 43.a6 c4+ 44.Ke4 c3 45.a7 c2 46.a8/Q c1/Q both of the Queens are back on the board, and calculation becomes a bit more time-intensive. Only the clock can beat White now, so he keeps it simpler. 41...Kxa3 42.Kc5 Kb3 43.f4 Kc3 44.f5
Now there will be only one Queen on the board, and White only needs one... 44...Kd3 45.f6 Ke4 46.f7 Kf3 47.f8=Q+ Kxg3 48.Qxh6 Kxg4 49.Kxc6
Alas for Black, if his remaining pawn were either the f-pawn or h-pawn - and more advanced - he would still have drawing chances. Was not to be... 49...Kg3 50.Qxg5+ Kh2 51.Qg4 Kh1 52.Kd5 Kh2 53.Ke4 Kh1 54.Kf3 White won on time
Following up on the previous post (see "Jerome Gambit: Strange Beast"), Philidor1792 sent me four games he recently played with the line (as White) in a match against Slayman, at lichess.org, at the quick speed of 2 minutes with no increment per game. Philidor1792 scored 3 1/2 - 1/2. It is fun to first look at the two shortest - and funniest - games. Philidor1792 - Slayman 2 0 bullet, lichess.org 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4
This is identified at lichess.org as "Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit". 3...exd4 4.Bxf7+
This is not a Jerome Gambit, but it has a Jerome feel about it, and certainly is equally outrageous. Of course, White also had 4.Nf3, offering the Urusov Gambit; and Black could have further declined with 4...Nc6, the Two Knights Defense.
I was amused to see that Stockfish 8 assessed the silly alternative, 6...Nf6, as completely equal (0.00), recommending the equally silly 7.Qd1, even with an analysis depth of 25 ply. Of course, Stockfish is confused by the possibility of repeating the position, resulting in a draw - just play the two moves and the computer leaps to point out, of course, that Black is better by 2 2/3 pawns. After the text move, however, Stockfish 8 assesses the top 6 replies by White to lead to complete equality (0.00) again. 7.Nh3 h6 8.Nf4+ Kf7
Remember: this is a 2-minute game, and any retreat probably looks the same as any other retreat. But: not so. The proper line was shown in another one of the games in the match: 8...Kh7 9.Qe4+ Kg8 10.Qd5+ Kh7 11.Qe4+ Ke8 12.Qd5+ Kh7 13.Qe4 drawn (by repetition). 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Ng6 checkmate
I just received a game from Philidor1792, and although it is not a "regular" Jerome Gambit, it is related, or "inspired by" - and it blew my mind. It features a pretty scary gambit, completely "objectively" unsound, but very uncomfortable to play against. You have been warned. saprvade - Philidor1792 3 2 blitz, lichess.org 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 So far we have a variation of the Bishop's Opening, Berlin Defense. The position could also arise from the Center Game, von der Lasa Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6. Now White can play 4.Nf3 and hope to transpose into the Urusov Gambit, although Black has 4...Nc6, moving the game into a Two Knights Defense or Scotch Gambit. 4. Bxf7+
Say what?? I could find no game examples in The Database, or in the ChessBase Big Database 2016. A Google search online was of no help. Philidor1792 pointed me toward the database at lichess.org, where I discovered that there were 41 games (including 1 0 bullet games and 3 0 blitz games) where White scored 51%. 4...Kxf7 5.e5 Qe7 6.Qe2 Ne8
Philidor1792 is a long-time Jerome-Gambit-and-related player. He knows what he is doing with Black, but the position already looks quite uncomfortable. Remember, too, this is a 3 2 blitz game. 7.Nf3 d6 Black's move is logical, but is a slip. Best seems the immediate safeguarding of the King with 7...Kg8 e.g. 8.Nxd4 and Stockfish 8 suggests the tortured continuation 8...c5 9.O-O Nc7 (if 9...cxd4 then 10.Qc4+ d5 11.Qxc8 Qd7 12.Qxd7 Nxd7) 10.Nf5 Qe6 11.Ne3 Nc6 12.f4 b6 13.c4 Nd4 and "of course" Black is "winning". Nice work if you can get it, as they used to say.
analysis diagram
8.Ng5+ Kg8 Of course this seems reasonable, but, as Philidor1792 points out, if 8...Kg6 then 9.e6 Bxe6 10.Nxe6 Kf7 11.Nxd4 Nc6 (or 11...Qxe2+ 12.Nxe2 Nc6) 12.Nxc6 Qxe2+ 13.Kxe2 bxc6 with an equal game. Of course. Easy as pie, in the blink of an eye.
Black has pretty much weathered the storm, although White has an edge due to a slightly better pawn structure and a safer King. 16.O-O Kf7 17.Re1 Rhe8 18.Be3 Bd6 19.Bxa7 b6 20.Nb5 Rec8
White's Queenside adventures do not seem to be amounting to much. 21.Red1 Kg8 22.Nc3 e4 23.Nd4 Nc5 24.Ncb5 Nb7 25.Nc6 Bf8 26.b4 Nd6 27.Nxd6 Bxd6
White is still a bit better, but not by very much. What in the world are his minor pieces doing? 28.c4 Nd7 29.Rxd6 cxd6 30.Ne7+ Kf7 31.Nxc8 Rxc8 32.b3 Ra8
The following game has a line in the Jerome Gambit (Delayed?) that I am not very familiar with, so I consulted with The Database and Stockfish 8 for some assistance. It is good to see jfhumphrey move quickly to victory. jfhumphrey - ckilee 5 0 blitz, FICS, 2017 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O
4...Nf6 Transposing to a Two Knights Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6) with ...Bc5 added. The Database has 1,148 games with this position, with White scoring 42%. (For comparison, The Database shows White scoring 45% after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 Now The Database has 1,909 games with this position (oh, the joys of transposition) with White scoring 40%. 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
The Database has 291 games with this position, with White scoring 45%. 7...Bd6 Now, however, The Database has 35 games with this position, with White scoring 71%. From a practical point of view, Black has made an error that generally gets punished. Interestingly enough, Stockfish 8 sees the text move as giving White less than a half of a pawn advantage. It prefers 7...d5, and this is backed up by The Database, which has 10 games with that move - all of them wins for Black. 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd6 10.e5 Bc5+
