Perhaps the best chess advice that I ever read...

...was that if your opponent attacks one of your pieces, don't hurry to move it away. First, see if there is an attack that you can make, one that is more serious than his, one that can allow you to ignore your opponent's threat while he pays attention to yours.

My opponent's play in the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game shows that he was aware of that gem of knowledge, as well.

perrypawnpusher  - perama
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010

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

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

According to the updated New Year's Database, 6...Ng6 is the most popular reaction to the Queen check, followed by 6...Ke6, with 6...g6 and 6...Kf8 about equally third. All, of course, are considered refutations of the Jerome Gambit.

 7.Qd5+ Ke8

According to the Database, this move (first seen in Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, USA,1875) is about twice as popular as the reply 7...Kf8 (first see in Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd Match, Mexico, 1876).

8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 N8e7

Keeping the Knight out of danger, and preparing for ...Rh8-f8.

10.0-0 Be6

This move gives me a chance to complicate things.

Since Black has nothing to "prove" – he is comfortably ahead in material – he could rely on simple development and castling-by-hand to maintain his advantage: 10...Nc6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8

analysis diagram








11.f4 d5

Black's Bishop needed to move.

12.f5 d4

White attack's Black's pieces. Black, in turn, attacks White's Queen. In general, this is an admirable strategy, but in this particular case, to my good fortune, White's Queen can escape while maintaining threats.

13.Qg3 Bc4

Again: White threatens a piece, so Black threatens a Rook.

After the game Rybka suggested that Black could keep White's advantage to less than a pawn's worth with: 13...d3 14.cxd3 Qd4+ 15.Qe3 Qxe3+ 16.dxe3 Rd8 17.fxe6 Rxd3

analysis diagram







14.d3 Bxd3

Giving back the piece, although a stouter defense might have been to offer a Knight instead: 14...Bf7 15.fxg6 Nxg6.

15.cxd3 Nf8 16.Qxg7 Rg8

Stuck in the middle of the board, Black's King is in grave danger.

17.Qe5 c5 18.f6 Nfg6 19.f7+ Kf8 20.Bh6+ Rg7 21.Qxg7  checkmate

Did I tell you about the time...?

They say that there is no fool like an old fool, and I'm pretty sure that if I keep fooling around with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in its Four Knights Opening form, it will only be a matter of time before I receive a just punishment for such impertinence.

Still, the opening has its attractions.

perrypawnpusher  - KaZC
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6

The Petroff. I usually play the Boden-Kiezeritzky Gambit here (i.e. 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3, etc.) but I have been learning about the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, and couldn't resist trying that again.

3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5

So far, so boring.

5.Bxf7+

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

White has achieved an interesting position... at the cost of a losing game, critics would say. Certainly this is true in master-level play, but among club players, the outcome is not as clear.

7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 9.0-0 Re8

Here I had a pawn for my sacrificed piece – plus some attacking ideas and a plan to chase after the Black King.

10.f4

Next time (if there is a next time) I think I'll try 10.Bg5 first.

10...Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8

Black has castled-by-hand, and his development matches White's.

12.Bd2

Other games in this position have seen 12.Nd5 and 12.b3

12...a6 13.Rae1 Kh8

Black is taking precautions. He knows that if White breaks in the center with e4-e5, then after ...d6xe5 the Queens can be exchanged, taking an important piece out of White's attack.

14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Rxe1 16.Rxe1

16...Na7

One precaution too many. The alternative 16...Ne7 kept Black's advantage. Now White has a chance to even the game.

17.Qe4

Boring and uninspired.

Consider the alternative, 17.f5, which limits the movements of Black's Bishop, and therefore his Rook as well.

analysis diagram







Now Black can play 17...Bd7 and answer White's 18.Rf1 with the active 18...Qh4 – all reasonable moves. There follows the advance 19.f6.

analysis diagram







Should Black reply 19...Re8 (If 19...gxf6 20.Rxf6 Qxf6 21.Bc3 etc.) White can offer his Queen with 20.Qe3, as 20...Rxe3 21.f7 h6 22.f8Q+ Kh7 23.Bxe3 wins. 

analysis diagram







After 20...Nc8 21.Bc3 gxf6 ( the Queen is still safe: 21...Rxe3 22.fxg7+ Kg8 23.Rf8#) White liquidates to a roughly equal end game with 22.Qxe8+ Bxe8 23.Bxf6+ Qxf6 24.Rxf6

analysis diagram







Back to the game.

