As a follow-up to my "Greed Is Not Good" post from about a half a year ago, I would like to present another game, a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. The "teacher" of the lesson is the same as last time.
Ghandy - djoaltay
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5
This is one of a number of ways to respond to Black's bold King move. My preference, and it is certainly not for everyone, is 6.c3.
Black can now safely grab White's c-pawn, but he must be careful not to be too greedy: the Rook on a1 is poisoned.
6...Nxc2+ 7.Kd1
Ghandy really "sold" the offer of the poisoned Rook with the weaker-looking (and weaker) 7.Kf1 earlier this year in Ghandy - marlbo, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 9).
7...Nxa1 8.Qf5+
Here's the rub: White had a choice of 39 moves, and 38 of them led to Black's advantage. Alas for djoaltay, the move that Ghandy chose wins.
8...Ke7
This move leads to checkmate, while the alternative, 8...Kd6, "merely" loses the Queen like marlbo did.
9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc5 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.Qa5+ Kxc4 13.d3+ Kxd3 14.Qd5 checkmate
Very nice!
This is my third Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game with jgknight. The first two were relatively long draws, one last year in 58 moves, and one this year in 49 moves. As they say, "third time is a charm," and I was successful this time. There is even a little bit of "charm" in the game, although if my opponent wanted to preface with the word "lucky" I would not object.
perrypawnpusher - jgknight
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
Black's King bravely protects the Knight, giving up any thoughts of "castling-by-hand", and challenges White to justify his two piece sacrifice.
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+
Black is headed for what I've referred to as the "Nibs Defense". See "Repairing A Variation" parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 for some background.
9.g3 Nf3+ 10.Kf1
When I posted my game with this line against JTIV last year, I wrote
This is my current choice, although it is not clear why. The updated New Year's Database [now The Database] has 4 games (other than the current one) with this move, with White scoring 50%. I've scored 33% in 3 games (until now).
The Database has 15 games with the alternative, 10.Kd1, with White scoring 73%. That's in part to me scoring 100% in 6 of those games; but 3 of those wins are identical 11-movers with the "Buyer's Regret Variation".
Updating: The Database now has 9 games with 10.Kf1, with White scoring 78% (me, 75%). It still has 15 games with 10.Kd1, with White scoring 73% (me 100%).
I am still not sure which 10th move I will play next time, especially since I concluded at one point that 10.Kf1 "is not an improvement" over 10.Kd1.
10...Nxh2+
Tempting, as it is another forward-going, attacking move, but it probably only keeps the game in balance.
11.Kg2 Qg4
I smiled when I saw this move. I've recommended it a couple of times on this blog, when either Black "holds onto his advantage" or the game is "about even". Today I would go with the latter assessment.
The move is not mine, however, but the recommendation of Some Loser, the author of Unorthodox Chess (2005), who has occasionally played the Jerome Gambit. (Really. Read my book review.)
12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Qxc5+ Ke8
Black's moves are interesting: he cannot protect his c-pawn with 13...Kd8, as 14.Qf8 checkmate would follow.
Yet, his best move would have been 13...d6, encouraging White to take the c-pawn, as after 14.Qxc7+ Bd7 15.Rxh2 (what else?) White's King would be defenseless against Black's Queen – and other pieces: 15...Qe2+ 16.Kg1 Qe1+ 17.Kg2 Qxe4+ 18.Kf1 Qf3+ 19.Ke1 Rc8!?. Not only is White's Queen in trouble, Black threatens the deadly 20...Kf8!
Of course, after 13...d6 14.Qf2! White would secure his King and the game would be in balance after 14...Nf6 15.Rxh2 Nxe4 16.Qe3 Qe6.
14.Rxh2
First 14.Qe3 was a bit more prudent.
14...d6 15.Qe3 Nf6
For the most part, the excitement has died down. Both Kings are relatively safe, and White is ahead by a pawn (a reasonable outcome, having faced down a refutation).
16.Nc3 c6
After the game Fritz 10 censured this move. Can you see why?
17.b3
I was looking for development, and decided to put my Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal.
