...or should they?

I once wrote that "perhaps not every opening should be Jerome-ized..." I've been re-thinking that: recently an opponent in a 3 0 blitz game found a piece sacrifice that turned that respectable opening into something remarkably Jerome-ish, a trick that gave me quite a headache.

Pigjuice - perrypawnpusher
blitz 3 0, FICS, 2011

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

The Ruy Lopez, I know. Just wait a few moves.

4...a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5

A slip. I think that it was unintentional.

5...Qd4 6.Nxf7

Making things interesting.

6...Kxf7

The resemblance to a Jerome Gambit variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Nxc6 dxc6) is remarkable.

Ruy Lopez

 


Jerome Gambit

 

In the Ruy Lopez White's Bishop was exchanged on c6 and his Knight was sacrificed on f7. In the Jerome Gambit, the Knight was exchanged on c6 and the Bishop was sacrificed on f7. You can not see the difference.

I do not think that having his Queen developed instead of his Bishop is an improvement for Black over the Jerome line. Having the King on f7 instead of f8 is probably helpful in terms of castling-by-hand.

The facts were clear, though: I was now defending a Jerome Gambit (I'll think about calling it a "Ruy Lopez Jerome Gambit" later) – and my clock was ticking.

7.Qf3+ Qf6

An endgame – without White's attacking Queen – appealed to me, but 7... Nf6 was probably better. My opponent was not interested.

8.Qb3+ Qe6 9.Qf3+ Nf6

10.Nc3 Bb4 11.d3 Rf8 12.Bd2 Kg8

13.O-O Qg4 14.Qe3 Bd7 15.a3 Bd6 16. Ne2 Rae8

I was holding my own, although after the game Fritz10 suggested 16...Nd5 17.Qg5 (if 17.exd5 Rae8) 17...Qxe2 18.Rae1 Qg4 19.exd5 Qxg5 20.Bxg5 cxd5 as a way to a comfortable Queenless middlegame.

The next move I had a similar idea, but it did not work out as well.

17.Ng3 Nd5 18.Qa7 Bc8

Overlooking a couple of things.

19.exd5

That was one of them: dropping a piece. Now I was down a pawn with less than a minute to play, no increment.

The other thing? The pawn that I protected was not worth it, as 18...Nb6 would have shown: 19.Qxb7 Rb8 20.Qxa6 Ra8 21.Qb7 Rfb7 and the Queen is lost.

19...cxd5 20.f3 Qg6 21.Qf2 Bxg3 22.Qxg3 Qxg3 23.hxg3 c6

I callously planned on reaching a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame that I could shuffle pieces in quickly – important, as I not only had little time left, I had less than my opponent.

24.Rae1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Kf7 26.f4 Re8 27.Rxe8 Kxe8

If time were not an issue, we probably would have split the point here, and I would have congratulated my opponent – rated 200 points below me – on his opening play creativity.

I was ready to very quickly do "nothing". My opponent's downfall was that he was trying to quickly do "something."

28.Bc3 g6 29.Bg7 h5 30.Bh6 Kf7 31.Bg5 Ke6 32.Kf2 Kf5 33.Ke3 Be6 34.c3 a5 35.d4 a4 36.Kd3 b5

Don't go away quite yet. There are some interesting positions to come.

37.Kc2 Kg4 38.b3

I was pleased to see my opponent "thinking" instead of "shuffling". Thinking takes more time.

38...axb3+ 39.Kxb3 Kxg3 40.a4 bxa4+ 41.Kxa4 Kxg2 42.Kb4 Kg3

In Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgames the blockade of enemy pawns by both Bishop and King is essential. I realized that White's King excursion gave me a chance to un-blockade my Kingside pawns and I squeezed a few thoughts out of my brain...

43.Kc5 Bd7

More straight-forward, winning White's Bishop, was 43...h4, although it needed some precision: 44.Bxh4+ Kxh4 45.Kxc6 Kg4 46.Kd6 Kf5! Instead, if Black abandons his Bishop to go directly to Queening a pawn he gets his wish, but after 46...Kxf4 47.Kxe6 g5 48.c4 dxc4 49.d5 c3 50.d6 c2 51.d7 c1=Q 52.d8=Q the Q + K + P vs Q + K endgame takes a whole lot of moves – and time – to win.