17...Bg4

18.h3 Bh5 19.g4 Bf7 20.Bc3 Qe8

Exchanging Queens and Rooks would move Black closer to the win.

21.Qf5

Here I missed a chance to grab a pawn with 21.Bxg7+ since 21...Kxg7 would be followed by 22.Qd4+ Kg8 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.Qxa7.

21...Qf8 22.Qd7

Preparing to double heavy pieces on the 7th rank, but this is a plan that should not work.

22...Nb5 23.Re7 Nxc3

Defending the Bishop with 23...Kg8 would have put an end to my plans.

24.Rxf7 Qe8 25.Qxe8+ Rxe8 26.bxc3 Kg8

The smoke has cleared. White has a small advantage in a drawish endgame.

27.Rxc7 b5 28.Kf2 Re4 29.f5

29...Ra4

KaZC's plan is clear: exchanging off the center and Queenside pawns will give him a draw.

30.Rd7 Rxa2 31.Rxd6 Rxc2+ 32.Ke3 Rxc3+ 33.Kd4 Rc4+

Black's Queenside pawns look scary, but they can be kept under control.

34.Kd3

Advancing the King was stronger.

34...Rc5 35.Rxa6 Rxd5+ 36.Ke3 Rd1

I think that at this point we could have fairly split the point, but I wanted to see what I could squeeze out of the position.

37.Rb6 Rb1 38.Kd4 Kf7 39.g5 Kg8 40.g6

Threatening mate!

40...Rd1+ 41.Ke5 Re1+ 42.Kf4 Re8 43.Rxb5 hxg6 44.fxg6

KaZC has everything under control.

44...Rf8+ 45.Rf5 Rxf5+ 46.Kxf5

Black's King is in his fortress, and no amount of wandering or maneuvering is going to allow a breakthrough.

At the time I still thought that I could come up with something.

46...Kf8 47.Ke6 Kg8 48.Ke7 Kh8 49.h4 Kg8 50.h5 Kh8

Now 51.Kf7 is stalemate.

51.Ke6 Kg8 52.Kf5 Kh8 53.Kg5 Kg8 54.Kf5 Kh8 55.Ke5 Kg8 56.Ke6 Kh8 57.Kd7 Kg8 58.Ke7 Kh8

Looking over this game, I am amazed at my opponent's patience and good humor. I am trying to get blood out of a stone, the game is hopelessly drawn.

Okay, there is one swindle in the position: try it, and then accept the draw...

59.h6

59...Kg8

By this time I was actually glad that my opponent did not fall for 59...gxh6 60.Kf8 h5 61.g7+ Kh7 62.g8Q+ Kh6 63.Qg7 checkmate.

 60.h7+ Kh8 61.Kf8 Game drawn by stalemate

Unsung Heroes

The updated New Year's Database, with almost 17,500 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+), and Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/4.Nc3/4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) games, includes the inspiration and effort of many, many players.

Only a few of these chessers are known to this blog and its readers, however.

Because a large number of the games were played on the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS), I have reached out to a dozen players there who have lots of Jerome Gambit experience and asked them to share their stories.

Of course, there are many places to play chess: ICC, Chess.com, PlayChess, GameKnot, RedHotPawn, Chess World, ChessHere, and Yahoo & MSN, for starters.

I would like others to drop me an email or add a "comment" to one of these posts – tell us how you got started with Bxf7+ in the double e-pawn openings, what was your greatest triumph, and what was (if you can) your deepest disappointment.

The whole Jerome Gambit Gemeinde is interested and waiting to applaud your efforts. 

Curiouser and Curiouser...

My Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) intrusions into various Four Knights Games (see "I am not Bill Wall...", "Bloodied but Unbowed", and "The Adventure Continues") have all had a level of strangeness about them. The following game is no exception.


perrypawnpusher - wertu
blitz FICS, 2010

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

The Italian Four Knights Game, via the Two Knights Defense.