I totally overlooked 17.f5!? which threatens to trap Black's Queen. Black has a defense, of course, in 17...g5, but it costs a couple of pawns, say, after 18.Rh6 Rf8 19.d3 Rf7 20.Qxg5 and, further, Black's d-pawn is at risk, as well.
17...h5 18.Rh4
I almost always see these things a move too late.
18...Qe6 19.d3 Ng4 20.Qe2 Rh6 21.Bb2 d5
White has been more effective in rushing his troops to back up their footsoldiers.
22.exd5
Personal failing: I am always willing to "let the air out of the position" if I am even the tiniest bit of material ahead.
22...Qxe2+ 23.Nxe2 Ne3+ 24.Kf3 Nxd5
Messier, but stronger, was 24...Nxc2.
So, what is going on here?
White is better developed (including his King), is a pawn ahead, and hopes to pick up one or two more pawns.
It is essential that Black get his pieces out, cause as much disruption as possible, and keep his eyes on the possibility of transitioning to the welcoming arms of the drawish (even when down pawns) Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame. jgknight fights, but the battle is not his today.
25.Bxg7 Bg4+ 26.Kf2 Re6 27.Be5 Bxe2 28.Kxe2 Nc3+ 29.Kf3 Nd5 30.Rxh5 Kd7
31.Rh7+ Re7 32.Rah1 Rxh7 33.Rxh7+ Ke6 34.Rxb7 Rg8 35.Rxa7 Ne7 36.g4 Ng6 37.d4 Nh4+ 38.Ke4 Rxg4 39.Rg7 Rxg7 40.Bxg7
40...Ng6 41.a4 Kf7 42.Be5 Ke7 43.a5 Kd7 44.f5 Ne7 45.c4 Nc8 46.f6 Ke6 47.d5+ cxd5+ 48.cxd5+ Kf7 49.Kf5 Na7 50.b4 Nb5 51.a6 Na7 52.Bd4 Nb5
53.a7 Nxd4+ 54.Ke4 Nb5 55.a8Q Nd6+ 56.Kf3 Kxf6 57.Qc6 Ke5 58.b5 Nf5 59.Qe6+ Kd4 60.Qxf5 Kc5 61.b6 Kxb6 62.Qe6+ Kc7 63.Qc6+ Kd8 64.Ke4 Ke7 65.Kf5 Kd8 66.Qb7 Ke8 67.Ke6 Kf8 68.Qf7 checkmate
More "muddlegame" blues: White has all the makings of an attack on the enemy King – well, almost all – but his efforts look like someone trying to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle when some of the parts are missing. After such a failure, to win the game based on what seems to be an optical illusion makes things even more bizarre.
perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5
The Italian Four Knights Game.
5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Re8 9.0-0 d6
10.f4
A standard move in this kind of position, but probably 10.Bg5, as in Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22) was stronger.
10...Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8 12.Bd2 Kh8
The King's cautious double-move eliminates the risk of a Queen-check-and-fork at c4, should Black move a piece to b4 to attack Her Majesty. Previously I had seen 12...a6 13.Rae1 Kh8 in perrypawnpusher - KaZC, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 61).
Actually, in my post on the KaZC game, I said I'd try 10.Bg5 "next time", but I forgot to...
13.Nd5
Another "standard move in this kind of position", but with Black's Rook at e8 this should simply lose the e-pawn.
13...Nxd5
A curious example of "playing the player" (or "playing the player's misconceptions") rather than "playing the board." Folie a deux?
14.exd5 Nb4
I don't know what to say. Some people just want to attack my Queen. Now that there is no insidious check-fork (see my comment to Black's 12th move) my opponent goes ahead...
15.Bxb4 a5
White has regained his sacrificed piece and is even a pawn up.
One look at Black's undeveloped Queenside suggests that White should focus an attack on the enemy King, using the a1-h8 diagonal and possibly the g-file as well.
That much, I understood. But I could not put the attack together.
16.Bc3 b6 17.Qd4
This move is adequate, but after the game Houdini suggested the cold-blooded 17.f5 Ba6 18.Qg3 Qd7 19.f6, since 19...Bxf1 is only a temporary material gain for Black, as he quickly has to return the exchange with 20.Rxf1 Re5. After 21.Bxe5 dxe5 22.Qxe5 Qf7 23.fxg7+ Qxg7 Black has turned back the attack, but he is two pawns down without any compensation at all.