44.Kd6 Be8

I was ahead of my opponent in time (what was left of it) here, but thinking was still a precious commodity. It seemed like time to abandon my Bishop and win Pigjuice's.

45.Ke7 h4 46.Kxe8

Giving up the Bishop first with 46.Bxh4+ leads to the kind of endgame that I was familiar with and had won on several occasions: 46...Kxh4 47.Kxe8 Kg3 48.Kd7 Kxf4 49.Kxc6 g5 50.Kxd5 g4 51.Kc6 g3 52.d5 g2 53.d6 g1=Q 54.d7 Qg5 – Black's Queen holds the advanced pawn and when Black's King joins the fight, the pawns will be won and then the enemy King checkmated.

Still, that would take moves, thinking, and time – more by Black than White, it seems – so it was probably White's more practical chance. Now, Black's pawn can promote.

46...h3

47.f5

The same idea, without giving up the f-pawn, would arise after 47.Bd8 h2 48.Bc7 h1=Q 49.f5+ Kg4 50.fxg6 although, like in the note to White's 46th move, Black's Queen and King can control White's passer:  50...Qh6 51.Kf7 Kf5 52.g7 Qe6+ 53.Kf8 Qc8+ 54.Kf7 Qxc7+ 55.Kf8 Qd8+ 56.Kf7 Qf6+ 57.Kg8 Kg6.

The cooperation between Black's Queen and King is worth knowing about for this kind of ending.

47... gxf5 48.Bf6 h2 49.Be5+ f4 White forfeited on time

Whew!

Hats off and a deep bow of respect to my opponent.

...Bf8-d6

Some moves for Black and or for White in an opening are "thematic" – the kind of moves that are played frequently, because they accomplish the tactical or strategic aims of that line.

Some are not.

eltemible - DJJDev
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5

That unnamed "line of play that everyone should know about".

4.Bxf7+

For the record, 4.Nxe5 is best.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.d4 Bd6

I don't have anything against the move ...Bf8-d6 in the abstract; I am sure that sometimes it is an ambitious move (I am thinking of the Four Knights Game), but as in the Jerome Gambit game HauntedKnight - sarahdaniel, blitz, FICS, 2011 that we looked at a short time ago, and as in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game HJBuck - fastglass, blitz, FICS, 2011, it is also a poor fit in this related line: Black does better with 6...d6. See "The Psychology of Error in Chess".

7.Qg4+

Simply the beginning of The End.

7...Ke7 8.Bg5+

Okay, it seems that The End has been postponed. It was expected to arrive with 8.Qxg7+ Ke6 9.Qf7 checkmate, but it still is not far away.

8... Nf6

The sad alternative was for Black's King to step aside and let his Queen be taken without even the recompense of recapture, as 8...Ke8 9.Bxd8 Kxd8 loses a Rook to 10.Qxg7. Painful.

9.Bxf6+ gxf6

As above, "best" was 9...Ke8 10.Bxd8 and again 10...Kxd8 would lose a Rook to 11.Nf7+.

It is no wonder that Black chose a faster exit.

10.Qg7+ Ke8 11.Qf7 checkmate

It is not as if DJJDev had not been warned. A year and a half ago he had played 6...Bd6, and his opponent, Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member UNPREDICTABLE, had also found 7.Qg4+, although after 7...Kf6 The End was again postponed – if for more moves, then also with more pain – 8.Qh4+ (or 8.Bg5#) 8...Ke6 9.Qxd8 Be7 10.Qxc7 Nc6 11.d5+ Kf6 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Nxd7+ Ke6 14.Qxc6+ Kf7 15.Ne5+ Kf8 16.Qxa8 Nf6 17.Qxc8+ Ne8 Black resigned.

Without Thinking

Dear Readers,

Look at the following diagram.

What move would you play for White?

If it takes more than 10 seconds to decide, read further...

perrypawnpusher - javipangea
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5

As noted elsewhere, Black's best here is the "fork trick" 4...Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5. This equalizes for Black, but, as with many of the Jerome Gambit refutations, the game does not "play itself" from there, as one of my recent opponents discovered: 6.Bd3 (best) dxe4 7.Bxe4 Bg4 (interesting) 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.0-0 e4 10.Re1 Bc5 (huh?) 11.Rxe4+ Black resigned (a bit early, but perhaps disappointed in the game), perrypawnpusher - NN, blitz, FICS, 2011.

