Time to take a break from exploring the Internet Chess Club for Jerome Gambit games and take a look at one that game in the email recently.
"After seeing the last example of 3...h6 4.Bxf7+ on your page," wrote Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Bill Wall, "I tried it out. Here is the result."
Wall,B - Rambose
Chess.com, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.Bxf7+
An accelerated Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.0-0 Bb4
After 6...Bc5 White could have transposed into Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit lines, not that that would have been bad for Black, either.
7.Nd5 Nxe4
It is not time for pawn-grabbing. Protecting the e-pawn with 7...d6 was a solid idea.
8.Re1 Nf6 9.Nxb4 Nxb4 10.Nxe5+
White still has only one pawn for his sacrificed piece. This fact helps him bear down, while it seems to relax his opponent.
10...Kf8? 11.Ng6+ Kg8 12.Nxh8 Kxh8
White now has a Rook and a pawn to Black's two Knights. White probably has an edge in the endgame (with his pawn) while Black should have the edge in the middlegame (two attacking pieces).
13.d3 d6 14.Qd2 Nbd5 15.b3 c5 16.Bb2 Bf5
17.c4 Nb4 18.Qf4 Nc2 19.Qxf5 Nxa1 20.Bxa1 Qa5
Perhaps Black thought that he was winning the exchange, when, in fact, he was giving up two Knights for a Rook. The active Black Queen is now not enough to overcome White's extra pawn, as the Black King is in danger.
21.Re2 Rf8
Reinforcing the attacked Knight, but, surprisingly, exchanging Rooks and giving up a piece was "best": 21...Re8 22.Rxe8+ Nxe8 23.Qf8+ Ke7 24.Qxf8 Qxa2 25.Bc3 Qxb3 26.Qe4+ Kh8, when White has the extra piece for a pawn, and is better.
22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Re7 Rf7 24.Re8+ Kg7 25.Qg4+ Kh7 26.Qg8 checkmate
The second game passed along to me by Dr. Goeller (see "A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit??" and "Here, have a Bishop...") was closer to a "pure" Jerome Gambit game. Again, we see how an experienced, aggressive Grandmaster, American Larry Christiansen, can give something similar to "Jerome Gambit odds" and win the game with ease.
LarryC (2559) - wetvader (1250)
45 15, ICC (1), 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7
4.d4 Nxd4
This capture is not seen very often, and is not correct. Even Fritz8 sees the next move as best.
5.Bxf7+
Adding a little Jerome to the quiet Hungarian Defense. In this case it is the Knight on d4 that is hanging.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Kf8 7.Qxd4
7...Bf6 8.Qb4+ d6
As sometimes happens, the weaker player misses an "opportunity" against the Grandmaster. Instead of the text, the "anti-positional" 8...c5 bids to win a piece, i.e. 9.Qc3 (if 9.Qxc5, then 9...d6) d6 10.f4 although things are actually quite complex: 10...Nh6 11.0-0 Ke8 (getting off of the hot f-file) 12.Nd2 Qe7 13.Ndc4 Nf7 14.Nxf7 Bxc3 15.Nfxd6+ Kf8 16.bxc3 b5 17.Nxc8 Rxc8 18.Ne5 and Rybka 3 sees the position as about equal, even though White has only two pieces and two pawns for his Queen...
analysis diagram
Does the Grandmaster worry? He does not. He knows that every player makes mistakes with a certain frequency, like a metaphorical "bomb" that goes off again and again (infrequently for GMs, regularly for club players). He just has to light the fuse, playing solidly, holding tight, and waiting for the next "boom!"
9.Nf3 h6 10.0-0 a5 11.Qc4 b6 12.Qe2 Ba6 13.c4 d5 14.exd5 Qe7
Black backs away from his original idea of 14...Qxd5, which would have been best.
15.Qc2 Qd6 16.Nbd2 Ne7 17.Ne4 Qd7 18.Nxf6 gxf6 19.Re1 Re8 20.Bf4 Qg4
21.Bg3 Qxc4 22.Qxc4 Bxc4 23.d6 cxd6 24.Bxd6
White did not mind returning a pawn to exchange Queens, as there is every likelihood that he can play the pawn-up endgame with half his brain tied behind his back.
Black can hope: can he reach the Bishop-of-opposite-colors endgame? In the meantime, there is the issue of the pinned Knight.
24...Rh7 25.Nd4 Kf7 26.Rac1 Ba6 27.Bxe7 Rxe7 28.Rxe7+ Black resigned
After 28...Kxe7 29.Rc7+ will win his Rook.
The first game passed along to me by Dr. Goeller (see "A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit??") was not a "pure" Jerome Gambit game, but it included an early Bishop sacrifice and gave a fascinating insight into how an experienced, aggressive Grandmaster, American Larry Christiansen, can give something similar to "Jerome Gambit odds" and still win the game.
