Jerome Gambit + blitz chess = exciting play

It has been fun following the games of many Jerome Gambit players, including, recently, DANNYALBERTO at the online site FICS. In the following game, he forgets the best line that he had once discovered - but manages to pull off a win in under a dozen moves, anyhow, proving, once again, that "Jerome Gambit + blitz chess = exciting play".

DANNYALBERTO - boggus
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

The Database has 69 with DANNYALBERTO playing White in the position; he scores 64%.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Qg5 

Black plays the thematic move in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit! Best, however, even with the increased risk to his King, was to take the Knight, 6...Kxe5.

7.cxd4 

A bit too casual was 7.O-O, which was followed by an uneven game: 7...Qxe5 8.cxd4 Qxd4 9.d3 Bb4 10.Qb3+ Ke7 11.Be3 Qd6 12.d4 Ba5 13.e5 Qb6 14.Bg5+ Ke8 15.Qc4 h6 16.Bh4 Ne7 17.a3 Qc6 18.Qd3 Qd5 19.b4 Bb6 20.Rd1 d6 21.Nc3 Qf7 22.exd6 cxd6 White lost on time, DANNYALBERTO - Steftcho, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2016.

7...Qxg2 

Black's Queen threatens mayhem on the Kingside!

The game is soon to be over - but not as Black plans.

8.Rf1 

Forgetting this from last year: 8.Qb3+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc6 11.Qd5 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - boggus, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019. 

He had also played the very reasonable 8.Qf3, which brought victory after 8...Qxf3 9.Nxf3 Nf6 10.Nc3 c6 11.d3 d5 12.Ng5+ Ke7 13.b3 h6 14.Nf3 Bg4 15.Ne5 Bh5 16.Rg1 g5 17.Ba3+ Ke8 18.Bxf8 Rxf8 19.exd5 cxd5 20.Kd2 Ke7 21.Rae1 Kd6 22.Nb5+ Ke7 23.Ng6+ Kf7 24.Nxf8 Rxf8 25.Nd6+ Kg6 26.Nxb7 Rb8 27.Nc5 a5 28.Re6 Kf5 29.Rxf6+ Kxf6 30.Nd7+ Kf5 31.Nxb8 Kf4 32.Rg3 Bg6 33.Nc6 h5 34.Ne7 Bh7 35.Nxd5+ Kf5 36.Ne7+ Kf4 37.Nc6 h4 38.Rg1 g4 39.Nxa5 Bf5 40.Nc4 Kf3 41.Ne3 Bd7 42.Nxg4 Bxg4 43.a4 Bc8 44.Rg7 Kxf2 45.d5 h3 46.d6 Be6 47.b4 Bd5 48.a5 Bg2 49.d7 Kg1 50.d8=Q Kxh2 51.Qd6+ Kh1 52.Qg3 h2 53.Qxg2, checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - fluters, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019. 

He also experimented with (got away with) the dangerous 8.Qh5: 8...Qxh1+ 9.Ke2 Qxe4+ 10.Kd1 Nf6 (10...Qxd4 11.Nf3 Qf6 12.Nc3 d5 13.Qxd5+ Ke7 14.d3 c6 15.Qb3 Qxf3+ 16.Kc2 Qxf2+ 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Re1+ Kd6 19.Qf7 Qf5 20.Ne2 Be6 21.Bf4+ Kc5 22.Qxb7 Bd6 23.Be3+ Kd5 24.Qb3+ Ke5 25.Bd4 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - boggus, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2016) 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Nc4+ Kc6 13.Ne5+ Kb6 14.Qb3+ Ka6 15.Qa4+ Kb6 16.Nc4 checkmate, DANNYALBERTO - fluters, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019. 

8...Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 

Material is even, and White has an advantage in development, but his pawn structure is a mess. Komodo 10 gives Black about a pawn advantage, provided he addresses his need for development.

Instead, Black sees the opportunity to go pawn hunting with his now relatively safe King - but he has overlooked something.

10...Kd5 11.Nf7 Black resigned

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Mystery

I have added to The Database some more Jerome Gambit (and Jerome-ish) games played online at FICS from the first quarter of 2020. Making my way through some of them, I came upon a small mystery.

Here is the game. By the way, drumme is well-versed in the Jerome Gambit, having 589 games in The Database, scoring 55%.

drumme - talyprossoneri
4 0 blitz, FICS, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nx6 hxg6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.d3 Black resigned

Black's resignation is puzzling. He has two extra pieces for four pawns - perhaps a practical challenge in a 4-minute game (for the record, in the 45 games in The Database with this position, Black won only 16, and drew 2) - an advantage that Komodo 10 assesses at about a pawn and a half.