6.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Bxd4 9.Qxd4 Nc6

10.Qd3

Twice before I played, instead, 11.Qc4+, but was not happy with the results: perrypawnpusher - mjmonday, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 26) and perrypawnpusher - DeDaapse, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 19).

I chose the objectively weaker text because I was feeling lucky... (As they warn in those television commercials: Closed course. Professional Driver. Do not attempt.)

10...Nb4

Played without much thought, attacking the Queen – and returning a piece.

11.Qc4+ Nfd5

Unnecessarily generous. After 11...d5 12.Qxb4 dxe4 White would be only a pawn up.

12.exd5 Nxc2

And so we have the position given in the introductory diagram. Material is even, but Black's Knight is threatening White's Rook. More to the point, though, White's Queen is threatening Black's King.

What to move?

13.d6+


Of course.

Not only does White open a line to the enemy King, more importantly he blocks Black's d-pawn, which in turn block's Black's Bishop, which in turn block's Black's Rook...

13...Kf8 14.Rb1

Boooooooo!

The move, saving the Rook, is of course just fine.

However, White's 13th move begs to be followed by the thematic 14.Nd5. Unless Black moves his Knight, he will lose it, yet 14...Nxa1 allows White to mate: 15.Qf4+ Qf6 (15... Ke8 16. Re1+ Qe7 17. Rxe7+ Kd8 18. dxc7#; 15...Kg8 16.Ne7+ Qxe7 17.dxe7 d5 18.e8=Q+ Kh7 19.Qef7 h5 20.Qh6#) 16.Nxf6 gxf6 17.Qxf6+ Kg8 18.Qg6+ Kf8 19.Re1 Nc2 20.Re8 checkmate.

Readers with sharp tactical skills probably found 13.d6+ and 14.Nd5 in under 10 seconds.

14...cxd6 15.Ne4 d5 16.Qxd5 Nb4

That pesky Knight is escaping!

17.Qf5+

After the game Rybka suggested the "simple" 17.Qc5+ Kg8  18.Qxb4, collecting the Knight. Was it really that easy?

What about 17...Qe7, blocking the check and protecting the Knight?

Well, it turns out that White can answer with 18.Nd6 (you probably saw that coming) and then answer 18...Na6 with 19.Qd4.

analysis diagram









I was fascinated to see that Rybka rates this position about four and a half pawns better for White. Think about it: material is even and White has one more piece developed than Black (if you count the Rook at f1, but not the Rook at b1). None of Black's pieces are hanging.

What will happen? White will put his Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal with either Bc1-d2-c3 or b2-b3 & Bc1-b2 and then he will move a Rook to e1. Eventually something will shake loose...

In an 8-game "shootout" match from this position between Rybka 3 Dynamic and Rybka 3 Human, White won all of the games. Likewise, in a "shootout" between Rybka 3 and Houdini 1.5a.  

17...Qf6

A slip. Sometimes it seems that defending against the Jerome Gambit isn't worth my opponents' full attentions.

Of course, after the much better 17...Kg8 White again has 18.Nd6. Understanding that position, as with the earlier one, will open a few more doors in the mystery that is chess.

18.Nxf6 gxf6 19.Qxf6+ Black resigned.

Psychology Rather Than Chessology

Not long after assembling "BSG Talk: Hmmmm..." I ran into the following game which touches on the same theme.


xcaliberpeng - wowgirl
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7

More "Jedi Mind Tricks"? Is the Declined becoming more accepted? Or is this in the spirit of the "Anti-Bill Wall Gambit", that If-you-want-me-to-take-the-Bishop-then-I-won't-take-the-Bishop? In any case, the explanation for the move can more likely be found in psychology rather than chessology.

5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Qh5

Exchanging Knights on the 5th move was a good way to deal with Black's declining the Bishop, but now it is time for White to deal with the Bishop himself. Either 6.Bb3, 6.Bc4 or 6.Bxg8 preserve White's advantage (extra pawn, safer King, easier development).

The text does not.

6...Nf6

The fly in the ointment.

White can now try 7.Qc5+ Kxf7 8.Qxd4 and have two pawns for his sacrificed piece, but his attacking chances have been dulled by Black's Knight on f6.