LarryC (3058) - therealwizard (1991)
blitz, 3 0, Internet Chess Club, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6
Rybka 3, in "blunder check" mode, helpfully adds that this is the "last book move" in the line of play.
3.Bxf7+
Here, have a Bishop...
My guess is that modern masters are more likely to give "time odds" in play against weaker opponents, but here the Grandmaster donates a piece to the "cause" of an interesting and more-balanced game.
3...Kxf7 4.d3 Be7 5.Nc3 Rf8 6.f4 d6 7.Nf3 Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand and maintains his piece-for-a-pawn (soon two) advantage.
On the other hand, White can take inspiration from the "Theory of Infinite Resistance" as developed by my chessfriend (and co-author of The Marshall Gambit in the French and Sicilian Defenses) Riley Sheffield. Often, after making an early error (we can debate if the Bishop sacrifice was an error, but bear with me), if the defender bears down and plays hard, making no further mistakes and provides plenty of resistance to his opponent, a loss is not inevitable. (At least when facing a human.)
By the way, if you get a chance to take a look at Sheffield's Tension in the Chess Position, do so. It is a helpful read for club players.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 Bc5 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.Bg5 Nc6 12.Qd2
To castle Queenside and not be troubled by the broken up Kingside.
12...Bxf3 13.gxf3 Qd4
Black's advantage (extra piece, better development, safer King) is clear, but White goes about developing and playing his game. He knows that his time will come.
14.0-0-0 Ne5 15.Rhf1 a5
16.Ne2 Qd7 17.Kb1 Be7 18.f4
This advance looks natural, but is actually an error, although Black misses his chance.
18...Nc4
This idea works, as it often can in blitz, but should not. Instead, Black should grab a pawn with 18...Nxe4.
19.Qc3
Overlooking Black's next move.
19...Ne3 20.Ng3 Nxf1 21.Rxf1 b5
Black has a Rook for two pawns and should feel elated.
Yet, it is still a 3 0 game against a Grandmaster, and he can't just take his chessboard and go home. He has to win and beat the clock. That is a tall order.
22.Nf5 c5 23.Rg1 b4 24.Qc4+ Kh8 25.Nxe7 Qxe7 26.e5 Qf7 27.exf6 Qxc4 28.fxg7+ Kxg7 29.dxc4
White's resourcefulness has him now with two pawns for the exchange. Black is still probably better, but not by much, and not for long.
29...Kf7 30.b3 Rae8 31.Rd1 Re2 32.h4 Rfe8 33.Kb2 Kg6 34.Bd8 Rf2 35.Bxa5 Rxf4 36.Rg1+ Kh5 37.Rg5+ Kxh4 38.Rxc5 Rf2 39.Bxb4 Ree2
Black's two Rooks on the 2nd rank look aggressive, and they blind him to the truth of the position: a likely draw.
40.Ka3 Rxc2
Bold and wrong.
Rybka 3 likes 40...Kg4 41.Rc8 Rxc2 42.Rg8+ Kf5 43.Rf8+ Ke6 44.Re8+ Kf7 45.Rf8+ Ke6 and an eventual draw through repetition.
41.Be1
Pinning and winning the Rook.
41...Rxa2+ 42.Kb4 Rae2 43.Rf5
Cute.
43...Kg3 44.Rxf2 Rxf2 45.c5
The White pawns decide.
45...h5 46.c6 h4 47.c7 h3 48.Bxf2+ Kxf2 49.c8Q h2 50.Qh3 Kg1 51.Qg3+ Black forfeited on time
While Dr. Michael Goeller was filling me in on the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit (see "Through the Looking Glass: A Reversed BSG" and "Looking Deeper: the Reversed BSG") and working with his friend, Fritz, to temper my expectations (see "Reversed BSG: A Closer Look"), he dropped this bomb on me
I have seen [GM Larry] Christiansen venture your favorite Jerome Gambit in ICC blitz or simul games, but I'm not sure he really believes in it.
You can imagine my response! Grandmaster Larry "Storming the Barracades" Christiansen!? The Jerome Gambit??
As politely and calmly as possible (under the circumstances), I asked to see some of the games...
I began searching for LarryC games but ran into the dreaded "Game Database temporarily unavailable." But I turned up a couple before that kept happening...
I think he mostly does this as an interesting way to spot a weaker opponent a piece in online simuls.
Remembering now, he probably does it mostly via the C24 Bishop's Opening, which is how I stumbled upon the LarryC Jerome Gambit phenomenon -- while searching for Urusov Games, of course.
