I am thrilled that so many players are trying out the Jerome Gambit and using various Jerome-ish themes in their opening play. That is one way to learn about development, open lines, tempos and an attack on the King. It also can be a lot of fun.
On the other hand, while Bxf7+ can have an unsettling psychological effect upon a defender who is both surprised and unprepared, if the move is not backed up by further, planned action, the sacrifice can prove very dangerous – for the gambiteer. Thus, the warning in the title of today's post, which often shows up in small print on television commercials that show cars being driven wildly and with great excitement...
NN - perrypawnpusher
blitz 3 0, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6
This position can be reached via the Center Game: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nf6 4.Bc4 Nc6. Cochrane - Staunton, London 1842, continued 5.Qd1 (5.Qe3 is also possible) Bc5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 Nxe4 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Bg5 Nxg5 10.Nxg5 Ne5 11.Re1 d6 12.h4 h6 13.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 14.Kxf2 Qxh4+ 15.g3 Qh2+ 16.Ke3 Qxg3+ White resigned.
(For a Cochrane - Staunton - Jerome Gambit intersection, check here.)
My opponent now played a move, then asked to take it back (which I agreed to) and tried something completely different.
5.Bxf7+
Wow!
5...Kxf7 6.Qc4+
This move illustrates White's problem – how to continue the attack?
6...d5 7.exd5 Qxd5 8.Qxd5+ Nxd5
What is the object of playing a gambit opening?...To acquire a reputation of being a dashing player at the cost of losing a game
Siegbert Tarrasch
9.Nf3 Bc5 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Ne1 Rhe8
Here I could have taken advantage of the blocked White Rook by playing 11...Be2, winning the exchange; but I was focusing on getting all my pieces active.
12.Be3 Nxe3 13.fxe3+ Kg8
Castled (by hand) and everything...
14.Rf4 Bxe3+ 15.Rf2 Rf8 White resigned
I have had many duels with Knights that have used the e5 square for a resting place before hopping off (usually to the g4 square) to harass my Queen. This time I avoided my usual knee-jerk f2-f4 and still found a way to effectively deliver the boot.
perrypawnpusher - mikelars
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+
The "nudge". White invests a move to drive Black's King back. If the second player is going to ever develop his Rook currently sitting on h8, he will eventually have to return the move with ...Kf7 or ...Ke7.
7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
I have had this position in 24 games previously, and scored 77%.
In an earlier game my opponent had challenged me with 9...Ne5, either a provocation or a heavy-handed way of preventing e4-e5. Our game continued 10.0-0 Nf6 11.f4 Neg4 (11...Nfg4 12.Qg3 Ng6 13.f5 N6e5 14.d4 c6 15.dxe5 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Nxe5 17.Qxg7 Rf8 18.f6 Be6 19.Qe7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - Kotimatka, blitz, FICS, 2010) 12.Qe2 Qe7 13.d3 Rf8 14.Nc3 Nh5 15.Nd5 Qd7 16.f5 Ngf6 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Nf4 Qb5 20.c3 Bd7 21.Rae1 Qa5 22.a3 Bb5 23.e5 dxe5 24.Qxe5+ Kd7 25.Qe7+ Kc8 26.Qxf8+ Black forfeited on time, perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2010.
10.0-0 Qe7
I noticed in The Database that mrjoker (Louis Morin) had this position 5 times in 2009, playing 11.d3 four times (2-1-1) and 11.Nc3 once (1-0),
11.Nc3 Ne5
Again (see our earlier game, above) mikelars' Knight seems to scream "Kick me!"
12.d4 Nc4 13.Qd3 Na5
This did not look right to me: the steed must retire instead to b6. I forced myself to spend time to analyze my next move, as this was an opportunity that I did not want to miss.
14.Qb5+ Nc6 15.d5 a6 16.Qa4 b5
I had anticipated this, but less bad was 16...Bd7, i.e. 17.dxc6 Bxc6 and White is up a pawn.
I think my opponent's incomplete analysis of this tactical position may have been another example of the negative "halo effect" that the Jerome Gambit inspires – if my early moves are bad, many of my later moves must be bad, too, (and they can be defeated with little thought or effort).
17.Nxb5 Ne5
Again, Black needed to bail and concede the piece with 17...Kf7 18.dxc6 Rb8 19.Nc3 although my three extra pawns will then keep me better.
18.Nxc7+ Kf7 19.Nxa8 Bd7
White is going to come out of this up the exchange and a handful of pawns. The next few moves I focused on exchanging pieces to reduce counter-play; then I played "simple" moves to avoid throwing the game away.
20.Qxa6 Nxe4 21.Nb6 Nc5 22.Qe2 Rb8 23.Nxd7 Ncxd7 24.f4 Ng6 25.Qxe7+ Nxe7 26.c4 Nf5 27.b3 Ra8
A visual assessment is that the pawns win, but I wanted to have my time a bit more under control, too, so I continued to play simply.
28.Bb2 Ne3 29.Rf2 Nc5 30.Bd4 Nd3
My opponent believed that I had overlooked the loss of the exchange, but he was really giving up two pieces for a Rook.
