Alexander Kotov, in his classic Think Like A Grandmaster, wrote about players who were
over-confident, complacent in their recognition of the fact that they had a marked advantage, and so their vigilance was blunted.
We call this widespread complacency when the win is near 'Dizziness due to success' .
perrypawnpusher - bnxr
blitz, FICS, 2011
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.O-O Kf7
Black returns the tempo that I spent on "the nudge" (see "Nudge 2.0")
11.f4 Re8 12.f5 Rxe4
While analyzing my game against stcamillis (see "Stand up! Fight back!") where I had played 12.d3, I had realized that 12.f5 was playable – in fact, it had been played as early as Vazquez - Carrington, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876, because the immediate threat against the pawn at e4 was an illusion.
That my opponent grabbed the pawn (his plan from move 10) is one more example of the negative "halo effect" that surrounds the Jerome Gambit: If White blunders so badly in the opening, he is going to blunder throughout the game. So any move that appears bad [like 12.f5], must be bad.
13.fxg6+ hxg6
An unfortunate reflex action. Black needed to play 13...Kg8, when 14.gxh7+ Kh8 15.Qd3 would have left White with a pawn advantage.
14.Qxe4
14...Bf5 15.Rxf5
The position looked messy after 15.Qxb7 Bxc2, so I decided to return a bit of my extra material (Rook for Knight + pawn) to reach a quieter position.
15...gxf5 16.Qxf5 Qe7 17.Qf1
This borders on anxiety, however. Simply 17.Nc3 was fine.
17...Rh8 18.d3 Qe5 19.Nc3
Up a piece, a little bit of development – what could go wrong?
19...Qxh2+
Well, that's annoying.
The game would have been much simpler after the alert 19.h3. Now my opponent had chances to make my life uncomfortable, and I was fortunate that he did not torture me as much as he could have.
20.Kf2 Qh4+
After the game Rybka preferred 20... Re8, and showed that White would be fine after 21.Ne2 Nd5 22.Ke1+ Kg8 23.Bd2 b5 24.Rc1 c5 25.Kd1 Rf8 26.Qg1 Qe5 27.Rb1 Re8 28.Qf1 c4 29.dxc4 bxc4 30.Ng1.
analysis diagram
Uh, right...
21.Ke2 Kg8
I was very happy to see Black block his Rook from the e-file.
22.Bd2 Qg4+ 23. Qf3 Qe6+ 24.Kf2 Ng4+
Enter: the Knight.
25.Kg3 Nh2
I would not be surprised to learn that my opponent was feeling a bit dizzy, himself. This move allowed me to exchange Queens – and win the Knight.
26.Qd5 Qxd5 27.Nxd5 c6
This move is a slight distraction from the fact that Black's Knight has no safe retreat.
28.Nc3 Kf7 29.Rh1 Black resigned
The Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6, is probably the best known of the Jerome Gambit refutations, considered to be either winning for Black, better for White, or leading to a drawn game, depending upon your resource.
It was showcased in the most widely-known Jerome Gambit game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885 (see "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!", "Mars Attacks!" and "One More Time"), which featured a scintillating attack by Black(burne), topped off by a Queen sacrifice and a jaunty checkmate.
The opportunity to pull off The Black Death's coup de grâce is an irresistible attraction...
KONB - elmflare
standard game, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
Here we go! Black offers to return material. White can take the Rook if he knows how to defend and counter-attack. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn't...
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6
[Sound of a door slamming shut on the White Queen...]
10.Nc3
Amateur - Blackburne, London 1885 continued with the similarly ineffective 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4 mate.
analysis diagram
The escape hatch for White is 10.Qd8.
Now Black pours it on.
10...Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8
Here, take the other Rook, too!
13...Qxh3+
And now... Wait, wait a minute – there's a fly in the ointment here...
14.gxh3 Bxe4+ 15.Nxe4
Oh, yeah, that's right, White played 10.Nc3, not 10.c3. It makes a difference.
Black resigned.
I'm sure he immediately saw that 13...Qg3 would have forced checkmate.
The other day Bill Wall told me that there were 5 Jerome Gambit games (out of over 4.8 million) in the new Big Database 2011 from ChessBase. It turns out that 2 of them were unknown to me. Here's one.
