Challenges

Although we in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde are always improving our openings, there are those who defend who are doing the same. That can lead to some uncomfortable challenges.


aymmd - MOMLASAM
standard, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Bxf7+

Not quite the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

I have three recent games by aymmd in the updated New Year's Database. It' looks like he's just taken up the opening. As he's rated well above me, and is playing the Jerome at a standard time control, not blitz, his games should be interesting.

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

7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 9.Nc3 Re8

10.Bg5 h6

Not a surprise: besides exchanging pieces, White can keep the tension with 11.Bh4 or try the interesting 11.f4.

11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.f4

Aggressive (the White Rook on the same file as Black's Queen and King) but overlooking the same kind of tactic that I did in my game with Jantra. (Therefore 12.Rad1 was to be considered.)

12...Nf3+ 13.Rxf3 Qxd4+ 14.Kh1 Kg8 15.f5 Bd7 16.Rd1 Qe5 17.Rd5 Qf6 18.Rd1 Bc6 19.Rf4 g5 White resigned

Jerome Gambit, Over-the-Board

Pete Banks ("blackburne") is known to readers of this blog. His Jerome Gambit games have appeared in Gary Lane's ChessCafe column and in the IM's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps. Here is his latest over-the-board excursion.

Banks,P - Dunne,D
Worcestershire v Derbyshire, U-140, 2010[Notes by Pete Banks]

My opponent didn't turn up. Because his name was on the match sheet, and I made my move, I thought that I just had to wait for his flag to fall. Unfortunately the Midland Counties have a rule that allows substitutions.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4

I might as well see if I can play it.

3...Bc5

Here we go!

4.Bxf7+

One piece sacced.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5

Two pieces sacced after 5 moves! Now I've got a won game. (In my dreams)

6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5

One piece back!

7...d6 8.Qg3 Qe7 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.d3 h6

I've used 4 minutes and he's used 35 (including the time waiting for his teammate).

11.Be3 Bb6 12.0-0-0

Starting to pile up my army against his exposed King.

12...c6 13.f4

I believe my friend Rick calls these (e4 and f4) the 'Jerome pawns'.

13...Bxe3+ 14.Qxe3 b5 15.h3

I've been worried about N or B g4 for some time. I'm still two pawns for a piece, but the pawns could be strong.

15...b4

I'm going to more or less ignore his attack, because I think mine is better.

16.Ne2

In an ideal world, this will go to f4 and g6 giving a family fork.

16...c5

Still no real threat that I can see.

17.f5

Whereas this stops g5, cuts off his white-squared bishop, and supports the N going to g6.

17...Bb7 18.Nf4 Qf7

That stops my multiple fork, but I still win the exchange. He hasn't got time for Qxa2 if he wants to win the N.

19.Ng6+ Kg8 20.Nxh8 Kxh8 21.b3

I've now got R + 2P versus B+N. Advantage me I think.

21...a5 22.g4 a4

I still don't think there's anything to fear if I'm careful.

23.Qg3

This hits d6, but is really so I can move h4 without allowing Nxg4.

23...axb3 24.axb3

If his Q could get across to the a-file quickly, there might be cause for concern.

24...Qd7 25.h4 d5 26.e5

I thought about taking the d-pawn, but the passed pawn seemed better.

26...Nh7 27.Qf4

This is so I can play g5 without the Q taking my f-pawn. In this game my Q spends most of its time supporting pawns.

27...c4 28.dxc4 Ra1+

I have to be a bit careful now.

29.Kb2

If 29.Kd2, dxc4+ would be dangerous.

29...Rxd1 30.Rxd1 Bc6 31.cxd5

If he takes, the B is pinned, and he will lose it.

31...Nf8

I'm not sure what that was for, but I supppose there's not much choice.

32.Qxb4 Qd8

Nice combination to finish it.

33.dxc6 Qxd1 34.Qxf8+ Kh7

The only thing to worry about now is a perpetual check. The next move stops that.

35.Qd6 Qxg4

At this stage, Black's clock fell, but my next move would be Qg6 check which definitely finishes it. 

