Jerome Gambit: Her Majesty, As She Will

As if sacrificing two pieces was not enough to mark the Jerome Gambit as a seriously suspect opening, White often follows up with early moves of his Queen, prompting many opponents to reflect "Certainly, this cannot be good".

The following game is an enjoyable example. Follow White's Queen, asn she goes where she will...  

Wall, Bill - Guest10755845
PlayChess.com, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd2 

8...Nf6 9.Nc3 d6 10.O-O Bg4 11.b3 Re8 12.Bb2 Kg8 

13.Rae1 Nb4 14.a3 Nc6 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Rxe1 17.Qxe1

17...Ne5 18.f4 Ng6 19.f5 Nh4 20.Qe6+ 

20...Kh8 21.Qh6 

21...Nxf5 22.Rxf5 Bxf5 23.Qxg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: King of the Hill

Experienced Jerome Gambit players may well tell themselves "I have seen everything" when it comes to our favorite opening. The following game, however, recently played by "Cliff Hardy" may test that point of view.

I mean, have you ever used the Jerome in a blitz speed "King of the Hill" game? Enjoy. But maybe after a cup of coffee.

Notes are (mostly) by Cliff.

This Jerome Gambit game was played in a Lichess "King of the Hill" tournament ("King of the Hill" is a chess variant where a player wins either with checkmate or by getting their king to one of the 4 central squares - e4, d4, d5 or e5).

Cliff Hardy - NN

King of the Hill, 3 0, Lichess.org, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

Unfortunately, Stockfish dislikes this move more in "King of the Hill" than in a normal game as it helps Black to get his king towards the centre and it rates this as -3.7 pawn advantage for Black. (Lichess has a function where Stockfish can actually annotate the game, even though it is a "King of the Hill" game)!

4...Kxf7 5.Nxf7+ Nxf7+ 6.Qh5+ g6!

A good defence, though 6...Ke6!, getting the king towards the centre squares, is also strong. Both moves give Black around a -6 advantage, so 6.d4 (avoiding this) was a technically better move.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8?

In a normal chess game, White would have a winning advantage in this particular position. Conversely though, this line is actually very strong for Black in King of the Hill (-11) as Black has good chances of getting his king to the centre, so retreating the queen with 8.Qg3 was a much better attempt for White.

8...Qf6

OK (-3.5), but the Blackburnesque 8...Qh4! (-11) was much stronger.

9.Qxh7+??

In a normal chess game, this move would be fine in this position but actually Black has a forced win in 5 moves in "King of the Hill".

9...Ke6!

Black now threatens to win the game on the spot by getting his king to one of the central squares with 10..Ke5!

10.d4 Bxd4??

Black had a forced win in 3 moves, using a brilliant "King of the Hill" tactic here with 10...Qxf2+!! 11.Kxf2 (11.Kd1 Qxd4+! 12. any Ke5 0-1!, as black's king has reached one of the 4 central squares) 11...Bxd4+ 12. any Ke5 0-1!

11.f4

To stop black winning immediately with ...Ke5.

11...d5??

Black should have thought of normal chess and just saved his knight with 11...Ne7 +-.

12.Qxg8+ Kd6 13.Nd2??

We keep being confused by this variant and missing simple moves that work just as well as in a normal chess game - 13.Qxd5+ kept a winning advantage for white here.

13...Qxf4??

14.Nc4+! dxc4 15.Bxf4+ Kc5 16.Qd5+ Kb4 17.a3+ Ka4 18.b3+ cxb3 19.cxb3 mate

(Wow. The game reminds me of a heavyweight boxing match, where one pugilist is behing on points and has only one chance for success - a knockout. In this case - a checkmate. Like I have said before, you can't take "Uncle Jerome" anywhere - even a King of the Hill game - without him causing a disturbance. - Rick)

Jerome Gambit Secrets #6

It is not often that an International Master makes a recommendation in the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.

Yet, that is what this post is all about.

Let's take a look at a line of play mentioned in a blog post on this site, 9 years ago, "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

You might think from the title of the blog post that the IM is a little bit late to the party - who hasn't refuted the Jerome Gambit?

Actually, IM Gary Lane has been supportive of the Jerome, covering it - with whimsey - in his The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (Everyman Chess, 2008) and a couple of times in 2012 in his "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com. (I do not think that the Chess Cafe site currently works.)

Let's see some of what he has to say.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6

I have called this the "annoying defense" (because it is) or the "silicon defense" (because of the affinity computer chess programs have for it). It was first seen in D'Aumiller - A.P., 1878 and figured in six of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's games against S.A. Charles in their unfinished 1881 correspondence match.

Lane:

I think this is the best way to defend: allowing one of the extra pieces to be taken, and in return obtaining a solid position with extra material.