Kitzler,G - Schloeffel,C
Karl Mala Memorial FICS, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qxc5
Instead of this direct capture, I prefer the "nudge" 7.Qd5+ which usually pushes Black's King to the back rank, where it can interfere with the development of his King Rook. It costs me an extra tempo, but Black returns it with a later ...Kf7 or ...Ke7.
7...d6 8.Qd5+
I suppose that this move could be a "nudge 2.0" as it either moves Black's King, or the Queen's check is blocked by Black's light-squared Bishop, which in turn makes the b7 pawn available for capture.
How good is the move? Well, there are 127 games with it in The Database, and White scores only 37%. On the other hand, the move has been played by Jerome Gambit stalwarts blackburne, AAlekhine and Bill Wall, and was chosen by computers Crafty 19.19 and Yace Paderborn in their games against RevvedUp.
8...Be6 9.Qxb7
Black willingly gives up the pawn and White happily takes it. At least one of them apparently remembers what happens to one who takes the Queen's Knight pawn...
As in many Jerome Gambit positions, Black is "objectively" better, but if White can consolidate his position (he is behind in development and his King is not safe) then in casual or club games White's extra 3 pawns may be able to balance out Black's extra piece.
9...Nf4
Two other possibilities:
9...Nf6 10.d4 Re8 11.Nc3 Qc8 12.Qb5 Bd7 13.Qd3 Nxe4 14.0-0 Kg8 15.Bg5 Nxg5 16.Rae1 c6 17.Qc4+ d5 18.Qd3 Rxe1 19.Rxe1 Bf5 20.Qd2 Ne4 21.Nxe4 Bxe4 22.f3 Bf5 23.g4 Bxg4 24.fxg4 Qxg4+ 25.Kh1 Nh4 26.Qe2 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 Rf8 28.h3 Kf7 29.Re3 Re8 30.Rxe8 Kxe8 31.c3 Ke7 32.Kg1 Ke6 33.Kf2 Kf5 34.Kg3 g5 35.a4 h5 36.b3 Ke4 37.Kf2 Kd3 White resigned, blackburne - meliam, ChessWorld, 2004; and
9...Nh4 10.0-0 Qg5 11.Qxc7+ Ne7 12.g3 Nf3+ 13.Kh1 Qh6 14.h4 Bh3 15.Rd1 Qe6 16.Qa5 Bf1 17.Qh5+ Ng6 18.Qxf3+ Kg8 19.Rxf1 Qh3+ 20.Kg1 Ne5 21.Qb3+ d5 22.Qxd5+ Nf7 23.Qxa8+ Black resigned, Wall - CheckMe, Chess.com, 2010.
Players who return to this line also need be aware of the unplayed 9...Qg5!? Trust me, the Black Rook on a8 is poisoned. White has to try 10.g3.
10.0-0
This move seems prudent, but it actually opens up Pandora's box. White had to find 10.Rg1 and hold on, as Black has both quiet and wacky responses (try 10...Bd5!?) to try to increase his advantage.
10...Bh3
Okay, take a deep breath.
Black, as is the case in many Jerome Gambit games, has missed the killing stroke 10...Qg5, as 11.g3 causes horrible weaknesses on the white squares around White's King, i.e. 11...Ne2+ and 12...Qh5.
Instead, Black has gone in for flash (taking the Bishop now leads to a quick mate), and that means White has an extra chance. He should try 11.Qb3+, hoping for something like 11...d5 12.d4 Qg5 13.Qg3 Ne2+ 14.Kh1 Nxg3+ 15.fxg3+ Qf6 16.Rxf6+ Nxf6 17.gxh3 Nxe4 when White has two pawns for the exchange and Black will have to work for a win.
After 11.Qb3+ Ke8 12.Qb5+ White should probably exchange Queens if he has the opportunity and otherwise work on his development, again hoping that his 3 extra pawns will come to his rescue.
11.e5
Opening the route to g2 for his Queen, but now his game completely collapses. It is probably time to draw the curtain on this tragedy.