Maybe the outside world intruded to call him away. 

If the reason was chessic, I can make a guess. Suppose talyprossoneri was intending on playing the pawn capture and fork 9...Nxc2+, followed by 10.Kd1 Nxa1 - when he suddenly realized that his opponent would then have 11.Bg5+, as in paddjaa - vlas, blitz, FICS, 2011, which would lead to checkmate after 11...Nf6 12.Qxf6+ Ke8 13.Qg6+. Ouch.

analysis diagram





However, Black did not have to go after the poisoned Rook, as he had at least two other reasonable moves to consider.

The first was 9...Ne6, although, after 10.Bg5+ Nxg5 11.Qxg5+ Black still has to solve the problem of the f6 square and the d8-h4 diagonal. A 1-minute game, jollygeoff - brouchek 1 0 lightning, FICS, 2016, finished things off from that position with 11...Kf7? 12.Qxd8 and Black resigned a few moves later. The proper response was 11...Nf6, as after 12.e5 Kf7 13.exf6 Qxf6

analysis diagram




Black's two Bishops (one, the extra piece) are probably better than White's three extra pawns.

The second choice for Black is the somewhat stronger (according to Komodo 10) 9...Nf6, as long as the defender meets 10.e5 with 10...Ke6!? (Instead, 10...Ne8? was seen in KingAsh - NightEagle, 1 0 lightning, FICS, 2015 [1-0, 40, time forfeit], when the game should have continued with 11.Bg5+, again leading to checkmate). Best, then, for White would be 11.exf6 Qxf6, as opposed to 11.0-0, from GOH - gruzanin, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 42, time forfeit).

Analysis position







In club play, of course, in both cases, White might have some practical chances with his three passed, connected passed pawns against the enemy Bishop. Especially, as we have seen in some of the example games, time appeared to be on the attacker's side.

Jerome Gambit: A Sideline, Then Another

There are many refutations to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and its relatives, but that does not mean that every defense will be successful.

In the following game, White is headed for the Jerome, when his opponent takes a sideline - and, then, another. It is time to administer the "Jerome cure" to Black, although the patient did not survive.

hastrman - KingRuffus
FICS, 2020

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.Nc3 Na5 

Black's position can tolerate either his 3rd or his 4th move, but the combination of the two spells disaster, as White quickly points out.

5.Bxf7+ 

The Database has 88 games with this move. White scores a healthy 86%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Kf6 

Black's best move was 6...Ke6, but his King would still be in great danger after 7.Qh5. White's Knights would have many brutal forks after the second one joined in at d5, definitely a position worth exploring. 

White now has a forced checkmate, and his opponent ends the game quickly.

7.Qh5 Qe7 8.Qf5  checkmate

Jerome Gambit: From Smash, Bang, to Drip, Drip

Sometimes the pace of White's attack in the Jerome Gambit can be a bit of smash and bang. In the following game, Black adopts a defense that eliminates that possibility, but the steady drip, drip of the game spells loss for the defender, anyhow.

Wall, Bill - SCMJ
FICS, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

If you play the Jerome Gambit long enough, you will face this nameless defense. Sometimes, it appears as if Black is saying, "If it is good for you to sacrifice a Bishop at f7, then it must be good for me to sacrifice a Bishop at f2!" Other times, it appears to be almost a psychological counter-gambit - instead of accepting 2 sacrificed pieces, Black prefers to gambit a pawn, himself, to quickly reach a quiet Queenless middlegame that is probably not White's intention when he played 4.Bxf7+.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+

Wall - Guest2115687, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 21) , and Wall - Guest592370, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 30 ) saw 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6+, etc. Bill varied once, after 8...Qh4+, with 9.Kf1, in Wall - Guest1443273, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 36), which still continued 9.Qf6+, etc. 

9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

White can play on, with little risk, and a small advantage.

10.Nc3 

10.Kf3 was tried in Wall - Guest4380606, PlayChess.com, 2015: 10....d6 11.Nc3 Bg4+ 12.Kg3 Rhe8 13.Rf1 Kg7 14.Rxf6 Kxf6 15.Kxg4 Black resigned


10...d6 11.d3 a6 12.Bg5 Kg7 

It is Black who is lulled by the quiet of the position. Safer was 12...Be6.