8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3

Lane, again:

This is the right time for White to offer a draw, but if the offer is declined you should remember that it is frowned upon to cry at the board.

Funny guy - but wait! I finished up that blog post with

I was pleased to see that 9.Nc3 was not in my Jerome Gambit database – but if that is the move IM Lane sees as best for White, I will add it to my repertoire!

So - whatever happened to 9.Nc3  ?

A quick look at The Database (and then, this blog) shows that later in 2009, the Scacchi64.com website held a computer vs computer Jerome Gambit tournament. Comet B48 played the move 9.Nc3 four times, winning twice and losing twice.

Also, Steve Wall played 9.Nc3 once in 2013, while his brother, Bill, played it once in 2015 and once in 2017 - all told, with a win, a draw, and a loss.

A handful of computers and a couple of brothers - that's almost keeping 9.Nc3 a "secret". Here's one of Bill's games, so you can decide what you think for yourself - it's long and complicated, and a Jerome Gambit loss for Bill is pretty rare, so afterwards you might decide you want to keep the line a secret, after all.
  
Wall, Bill - Guest446794, PlayChess.com, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.Qe2 Ke7 11.Na4 Qd4 12.Nxc5 Qxc5 13.d3 Bg4 14.Be3 Qb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Rhd8 17.Kc3 Be6 18.h3 b6 19.a4 Rf8 20.a5 Nh5 21.Rhf1 Ng3 22.Rfe1 Kd6 23.b4 Bd7 24.Kb3 Nh5 25.c4 Nf4 26.Ra2 g5 27.Kc3 Rg8 28.d4 exd4+ 29.Bxd4 c5 30.bxc5+ bxc5 31.Be3 Kc6 32.Rd2 Rae8 33.Bxc5 Bxh3 34.Bxa7 Bxg2 35.e5 h5 36.Rd6+ Kb7 37.Rd7+ Kc6 38.Rd6+ Kc7 39.Rh6 Rh8 40.Rf6 Kd7 41.Rd1+ Kc8 42.Rb1 Rh7 43.Rb8+ Kd7 44.Rd6+ Ke7 45.Rb2 Rc8 46.Rbd2 Rf7 47.Be3 Bf1 48.c5 Rf5 49.Rd7+ Kf8 50.Rf2 Bb5 51.Rh7 Be8 52.Kd4 Ne6+ 53.Kc4 Rxf2 54.Bxf2 Nc7 55.e6 Nxe6 56.a6 Ra8 57.a7 Nd8 58.Be3 Kg8 59.Rh6 g4 60.Bd4 Kf8 61.Rh8+ Ke7 62.Rh7+ Bf7+ 63.Kb5 Ne6 64.Be5 Rxa7 65.c6 Ra2 66.b6 Rc2 White resigned

Jerome Gambit Secrets #5

Time to look at a couple more "secrets".

Ten years ago I played a Jerome Gambit game that started off

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 

Black then played a relatively weak move that had showed up only once before in The Database.

8...Ne7

When I posted the game on this blog, back then, I recommended, instead, 8...Qh4!?, which had been played a number of times before - as early as a supposed 1899 telephone game - and which continued to be played, year after year. (So: 8...Qh4 isn't much of a "secret".)

9.Qxe5+ Kc6

As a measure of the imbalance of the position, in one of my games, Black resigned at this point.

10.d4

In my blog notes I recommended as better 10.Qc3!?. Curiously, of the 5 subsequent games with that move in The Database, 4 were played by me - and only once did I remember my improvement, but not the proper followup.

The idea, of course, is 10.Qc3 b6 11.b4 and White wins back his piece after either 11...d6 or 11...d5.

So, 10.Qc3 is still enough of a "secret" that private eye "Cliff Hardy" overlooked it in a Jerome Gambit game of his this year - although, since he was playing "blindfold", perhaps "overlook" isn't the right word...

After 10.d4, however, only 2 games in The Database have Black's proper response, 10...d6!? - an almost "secret" move that caught me by surprise, although I was still able to deliver checkmate in 20 moves. The Jerome Gambit is like that, folks.

Stockfish 9 suggests my game should have gone 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5!? 12.exf5 Rg8 13.Qxh7 Bd4 with Black for choice - despite being down material, and despite having his King on c6.

Cliff Hardy noted in assessing his own game that after 10.d4 d6 11.Qxg7 Nf5 12.exf5 Qe8+ 13.Kd1 Bxf5 "...if anything, Black has an edge, despite his two-pawn deficit. Note that 14.dxc5? now would be crushed by ...Qh5+. Instead White should try the sharp 14.d5+!? when Black would be prudent to reply 14...Kb6, with in an unclear position where White's King is in more danger than his counterpart, and Black's 2 Bishops and better Rooks give him the more threatening prospects."

