Today this blog celebrates its 15th birthday, having come into the world with the post "Welcome!"

I do not know how many other chess blogs have lasted this long, but I am sure that I could not have persisted without the support - and games and analysis - of the many Readers.

Thank you, all.

Jerome Gambit: Checkmate in 8 Moves? (Part 2)

 

To repeat the challenge of yesterday's blog post

The New York Clipper of April 12, 1879 contained the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game between J. Lanning and J.K. Zim.

After 14 moves the players reached the following position

According to the chess columnist

Black announced mate in eight moves. To stimulate critical research, our contributor offers a six months' subscription of Detroit Weekly Free Press for a second solution in eight moves or less, fully analyzed; and has named Miron [Hazleton] as umpire.

My best "try" at solving this mate-in-eight is to suggest that the New York Clipper's chess columnist mis-spoke, or mis-typed, or mis-wrote...

After the key move 14...Nf3+, then Black has a checkmate in 8 further  moves. 

It takes that long, because White can put off the checkmate by giving up a lot of material. Perhaps that is where Mr. Hazleton overlooked something?

Or has a Reader bested me and found the true solution?

Jerome Gambit: Checkmate in 8 Moves? (Part 1)

The New York Clipper of April 12, 1879 contained the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game between J. Lanning and J.K. Zim.

After 14 moves the players reached the following position

According to the chess columnist

Black announced mate in eight moves. To stimulate critical research, our contributor offers a six months' subscription of Detroit Weekly Free Press for a second solution in eight moves or less, fully analyzed; and has named Miron [Hazleton] as umpire.

I admit to being puzzled.

I can not find the mate-in-eight (or less).

Can any Reader?

Jerome Gambit: Missed

When playing a 1-minute game, especially a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it is easy to miss the intention of your opponent on a particular move, leading to sudden catastrophe.

SimonDousset - botzki26

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 202

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qc3 

Fifteen years ago, in a post to this blog "Long ago, and far away...", I quoted the Saturday, May 28, 1881 Adelaide Observer that, according to George Henry Mackenzie

The authorities give 9.Qc3 but White prefers the text move [9.Qe3]

It is not clear which "authorities" Mackenzie was referring to, but two clues are that the March 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal contained the game Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1-0, 28) and the April 12, 1879 issue of the New York Clipper carried the game Lanning, J. - Zim, J.K., Utah, 1879 (1-0, 14).

9...Kf8 

SimonDousset has also faced:

9...Bd7 10.Qxg7 Qf6 (10...Qg5!?) 11.Qxf6 Nxf6 12.d3 Kf7 13.O-O Rae8 14.f4 Re7 15.f5 Ne5 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 Ree8 18.Nc3 Nfg4 19.h3 Ne3 20.Rf3 Nxc2 21.Rc1 Nd4 22.Rf4 Nxd3 23.Rd1 Nxf4 24.Rxd4 a6 25.Nd5 Ne2+ 26.Kh2 Nxd4 27.Nf4 Rxe4 28.Ng6 Kg8 29.Nxh8 Kxh8 30.Bf6+ Kg8 31.Kg3 Bxf5 32.h4 Rg4+ 33.Kf2 Ne6 34.g3 Rc4 35.Bc3 Nd4 36.Ke3 c5 37.Kf4 b5 38.g4 Bh7 39.Kg3 Kf7 40.g5 a5 White resigned, SimonDousset - Nikolay98, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023; 

9...Qf6 10.Qe3 (10. d4!?) 10...Qf4 11.Qb3 c6 12.d4 Qxe4+ 13.Be3 Nf6 14.O-O Be6 15.Qxb7 Rd8 16.Nc3 Qf5 17.Qxc6+ Bd7 18.Qxd6 Ne4 19.Nxe4 Qxe4 20.Rae1 Kf7 21.Bg5 Qc6 22.Qg3 Rde8 23.Qf3+ Qxf3 24.gxf3 h6 25.Bd2 Bc6 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Re1 Rxe1+ 28.Bxe1 Bxf3 29.c4 Nf4 30.Bc3 Ne2+ 31.Kf1 Nxc3 32.bxc3 Ke6 33.Ke1 Kf5 34.Kd2 Kf4 35.d5 Ke5 36.Kd3 g5 37.Ke3 Black resigned, SimonDousset - magge79, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023; 