31.Bxe3 Nxf2 32.Kxf2 Kf6
33.g4 h6 34.Bd4+ Kf7 35.h4 Re8 36.Re1 Ra8 37.Re2 Rf8 38.Kf3 Kg6 39.a4
The outside passed pawn wins, but so does 39.Re7 or 39.Re6+.
39...Rb8 40.Re3 h5 41.Re6+ Kh7 42.gxh5 Rf8 43.Rxd6 Rf5 44.Rd7 Rxh5 45.Rxg7+ Kh6 46.d6 Rxh4 47.d7 Rh3+ 48.Ke4 Rxb3 49.d8Q Rh3 50.Qh8 checkmate
There's nothing quite like a good mind-swarm of worries to degrade a player's chess abilities.
(For me, lack of appropriate levels of caffeine in my blood system runs a close second.)
perrypawnpusher - Abatwa
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
Opting for the Two Knights Defense.
A couple of games by my opponent continued with the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: 3...Nd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 (5...Ke7 6.d3 h6 7.Ng6+ Ke8 8.Nxh8 Nf6 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Re1 Bxh2+ 11.Kh1 Be5 12.c3 Nc6 13.Qb3, Black resigned, Abatwa - yeabro, FICS, 2010) 6.c3 Nc6 7.d4 Nce7 8.Qg4+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010.
4.Nc3 Bc5
The Italian Four Knights Game.
5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. My opponent and I have been here before.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Bxd4
The most popular response, and stronger than my opponent's earlier, creative, efforts: 7...Bb4 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qd5+ Kf8 10.Qxe4 Qe7 11.0-0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 d6 13.Ba3 c5 14.Qf4+ Ke8 15.exd6 Qd7 16.Rfe1+ Kd8 17.Qg5+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010; and
7...Rf8 8.dxe5 Ne8 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Bg5+ Nf6 11.exf6+ gxf6 12.Qxc5+ d6 13.Nd5+ Kd7 14.Qd4 fxg5 15.Qg7+ Kc6 16.Qc3+ Kd7 17.0-0-0 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010.
8.Qxd4 Re8 9.0-0 Nfg4
My opponent was spending a lot of time thinking, and this move gave me a bit of a start: my worries started to multiply, even though, objectively 9...d6 was better.
What was there to worrry about?
I would normally play 10.f4 here, but I imagined that Black would respond to the move with 10...Qh4, threatening mate. Of course, I could play 11.h3, but then he would have 11...Qg3, and if I took off the advanced Knight with 12.hxg4 he could replace it with 12...Nxg4.
After some thought, I played
10.Bf4
Not enough thought, of course.
My worried thoughts were faulty.
For starters, after 10.f4 Qh4 White would be able to remove the backup Knight with check either on his 11th or 12th moves.
Even after the hallucinated 10.f4 Qh4 11.h3 Qg3 12.hxg4 Nxg4 White can defend, with an even game, after 13.Qd5+ Kf8 14.Qh5.
Pretty sad.
Best was simply 10.h3, and after 10...Nf6 then 11.Bg5 d6 12.f4 Nc6, with Black still better.
One positive thing did come out of my odd Bishop move: I don't think it made sense to my opponent, either. What was I up to?? He continued to eat up thinking time.
10...Qf6 11.Qd2 Qg6
12.Bg3
I still wasn't sure what I was doing, either.
The straight-forward 12.h3 Nf6 13.Bxe5 Rxe5 14.f4 followed by 15.e5 would have given White the initiative and positional compensation for his material deficit.
12...d6
This certainly looks good: with four pieces aimed at my Kingside (let's not count the Black King) my opponent opens a line for a fifth.
I decided, though, that the pressure on the wing needed counter-pressure in the center.
13.Nd5 Rb8 14.Nxc7 Re7 15.Nd5 Re8 16.f3 Nf6 17.Nf4 Qh6 18.Qxd6
With three pawns for the piece, White is now probably even. It was nice to be forcing the pace of the game, making my opponent react.
18...Bd7 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.Qxd5+
This keeps the game even, while 20.Bxe5 gives White the edge. How big an edge is not clear, as there is always the possibility of things devolving into a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame if I am not careful.
20...Kf8
Unfortunately time had now become very much a factor for my opponent, and he missed the stronger 20...Qe6 which would have kept things level.
21.Bxe5 Qe3+ 22.Kh1 Black lost on time
Three extra pawns should be enough for White to win.
Playing the Jerome Gambit and its relatives regularly is like participating a seminar on "The Psychology of Error in Chess." White can only win after giving "Jerome Odds" if his opponent errs, but there are so many ways that Black can suddenly become cooperative...
iplayforsean - Leftang
blitz, FICS, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5
Not a good idea, for a number of reasons. See "A Line of Play Everyone Should Know About" for a few of them.
