Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 1)

What to do? What to do?

You're looking forward to a nice Jerome Gambit, but after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 you wily opponent plays 3...Nf6, signalling the Two Knights Defense.

Well, if you have a favorite attack against the Two Knights (e.g 4.Ng5 or 4.d4) you could simply play that.

Or, you could try 4.Qe2!?, as explored in "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" & "(Part 2)" and "Back to the Wall".

There are over 900 examples of 4.Nc3 (my current favorite, heading for a chance at the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit ) in the updated New Year's Database and 46 examples of the interesting 4.0-0!?.

The next few posts will explore the possibilities open to the prospective Jerome Gambiteer.

I'll never understand this stuff...

I usually enjoy playing chess at the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) and I especially appreciate having access to their massive database of games played on the site – but my experiences with opponents who disconnect when losing can be terribly frustrating.

I thought that I understood the rules that govern adjudication of disconnections, after my most recent encounter (see "Serves me right...").

So, when I played the following game I realized right away that just because my opponent made a mess of things and then he disconnected, it didn't mean that he would be penalized for it...

The outcome of an adjudication is primarily based on position and clocks. Who disconnected is rarely a decisive factor.

perrypawnpusher - anonymous

blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Bb6 9.dxe5

Position? White is up a pawn, has a safer King, and is ready to castle. (Fritz 8 rates White about a pawn and a half better.)

Clocks? I had more time than my opponent, but time was not critical.

Result of adjudication? The game was aborted.

I could guess that maybe the game hadn't been long enough to be adjudicated a win (see "Disconnect" where a 14-move game was aborted by adjudication), if it were not for the fact that I'd had a opponent disconnect against me after 7 moves, request adjudication, and be awarded a win... (see "A Sneaky Way to Beat the Jerome Gambit...")

It seems that the "d/r/a Defense" remains one of the strongest ways to counter the Jerome and its relatives. Pity.

First Split Point

With 129 of the 156 games (83%) of the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament complete, the players have seen their first drawn game. That's a rate of less than 1% of the games!

This balanced position is from DREWBEAR 63 - TWODOGS. The somewhat "open" position of the Kings, the presence of Queens who can check at will, and the existence of Bishops-of-opposite-colors all suggest a possible draw.

This happens, but not as expected.

27.Qd8+ Qe8 28.Qxc7 Bd5

This slip gives White a winning advantage.

29.Qd6+ Qe7 30.Qxd5 g5 31.Qf5+ Ke8 32.Qg6+ Kd7 33.Qxh6 Qe5+ 34.Kg2 Qd5 35.Bxg5 e3+

White's extra piece is enough to win, but he has been picking up stray pawns as well. Black's chances lie in repeatedly checking White's King, as it is unlikely that he will be able to promote his passed pawn on e3.

36.Kf1

An understandable slip that gives away a half point.

Necessary was the paradoxical 36.Kg3, moving the White King temporarily away from the passer, but giving it shelter from enemy checks. After 36...e2 the King can return with 37.Kf2, and although Black will be able to grab a couple of pawns in exchange for the pawn on e2, he will not be able to check the enemy King enough to force the draw.

36...Qf3+ 37.Kg1 Qd1+

If Black tries to advance the pawn with, say, 37...Qf2+ 38.Kh1 e2 he gets checkmated 39.Qd6 Ke8 40.Qe7#. Also, if he gives White a chance, the first player will chop off the passed pawn.

38.Kg2 Qe2+ 39.Kh1 Qf1+ Drawn

 

Working Knights

Here's another Jerome Gambit with a flurry of pieces, especially Knights, on the Kingside, harassing my poor Queen...

perrypawnpusher - Verlen
blitz, FICS, 2010

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.Qe3 Nf6

10.0-0 Be6 11.f4 Ng4

Black has developed his Bishop to a risky square, facing a pawn fork after 11.f4. His solution is to ignore the threat and attack White's Queen. Safer was either 11...Bf7 or 11...Ne7.

12.Qg3 Rf8

Black has a simpler way out of his dilemma: exchange Queens. After the game Rybka suggested 12...Qh4 13.Qxh4 Nxh4 14.g3 d5 15.gxh4 dxe4 16.Nc3 Nf6 17.Re1 Kd7 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Rxe4 Rae8 and White's two extra pawns are not going to mean much, especially if Black can force the Rooks off of the board and play a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.