9...Nf6 10.O-O b6 11.d4 Ba6 12.Re1 Kd7 13.e5 dxe5 14.dxe5 Nd5 15.e6+ Kc8 16.Qc6 Bb7 17.Qb5 a6 18.Qd3 Nge7 19.Bg5 h6 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21.Qg3 g5 22.Nc3 Rf8 23.Rad1 Qe8 24.Qe5 Ng6 25.Qg7 Qe7 26.Qxg6 Bd5 27.Qxh6 Bxe6 28.Qxg5 Qxg5 29.Rxe6 Qxg2+ White resigned, SimonDousset - smirkyerk, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023; and 

9...Be6 10.Qxg7 (10.d3!?) 10...Qf6 11.Qxf6 Nxf6 12.O-O Kd7 13.f4 Nxe4 14.f5 Bc4 15.d3 Bd5 16.dxe4 Bxe4 17.fxg6 Bxg6 18.Nc3 Rhe8 19.Bg5 Rg8 20.Bh4 Bxc2 21.Rac1 Bd3 22.Rf3 Be4 23.Nxe4 Rg4 24.Nf6+ Black resigned, SimonDousset - Sladi_sd, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023 

10.O-O Nf6 11.d3 Bg4 

I am not sure what Black is up to, here; it could be a bullet speed finger slip. (There are no other examples in either The Database or at lichess.org.)

12.h3 Be6 13.f4 Ne7 14.f5 Bd7 15.Bg5 Rc8 

Missing one of the ideas behind White's last move.

The piece on e7 needed to leave, i.e. 15...Nc6. 

16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qxf6+ Kg8 18.Rf3 h6 19.Rg3+ Kh7 20.Qf7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Another Day At The Office

I know that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a wild opening, but sometimes the game unfolds in ordinary fashion, as it if it were just another day at the office.

The following game is a good example.

Chess_5055 - macius00

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 

Here, White can choose to retreat his Queen with or without checking the enemy King.

I was surprised to see that Stockfish (40 ply) evaluated its top choice, 8.Qa3 (in 204 games in The Database; scoring 43%), as about 1/3 of a pawn pawn better than the more popular 8.Qe3 (660 games in The Database; scoring 50%).

8.Qc4+ 

According to The Database, not as popular (238 games) but even more effective (53%).

8...Be6 9.Qe2 

Stronger than the move he played week earlier: 9.Qb4 b6 10.d4 c5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Qb7+ N8e7 13.O-O Qb6 14.Qxb6 axb6 15.Nc3 Ne5 16.f4 N5c6 17.f5 Bc4 18.Re1 Nd4 19.Bg5 Nxc2 20.Bxe7 Kxe7 21.b3 Bf7 22.Rad1 Nxe1 23.Rxe1 Kd7 24.Kf2 Kc6 25.Ke3 b5 26.Rd1 b4 27.Na4 c4 28.g4 cxb3 29.axb3 Bxb3 White resigned, Chess_5055-Saergut, lichess.org, 2023.

 9...Nf4 10.Qf3 Qf6 11.d4 

11...Bc4 

Black's minor pieces begin to look like trapeze artists flying wihout a net. More grounded would have been 11...Ng6.

12.Qxf4 Qxf4 13.Bxf4 Re8 14.f3 d5 15.Nd2 

A blitz oversight?

15...dxe4 16.Nxc4 exf3+ 17.Kf2 fxg2 18.Kxg2 Re2+ 19.Kf3 Rxc2 

Now White has the extra piece, but he still has to contend with Black's Rook.

He decides that attacking the King (and the Rook) is the answer.

20.Ne5+ Ke6 21.Rhc1 Rxb2 22.Rxc7 Ne7 23.Re1 Kd6 24.Nc4+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: One For The Pawns

A primary imbalance in Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games is White's "extra" pawns vs Black's "extra" piece.

In the following blitz game, the pawns win in the end.

bigskytek - ferdinand122

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

6...Bxd4 

Black simply returns one of the sacrificed pieces. 

The Database has 1,433 games with this move, with White scoring 39%. This is in contrast to the "stronger" (according to Stockfish) for Black, but more complicated, 6...Qh4 - 454 games, White scores 54%.

The lichess.org website is not in agreement. It has 15,833 games with 6...Bxd4, White scores 46%; and 1,956 games with 6...Qh4, White scores 39%.