Modern over-the-board (as opposed to via the Internet) Jerome Gambit games are hard to come by. Does anyone else play the Jerome Gambit "in real life"? - Rick

Theoretical

The Jerome Gambit and its relations are fun "just do it!" openings, but over time they have developed their own "book" and sometimes a line, as the one discussed below, can become "theoretical".

MCMLXXXIII - TheProducer
blitz, 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+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6

This position was reached in the game discussed yesterday (see "Really? Really.") and in 824 other games in the New Year's Database. White scored 60%.

7.Nxg6 Nf6

Not Black's best response (he should take the Knight), but it is enough to complicate the game.

8.Qe5+ Be7

Again, not the best, but, again, plenty messy. Black should try 8...Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 as in perrypawnpusher - xenoglot, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 37).

White now has several options, only one of which leads to advantage. A little familiarity with the first moves of this opening can save a lot of calculation time and headaches later.

9.Nxh8

Tempting. However, the best chances came with 9.Nxe7, e.g. 9...Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Ne3+ (or 10...Qxe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.Kxc2) 11.dxe3 Qxe7 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.f3 when White is up 2 pawns. 

analysis diagram








9...Nxc2+ 10.Kd1

10...Nxa1

This may be easy to work out with a longer time to think about it, but in blitz it is not as simple. See perrypawnpusher - lourotors, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1,37).

Kicking the White Queen with 10...d6 before capturing the Rook was a bit stronger, but in either case Black is better.

11.Nc3

Ignoring the Black Knight in the corner and working on development.

11...Ng4

Half of the moves in this game have been made by the Knights. Look at them!

Sadly, this move ends the game for Black. (Kicking the enemy Queen was a job for the d-pawn.)

12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Qf7 checkmate

Really? Really.

This game was my last pre-break (see "Busted!") Jerome-ish game, and it was a good reminder of what would be in store for me when I returned in, hopefully, better shape.


perrypawnpusher - Raankh
blitz, 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+ Ke8

This move often seems safer to Black than the more energetic (and more risky) 5...Ke6. If the second player does not know what he is doing, however, things can become difficult.

6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxg6+

As I wrote in "BSG: Later on in the Discussion"

Seen most often is 5...Ke8, and after 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6, best play for both sides is 7...hxg6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.Qg5+, when Black can go for the draw-by-repetition with 9...Ke8; or go for an unbalanced (but largely equal) position... with 9...Nf6 10.Qc5+ d6 11.Qxd4 when White has four pawns for a piece and it is unclear if Black has an open King or open lines for development.

8...Ke7 9.Qg5+ Nf6

10.Qc5+

I once got away with 10.e5 vs JokeritT (1-0, 28), but only because my opponent followed up with 10...Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1. Instead, 10...Kf7, taking advantage of the fact that he is two pieces ahead and can afford to give one back, would have made all things good for Black.

10...d6 11.Qxd4 Bg7

This seems better than either 11...c5, as in perrypawnpusher - foreverblackman, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 21), or 11...Qd7, as in perrypawnpusher - theferno, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28).

12.d3 Rg8 13.Bg5 Kf7 14.Nc3 Bd7 

After the game Rybka suggested that Black could have played the move that he had apparently prepared, 14...Nxe4, althoug after 15.Qd5+ Be6 16.Bxd8 Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 Bxd5 18.dxe4 Bxe4 19.Bxc7 the game looks like it is racing toward one of those notoriously drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endings...


15.f4 Qe8 16.0-0 Nh7 17.Qd5+

Better was the break 17.e5.

17...Be6 18.Qxb7 Nxg5 19.fxg5+ Kg6

Black's King is uncomfortable, and White has 5 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but Black's two Bishops should not be overlooked as they can create pressure on White's Queenside.

After the game Rybka suggested that White begin to consolidate with 20.Ne2. Instead, I was still thinking: grab pawns!

20.Qxc7 Bxc3

Missing his chance for 20...Qb8 and possibly an even game.

21.Qxc3

21...Rf8 22.Qd2

Protecting the advanced g-pawn. Much more dynamic was 22.Rxf8 Qxf8 23.Rf1 with the idea of Rf1-f6. I was thinking about the endgame, not a middle game attack.

22...Qe7 23.Rf3 Rxf3 24.gxf3 Qxg5+ 25.Qxg5+ Kxg5

The practical chances have to lie with White, even if Black has ways to defend.

