Jerome Gambit: What Happened?

My reaction to the following game was What happened?

After 9 moves, Black was better. Five more moves, and he resigned.

If the defender relaxes too early against the Jerome Gambit, quite often something happens.

Wall, Bill - Twister

sparkchess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

An earlier game between these two players included the "nudge" 7.Qd5+. White won in 22 moves.

7...d6 8.Qd5+ 

Bill likes to "put the question to the Bishop" in a different way - Does it want to come to e6 to block the check, leaving the b-pawn unprotected?

He has scored an impressive 14 - 0 - 1 with 8.Qd5+. 

8...Be6 9.Qxb7

He who captures the Queen's Knight pawn sleeps in the gutter. -- a stern warning against pawn-grabbing

He who grabs the pawn, and spirits away, lives to fight another day. -- a lesson from Bill Wall's Jerome Gambit games

9...N8e7 

We have reached another annoying position for Black. 

Stockfish 16.1 assesses Black to be almost 1 3/4 pawns better.

White has three pawns and a safer King for his sacrificed piece.

How to proceed?

10.O-O Re8 

Fine, but the computer has already evaluated things as =. Bill suggests, instead, 10...Qd7. Stockfish 16.1 likes 10...Nf4 or 10...d5. 

11.f4 Kg8

Bill gives this move a ?, but it is Stockfish 16.1's first choice, and leads to an even game (thirty ply). Yet it allows White's pawn a fork.

12.f5 

12...Bc8

Bill rightly gives this move ?? 

The other day I was telling my grandson about my experience slipping on a banana peel. Perhaps there was a peel on the d7 square.

13.Qxa8 Ne5 14.Qxa7 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: With Flair

In the following game, White has a minute to win it - and does so with flair.

angelcamina - EKrake

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qe7 

Black's Queen protects his Knight and will pressure White's e-pawn.

9. O-O Nc6 10.Qc4+ Kg6 

This move is too risky. Athough Stockfish 16.1 shows that after 10...Kg6 Black's advantage drops to 0.00 - an even game - there are practical disadvantages.

A safety-first move might have been 10...Qe6. 

11.f4 Rd8 

It can be tempting for a defender to conclude that the Jerome Gambit is so reckless that there is plenty of time to respond effectively.

In this case, thought, the Rook move combined with the previous King move leads to a forced loss for Black.

12.f5+ Kh5 13.Qe2+ 

Now, if Black makes the right move, he only faces a checkmate in 13 moves.

13...Kh4 

There is no way out for Black's King.

14.g3+ Kh3 15.Qg2+ Kg4 16.f4+ Kh5 17.Rh4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: If I Said It Before...

A lot of what there is to be said about the path the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game travels has already been said, so I have linked to earlier blog posts freely.

joesienk - JuanviPascual

"Jerome Gambit Classic #1",Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 

As I noted in "Jerome Gambit for Dummies 2.0 (Part 3)"

Although 98% of the time (according to The Database) Black captures the Bishop, the move is not forced. It is simply a choice for the second player between having an "objectively" winning game with 4...Kxf7 and having the worse position after 4...Kf8 or 4...Ke7.

Jerome Gambit Declined

Jerome Gambit Declined

Yet a few defenders will adopt the sly attitude If he wants me to take the Bishop, then I won't take it.

There is some "psychology" in this, too: the Jerome Gambiteer suddenly finds himself "stuck" with a calm, but "objectively" better game than had been expected a move before. This change of fortune can take some getting used to.

Also in "Jerome Gambit: Too Many Decisions Too Quickly"

Of course, if the move comes as a surprise to White, the thinking time it takes to respond could be significant in a 1-minute game.

The non-human computer program Stockfish 15.1 is not impressed, evaluating (32 ply) the position as almost 2 pawns better for White. This is why the Jerome Gambit player should have a plan, devised ahead of schedule, for facing Declined variations.