The idea of an attack that does not necessarily end up with checkmate, but which is "expensive" for the opponent to defend against, is part of middlegame play (in my games, "muddlegame play") that I'm still trying to understand.
One of the "missing pieces" in my own construction of the attack was the move f4-f5.
17...Re7
Stronger was 17...Qf6, because the text move makes the Rook a target after f4-f5-f6; but I was oblivious to that.
18.Rae1
Solid, but take a look at 18.f5 Rf7 19.f6 Rxf6 20.Qxf6!? gxf6 21.Bxf6+ Qxf6 22.Rxf6 when White has the exchange and a pawn to comfort him for his "failed" attack on the King.
18...Rf7 19.Re3
Planning to transfer the Rook to the g-file, but without the "can opener" f4-f5 the attack will not be sufficient.
19...Bf5
20.Rg3
With the arrival of Black's Bishop, his Kingside is almost secure.
20...Qd7 21.Rff3 Bxc2 22.f5
The pawn finally takes a step, but it turns out now that the Rook sacrifice at g7, which I try a move later, is the key here: 22.Rxg7 Rxg7 23.Rg3 Bg6 24.f5 Re8 25.fxg6 Re5 26.Qd3 Qa4 27.Qf3 Qe8 28.gxh7 Kxh7 29.Rxg7+ Kxg7 30.Bxe5+ dxe5. White is up a pawn in a Queen + pawns endgame; and at our level of play, in blitz, that's probably what they call "3/4 of a point" (i.e. a draw, with a big sigh).
22...Raf8 23.Rxg7
I was thinking "something like this should work", which is a very bad substitute for analysis. I had also lost my patience, which is a very bad substitute for actually playing chess.
It was better to stay the course, as Houdini showed afterward: 23.Rg5 b5 24.Rfg3 Rg8 25.f6 g6 when White is better, but he will probably have to sacrifice the exchange to break through. The win is a long ways off.
23...Rxg7 24.Rg3
The sad fact is that Black has adequate defensive resources, and White will end up with a pawn for a piece.
24...Rff7 25.Rxg7 Rxg7 26.Qf2 Be4 27.Bxg7+ Qxg7 28.f6 Qf7 29.g4 Bxd5
It is hard to believe that this is the same game that I was playing 4 diagrams back. White is simply busted.
30.g5 Bxa2 31.h4 Bb1 32.h5 c5 33.Qf4 Ba2 34.Qxd6 Qxh5
I think the only explanation for this move is that my opponent has been looking at moves for his pieces along the light squares, while he has been assessing my Queen's movements along the dark squares. Kind of an optical illusion.
Well, that, and maybe a shortness of time on the clock.
35.Qf8+ Bg8
Of course.
36.Qg7 checkmate
Well, that was far better than I expected.
(It looks like I need a serious refresher course on attacking the King, starting with Joel Johnson's Formation Attacks.)
Many lines in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) feature the premature development of White's Queen. Black must deal with this, often by exchanging Queens, or find his King at risk.
The following game turns this dilemma on its head, however: White does not move his Queen early; Black develops his own Queen, anyhow, but is unable to exchange it; White forces the exchange of Queens himself; and then White goes on to create a checkmate attack, anyhow.
Wall,B - Caynaboos
FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3
7...Bxc3+
A straightforward way to return the piece while keeping the initiative. The strongest reply, as we have seen before, is the snarky 7...Qh4, as in Teterow - geneve, lightning, FICS 2011 (1-0, 19).
8.Nxc3 Nc6 9.0-0 Qf6
The move ...Qf6 can frequently be strong against the Jerome Gambit, but mostly as a threat to exchange Queens and extinguish White's attacking chances. In this case, the more pedestrian 9...d6 might have been stronger.
Interestingly enough, White forces the exchange of Queens himself a few moves later.
