Between the Refutation and the Resignation...Part 2

Concerning the discussion going on at Chess.com about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), there is an alternate viewpoint to that of Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (and Chess.com) member Bill Wall ("it's the type of opening I like in blitz chess and I have had fun and success with it. My success this year has been 18 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss") – that of Chess.com member Kacparov("The Jerome gambit can be easily refuted").

Perhaps his opinion was based on his own experience in games like the following, which Kacparov shared.

Kacparov - Slotherman

Chess.com

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

This is a solid defense, if Black knows what he is doing.

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Nc3

A relatively unexplored variation, compard to 8.f4

8...Qf6 9.d4 Qxf5 10.dxc5+ Kc6 11.exf5 d6 12.cxd6 cxd6 13.Bf4 Bxf5

By exchanging Queens, Black has taken much of the energy out of White's attack – for which the first player has sacrificed a piece for a pawn. Note that even should Kacparov win the pawn at d6, his "Jerome pawns" will be split, one on each side of the board.

14.0-0-0 Nf6 15.Rhe1 Rhe8 16.f3 Nc4

White develops and looks for opportunities. Black continues to exchange pieces.

17.b3 Rxe1 18.Rxe1 Nb6 19.Kd2 Re8 20.Rd1 Nbd5 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Bg3 Re3

The pawn on c2 is a tempting target for Black. Only White is aware how risky it is, however.

23.Bf2 Rc3 24.Rc1 a5 

Overlooking the fact that the Rook is trapped.

25.Bd4 Rc5 26.Bxc5 dxc5 27.Re1 h5

White now has a Rook and a pawn for two pieces, a small advantage at this point.

28.a3 b5 29.g3 g5

It is this slip that gives the game away. 

30.Re5 Bxc2 31.Kxc2 g4 32.f4 b4 33.axb4 axb4

34.Rxh5 Ne3+ 35.Kd3 Nd1 36.Kd2 Nf2 37.Re5 Kb5 38.f5 Nh3 39.f6 Black resigned

That is a lot of energy to spend on defeating a lower-rated player, and if Kacparov's other Jerome Gambit games were just as much a struggle, it is clear why the opening holds little attraction in his eyes.

Between the Refutation and the Resignation...Part 1

I've mentioned the discussion going on at Chess.com about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). Some find it to be an interesting opening, some find it to be a poor one.

Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (and Chess.com) member Bill Wall has been positive about possible uses of the gambit ("it's the type of opening I like in blitz chess and I have had fun and success with it. My success this year has been 18 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss").

Chess.com Kacparov has been more skeptical ("The Jerome gambit can be easily refuted."). 

Both are relatively strong club players, and I'd like to present a Jerome Gambit game by each.

Wall - Rajiv

Chess.com, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4

The Nibs Variation, which received a serious look in the series "Repairing a Variation (Part 1)", "(Part 2)", "(Part 3)" and "(Part 4)". It is a wild, but dangerous, refutation.

Between the refutation and the resignation, however, the chess gods have placed the middle game (and sometimes the endgame).

7.0-0 Ng4

This is the traditional move, although Wall has also met 7...Qxe4, recommended by Rybka: 7...Qxe4 8.dxc5 Nf6 9.Nc3 Qc6 10.Re1 d6 11.cxd6 Qxd6 12.Bf4 Nf3+ 13.Qxf3 Qb6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Bxc7+ Qf6 16.Qxd5+ Be6 17.Qxb7 Rhe8 18.Bd8+ Black resigned, Wall - Gorodetsky, Chess.com, 2010 

8.h3 Bb6

9.hxg4

Less successful was 9.Qf3+ N4f6 10.e5 Bxd4 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.c3 Bb6 13.Nd2 Rf8 14.Ne4 Qxe4 15.Qd1 d5 16.Re1 Qf5 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 Bd7 19.Rf3 Qe5 20.Qd2 Rae8 21.Re3 Qd6 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.b3 Qe5 24.Rf1 Bc6 25.Kh1 Qe2 26.Qc1 d4 27.cxd4 Qe4 28.d5 Qxd5 29.f3 Kg8 30.Rd1 Qe6 31.Qf4 Nd5 32.Qd4 Ne3 33.Rc1 Bxf3 34.Kg1 Nxg2 35.Rxc7 Qe3+ 36.Qxe3 Nxe3 37.Kf2 Bc6 38.b4 Nd5 White resigned, Sir Osis of the Liver - perrypawnpusher, JG3 thematic, Chessworld.net, 2008.

