As part of my investigations looking into "A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit ??" I signed up for a free week's membership at the Internet Chess Club (ICC) and began searching the games database for Jerome Gambit games. Frankly, it was quite tedious, and often my effort seemed for naught, but I did come upon the following game. At least at the 2200 level, at least for this game, two pawns did not counterbalance an extra piece.
Rututu (2271) - AWayOut (2241)
blitz, 3 0 ICC, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+
Well, what do you know? He plays "the nudge"!
7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 Nf6
9.0-0 d6 10.Qe3 Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.Nc3
Rybka 3 prefers a different line of play, which it says leaves White only a half-point behind (18 ply) but its recommendation is the kind of positional wood-shifting the computer gets into when it doesn't see anything specific and so tries a tweak here and a tweak there: 12.Qb3+ Kf8 13.d3 c6 14.a4 Qa5 15.Qa3 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 c5 17.a5 Qa6 18.f5 Ne5 19.Nc3 b5 20.b4 c4 21.Ne2 Bd7.
12...Kg8
Black has safeguarded his King by castling-by-hand.
13.f5 Ne5 14.Qg3
Possibly 14.d4, as in perrypawnpusher - avgur, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23) and perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 24), was a bit better.
14...c5 15.d3 Bd7 16.Bg5 Bc6 17.Kh1 Qe7 18.Ne2 Qf7 19.Nf4 Nh5 20.Nxh5 Qxh5
Here Rybka 3 rates Black only about 2/3 pawn ahead, but it is clear that he is getting more mileage from his two pieces than White is getting from his piece and two pawns.
21.f6
Opening a line to the enemy King, but it does not achieve much here, even in blitz, as Black's deft reponse shows.
21...Re6 22.fxg7 Rg6 23.Rf8+ Rxf8 24.gxf8Q+ Kxf8
25.Qf4+
Imagining a Q + R battery on the f-file and plenty of pressure if Black's King moves to the Kingside.
25...Ke8 26.Bf6 Qg4
Offering an exchange of Queens to slow the tactics and preserve his advantage. Even stronger was 26...Ng4, keeping the Queens on the board, winning a pawn, and continuing his own pressure.
27.Qxg4 Nxg4 28.Bc3 d5
Wrapping things up.
29.Re1 dxe4 30.dxe4 Nf2+ 31.Kg1 Nh3+ 32.Kf1 Bb5+ White resigned
A while back (see "Artificial Stupidity") I tried my Jerome Gambit chops against FICS' "MiloBot". Recently I wondered: has anyone else matched Jerome-ish wits with the silicon creation? Turns out, some have.
piratebopper - MiloBot
standard game, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
One player had mixed results trying a Delayed Jerome Gambit, transposing to one of the Gambit's "modern" variations on move 5: 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kf8 (5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.d3 Bb6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Nd5 a6 10.Qh5+ Nxh5 11.Be3 Nb5 12.c4 Nd4 13.Rac1 Ne2+ White resigned, yogitim - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010) 6.Bc4 Ke7 7.d3 Kf8 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Nbd2 Rb8 10.Nb3 b6 11.d4 h6 12.Be3 Ba3 13.bxa3 Ng4 14.Nxe5 Nf6 15.Qf3 Ne7 16.Ng4 Ra8 17.e5 c6 18.exf6 Ng8 19.fxg7+ Ke7 20.gxh8Q d5 21.Qh7+ Kd6 22.Qf4+ Ke6 23.Qe5 checkmate, yogitim - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+
There are many reasons to get MiloBot out of its "book" knowledge of openings, as one player learned quickly: 5.0-0 Nb8 6.c3 c6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Qa5 9.dxc5 Qb5 10.Ne5+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Ke8 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qf3 Qxf1+ 14.Kxf1 Nf6 15.Qxf6 Rg8 16.Qf7 checkmate, Postobon - MiloBot, FICS, 2011.
5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
The Blackburne Defense, part of MiloBot's "book".
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8
Yes!