13.Bxf6+ Kxf6 14.Nd5+ Kg7 15.Nxc7 Rb8 

16.c3 Rf8+ 17.Ke3 b5 18.h4 Rf7 

This drops another pawn, and the game becomes a technical affair.

19.Ne8+ Kg8 20.Nxd6 Rf6 21.e5 Re6 22.d4 Bb7 23.Nxb7 Rxb7 24.Ke4 Black resigned

White's well-placed King, and his "Jerome pawns" will eventually bring home the full point.

Jerome Gambit: Yet, Ever Onward

The third round of Chess.com's "Italian game Classic" tournament has started, and I find myself in Group 1 - which consists of me, LttlePrince, pitman63, Sp1derR1c0 and Winawer99. (I am the next-to-lowest rated.)

With two Whites to start off with, I faced a couple of Two Knights Defenses, and was able to wrangle one of them into an Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

The other game could have evolved into a Noa Gambit, but I haven't recovered the suffering I experienced at the hands of  RemoveKubab1, last year. (That is quite funny, given that Komodo 10 rates Black 3 3/4 pawns ahead in the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit; while it assesses Black to be only 1 1/2 pawns ahead in the Noa Gambit.)  I keep thinking that I should try the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit, but will probably return to using a couple of ideas from Yury V. Bukayev.

Jerome Gambit: The Choice of Chess Hooligans!

Searching the internet the other day, I ran across a couple of videos (Russian language, I believe), each covering an online Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, with commentary by the player of the White pieces - in this case, Chess-For-All, at lichess.org.

One was aptly titled "Jerome Gambit - A Killer Weapon in the Italian Game!" and the other was referenced as "Jerome Gambit - the choice of chess hooligans!"

Chess-For-All has appeared in these posts, before - see "Jerome Gambit: A Day in the Life".

A check at lichess.org showed me that Chess-For-All is the handle of Alexey Pugach, of Dnepr, Ukraine (FIDE rating 2166). Pugach has his own collection of educational chess videos on YouTube, by the way.

That name might sound familiar to Readers, and a quick look back at the post "Jerome Gambit: More GMs? (Part 1)" would show that he had previously played under the handle ChessCoachUA.

A check of Chess-For-All's games at lichess.org turned up 25 Jerome Gambits, most played at a 3 0 blitz, or 1 0 bullet, time control, scoring an impressive 78%.

I have added Chess-For-All's Jerome Gambits to The Database.

Here is one of the YouTube games. 

Jerome Gambit: Horrible Innovation

One of my favorite chess writers is GM Andy Soltis. With over 100 books to his name, and almost 50 years as a chess columnist for the New York Post, he continues to write the longest-running column in the United States Chess Federation's magazine, Chess Life. "Chess to Enjoy" reflects Soltis' ongoing appreciation of both the weird and the wonderful in the Royal Game.

So, it is not surprising to run across "GM Follies", his August, 1997 Chess Life column. After acknowledging that Chess Informant had 57 symbols used in its annotations, he noted

Among them is "N" for "Novelty" - formerly known as "TN" for "Theoretical Novelty" - to designate some new and wonderful addition to opening theory.

However, GM Soltis has a caution, and a suggestion

Of course, not every good move is new - and not every new move is good. In fact, the last few years have seen a remarkable plague of HIs - Horrible Innovations...

After giving a couple of modern HIs, by a National Master and by a Grandmaster, he added

Those innovations are not likely to be repeated. But some really bad, yet not immediately refutable, novelties were tried more than once - and became famous enough to be recognized with their own name...

Why was I not surprised to read

THE JEROME GAMBIT 

1. P-K4 P-K4 2. N-KB3 N-QB3 3. B-B4 B-B4 4. BxPch?? KxB 5. NxPch NxN 6. P-Q4 which gets it[sic] name because someone named Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, of Paxton, Illinois, recommended it in the American Chess Journal in 1876. Its only discernable value is showing how to sack two pieces as quickly as possible.

The reference to the American Chess Journal of 1876 is worth noting. As we have seen in earlier posts, Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's first recommendation of his gambit came in the Dubuque Chess Journal, April 1874, Vol. VI, No. 50, p. 358-9.

In pointing out that earlier recommendation by AWJ, I mean no disrespect to GM Soltis; he appears to have relied on The Oxford Companion to Chess (1984, 1992) by Kenneth Whyld and David Hooper as his source - and there were several Jerome Gambit references in the 1876 American Chess Journal. (Add to that a curious series of naming and re-naming of chess magazines  reference...)