Jerome Gambit: Disintegration

The following game is yet another example of why angelcamina plays the Jerome Gambit at bullet speed. His opponent's game holds together - until it doesn't. 

It is not readily apparent, by the way, that the defender is slightly higher rated than the attacker. Ouch.

angelcamina - sumushi

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke7 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qg5+ Nf6 10.O-O 

Up to this  point, Black is objectively better, with a piece for two pawns, better development, and a reasonable plan to castle-by-hand.

Unfortunately, due to the clock, the shock of the Jerome Gambit, or a sense of dismissal that accompanies playing against a "refuted" opening, Black's game now disintegrates.

10...h6 11.Qxg6 Qd7 12.Qxg7+ Ke6 13.Qxh8 b6 14.Qxh6 Bb7 15.Nc3 Qc6 16.d3 Rg8 17.Bg5 Rf8 18.Qxf8 Nd7 19.Qf5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Touching the Hot Stove

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can lead to wild, tactical positions - some of which turn against White.

There are brave attacking chess players who enter challenging, complicated variations and rely on their skills and the clock, even when "objectively" they are worse.

stayhooked - rdiazflo

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Whistler's defense. 

Memo to White: Do. not. take. the. Rook.

Response: In blitz, anything is possible.

8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Nf6 

Black has two plans: attacking the enemy King and trapping the enemy Queen.

10.d3 Qf5 

Black keeps the threat of checkmate at f2, but he needed to do that from the h4 square. This is the opinion of Komodo 13.02, which evaluates the position after Black's move as equal.

11.f3 d5 12.Qd8  

White's Queen will escape, which means that his grab of material will stand.

There was also the alternative, 12.Bh6, since Black's best response would be 12...Qxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh3+ 14.Ke2 Rxh8.

12...c6 

Sometimes on this blog I present tortured lines of play to show that the Jerome Gambit in particular games is playable. In the current game, Komodo 13.02 gives an interesting way for Black to find a draw: 12...Qe5 13.Nc3 Bh3 14.Qxa8 Qf5 15.Ke1 Bxg2 16.Rf1 Bxf1 17.Qd8 Bb6 18.Bh6 Qxf3 19.Bg5 Qf2+ 20.Kd1 Qf3+ 21.Ke1 draw

13.Qa5 Ng4 

This has the feel of a time slip.

14.Qxc5 Black resigned

White will develop his pieces while keeping his King safe, and the extra Rook and pawn will be decisive.

Jerome Gambit: And That's That

Sometimes your chess game takes an unexpected, unfortunate turn, and you decide it's not worth continuing - especially when you are playing online and it's possible to start over with a new game, almost immediately.

At the end of the following game you can almost imagine someone saying "And that's that."

Dada0584 - viniciussgrande

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5  6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bd6

I can only guess the reasons that Black played this move.

First off, it is fun to attack the enemy Queen, and in a blitz game it is often attractive to find moves that "smite" (in the words of C.J.S. Purdy) the opponent. This "punishment" seems doubly appropriate in light of White's Queen's early, extravagant play.

Secondly, there are two defenses - Whistler's and Blackburne's - that give complicated chances after Black offers his Rook and White accepts. Why not this one?

8.Qxh8 

Black resigns 

Unfortunately, Black does not get the counterplay that arises in Whistler's or Blackburne's defense. 

The Database has 125 games with this position, where White scores 86%.

Stockfish 15 rates White as almost a Rook better.

Well, then, that's that. Find another opponent and set the pieces up again.

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: Lightning Fast

Longtime readers of this blog are familiar with angelcamina, who plays online at lichess.org. His specialty is lightning chess, and he has a taste for the Jerome Gambit and its relatives - in the case of the following game, the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

angelcamina - Vpkl

1 0 bullet, lichess,org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

Black would love to see 4.Nxe5, when 4...Qg5!? would be tricky.

4. Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

Black was not ready for this change of plans.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 

Black was not happy about the idea 6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8, but that was his better choice.

Now checkmate comes.

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc5 9.Qd5+  Kb4 10.c3+ Ka4 11.Qa5 checkmate

Wow! That was over so fast, I barely had time to insert diagrams.

Jerome Gambit: Tactical Challenge

Playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) at bullet speed is a tactical challenge: Can you see enough, fast enough, to take advantage of what chances are available as they arise?

Msaouli - notwutiwantd

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 

Bishop's Opening

3.Bxf7+ 

The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.

3...Kxf7 4.Nf3 Nc6 

Transposing to the Jerome Gambit proper.

5.O-O 

One of the "modern" Jerome variations - bypassing 5.Nxe5+.

5...Nf6 6.c3 d6 7.Qb3+ Be6 

In a bullet game, quick responses are paramount. Here, though, Black takes a mis-step, blocking the Queen check, but overlooking the following Knight fork.

8.Ng5+ Kg6 9.Nxe6 Qe7 

Black could have reduced some of White's play with 9...Qc8, protecting the b-pawn. 

10.d4 

This move comes as expected.

Because of Black's inaccuracy, White also had 10.Nxc5 dxc5 11.Qxb7, when the unprotected Black Knight gives White time to pull his Queen back, e.g. 11...Qd7 12.Qb3. 

10...exd4 11.f4 

Good enough.

There was also a line that takes advantage of discovered check: 11.Nf4+ Kh6 (11...Kg5 12.cxd4 Bxd4 13.Qg3+ Ng4 14.Nd5+) 12.Nd5+ Kg6 13. Nxe7+ Nxe7.

11...dxc3+ 

A logical response to White opening up the a7-g1 diagonal. Also possible was 11...Bb6. 

12.Kh1 

White prefers his Knight over Black's Bishop, so he again does not choose 12.Nxc5.

12...Nd4 

Messy.

Stockfish 15 recommends, instead, 12...h6 13.Nxc5 dxc5 14.Nxc3, when the further 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Qxe4 can explode after 16.f5+ Kh7 17.Bxh6!?

13.f5+ Kh5 

Avoiding the discovered checks that would arise from 13...Kf7, but wandering into a mating net.

14.Qd1+ Kh4 15.Bg5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: A Tip from MrJoker

 

I just received an email from MrJoker, aka Louis Morin, of Montreal, an early Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) enthusiast. 

For a few more recent looks at MrJoker, see "Jerome Gambit: A Trip Down Memory Lane (Parts 1 & 2)", "Jerome Gambit: MrJoker As Sharp As Ever" and "Jerome Gambit: At it Again".

He provides a link to the recent YouTube video "The 7 WORST Chess Openings (According To Stockfish)", presented by Chess Vibes.

Of course, the Jerome Gambit is included in "the 7 WORST".

I recommend the video, because it presents those openings and then explains why they are bad - including assessments by Stockfish.

If you play the Jerome, it is good to know what is "objectively" wrong with it, and how opponents are likely to attack those weaknesses. Forewarned is forearmed.

Jerome Gambit: From TheMasterTricks

From TheMasterTricks, whose  YouTube video "how to play jerome gambit ? how to play jerome ? jerome gambit chess ? chess traps ?" was mentioned in an earlier post - see "Jerome Gambit: Attacking / Defending" - now comes "most dangerous attack in chess । best attack in chess । jerome gambit chess । best defense in chess" with an interesting Jerome Gambit game with a smash checkmate ending.

White's initial attack does not break through, and the first player even has to defend - but he turns the tables in an entertaining manner.

Check it out.