The Blackburne Defense can be deadly against unprepared attackers; but it also can be overcome if White knows what he/she/it is doing.
Knightpusher, whose name we've seen here before in relation to the Jerome Gambit, this year tried, instead, 10.d3 Ke6 (10...Bh3! was obviously not in MiloBot's book) 11.g3 Qh5 12.Qg7 c6 13.Qh6 Bb6 14.Qxh5 Nxh5 15.Nc3 Nf6 16.Be3 Ne8 17.Bxb6 axb6 18.a3 Kf7 19.f4 Kg8 20.f5 Ng7 21.f6 Be6 22.fxg7 Kxg7 23.Rf2 g5 24.Raf1 Ra5 25.Rf6 Re5 26.d4 b5 27.dxe5 Bh3 28.Rf7+ Kh8 29.Rf8+ Kg7 30.R1f7+ Kh6 31.Rf6+ Kh5 32.Rxd6 b6 33.Rxc6 Bg4 34.Rxb6 Bc8 35.Rff6 Kg4 36.Kf2 Bd7 37.h3+ Kxh3 38.Rh6+ Kg4 39.Rxh7 Bc6 40.e6 Ba8 41.e7 Bxe4 42.Rg7 Bg6 43.Rgxg6 b4 44.Rxb4+ Kh5 45.Rg8 Kh6 46.e8Q Kh7 47.Qg6 checkmate, Knightpusher - MiloBot, FICS 2011.
10...a6
MiloBot's "book" seems to be 9 moves deep. Left on its own, it is much weaker, and now finds this lemon, just as it found 10...a5 against me in perrypawnpusher - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24).
11.Qxc7+ Nd7 12.d4 Qxe4 13.dxc5
White's extra Rook wins.
Now, MiloBot falls apart.
13...Qxg2+ 14.Kxg2 dxc5 15.f4 Kg8 16.f5 Nf8 17.fxg6 Bh3+ 18.Kxh3 b6 19.g7 Nd7 20.Qxd7 h6 21.Rf8+ Rxf8 22.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 23.Bxh6+ Kg8 24.Qg7 checkmate
I was wandering about the Internet the other day, checking to see what new things, if any, had popped up concerning the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).
Much to my surprise I discovered that this site was considered to be one of the "Top Computer Chess Blog", an award Presented by: Online Computer Science Degree, (whoever they are).
In recognition of this achievement, the OCSD folks offered a "badge" that could placed here.
The "badge", of course, links back to their site that touts their various online computer courses. Almost like, I don't know, advertising?
As much as I enjoyed being grouped with such sites as The Chess Drum and Alexandra Kosteniuk's and Jennifer Shahade's sites (although I have to wonder about the "Tuirgin, my soul in a lobster pot...") I decided to pass on that...
Now that the number of posts to this blog has passed 1,000 and its age races toward three years, I know that sometimes past items will be overlooked and not linked to current ones.
For example, in "Barely Legal" where I shared my Philidor Defense game that ended in a variation of Legal's Mate
I should have mentioned that in "Declining the Jerome Gambit - Légally" I presented a Damiano Defense game (by transposition) that also ended up in Légall's Mate
Oh, they're the almost the exact same position, you say? How could I have included one and overlooked the other?
It looks like my blog's "search" function could use a built-in "spell check" function to help me out...
p.s. Another recent Légal, played since the above was written, from my short visit to ICC: AlonzoJerome - Osmin, ICC 5 5, 2011, # 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nc3 h6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.d3 Nd4 7.Nxe5 Bxd1 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Nd5 checkmate
"The George J. Dougherty Club" was recently established, along the lines of the "Vera Menchik Club" – the latter reserved for male chess players who, despite their airs of superiority, lost to the women's World Champion, between the World Wars – to acknowledge those who have lost to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), starting with Mr. Dougherty, who Alonzo Wheeler Jerome named as his first victim.
OG (Original Gamester) members include Dougherty (1874?), O.A. Brownson (1875), Morton B. Pane (1878), Daniel Jaeger (1879), J.K. Zimmerman (1880) and numerous unnamed Amateurs, all who had the notoriety of losing to Jerome, himself, and his Gambit.