 5.Nxe5

Further from "Jerome Gambit: Too Many Decisions Too Quickly"

White could simply retreat the Bishop with 5.Bc4 or 5.Bb3, or exchange it with 5.Bxg8. Perhaps that is what Black expected.

Instead, he decides to complicate things further. It's all part of the plan.

Although this line makes up only about 2% of the games in The Database, it has held a fascination for me, as I have posted on it a number of times, including "Jerome Gambit: First Steps (Part 5)", "Jerome Gambit: Keep It Simple", "JeromeGambit: It Is Supposed To Be Uncomplicated" and "Jerome Gambit: Ignore Me, Stay Aware".

5...Nxe5 

Once more, from "Jerome Gambit: Too Many Decisions Too Quickly"

I suppose that you could be asking yourself, What if Black tried the wild 5...Qh4 instead? 

Yury V. Bukayev is way ahead of you, having considered that in his post "Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1)".

6.Bd5 Nf6 

Too routine. Instead, there was the counter-attacking 6...Qf6!? 

7.d4 Nxd5 8.dxe5 

The way to go was 8.exd5, i.e. 8...Bb4+ 9.c3 Ng6 10.cxb4 d6 

8...Ne7 

9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.O-O 

Stockfish 16.1 tries to be helpful by pointing out that 10.Qb3+ Kf8 11.Qf3+ Kg8 12.Qb3+ etc would be a draw. 

White wants more.

10...Ng6 11.Qb3+ Kf8 12.Be3 

More than mere development.

12...Bxe3 

Missing the idea of his opponent's move. Better was 12...Qe7. 

13.fxe3+ Ke7 14.Qf7 checkmate

Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 9)

 Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 9)   

  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

   

The Part 9 of this my work is about wrong Anatoly Karpov (in contrast with the Part 2 and with the Part 6). Thus, it’s a story about my new notable Jerome gambit (JG) game against the well-known (due to his games against me and not only it) chess amateur Anatoly Karpov, a father of a little boy (my first game against him was shown in the Part 3). This new game was played in Moscow this month.  

 

Thus, after his losses in our games of 2022-2023 Anatoly wanted to prove that he can play strongly and that his knowledge of the standard line (4.Bxf7+) of JG theory and practice can lead him to a win. So he suggested me to play again. He asked me to play the variation 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+. I have understood that dear Anatoly has prepared to this variation, and it will be not easily to beat him. Thus, here is our new game:  

 

 

Bukayev, Yury  –  Karpov, Anatoly (father)   

 

                         tempo, 10+0 

  

 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Na3 c6 9.f4 

 

This my new invented attack, instead of 9.d4, requires Black’s strong play. After six minutes of thinking Anatoly chose the best way. 

 

9...Qh4+ 10.g3 Nf3+ 11.Kd1 Qe7  

 

Bravo, Anatoly! White started to find a trap in order to try to save the game. 

 

12.b4 Bxb4  

 

If 12…Bd4, then White can try 13.Qh5. Here the “extremely natural” move 13…Bxa1 is a blunder: 14.Nb5+!! cxb5 15.Qc5+ Ke6 16.Qd5+ Kf6 17.Qf5 checkmate. 

 

13.c3 Bc5 14.d4 Bb6 

 

My opponent couldn’t see the trap, and his “absolutely natural” defence is really a blunder. And he spent else about two minutes to choose the very sharp and normal move 12…Bxb4. 

 

15.Nb5+  

 

Anatoly was shocked. But, of course, he understood the situation. 

 

15…cxb5 16.Ba3+ Kc7 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.Qf7  

 

He continued to think. The time became a critical factor. 

 

18…Kd8 19.Ke2 

 

Black can’t save his minor piece. White got a little advantage, it maybe. Black had a very large lack of time, and his mood became very bad after all events on the board. He looked at our chess clock and resigned. 

 

The game is notable, since it develops the Jerome gambit theory! I thank Anatoly very much!