11...Bxg2 12.Qb3+ Bd5 13.e6+ Kf8 14.Re1 Bxb3 15.e7+ Nxe7 16.axb3 Nf5 17.Kh1 Nh3 18.d3 Qh4 19.Rf1 Nxf2+ 20.Kg2 Re8 21.Rxf2 Qg4+ 22.Kf1 Qh3+ 23.Rg2 Qf3+ White resigned
White's undeveloped Queenside tells the tale.
graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the WizardofDraws
Sometimes I look over a game that I have played and the strange thing seems to have little substance, being mostly bluster and a frantic waving of arms on my part.
On those sobering occasions, I console myself with having won the game, anyhow.
perrypawnpusher - apinheiro
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+
Despite second thoughts (see "Walking Through A Junkyard") I keep playing this line – successfully (see "Cure for Time Trouble (Part 1)").
7...Ng6
My opponent has also played 7...g6 against me in perrypawnpusher - apinheiro, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 35)
8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 N8e7
11.f4 Rf8 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4
Varying from an earlier game between us that had continued with 13...Ng4, perrypawnpusher - apinheiro, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 59).
14.Qg3
As always: where to put the Queen?
After the game I was testing a new engine, Houdini, and it recommended 14.Qe2, instead, leading to a highly tactical line, 14...d5 15.Nc3 Nd6 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.f6, where best play by Black can keep White's advantage to a minimum, but poor play will be punished quickly.
14...Rg8 15.Nc3 Kf8
Walking into the line of fire.
16.b3
Houdini preferred 16.Qh4 with play on the light or dark squares, depending on how Black chose to defend.
16...Nb6 17.f6
This advance is premature. I needed more developed pieces to support an attack.
17...Ke8
It is true that after the correct 17...gxf6 White can continue 18.Bxh6+ and if 18...Kf7 thre is the exciting 19.Rxf6+!? with a continuing attack; but if Black's King retreats, instead, with 18...Ke8 White has no better than an even game.
Black's move in the game is an unfortunate oversight, and his game proceeds to unravel.
18.f7+ Kf8 19.fxg8Q+
Even stronger was 19.Bxh6.
19...Kxg8 20.Bxh6 g6 21.Rf8+ Qxf8 22.Bxf8 Kxf8
Black has only two pieces in return for his Queen, and White has open lines to continue his assault.
23.Qf4+ Kg7 24.Rf1 Be6
Losing a piece, but "best" according to Houdini was 24...Bf5, which still drops the Bishop.
25.Qf6+ Black resigned
The March 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal contains a game between "Mr. S" (William A. Shinkman?) and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome – a King's Gambit won by Jerome. This was followed by further contributions by Jerome, in April and July of the same year; and in January, March, June, October and November of the following year.
Consistent with yesterday's post (see "Like a Needle in a Haystack Part 2"), after information from Jerome appeared in the March 1876 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, new items began to appear in Hallock's American Chess Journal, in June, September, October, November and December of 1876. Alonzo Wheeler Jerome had begun corresponding with the "new" chess journal.
Jerome contributed to the February, March and April 1877 issues of the American Chess Journal, and then seems to have lost contact or interest. Hallock's ACJ ended publication December 1877.
Brownson's Chess Journal had one Jerome item that year, in March of 1877
For the Jerome Opening play a few games by correspondence with A. W. Jerome (the inventor), P.O. address, Paxton, Ford Co., Illinois, and try it over the board when the opportunity offers. It is brilliant.
(Ten years later, the May 1887 issue of Brownson's Chess Journal published an unusual Giuoco Piano with Jerome playing Black.)
What publication did A.W. Jerome correspond with after the American Chess Journal ? The trail grows cold...
Until Jerome appears, mostly in support of S.A. Charles, in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette and Pittsburgh Telegraph of the early 1880s (a tale for another time); and then over 20 years later, in the pages of the 1900 Literary Digest, offering to play his Gambit against readers in consultation.
Yet, just the other day I was wandering through the Chess Archaeology site (http://www.chessarch.com/) and encountered the "Jack O'Keefe Project Index" which has viewable chess columns from 33 older periodicals. By chance I happened upon some "cuttings" there from "Mackenzie's Chess Chronicle" published in Turf, Field and Farm. The August 30, 1878 column has the following
We are indebted to Mr. A. W. Jerome for some correspondence games illustrative of the new Jerome Gambit, which shall receive early attention.
Aha! The game is afoot!