9...d6 10.f3 Be6

11.Be3 Bc4 12.Re1 Ne7

13.f4

The "Jerome pawns".

13...Rhe8 14.Nd2 Ba6 15.Nf3 Qg3

16.a4 Ba5 17.c3 Kf8 18.b4 Ng6

19.f5 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.Qc2 c5

White seems to be holding on remarkably well, given that his opening has been refuted.

22.bxa5 Qxg4

I asked for Rybka's input on how the game was going, and I received it in a series of evaluations that looked like increasing pressure readings in a boiler that is about to blow up. Here White was rated 2.04 pawns ahead.

23.Rad1 cxd4

2.61 pawns 

24.Rxd4 Qg3 25.Qb3 Qf4

3.67 pawns

26.Qb1 Qg3

5.04 pawns

27.e5 g6

8.72 pawns.

28.Rxd6 Re7

12.28 pawns

29.f6 Ree8

From this position White can see mate. 

30.Qb4 Bb5 31.Rd8+ Kf7 32.e6+ Kxf6 33.Qd4+ Black resigned

Stinkin' up the Chessboard

As host of this blog, I am committed to showing all of my Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) adventures, not just the "good" games. The following embarassment has a few interesting points to it, but can easily be skipped over without losing much.

Two lessons: 1) don't play online blitz when the Olympics are on the TV; and 2) time pressure on the opponent is often the "secret weapon" when it comes to the Jerome Gambit.

perrypawnpusher - johnde
blitz 3 12, FICS 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6

I covered this rare move in "A Strange, But Intriguing, Path (Part 1)", "(Part 2)" and "(Part 3)".

6.Nxc6

Ooops! In playing this game I forgot that I had recommended the win of Black's Queen with 6.Qg4+ Kxe5 7.d4+ Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8.

6...dxc6 7.O-O Nf6 8.d3 Qd4

This keeps my dark-squared Bishop home temporarily, but more consistent would have been 8...Re8 and then ...Ke6-f7-g8, castling-by-hand.

9.c3 Qd7 10.d4 Be7

11.e5

This looks aggressive, but more to the point was 11.Qb3+, winning a piece.

11...Ne8 12.f4 Rf8

I suppose that it should be encouraging to all who play the Jerome Gambit that this position – arrived at even after White missed the "best" line – is better for White. 

13.Qh5

After 13.f5+ Rxf5 14.Rxf5 Kxf5 15.Qh5+ Ke6 White pretty much just develops his Queenside: Bc1-e3, c3-c4, Nb1-c3, Ra1-f8 with a better game. Amazing.

13...Kd5

This is way too bold.

14. c4+

Any reader with tactical skills probably sees the overwhelming power of 14.e6+ here. Too bad I didn't.

14...Kxc4 15.Na3+ Kd5

Better was 15...Bxa3 although after 16.Qe2+ White still has a smashing attack on the King.

16. Qxh7

Anyone for 16.e6+ instead?

16...Qg4 17.Be3

Turning the advantage over to Black.

We now both stumble along for a while.

17...Bf5 18.Qh3 Qe2 19.Qg3 Be4 20.Rfe1 Qxb2 21.Bf2

This is a complicated position, but Black is up a piece, and can soon be up two. His King's position does not offset this: Black is winning.

21...Nf6 

Well, Black was winning, but this move should drop a piece.

If I had noticed.

22. Qb3+ Qxb3 23.axb3 Ng4 24.Nc4 Rxf4 25.Rf1 Bb4 26.Rad1 Raf8

Black's position grows stonger and stronger.

Lucky for me, his time grows shorter and shorter.

