MultiTasking

It is quite possible that some Readers are superior MultiTaskers, capable of doing several things at once, each of them capably. My suggestion is, however, if you are playing a game of chess against Bill Wall, it would be a good idea to give it your complete attention, even if he is playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) against you. Otherwise, you could wind up having to explain a few things...

Wall,B - Tanha
blitz 10 0 Chess.com, 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 c6  

I was astonished to find only one game in The Database with this position, perrypawnpusher - Gary_Seven, JG3 Thematic Chess.World, 2008 (1-0, 35).

9.0-0 Nf6 10.e5 Ne4

KnightShade to place in the third race at Pimlico...

Black starts horsing around. It does not lose the game, but it does forfeit whatever advantage he had.

11.Qe3 Ng5 12.f4 Nf7 13.f5 Nh4

Okay, this will give White the advantage.

14.g3 Nxf5 15.Rxf5 Qb6 16.d4 g6 17.Rf6 Kd8?

What? A new fender is going to cost how much??

18.Rxf7 Kc7 19.e6 Qb4 20.Qe5+ Kb6 21.Bd2 Qxb2??

Our Anniversary is today??

22.Qa5 checkmate

On the other hand, maybe Tanha was paying attention, maybe he was just having a bad day...

One Reason

One reason to have access to The Database* can be seen in the Opening Report drawn from another, completely different, 4,399,153-game database:

http://studimonetari.org/edg/latex/jerome.pdf




(*- with only 24,650 games)

Take That!

What's with all the whining these days about the Jerome Gambit being a "refuted opening"?

The following game is White's first attempt at the line, at least as far as The Database can determine.

Yet he wraps up a checkmate against an opponent rated over 150 points higher, in under 10 moves.

Can your chess opening do that ??


joaoe - Barta
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.d3 h6 8.Qh5+ Kf8 9.Qf7 checkmate

Take that!

Research Mystery

Around 2003, Brazilian chess master Hindemburg Melão, Jr., wrote an article for the online chess site, SuperAjedrez, featuring Joseph Henry Blackburne's famous defeat of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Today I can only trace the essay as far as an essay which is no longer available, which is unfortunate, as it contained some very interesting analytical and historical information, including [Note: my translation - RK]  

...Some sources indicate year of the game as 1868, others indicate 1888, and others indicate 1880. Some sources affirm that it was played in Manchester, others in London. Normally the name of the adversary is not given, having only "NN" or "Amateur", but in at least one source "Millner" is indicated as the name. Also it is not known if it was an individual game or part of a simultaneous display... [T]he game deserves to be cited as one of most beautiful pearls of blindfold Chess...

Although it is in conflict with the information given in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899) – that the game in question was played "around 1880" – my preferred source for information on Amateur - Blackburne, London (see "Flaws" 1 & 2) – the August 15, 1885 issue of the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, edited by J.B. and E.M. Munoz – gives the year as 1885.

I would love to ask Senhor Melao about his sources, as he clearly has access to materials that I do not. (That would not be at all unexpected: Lt. S.A. Sorensen's seminal work on the Jerome Gambit, in the May 1877 issue of Nordisk Skaktidende, was subsequenly translated and reprinted around the chess world.)

For example, I have never seen the Blackburne game dated as having been played in 1868 – six years before Alonzo Wheeler Jerome published analysis of "his" opening in the Dubuque Chess Journal. Nor have I seen it reported as played in 1888 – the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle reported that it had been played "some months ago in London", highly suggestive of the year 1885.

As for the references to the game being played in Manchester and the naming of the Amateur as "Millner" – both were news to me as well. And: was it a blindfold game?

Is any reader familiar with the SuperAjedrez article?

Does anyone have acces to the Brazilian chess master, to pass on my questions? 

What a mystery!

Sunday Tournament Update

The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is underway, all 15 competitors and all 210 games!

We are already seeing results (8 completed games so far, 6 wins by White) from AsceticKingK9, mckenna215, Rikiki00, braken, blackburne, DREWBEAR 63, Knight32, Magni, pixifrufru, shm19cs, klonka59, Baron wd von Blanc heart pirate, martind1991, Luke Warm and Haroldlee123.

Many games are in their early stages, others are racing along.

There are a number of examples of the Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) – a relatively rare beast making up only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database – those certainly will expand our understanding of that line.

At least 29% of the games are "classical" Jerome Gambits, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7+ followed by 5.Nxe5+, which is the highest percentage that I have seen in a recent Jerome Gambit thematic tournament. Some "well established" theory is likely to be stood on its head by the time those games are done!

With about 7 out of 10 games following "modern" (non-5.Nxe5+ lines) there will be plenty of practice to round out the theory of this more tempered approach as well.

Next Sunday I will give further information on the progress of the tournament. When all games have developed far enough for me not to influence their play, I will begin presenting some with annotations.

(By the way, I predict that the tournament winner will score 24 out of 28 points.)

Interruption

Sometimes, when you are busy doing something, you really do not need to stop and interrupt your efforts to do something else. Chances are, you will wind up being unsuccessful in both tasks. Then following game is a brutal example of this dilemma.


jsinc - VisionaryZS
blitz, FICS, 2011

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

This variation does not seem to have a name, while it does have a simple response, 4.Nxe5. Still, it can be fun to apply the Jerome treatment every once-in-a-while.

4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8

Better is 5...Ke7.

6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 Nc6

While experiencing an attack on the Kingside, Black takes a moment to pull back his exposed Queen's Knight.

As a result, his position collapses like a house of cards.

Black can cut down his opponent's advantage by giving up a piece and heading toward a messy position: 7...hxg6 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.d4 Bh6 10.Bg5+ Bxg5 11.Qxg5+ Nf6 12.e5 Ke6.

8.Nxh8+

White is facing a candy store of a position, with many attractive choices.

The text wins, but in fairness to all of the tactically alert Readers out there, let me point out that there is also a checkmate pattern similar to one from the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: 8.Ne5+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+ Kc5 11.Qd5+ Kb4 12.c3+ Ka4 13.b3 checkmate.

Rather than criticize, it is best to sit back and watch the fireworks.

8...Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Qxg8 b6

11.Nf7+ Ke7 12.Nxd8 Nxd8 13.Qh8 Ba6 14.Qxh7+ Nf7 15.d3 Re8 16.0-0

White has gained enough material to win. First he safeguards against any possible blitz surprises or oversights.

16...d5

17.Bg5+ Ke6 18.Qg6+ Kd7 19.Qxf7+ Black resigned

It Still Is Not

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!