10.e5 Qg6 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Nb5 Kd8
13.Qf8+ Qe8 14.Qxe8+ Kxe8 15.Nxc7+ Ke7 16.Nxa8 Nxd4 17.Bg5+ Ke6
White is the exchange and a pawn ahead, but the significant advantage that he has is in his development: even without Queens on the board he can whip up an attack on the enemy King.
18.Nc7+ Kxe5 19.Rae1+ Kd6 20.Bf4+ Kc6 21.Rc1+ Kb6 22.Nd5+ Kb5 23.Rxc8 Ne6
24.a4+ Kxa4 25.Ra1+ Kb3 26.Be5 Black lost on time
Mate was unavoidable.
Readers are no doubt familiar with the ChessBase.com web site, a place where you can not only check out the latest chess news but also shop for the latest chess books, software, DVDs, etc. As they recently pointed out, however,
With literally hundreds of DVDs available, ranging from openings to games collections, it could be daunting to look through the long lists of product descriptions in the hopes of finding something useful. With the new Product Finder, all you need to do is set up a position, and not only will all opening DVDs covering it be shown, but even games collections as well. Here is a new way to search.
When you specialize in an offbeat opening like the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), this kind of innovation holds the promise of quickly cutting through the wheat and getting right down to the chaff!
I went right to the ChessBase Shop, fired up the "Product Finder With Board", entered the opening moves to the Jerome Gambit, crossed my fingers, and hit "Search".
The result?
Showing 0 Results
I guess I should have expected that. (On the other hand, leaving off White's audacious 4th move allows the "Product Finder With Board" to identify 35 items.)
Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Pete Banks ("blackburne") is organizing another Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld (Tournament #175671 named: Jerome Gambit 6).
In the past, these ChessWorld thematics have been a great place for Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) supporters and skeptics to try out their ideas. Many interesting games have been generated as practice and theory have taken steps forward.
I plan on presenting some of the top games here, as they are completed.
Here are just a few glimpses back at earlier tournaments:
"Daves111 Tops ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic"
"Final: JGTourney4 ChessWorld 2009"
"Carlos Azcarate Wins Tourney"
"Overrated!"
"Rail2Rail Nails It"
"Jerome Gambit Tournaments"
Why not stop by ChessWorld? If you are a member there, why not join in the mayhem of the Thematic?
I've noticed a new name amongst players at FICS who are playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and related openings. New warriors are always welcome to the ranks of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde.
Dyfvermark - alkimie
standard, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6
5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bb4
A "natural" move that has seen its way into a number of posts this year (see "Thought, Emotion and Error", "Refutation right on the spot" and "Casually" for starters). It does not hold onto Black's full advantage, but it is not losing.
8.dxe5
Instead, 8.f4 is "over-thinking" the position too much, 8...Nxe4 (8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nc4 10.e5 Qe7 11.0-0 Nd5 12.f5 Nce3 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.f6 gxf6?! 15.Bxe3 Nxe3 16.Rxf6 d5 17.Qg5+ Qg7 18.Qxe3 Bd7?! 19.Raf1 Bb5 20.R1f3 Rf8 21.Rg3 Rf7 22.Rxf7 Kxf7 23.Qf4+ Kg8 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.e6 h6 27.Qf7 checkmate, Rijndael - tempelier, FICS, 2011) 9.dxe5 Qh4+ 10.g3 Nxg3 11.Qd5+ Ke8 12.hxg3 Qxg3+ 13.Ke2 Bxc3 14.bxc3 d6 15.Be3 Bg4+ 16.Kd2 Rd8 17.Rxh7 Rxh7 18.Qg8+ Ke7 19.Qxh7 dxe5+ 20.Kc1 Qxe3+ 21.Kb2 Qb6+ 22.Ka3 Qc5+ White resigned, Dyfvermark - rchesszz, FICS, 2011.
8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nxe4
This is not thoughtful enough (see the earlier posts mentioned above) and turns the advantage over to White.
10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.Qxe4 Qe7
There were chances to fight for a draw with 11...d5 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.0-0 Qe6, looking toward a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.
12.0-0 d6 13.Ba3 c5 14.Rfd1 Black forfeited by disconnection