As my researches continue, I will add further names.
Special mention must be made of William Carrington, who, in his second match against the Mexican Champion, Andres Clemente Vazquez, in 1876, faced and surrendered to the Jerome Gambit three times.
Likewise, M. Giraudy must be singled out for recognition as the first known player to face the Jerome Gambit in an odds game (odds of Queen Rook) in 1876, again played by Andres Clemente Vazquez, only to lose in under 20 moves.
Vera Menchik (1906 - 1944), the world's first women's chess champion, also competed in chess tournaments against men.
In 1929, Albert Becker jokingly suggesting that any player that she defeated in tournament play should be granted membership in "The Vera Menchik Club".
Of course, Becker became the first member of the "club", which came to include such noted players as C.H.O.D. Alexander, Edgar Colle, Max Euwe, Harry Golombek, Mir Sultan Khan, Jacques Mieses, Philip Stuart Milner-Barry, Karel Opočenský, Samuel Reshevsky, Friedrich Sämisch, Lajos Steiner, George Thomas, William Winter, and Frederick Yates.
I mention this bit of chess history because of a current discussion of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) taking place at Chess.com, where members have weighed in with various levels of skepticism:
There is very little chance of succeding with that gambit
I suggest you find something better
White has nothing
the gambit is completely unsound
not a variation to take anyone's game forward
simply throws away two minor pieces
unless your opponent is a child and you are playing a bullet game on Halloween, it doesn't look like a wise opening choice
an unsound gambit
You may surprise some in bullet, that's all
Those were the polite comments, mind you.
Anyhow, I thought it was time for me to inaugurate "The George J. Dougherty Club".
In the March 1877 American Chess Journal, Alonzo Wheeler Jerome reminisced that he had first played his gambit (successfully, too) against G.J. Dougherty of Mineola, New York, "a strong amateur".
That makes it interesting to recall that while it was in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal that Jerome's "New Chess Opening" was first announced, the very next month's Journal carried this notice
Chess ChallengeGeorge J. Dougherty, of Mineola, Queen's County, New York, hereby respectfully invites John G. Belden, Esq., of Hartford, Conn., to play him two games of chess by Postal Card, at his convenience, Mr. Belden taking the attack in one game and Mr. Dougherty in the other; the object being to test the soundness of Jerome's Double Opening, published in the April No. (50) of this Chess Journal. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Mr. Dougherty, it seems, was willing to see what he could do to add other players to the growing list of those who had lost to the Jerome Gambit.
It is fitting that we name a "club" after him.
More email from Bill Wall
"I tried the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit and it turned out okay."
Wall,B - Fraga,R
Chess.com, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nd5
White plays a "reversed" Blackburne Shilling Gambit, with Bc4 as an added move.
4...Nxe4 5.Qg4 Bxf2+
6.Kf1 0-0 7.Qxe4 Bc5
Instead, 7...Bxg1 was recommended by Michael Goeller and Fritz in our earlier look at this opening.
8.Bd3 f5 9.Qc4 Bxg1 10.Rxg1 Kh8
Fraga decided, after all, to exchange his dark-squared Bishop. The loss of tempo did not help.
Wall, a Jerome Gambiteer, now finds himself with the extra piece against what might, in other circumstanses, be called the "Jerome Pawns". (With that in mind, 10...e4 might have been stronger than the move played.)
11.Nxc7 d5 12.Qc3 f4 13.Nxa8 f3
This move looks dangerous for White's already uneasy King, but Black's lack of development makes following up on this move difficult.
14.gxf3 Rxf3+ 15.Ke2 Qf6
This "attacking" move is more than just an oversight that drops the Bishop on c8: it allows White to wrap things up neatly.
16.Qxc8+ Qf8 17.Qxf8+ Rxf8 18.Nc7 e4 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.b3 Rc8 21.Bb2 Rxc7 22.Rxg7 Rxg7 23.Rg1 Black resigned