There you go: 10.Qc3!? and 10.d4 d6!?, two secrets for the price of one.

Jerome Gambit: Refutation - Just Like That

It is often fun to see how Black works to dispose of the Jerome Gambit - an opening that appears so bad that it can be vanquished on-the-spot by a quickly assembled-at-home response.

I got to play an online blitz game the other day, and it was reassuring to see that tradition is still respected.

perrypawnpusher - SSGSSGSSG
5 5 blitz, FICS, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 

The Two Knights defense. I have to try for a Jerome, anyhow.

4.Nc3 Bc5 

Now I can get a Jerome out of this.

For some reason I am always uneasy playing this line. Hmmm. Let me check The Database...

I thought so. I have played 60 games with the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit line, and have scored only 74%.

That compares to the regular Jerome Gambit move order, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, which I have played 319 times and have scored 82%.

Or the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, which I have played 58 times, and have scored 88%.

Even with the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bxf7, which I have played 58 times, I have scored 78%.

(It has to be me. I just checked Bill Wall's statistics, and he scores "only" 92% with the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, vs 93% with the regular Jerome.)    

5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bb4

There you have it. Problem solved. Stockfish 9 even gives Black a 1/3 of a pawn advantage here. Now to finish White off.

8.dxe5 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nxe4

10.Qd5+ 

How rude.

This kind of thing happens in blitz games all the time. Three of my past games ended at this point: perrypawnpusher - ohforgetit, blitz, FICS, 2010; perrypawnpusher - KnightIsHorse, blitz, FICS, 2011; and perrypawnpusher - Sonndaze, blitz, FICS, 2011. 

10...Kf8 

Or 10...Ke8, as in perrypawnpusher - Aerandir, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15). 

11.Qxe4 d6 

12.O-O Qe7 

I had seen 12...dxe5 13.Qxe5 Qe7  before (but, of course, did not remember it) in perrypawnpusher - obmanovichhh, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 39).

The text has a weakness (putting the Queen on a dangerous diagonal) that 12...Qe8 might have avoided. 

13.Ba3 Be6 

Probably stronger than 13...c5, which was seen in perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 17); but Stockfish 9 prefers 13...Kf7.

14.exd6 cxd6

Okay. Time to take stock. White has recovered his sacrificed piece, with better development and a safer King. His extra pawn is not a big deal, as it is doubled and isolated - a fair reminder that lazy play could lead to a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame that Black could draw easily.

So - What weakness in Black's position should White focus on?

15.Rae1 

I decided to pin the Bishop and put pressure on it.

If you thought, instead, that White should go after the d-pawn with 15.Rad1, threatening Black's Queen and King along the a3-f8, Stockfish 9 agrees with you.

15...Kf7 16.f4 g6 

17.f5 gxf5 18.Rxf5+ Kg7 

19.Qxe6 

Sure, this works, but so does 19.Qg4+ Kh6 20.Rh5 checkmate. Ooops.

Now Black has to exchange Queens and go into a lost endgame - or face checkmate.

19...Qc7 20.Qf6+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Today's Lesson

In chess, sometimes you give a lesson, sometimes you learn a lesson. This seems especially true in the Jerome Gambit.

Here is one of Bill Wall's recent games. As often happens, he is the teacher.

Wall, Bill - Guest7925523
PlayChess.com, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6

I noticed that The Database has games of Jerome Gambit regulars HauntedKnight, jfhumphrey, ndrwgn, stretto and yorgos facing this move, so it is worth being prepared for it.

7.dxc5 Nf6 

Or 7...d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Qxb7 N8e7 10.f4 Bc4 11.Nd2 Rb8 12.Qxa7 Bb5 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.a4 Bd7 15.O-O Qb6+ 16.Qxb6 Rxb6 17.Nc4 Rc6 18.b3 Be6 19.f5 Bxc4 20.fxg6+ Kxg6 21.bxc4 Rxc4 22.Ra3 Rxe4 23.Rg3+ Kh5 24.Rg5+ Kh4 25.g3+ Kh3 26.Rh5+ Kg4 27.Rh4 checkmate, Wall,B - TenAndOnly10, lichess.org, 2016. 