Instead, White seems to whip up a "mind trick" of his own. In blitz chess, that is relatively easy to do.

7.Qg5 Kxf7 8.e5

Black's King has escaped the pin on his Knight, but the Queen has not. But – wait a minute – Black has a pin of his own that he can use.

8...Nd5

Ouch!

After 8...Qe7 first, then 9.0-0 Nd5 the Knight would have escaped. Now the Queen falls.

9.Qxd8 Nf4 10.0-0 Ne2+ 11.Kh1 Rg8 12.Qxc7 b6 13.Qc4+ Black resigned

Further on Down the Broken Path

The last time I took a look at this Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit line (see "Pathbreaking") I pulled together some information that would be helpful for both Black and White, if they chose to wander further down the path. As the following game shows, it is important to either pay attention to the road signs or have a good GPS available

HJBUCK - fastglass

blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.f4

"Common, but perhaps not best."

6...Bd6

"An odd sideline that puts Black at great risk."

7.Qg4+

This is why: "Next time White can come armed with 7.Qg4+..."

7...Ke7 8.Qg5+

Ooops.

The path was 8.Qxg7+ Ke8 9.Qf7 checkmate.

8...Nf6

Also driving into the rough.

With 8...Ke8 Black could have defended and shown that his threats were an equal to White's (which means, being a piece up, Black would be better): 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.Nf7+ Ke7 11.Nxh8 Nxc2+ 12.Kd1 Nxa1.

HJBUCK didn't need a second invitation.

9.Qxg7+ Ke8 10.Qf7 checkmate

This line should join the one in "Instant Victory" in the bag of tricks that anyone who plays the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 



Serious About Silliness

I have been watching the early movies of the Marx Brothers, and I have to say that they are pretty serious about their silliness. In a similar way (except for my glaring lack of talent) I can be rather serious about the silliness that is the Jerome Gambit (and its relatives). 

Fortunately, not everyone is.

HauntedKnight  - sarahdaniel
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

The good old Jerome Gambit. I've researched its history, analyzed its lines, annotated games and gathered a large database.

As Chico might say, "Why a duck?"

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6

This unusual defense seems to be borrowed from the "fork trick".

The Database has 41 games with this line. White scores 61%.

7.dxe5 Bxe5 8.Qh5+

This is the strongest line for White. It is interesting to note, however, that in the 24 games with 8.Qh5+ in The Database, White has scored 54%.

Yes, that's right: the best move scored worse than the lesser alternatives.

8...Ke6 9.Qf5+

Again, this is the strongest continuation of the attack for White; yet it appeared in less than 1/4 of the games in the 6...Bd6 line: 10. In those, White scored only 50%, a result less succesful than that of the worse alternative moves combined.

Happily for HauntedKnight his opponent now responded with

9...Resigns. 

Other games from The Database continued. We will look at them, too.

9...Kd6

10.Na3

This is White's strongest move, planning a Knight fork to the enemy King and Bishop, with check, winning a piece. It is not easily met, but after 10...Bf6 11.e5+ Ke7 12.exf6+ Nxf6 13.Bg5 d5 14.Bxf6+ gxf6 15.Qf3 followed by 0-0 or 0-0-0 White will have equalized in material while having the better pawn structure and safer King.

analysis diagram








Instead of the text, 10.f4 is very Jerome-ish. With 10...Bf6 Black can return the piece (i.e. 11.e5+) for an even game. The contest wzeller - bourgas, FICS, 2005 instead entered the world of "optical illusions" with 10...Qf6 11.fxe5+ Qxe5+ 12.Bf4 and White won (1-0, 62).

10.Nc3 is not dangerous enough, although White won against 10...a6 in jfhumphrey - jrhicksdotnet, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 14). The better defense 10...Qf6 brought Black victory in jfhumphrey-biryuk, FICS, 2010 (0-1,65) and duanezz - pawelek, FICS, 2005 (0-1, 38).