4.Bxf7+
Not the best reason (4.Nxe5 is top of the picks), but reason enough to avoid 3...Na5.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.d4
One of several moves that White has at his disposal, to keep the game interesting and going forward. The most precipitate is 6.Qg4+ when Black probably does best to take the offered piece with 6...Kxe5, as White has an edge after 6...Ke7 7.Qg5+ (likely better than 7.Qh5+ Nf6 8.Ng6+ hxg6 9.Qxh8) Nf6 8.Ng4 Nc6 9.e5 Kf7 10.exf6 d5 although things remain complicated. After 6.Qg4+ Kxe5 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Qxa5 Qf6 Black may have a edge, but his King's position and lag in development keeps it small.
6...d6 7.d5+
White might do better with the maneuver mentioned above: 7.Qg4+ Ke7 8.Qh4+ Nf6 9.Ng6+ hxg6 10.Qxh8
7...Kxe5
Sometimes it is nice to be two pieces ahead, like in the line mentionied in the note after White's 6.d4, above. But not this time.
Black could survive with 7...Ke7, although after 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.0-0 his King would remain a major headache.
8.Qh5+
Crunch!
8...Kf6
Only temporary relief comes from 8...g5, e.g. 9.Bxg5 Nf6 10.f4+ Kd4 11.Qf3 and the Black King will come to grief.
9.Bg5+ Ke5 10.Bxd8+ Black resigned
Losing his Queen was enough punishment for Black.
Attackers might figure out that the alternative 10.c3 led to checkmate, for example 10...Nf6 11.Bf4+ Kxf4 12.g3+ Kxe4 13.Nd2+ Kd3 14.Qe2+ Kc2 15.Nf1. (After the text, if it were needed, White could still mate in about 10 moves, but this proved unnecessary.)
The January/February 2011 issue of Bill Wall's interactive e-magazine, "White Knight Review", is now available.
Why not surf on by http://www.offthewallchess.com/ and give it a look?
There are some cool articles, including one on the Jerome Gambit that contains a couple of Bill's games, annotated.
The Wikipedia entry for the computer program Chess Titans (see "Artificial Ignorance Part 1"), which comes with the Windows 7 operating system, includes this dead-pan bit of information
Chess Titans has been criticized for being less sophisticated than other chess video games. However, while its algorithms may not be as sophisticated, it is still a good game for beginners or those wanting a refresher.
Chess Titans has also been criticized for having bugs that allow the computer to cheat. However, this criticism is generally unfounded and often comes from beginners who are unfamiliar with more artisan moves such as castling and en passant.
My son was pleased that the program was willing to answer his 1.e4 with 1..e5 (I haven't shown him the "Sicilian Jerome Gambit" yet), and he quickly went about offering the computer "Jerome Gambit odds".
Jon - Chess Titans
casual game, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
Book or calculation? The computer chooses a fighting line.
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Nc3
Checking The Database I see that this line scored 23% in 45 games. This game gives it a nudge upward.
8...Bxf2+
This "theoretical novelty", however, restores White's chances to a-little-better-than-even. It is hard to see where the move came from, as the psychology of the "Anti-Bill Wall Gambit" and its relatives is largely a human phenomenon.
Certainly 8...Qf6, instead, was the way to go for Black.
9.Qxf2 g6
More strangeness, and now White is winning, as he quickly shows.
10.Qd4+ Ke6 11.0-0
Castling his King into safety, developing his King Rook and following the advice restrain the King, then checkmate him. It is a shame to have to point out that 11.Qd5+ first, and after 11...Kf6 then 12.0-0+ was stronger, e.g. 12...Kg7 13.Qxe5+ Nf6 and White's build-up of attack on the pinned Knight will be decisive.
11...d5
One step too far.
12.exd5+ Ke7
Opting for a quick end.
Instead, 12...Kd6 13.Nb5+ Ke7 14.Qxe5+ Kd7 15.Qe6 checkmate lasts a bit longer.
"Best" is defending with 12...Kd7 but after 13.Qxe5 White is threatening both material gain and checkmate, and Black's survival (however long he lasts) will be a tortured one.
13.Qxe5+ Be6 14.Qxe6 checkmate
(Hey, Boss, look out!)
How do you get a chess-playing computer to play poorly?
In the case of programs like Talking LCD Chess – see "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser (Part I)", Part II, Part III and Part IV – you can limit how deeply it searches for each move. It sees less, it misses more.
In the case of programs like Chess Challenger 7 – see "A Jerome Gambit 'Challenger' " – you can limit the amount of time it spends on choosing each move. Again, playing strength has a lot to do with how far the computer "sees".
Or, when you design a program, you can have it play a relatively decent game, but every once-in-a-while have it choose the 4th or 5th or worse move choice. That's the blunder-as-a-ticking-time-bomb model: with strong players, large mistakes are rare; but with weak players things go *boom* quite regularly.
I was thinking about this "problem" (most of the time programmers are trying to make their chess engines stronger and smarter) today while discussing the Chess Titans program (which is included in the Windows 7 operating system) with my son, Jon.
The youngest of the "Kennedy Kids", home on vacation from his work in Haiti, has been spending more time on chess lately. Of course, he wanted me to show him the details of the Jerome Gambit, and of course I spent a lot of time doing so.
He wants to return to The Haitian Project, play his boss at chess, and beat him with the Jerome Gambit...