7.Qxd4 d6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.O-O Re8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Rad1 Kg8 

Black has castled-by-hand. White will need to keep his tactics sharp to find advantage.

13.f4 Nc6 

Attack or retreat?

Once again, the typical Jerome Gambit case arises: the "normal" move is not as effective as "something else" - in this case 13...Ng4. 

14.Qxf6 gxf6 15.Nd5 Kf7 

Defending the f-pawn, letting the c-pawn shift for itself.

Upon reflection, Black might have let the f-pawn go with 15...Rd8.

16.Nxc7 Bg4 17.Rxd6 

Going a step too far.

17...Red8 18.Rxc6 bxc6 19.Nxa8 Rxa8 

The average Jerome Gambit player would be happy here, with 3 pawns for the Bishop.

Of course, the computer would disagree.

Things now unfold as you might expect.

20.h3 Be6 21.f5 Bc4 22.Rd1 Ke7 23.Kf2 a5 24.b3 Bf7 25.Ke3 a4 26.Kf4 Ra5 27.g4 axb3 28.axb3 Rc5 29.c4 Ra5 30.h4  Ra2 31.g5 Rf2+ 32.Ke3 

Black's Rook is effective behind enemy lines.

32...Rh2 

With 32...Rb2 he might have had better chances: 33.g6 Rxb2+ 34.Kd4 Be8 35.Rg1 Kf8 36.e5 c5+ 37.Kd5 fxe5 38.Kxe5 Re3+ 39.Kf6 Re4 and the progress of White's pawns has been halted. 

33.g6 Bg8 

Black's Bishop want to be a blockader, but the retreat 33...Be8 was better.

Now the defense unravels.

34.Ra1 Rh3+ 35.Kd4 Rxb3 36.Ra8 

Showing the difference between 33...Bg8 and 33...Bf8.

36...Bxc4 37.Kxc4 Rg3 38.Kc5 Rc3+ 39.Kb6 Rg3 40.Kxc6 h5 41.Ra7+ Kf8 42.Kd6 

Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Facing Two Opponents

In a 1-minute bullet game, each player has two opponents - the one across the board, and the clock. Both must be defeated in order to score the full point.

The following tricky win by angelcamina shows him holding on long enough against a talented defender / counter-attacker and out-racing the clock - until he can deliver checkmate.

Whew!

angelcamina - ogLMFAO

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6  

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qf6 9.O-O N8e7 

9...Nh4 was seen in angelcamina - Nieto01, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org 2022 (1-0, 22) 

10.Qxc7 

This pawn grab is correct, but requires quick judgement and iron nerves.

10...d6 11.Nc3 Ne5 

A more attacking idea is 11...Nf4. 

Last year angelcamina faced 11...b6 12.f4 Be6 13.Qb7 Bc8 14.Qxa8 Kf7 15.f5 Nf4 16.d4 Black resigned, angelcamina - aNKansEn, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022. 

12.f4 N5c6 13.e5 Qh4 

White White's Queen is far away from home, Black thinks about an attack on the King. I am not sure how White kept his cool.

By the way, Stockfish 15.1 recommended, instead, the unexciting 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5 15.Qxe5 Nxe5 with an even game. 

14.exd6 Nf5 15.g3 Qh3 

Hopeful, but the retreat 15...Qd8 was probably more realistic. 

16.Re1+ 

Time is of the essence, but the slower 16.b3 and 17.Ba3 also came to mind.

16...Be6 

Black's second opponent - the clock - is beginning to affect play.

17.Rxe6+ Kf8 18.Re1 

Likewise for White, who, given a chance to breathe, might have found the creative 18.d7 Nh4 19.Qc8+ Kf7 20.d8=N+! Rxd8 21.Rf6+ Kxf6 22.Qxh3.

Now Stockfish 15.1, which occasionally seems stuck on the idea that the Jerome Gambit should end in a draw, suggests 18...Nh4 19.gxh4 Qg4+ 20.Kf1 Qf3+ 21 Kg1 Qg4+ draw.

The game now begins to resemble the old television show "Beat The Clock" as White gathers in the win.

18...Ncd4 19.Qxb7 Nf3+ 20.Qxf3 Rd8 21.d7 Rxd7 22.Qa8+ Kf7 23.Qe8+ 

Ooops.

23.Kf6 

Ouch.

24.Qxd7 Rf8 25.Re6 checkmate

I really don't know how he does it... again.