8.Be3 

Bill has also played 8.Nc3, e.g. 8...Re8 (8...Qe7 9.Qd4 Re8 10.O-O Kg8 11.Bg5 Qe5 12.Qc4+ d5 13.cxd6+ Be6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Qb4 cxd6 16.Rad1 Red8 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Qxe4 19.Qxe4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Silveira,J, lichess.org, 2016) 9.O-O Kg8 10.Re1 d6 11.cxd6 Qxd6 12.Qf3 Bg4 13.Qe3 Nd7 14.h3 Be6 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.f4 Bf7 17.b3 Nf6 18.e5 c6 19.Qf2 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxd5 21.c4 Bf7 22.Bb2 Nf8 23.f5 Rad8 24.Qxa7 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rd8 26.Rxd8 Qxd8 27.Bd4 g6 28.e6 Bxe6 29.fxe6 Nxe6 30.Be5 Qc8 31.Qb8 Qxb8 32.Bxb8 Kf7 33.Kf2 Ng5 34.Bf4 Ne4+ 35.Ke3 Nc3 36.a4 Ke6 37.Bh6 Nd1+ 38.Ke2 Nc3+ 39.Kd3 Nd1 40.Bd2 h5 41.Ke2 Nb2 42.Bc1 Nxa4 43.bxa4 Kd6 44.a5 Kc5 45.Kd3 b5 46.Ba3+ b4 47.Bxb4+ Kxb4 48.a6 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest688630, PlayChess.com, 2017. 

8...Re8 9.Nc3 

Black has done well. He has a piece for two pawns, and his King is almost safe. But, now he becomes careless, instead of asking himself: Is that pawn on e4 actually available? (Perhaps we are dealing with a negative "halo effect" as well.)

9...Nxe4 10.Nxe4 Rxe4 

11.Qf3+ 

I guess not. Now Black's game falls apart.

11...Qf6 12.Qxe4 d5 13.Qxd5+ Be6 14.Qxb7 Black resigned

White is ahead an exchange and three pawns.

Jerome Gambit Secrets #4

One of my favorite Jerome Gambit "secrets" has actually been solved, but the story is always a good one to tell. And tell again.

Let's look at a line.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

About 4 1/2 years ago I posted about this move

As early as his first article with analysis (Dubuque Chess Journal 4/1874), Alonzo Wheeler Jerome considered the possibility that Black might refuse to capture the second piece, and play for King safety instead with 5...Kf8.  

This was, in fact, the defense that Jerome, himself, credited to G. J. Dougherty, ("a strong amateur, against whom I first played the opening") of Mineola, New York, in a yet unfound game; that O.A. Brownson, editor of the Dubuque Chess Journal, played against Jerome in an 1875 game (Dubuque Chess Journal3/1875); that magazine editor William Hallock used against D.P. Norton in an 1876 correspondence game played “by special request” to test the gambit (American Chess Journal 2/1877); that William Carrington tried in his 1876 match vs Mexican Champion Andres Clemente Vazquez (Algunas Partidas de Ajedrez Jugadas en Mexico, 1879); and which Lt. Soren Anton Sorensen recommended as “more solid and easier to manage” in his seminal Jerome Gambit essay (Nordisk Skaktidende 5/1877). 

It is interesting that early in Jerome's Gambit's life, there were players willing to accept one "gift" but who were skeptical of accepting two "gifts".

6.Qh5

This move shows up in 38 games in The Database, with White scoring 49%.

As I noted

White also has the option of playing 6.Qh5, the Banks Variation, as in Banks - Rees, Halesowen, 2003, when Black can transpose with 6…Nxe5  as recommended by the American Chess Journal, (3/1877) - "The continuation adopted by Jerome, Qh5 looks promising." 

Pete Banks ("blackburne" online), a stalwart member of the Jerome GambitGemeinde (and still the strongest player I know who has played the Jerome regularly over-the-board in rated contests), brought international attention to Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's invention by writing to International Master Gary Lane, who commented at length on the opening, and on a couple of Banks' games, in his March ("The Good Old Days") and April ("Chess Made Easy") 2008 "Opening Lanes" columns at ChessCafe.com. IM Lane also mentioned one of Banks' games in his The Greatest Ever chess tricks and traps (2008), which reprised some of the earlier material. 

It is humorous to note that in his "Opening Lanes" column Lane wrote, after 5.Nxe5+, "I think anyone with good manners playing Black would now kindly ask their opponent if they wanted to take their move back" while in his book he changed this to "I think anyone with good manners playing Black would now go to another room to carry on laughing." 

Apropos the Banks Variation itself (i.e. playing 6.Qh5 in response to 5...Kf8), IM Lane noted in "The Good Old Days" that "6...Qe7 is a good alternative [to 6...Qf6 of Banks - Rees], because it stops the checkmate and protects the bishop on c5." 

A few months later, 6...Qe7 was tested successfully in a GameKnot.com game, splott - mika76, 2008: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Qh5 Qe7 7.Ng6+ hxg6 8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Qd4 10.Ke1 Qxf2+ 11.Kd1 d6 12.h3 Qxg2 13.Re1 Qf3+ 14.Re2 Bf2 15.d3 Nd4 16.Nc3 Qh1+ 17.Kd2 Nf3 checkmate. Clearly White, the very-slightly-higher rated player, was taken aback by the move. I asked mika76 if he had been influenced by IM Lane's recommendation, but he said he had come up with the move himself.