5.Bxf7+

I might as well give it a try here. It should come as a shock in a very quiet opening.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

7...Nf3+

I like this move. It's not the strongest one – 7...Bxd4 and 7...Bd6 are stronger – but the text shows that my opponent is thinking and has an interesting plan for  his defense.

I found 7...Nf3+ in 5 games in the New Year's Database. Black scored 80%, in part because in 3 of those games White chose to capture the Knight with 8.Qxf3, scoring 0-3.

8.gxf3 Bb4 9.Bg5

A more solid idea was played by yorgos (who has 517 games in the New Year's Database, scoring 50%) who liked 9.Bd2, preserving the integrety of his Queenside pawns and allowing White to castle long later: 9...Re8 10.e5 Ng8 11.Nd5 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 d6 13.Qf4+ Ke6 14.Nc3 Kd7 15.0-0-0 b6 16.e6+ Rxe6 17.Qg4 Kc6 18.d5+ Kb7 19.dxe6 Qe7 20.Qe4+ Kb8 21.Nb5 Bb7 22.Qe3 a6 23.Nd4 Ka7 24.Nf5 Qe8 25.e7 Bc8 26.Nxg7 Black resigned, yorgos - fogmay, FICS, 2009;

That was a more successful plan than the one he executed a few weeks later: 9.e5 Nd5 10.Rg1 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3+ 12.Ke2 Bxa1 13.c3 Bxc3 14.Qb3+ d5 15.Qxc3 Be6 16.f4 Qh4 17.Qxc7+ Qe7 18.Qc3 Rac8 19.Qg3 Rc2+ 20.Bd2 g6 21.h4 Bf5 22.Qe3 Qe6 23.Qb3 Qa6+ 24.Kf3 Qd3+ 25.Qxd3 Bxd3 26.Ke3 Be4 27.Bb4 Rxa2 28.Rb1 Rc8 29.Rg1 Rcc2 30.Re1 a5 31.Bd6 b5 32.e6+ Kxe6 33.Be5 b4 34.f3 Rc3 checkmate, yorgos - pmackinney, FICS, 2009.

9...h6 10.Bh4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 g5 12.Bg3

There are a lot of "Jerome pawns" gathered together, but wertu plans to fix them in place.

12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.h4

My plan was to let my King hang out on the second rank, behind the pawn wall, while opening up the Kingside for my Bishop and an attack.

14...Nb6 15.hxg5

Not surprisingly, Rybka sees this as premature, and recommends 15.Qd3.

15...Qxg5

Recapturing with the pawn was stronger. Black plans to have his Queen infiltrate White's position, which is a risky adventure.

In either case, though, Black is still better (despite White's three "connected passed pawns").

16.Bh4 Qg2 17.Ke2

17...Ke6

Blockading the advanced pawn, but, instead, the Queen needed to retreat with 17...Qg6.

18.Qd2

Planning to swing the Rook at a1 over to g1 to win the Queen.

Readers with a tactical eye will see that the other Rook would do just as well, now: 18.Rg1 Qh3 19.Rg7 Qxh4 (what else?) 20.Qd3 Qg5 21.Rxg5 hxg5 22.Qg6+, etc.

18...Rf8

The kind of knee-jerk response that can happen in blitz – Black attacks White's f3 pawn twice and can answer 19.Qe3 with 19...Nc4. 

Instead, Black could stay in the game with the remarkable 18...Bd7, as after 19.Rag1 he has 19...Bb5+ when 20.c4 is forced – but good.

analysis diagram





After 20...Nxc4 21.Rxg2 Nxd2+ 22.Kxd2 Rag8 23.Rg3 White is better.

After 20...Bxc4+ 21.Ke3, Black continues with the fun 21...Bf1, threatening to fork White's King and Queen. White's response, 22.Qb4 is sufficient, but only if he realizes that with 22...Kf5 Black is planning checkmate!

analysis diagram





After 23.Rxg2 Nc4+ White gives up his Queen with 24.Qxc4+ and is a pawn up, with Black's Bishop hanging after 24...dxc4 25.Rg7.

analysis diagram






Wow.

Back to the game.

19.Qxh6+ Kd7 20.Qxf8 Black resigned