Likewise, 10.0-0 also falls to 10...Qf6 but not as often as expected. White's plan is to continue his attack on the King with 11.Rd1+, and after 11...Ke7 12.Bg5 he was successful ("optical illusions" again!) twice: EvanJunior - BeNumberOne, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 22) and AGRPlayer - trebbor, FIC, 2010 (1-0, 19). However, Black's King should escape the Rook check to fresh air with 11...Kc6 instead and then White cannot conjure up either an attack or a recovery of material, as seen in carlkrull - bodensee, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 28).

10.b3 contains a great little trap – if Black now takes the Rook with 10...Bxa1 he is checkmated after 11.Ba3+ c5 12.Qxc5+ Ke6 13.Qf5# – but the proper response, 10...Qf6 White could not escape in ljar - Castled, FICS, 2006 (0-1, 39)

10...Qf6

Not the strongest response, as indicated in the note to 10.Na3, but certainly one that White can expect to see.

11.Nc4+ Ke7

Falling in with his opponent's plan too quickly. He should have at least tried 11...Kc5, since after 12.Nxe5 Qxf5 13.exf5 White's advantage is only a doubled pawn. After the better 12.Qxe5+, however, Black needs to cooperate with 12...Qxe5 13.Nxe5, as the obstreperous 12...Kxc4 – which may have been Black's intent – falls to chekmate after 13.b3+ Kb4 14.c3#.

12.Qxe5+ Qxe5 13.Nxe5 d6

White is a safe pawn up in a quiet position.

However, in the Jerome Gambit "safe" and "quiet" are relative terms, and Black eventually won in noatun - Papaflesas, FICS, 2008 (0-1, 48)...

(By the way, all of the games mentioned here are available in The Database – just email me and ask.)




graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the WizardofDraws

It's hard to know...

It's hard to know what progress, if any, the following game shows for my recent play. Several times when things were getting interesting, the bottom dropped out of my opponent's play...

Of course, it was nothing like our first game.


perrypawnpusher - VGxdys
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6

8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 N8e7

11.f4

I have had similar positions coming out of the regular Jerome Gambit line (i.e. no ...h6, not yet 0-0) and it is clear that White benefits here from the Semi-Italian move order.

11...Qd7

A bit puzzling: I really don't know what this move was about. Black can't afford to throw tempi about. Instead, perrypawnpusher - apinheiro, blitz, FICS, 2011, continued 11...Rf8 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4 14.Qg3 Rg8 (1-0, 25)

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4

14.Qe2

Grabbing a tempo by attacking the Knight, while staying on the e-file with the enemy King (and off the d-file with the enemy Queen). After the game Rybka expressed a preference for 14.Qg3.

14...b5 15.b3

Another kick at the Knight, while preparing to put my Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal (a plan that I subsequently dropped).

An alternate idea was to undermine Black's Knight with 15.a4. It looks like after the consistent liquidation 15...d5 16.axb5 Nd6 17.Nc3 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 Qd5 20.Qxd5 Nxd5 21.c4 Nf6 
White's 3 pawns balance out Black's Knight.

analysis diagram









15... Ba6

A strange oversight. Retreating the Knight to b6 was the move.

16.bxc4 bxc4 17.Nc3 Rf8

The nice thing for Black about the Jerome Gambit is that he can often drop a piece, and still have a tolerable game.

Here, White is better (up a pawn, more center control, safer King) but the game is far from over. My plan was to break through with e4-e5, but only after I had made sure that I could do so safely and with proper development.

18.Ba3

Linking my Rooks and targetting e7 and f8.

18...Kd8 19. g4 Nc6 20. Rad1

20...g5 21.e5 Nxd4

Again, incomprehensible.

22.Rxd4 h5

A spirited notion: how about some counterplay on the h-file?

23.h3

This was an I-don't-want-to-think-about-it-right-now move. Too bad I missed 23.Bxd6.

23...hxg4

24...Qh7

Planning to back the Queen up with ...Rh8 if he gets a chance.

He doesn't.

25.exd6 Kc8

If, instead, 25...c5, one of the few moves that does not lead directly to checkmate, I had 26.Qe7+, ending all counterplay and winning the exchange as well with 26...Qxe7 27.dxe7+ Kxe7 28.Bxc5+

Now it all tumbles to an end.

26.d7+ Kb8 27.d8=Q+ Rxd8 28.Rxd8+ Kb7 29.Qe4+ c6 30.Rxa8 Kxa8 31.Qxc6+ Bb7 32.Qe8+ Black resigned