I will try to dig up some more this weekend, but anyone you know on ICC can find them with the search string "Search LarryC C24 White" etc.
I suggested that he look for Jerome Gambit games under C50 as well. I heard back from Dr. Goeller.
I spent some more time looking for LarryC games on ICC with the Bxf7 sac but couldn't find any more. I am not sure why, because I am certain I saw a bunch of them a couple years back while doing a search. It's possible that unrated games (such as simul games) are only temporarily available on the server and then vanish, even if played by LarryC.
In any case, there are very few C50 games at all, and none that really meet your criteria. And I only found the one C24 game I sent. It seems almost certain I saw them while searching through recent C24 games, which I do from time to time. It seems unlikely I was looking at C50 games. Started trying C21 and got Game Database currently unavailable. But the few I was able to go through did not look promising.
So sorry to get your hopes up and then disappoint... But at least you have one game. I'll keep an eye out for more.
In all, Dr. Goeller sent me two games, which we will look at in future posts.
Still in the hunt for more information on the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit (see "Through the Looking Glass: A Reversed BSG" and "Looking Deeper: The Reversed BSG"), I tracked down another expert to help me out.
Dr. Michael Goeller's site "The Bishop's Opening" is a great resource at http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~goeller/urusov/bishops/index.html
Here are several of his comments
I like analyzing old and obscure lines as much as you do, but I try to confine myself to strategically sound openings that are based on some principle (even if that principle is just speedy development). Almost always, the lines I look at have been played by GMs or other strong players, who obviously agreed there was something to it...
I was just reading GM Nigel Davies's blog this morning, which seems quite appropriate: http://chessimprover.com/2011/03/19/openings-for-post-beginners/
I took a quick look with Fritz -- see results below. I do not think it's something I'd try myself as White. And I think I'm prepared now to face it as Black.... :-)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nd5
4...Nxe4!?
Remember: as Tim McGrew shows [see McGrew's two "Gambit Cartel" columns from ChessCafe.com on the Blackburne Shilling Gambit: 1 & 2], this move is better than its reputation in the regular Blackburne Shilling Gambit, so long as you are willing to sac a piece for Cochrane Gambit type play. [Readers interested in 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7!? should check out Dr. Goeller's work on the Cochrane at his Kenilworthian site] Here it may even be better because of Bc4 for White, which sets up some nice shots with c6 and d5 coming.
Black has a number of perfectly good alternatives, of course:
a) 4...b5!? 5.Bb3 (5.Bxb5?? c6 6.Nxf6+ Qxf6+-) 5...Nxd5 6.exd5 Qg5!? 7.Qf3 Qg6 unclear;
b) 4...0-0 5.b4 (5.d4?! exd4 6.Bg5 Be7 =/+) 5...Bb6 6.d3 Nxd5 7.exd5 e4!? with the idea of Qf6;
c) 4...c6 5.Nxf6+ Qxf6 6.Nf3 d6=
5.d4!
Probably best.
5.Qg4 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 0-0! ["This is certainly a lot more fun than most of the lines" - Tim McGrew, on the related line in the regular BSG ]7.Qxe4 Bxg1 8.Rxg1 c6 9.Bd3 (9.Ne3 d5 10.Nxd5 cxd5 11.Bxd5 Nd7 -/+) 9...f5 10.Qxe5 d6 11.Qd4 cxd5 12.Qxd5+ Kh8 =/+ and I think you have to prefer Black slightly here, though I admit it is about equal and probably playable for White.
5...Bxd4 6.Qg4 c6!
6...0-0?! 7.Bh6±.
7.Qxg7
7.Qxe4 Qa5+ 8.Bd2 cxd5 9.Bxd5 Qb6 unclear
7...cxd5 8.Qxh8+ Ke7 9.Qxd8+
9.Qxh7!? Qa5+ -/+
9...Kxd8 10.Bxd5 Nxf2 11.Nf3 Nxh1=
Interesting enough, all by itself – but things were about to get even more interesting... (to be continued)
After yesterday's discovery of a reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit game (see "Through the Looking Glass: A Reversed BSG") I decided to check in with a couple of Bishop Opening experts and see what they had to say about it.
I emailed Dr. Timothy Harding, a Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess and author of over 30 chess books, including the classic Bishop's Opening, the still-referred-to Italian Game (with George Botterill), and Vienna Opening.
His interest in unorthodox openings, as well, is reflected in such titles as Counter Gambits, Irregular Openings for the 1990s, Dynamic White Openings and Dynamic Black Defenses.
By the way, Dr. Harding has written extensively on correspondence chess, having been editor of the Chess Mail magazine and compiler of the MegaCorr CD-ROM database series of correspondence games (for many years a "secret weapon" used by stronger players).