Sadly, the Chess Archaeology site's collection of "Mackenzie's Chess Chronicle" runs only to December 27, of 1878, and there is no further mention of the Jerome Gambit in that span... Although that last held issue provides some foreshadowing, announcing as it does
We welcome with pleasure a new chess column in the Cincinnati Commercial. It made its first appearance in the issue of Dec. 14, and is to appear every Saturday in the daily; the column is conducted by Mr. J. W. Miller, and, judging from the two specimens we have seen, it promises to be a valuable addition to the chess periodicals.
Of course, primary historical sources of Jerome Gambit games and analysis are the chess magazine and magazine and newpaper chess columns of the period. Finding a Jerome "needle" in that many "haystacks" without some kind of a clue can be an exhausting task.
An excellent example of such a "clue" is the Jerome Gambit entry from the Oxford Companion to Chess (1984) by David Hooper and Kenneth Whylde
Jerome Gambit in the Italian Opening; an unsound gambit that can lead to much amusement in light hearted play. It first appeared in the American Chess Journal, 1876, recommended by the American player Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1834-1902) of Paxton, Illinois.
While games and references to Alonzo Wheeler Jerome and his gambit can be found in the June, September, November and December 1876 issues of the American Chess Journal, it turns out that analysis appeared two years earlier, in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal.
Confusing these two journals, by the way, is not difficult. As Tim Harding wrote in his "The Kibitzer" column at ChessCafe.com in 2007
...[T]he Dubuque Chess Journal was started by Professor Brownson in 1870 and he stopped it after number 73 in summer 1876.
He thought he had sold the rights to W. S. Hallock, who produced the first two volumes of The American Chess Journal, beginning with June 1876 and numbered consecutively from Brownson, i.e. he started with number 74... It was published in Hannibal, Missouri, from June 1876 to December 1877...
Hallock apparently did not pay Brownson (or at least that is what Brownson said) so Brownson restarted his magazine as Brownson’s Chess Journal in February 1877, also resuming with number 74. At different times, Brownson varied his titles...
Having re-established his rights, Brownson stopped in 1878, but resumed again many years later... The last three Hallock issues (his incomplete volume 2) were bi-monthly, with the November-December issue very short. Here he announced he had sold his rights to Dr. C. C. Moore in New York...
Because of moving everything to another city, there was a delay and the new series of The American Chess Journal began March 1878... It ended July 1879.
Moore then sold to Barbe, in Chicago, who did his best to continue The American Chess Journal as a quarterly...
Barbe published Vol. 1-Vol. 2, no 3 (Oct 1879-Dec 1881), but actually number 3 was April 1881. To increase the confusion, the issue of October 1880 was headed volume 1 no 5 on the title page, but as this was a quarterly, it should have been vol. 2 no. 1, as Barbe must have realised subsequently. So then comes January 1881, headed Vol. 2 no 2, but the page numbers are continuous from October 1880. Then April 1881 was the last issue...
After the end of Barbe’s series, there were no Journals until Brownson resumed in 1886.
Got it, right?
Researching the history of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Some resources are obvious places to look. Checking the past equivalents of today's Encyclopedia of Chess Opening and Modern Chess Openings is a good start (note: MCO, from its first edition in 1911, has not had coverage).
The Handbuch des Schachspiels, for example, has a Jerome Gambit game reference in its 8th edition (1916) but nothing in its 7th (1891) or 6th (1880) editions.
Cook's Synopsis of the Chess Openings, 1st and 2nd editions (1874, 1876) have no coverage of the Jerome, while its 3rd edition (1882) does.
The first edition of Chess Openings Ancient and Modern (1889) has analysis. Steinitz' Modern Chess Instructor, Part II (1895), of course, has nothing.
There are many other 19th century chess books touching on the opening – and many, many more, not – and each must be checked for Jerome Gambit material.
Some past authors are apparently ambivalent about the line. G.H.D. Gossip's 1891 Theory of the Chess Openings has nothing on the Jerome Gambit, while his The Chess Player's Vade Mecum and Pocket Guide to the Openings, also published in 1891 does have analysis. Gossip out-does himself in his (with F.J. Lee) 1903 The Complete Chess Guide by writing one place that he has "eliminated obsolete openings" such as the Jerome Gambit, which he mentions by name, and then, later on in the book, he gives analysis of that same opening.