26.Kf2 Kf4 27.b3 d5 28.Rg1 Rg8

I don't think that exchanging this Rook helps Black's defense.

29.Rxg8 Bxg8

30.c4 d4 31.b4 Be6 32.a4 a6 33.b5 axb5 34.axb5 Bd7 35.b6 Bc6 36.h4 Bb7 37.h5

Decoy.

37...Kg5 38.Kg3 Kxh5 39.Kf4 Kg6 40.Ke5 Kg5 41.f4+ Kg4 42.f5 Kg5 43.Kxd4

Five connected passed pawns. You don't see that every day.

43...Kf6 44.c5 Bc6 45.Ke3 Ke5 Bb7 48.d5 Ke7 49.c6 Black resigned

Win, Lose, Draw

Here we have another game that went bad just as it was getting good... Luckily, the Jerome Gambit has an endgame swamp that White can often disappear into. 

perrypawnpusher - jgknight
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

So far, all pretty standard. As usual, Black is better.

10.0-0 Rf8 11.f4 Ng4

Ah, the harassing horsie! This is better than the bodacious 11...Kd7 of perrypawnpusher - blackburne, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld, 2008 (1-0, 38), though not as thematic as the thoughtful 11...Rf7 followed by 12...Kf8 as in mrjoker - Mandragora, ICC, 2008 (1-49). Of course, 11...Kf7 followed by 12...Kg8 was a fine plan, too.

12.Qg3 Qh4

This seems a little bit better than the 12...h5 of perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 47) and a bit less good than 12...Qf6, seen in perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0,  37), but all three moves, plus 12...c6 and 12...Ne7, seem very playable.

I know that the Jerome Gambiteer thinks of "attack!" but exchanging Queens is now best.

13.Qxh4 Nxh4 14.f5

This is not so much an improvement upon as an alternative to the 14.d3 of perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 47), a game which saw 15.f5, anyhow. The goal is to work toward winning one of Black's two advanced Knights.

14...Ne5

Black sees what is up and evacuates a Knight. Instead, he chould have attacked White's advance pawn with 14...g6, an idea which he comes to, shortly.

15.g3

A complete mis-reading of the position. White needed to try 15.d4, and after 15...Nc6 he had either 16.d5 or 16.c3, each of which would have helped his lagging development and would have strengthened his position, not weakened it.

15...Nhf3+

And I thought that the Knights were annoying before!

16.Kg2 g6 17.c3 gxf5 18.exf5 Rxf5 19.d4

White's position is a mess (lack of development, for starters) and all Black needs to do is find 19...Nd3 to show this. Instead, he chooses the wrong square for his Knight.

19...Ng4

I've tried for a win, I've blundered into a loss, but this move gives me a chance for a draw...

20.Rxf3 Rxf3 21.Kxf3 Nxh2+ 22.Kg2 Ng4 23.Bg5 h6 24.Bf4 Bf5 25.Nd2 Kf7 26.Re1 Re8 27.Rxe8 Kxe8 28.Nc4 b5 29.Ne3 Nxe3+ 30.Bxe3

Around here, or soon after, I offered my opponent a draw, as we've reached a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame which is quite even. jgknight declined, either out of principle or pique, or maybe he figured his "good" Bishop could out-duel my "bad" one.

As a result, we almost doubled the length of the game, but eventually, as my opponent fell behind in time, he decided to concede the half point.

30...Be4+ 31.Kh3 h5 32.Kh4 Bf3 33.Kg5 Kf7 34.a3 a5 35.Bf4 Ke6 36.Kg6 c5 37.dxc5 dxc5 38.Be3 Kd5 39.Kf5 b4 40.cxb4 axb4 41.axb4 cxb4 42.Bh6 Kc4 43.Kf4 Bg4 44.Bg7 Kd3 45.Be5 Kc2 46.Bd4 b3 47.Be5 Kd3 48.Bf6 Ke2 49.Be5 Kf2 50.Bf6 Kg2 51.Bh4 Kh3 52.Bf6 Bd1 53.Bh4 Bg4 54.Bf6 Bd1 55.Bh4 Bg4 56.Bf6 Bd1 57.Bh4 Bg4 58.Bf6 Game drawn by repetition