13.f5 N6e5

14.d4

Simpler was 14.fxe6, but the text move is okay.

14...Bc4 15.Re1 h5

16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Be3 Qd7 18.h3 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Qb5

20.b3 Bf7 21.Nc3 Qc6 22.Rad1 Qf6

Black has reinforced his Kingside with pieces. True, White has a pawn advantage, but it will be a long time before it will become meaningful in the game; and even then, it will be facing a stocked side of the board.

23.Nd5 Black resigned

The end came as a surprise to me. Perhaps my opponent just didn't see the value (or fun) in defending a technical position.

Not Quite A Jerome Gambit

When my opponent did not go into a Jerome Gambit, I patiently waited for him to play "extra" moves until we transposed. It turned out that my "extra" moves "disappeared," while his actually helped him out a little bit.

perrypawnpusher - Octv
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 a6

This seems to rule out a Jerome Gambit, but maybe not. I've been able to turn things Jerome-ish before: see "Suddenly...Poof!", "Haunted by the Jerome Gambit", "Brawl" and "Long Lost Cousins & Perfect Strangers" for examples.

4.0-0

The updated New Year's Database has a couple of games by Bill Wall where he played 4.Nc3 instead, responding to 4...b5 with 5.Bxf7+: 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 (6...Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 Bg7  9.Qd5+ Ke8 10.Qxa8 Black resigned, Wall,B - Dinghy, 1998) 7.d4 d6 8.Nxc6 Qd7 9.d5 Ne7 10.Nd4 Bb7 11.Qf3 c5 12.dxc6 Nxc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.0-0 Be7 15.Rd1 Rf8 16.Qh5+ Rf7 17.Qxh7 b4 18.Nd5 Bg5 19.Bxg5, Black resigned, Wall,B - Gonzalez, Chess.com, 2010

4...b5 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.Nc3

I was still holding out for some kind of Jerome Gambit, or I would have played 6.d4.

6...Bc5 7.Bxf7+

Here we go...

7...Kxf7 8.Nxe5+ Nxe5 9.d4 d6

Playing along the lines of the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. The addition of ...a6 and ...b5 probably helps Black a bit by comparison.

10.dxc5 dxc5 11.Qe2 Bb7 12.Bg5 h5

At first I thought this was a mouse-slip for 12...h6, but it turned out that Black was planning to put a Knight on g4 and look for "Fishing Pole" style options (h3 followed by hxg4 would be answered with ...hxg4, opening the Rook's file). 

13.Rad1 Qe7 14.f4 Neg4

15.e5 Nd7

An oversight.

Afterwards Rybka suggested 15...c4 16.exf6 Qxe2 17.Nxe2 Nxf6 with about an even game.

16.Bxe7 Black resigned

Read This Blog

Sometimes the only advice that I have for chessplayers is: Read this blog. Oh - and pay attention to what is going on, too...

Yvalery - Gouldy
standard game, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6

The updated New Year's Database has five of Yvalery's games with 5...Ke8 here (he was 2-2 with White, and 1-0 with Black), but none 5...Ke6.

6.Qh5

In the Database there are 68 games with this position. White's score is 58%.

I recommend 6.c3, instead, even though it scores only 53% (out of 215 games) in the Database.

6...Nf6

The strongest move. White scores 39% in the Database.

7.Qg5

White has to hang in there while his Rook disappears.

7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nxa1 9.Qf5+

9...Ke7 10.Nc3 d6

Black has things under control.

11.Nd5+ Nxd5 12.Qf7 checkmate

Ouch!

Tortise vs Hare

The finish of the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is a bit of a "tortise vs hare" race.

Daves111, playing the role of the hare, raced out to the lead with a score of 21 points out of 24 games and has finished play (the only player to do so to date).

Of the remaining field, only CheckmateKingTwo, with 7 points in 9 games (and 15 games remaining to be completed, the most of any competitor), has a chance of overtaking him.

Interestingly, CheckmateKingTwo's only two losses have been to Daves111 – on time.