27.Be3 Rxf1+ 28. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Nxh2+ 30. Kg1 Ng4 31. g3 Nxe3 32.Nxe3+ Kxd4

White's position is hopeless.

33.Kf2 Be1+ 34.Ke2 Bxg3 35.e6 Kc3 36.e7 Bg6 37.Nf5 Be5 38.Nh4

38...Bd3+

Too little time? Too little patience?

Now Black is no longer winning.

39.Ke3

I was amazed to discover after the game that Rybka sees this move as inaccurate – in fact, as allowing Black to draw. It suggested that after 39...g5 40.e8=Q Bd4+ 41.Kf3 gxh4 42.Qe1+ Kc2 43.Qxh4 Bb6 44.Qb4 c5

analysis diagram





that White has nothing better than to repeat moves for a draw with 45.Qa3 a6 46.Kf4 a5 47.Qa2+ Kc3 48.Qa3 Kc2 49.Qa2+ Kc3 etc. Wow!

analysis diagram







39...g6 40. e8=Q

40...Bd4+ 41.Kf4 Black resigned

White's Knight is enough to overcome Black's two-Bishops-plus-pawns fortress for his King with threats of mate. 

  

I am not Bill Wall...

The other day I was hanging around the FICS web site, trying to get in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game or two, or come up with something related to the Jerome Gambit, at any rate.

I wasn't having any luck.

Rats! I thought. If only I were Bill Wall. He gets to sac his King Bishop against almost anything!

Of course, I had my thinking all backward. It took me a few moves to straighten it out.

perrypawnpusher - Alquinte
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Nf6

I was hoping for 4...Bc5, so I could play the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit with 5.Bxf7+.

5.Nc3 Bc5

Here we have the Italian Four Knights Game, where White has added 0-0 and Black has added ...h7-h6.

6.Bxf7+

Here we go! Fortune favors the bold.

I've never played (or even studied) this move, but I figured it had to be an improvement over the sac in the regular Italian Four Knights. (I was wrong: I found out later that in 42 games in the New Year's Database, White scored only 27%!)

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4

Okay, what do we have here? A surprised opponent, and one or two pawns for the sacrificed piece (after I recapture). An uneasy enemy King that I have to attack quickly.

8...Nc6

This helps a bit. Stronger and more straight-forward was 8...Bxd4.

9.dxc5 d6 10.cxd6 Qxd6

11.Qf3

After the game Rybka recommended exchanging Queens and going into the endgame, with Black better. I thought I'd take my chances in the middle game.

11...Nd4 12.Qd3 Bg4

13.f3 Bh5 14.Be3 Nc6 15.Qc4+

15...Kf8

A slip that we both missed at first.

Insisting on exchanging Queens with 15...Qe6  was fine, for example 16.Qb5 b6 17.Rad1 Rhd8 and Black can be pleased with his small advantage – especially since White's "Jerome pawns" aren't going anywhere.

16.Rad1 Qe7

Ouch. Ouch.

Luckily, I had a second chance to wake up.

17.Bc5

17...Qxc5+ 18.Qxc5+ Kf7 19.Nd5 Nd7 20.Qe3 Nb4

This would lose a piece, but I didn't want to be distracted.

21.Qf4+

Leading to mate, although Black could have held out a little bit longer.

21...Kg8 22.Ne7+ Black resigned

This was not a game that "proved" that the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit was "sound" – only that it was fun to play, and at least once, worth the risk.

Witam!

I am always impressed by the people who visit this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) blog.

I recently learned that in November there was a short discussion of the Jerome Gambit ("Gambit Jereme'a ") at the Forum Szachowe, Poland, with one of the posters, jacprz, linking to this site. Dziękują, przyjaciel.

A quick visit to Google Analytics shows that in the last month readers have visited here from Sopot (the most visits), Gdynia (the longest average visit), Warsaw, Opole, Krakow, Nowy Targ, Katowice and Lublin.

Over at Chess.com, Bill Wall has set up a discussion of the Jerome Gambit, and we have been exchanging opinions with a number of players, including Kacparov, of Toruń, Poland (birthplace of Copernicus).

Small world.

Do zobaczenia później.