His newest book title is Correspondence Chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824-1987 (see picture above) and it is really quite a great read. I will be reviewing it for Chessville.com.
Anyhow, to my dismay, but not to my surprise, Dr. Harding was not familiar with the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit, and the one game he sent me shows that White, who initiated the gambit, was not, either.
Stormtrooper - Tofik
HCL-C1126 PlayChess.de, 2002
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nd5
4...Nxe4 5.Ne3
A lackluster reply.
A BSGer would fire out 5.Qg4 immediately. As Tim McGrew has written about the regular BSG: Only [the Queen] move gives Black’s idea any punch.
Sadly, the rest of the game is not very exciting, either, until the second player engineers a breakthrough and advances a pair of connected passed pawns...
5...d6 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Ng5 d5 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.Nf3 Bd6 11.0-0 0-0 12.a4 a6 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.d4 e4 15.Ne5 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Ne8 17.c3 f5 18.f4 g6 19.b3 Ng7 20.Ba3 Re8 21.Qd2 b5 22.a5 Bb7 23.Rfd1 c6 24.b4 Ne6 25.g3 Rc8 26.Bb2 Re7 27.Kg2 Rd7 28.Ra3 c5 29.h4 cxb4 30.cxb4 d4 31.Kg1 Rcc7 32.Ng2 d3 33.Rc3 Nd4 34.Ne1 Ne2+ White resigned
That's how it goes: sometimes the beginning of a research project moves along slowly... Tomorrow's post shows how quickly the pace can pick up!
I'm not quite sure how I first ran into the following game, but it is unusual enough to share with Readers. How many times have you come across a reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit??
Nielsen,C - Olsen,K
1989
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nd5
Certainly White has a variety of alternatives to this exotic move, but so, too, does Black when he plays 3...Nd4 in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4...Nxe4 5.Qg4
Just as White is cautioned against taking Black's e-pawn in the regular BSG, because of 4...Qg5, so, too, he gets to play his own Queen out in the reversed lines.
5...Bxf2+
Rybka 3, analyzing the game in "blunder check" mode, notes that this is the "last book move", suggesting that at least one of the programmers considered the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit. Interesting.
6.Kf1 Qh4
Black goes all to pieces and protects his Knight with his Queen which is protected by his Bishop which is protected by the Knight...
He would be advised next time the opportunity arises to find 6...0-0 7.Qxe4 Bxg1 8.Kxg1 c6 recovering his lost piece, with roughly an equal game.
7.Qxh4
This leads to a White advantage, but 7.Qxg7 would lead to an even larger White advantage.
7...Bxh4 8.Nxc7+ Kd8 9.Nxa8
9...f5 10.Nf3 Bf6 11.d3 Nd6 12.Bd5 Nc6 13.Bd2 Ne7 14.Bb3 b6 15.Bb4 Ne8 16.Bc3 d6 17.Kf2 Bb7 18.Nxb6 axb6
The smoke has settled, and White is the exchange ahead. He can be happy with his opening experiment.
However, for the rest of the game he is out-played by his opponent, eventually dropping the full point. The endgame is interesting, but I will not comment further on individual moves:
19.Rab1 g5 20.h3 Ng6 21.Bd2 h6 22.Be3 Kc7 23.Bf7 Ne7 24.Rhe1 Ng7 25.Bc4 g4 26.hxg4 fxg4 27.Nh2 Bh4+ 28.g3 Rf8+ 29.Kg1Bxg3 30.Rf1 Bxh2+ 31.Kxh2 g3+ 32.Kg1 Rxf1+ 33.Rxf1 Nef5 34.Bd2 h5 35.d4 exd4 36.Bd3 Bc8 37.Bxf5 Nxf5 38.Bf4 h4 39.Rf3 Bb7 40.Rd3 Be4 41.Rd2 h3 42.Bxg3 Nxg3 43.Rf2 d3 44.cxd3 Bxd3 45.Rf3 Ne2+ 46.Kh2 Bc4 47.Rxh3 Bxa2 48.Re3 Nd4 49.Kg2 Kc6 50.Kf2 Kb5 51.Rc3 Bc4 52.Ke1 d5 53.Kd2 Kc5 54.Rg3 b5 55.Rc3 b4 56.Rg3 Nb3+ 57.Kc2 d4 58.Rg5+ Kb6 59.Rg3 Kb5 60.Rg5+ Ka4 61.Rg3 Nc5 62.Rg4 d3+ 63.Kc1 Kb3 64.Rd4 Na4 65.Kb1 Nxb2 66.Ka1 Kc2 67.Rd8 d2 68.Rd6 Nd3 69.Rxd3 Bxd3 70.Ka2 Bc4+ White Resigned
