Following up on yesterday's post "Ionman vs the Bots" I messaged ionman, asking about the games. Given their theoretical nature, I thought that I might have discovered a new member of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde who had a whole powerhouse of new ideas to pushe the understanding of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) forward.
Not so.
"I was just messing around in those games" he responded.
The early Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games by ionman at FICS seem to have all been played against computer bots, providing not only a bit of a historical perspective but also some interesting analytical off-shoots. They are well worth playing through. I have messaged ionman at FICS, and hope to learn more about his explorations. ionman - GriffyJr
In looking at ionman's Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and related games in the online FICS games database, I found an effort that had escaped The Database, a situation that I was glad to quickly correct. ionman - RavingEagle blitz, FICS, 2011 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 The Semi-Italian Opening. If Black subsequently brings his Bishop out to c5, White can consider going Jerome-ish with Bxf7+. 4.d4 Na5
At some point this offside Knight move is going to become known as the "kick me maneuver". 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 It is a measure of Black's difficulties to realize that his "strongest" move here is 6...Ke7, allowing the Knight fork at g6. 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.Qf7+ Kd6 9.Qd5+
This is strong and winning. Checking out The Database, only sanforu - goaheadandtakemy, blitz, FICS, 2008 has 9.Na3 that leads to mate in 3; and only plasmafaz - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2012 has 9.Nc3 that leads to mate in 4. No matter, White has the fork mentioned in the note to move 6. 9...Ke7 10.Ng6+ Ke8 11.Nxh8 Nf6 12.Qf7 checkmate
In yesterday's post I mentioned a couple of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games played online by ionman at FICS in 2005 and suggested that I check out more of his games.
That led me to The Database, which has FICS games going back to 1999. I found ionman's games, but I also found a number of players doing more than single-game-experimenting with the Jerome, some of whom were familiar (e.g. GOH, JKELSEY ), but some of whom were new to me (when a database has 26,500+ games, it is possible to overlook someone).
I plan to see which players are still active at FICS, and contact them for more information about their Jerome Gambit adventures.
I would guess that everyone who plays the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has a particular defense that they would rather not face. That is funny, in a way, because the Jerome is a "refuted" opening, and therefore every defense should be uncomfortable...
Still, it was fun to see Philidor1792 in the following game take on the one defense that I worry about the most, played by a computer this time, at that, and wrestle it to the ground for a split point.
A computer can not make sense of the Jerome Gambit? Now, that's a surprise!
Hmmmm.... That's the second game where ionman faced this defense 7 years ago. I need to catch up with him...
14.gxh4 Bg4 15.Qa4+ b5 16.Qa6+ Nb6 17.h3
Varying from 17.c4 Nd4+ 18.Ke1 Rhe8+ 19.Kf2 Nf5+ 20.Kf1 Bh3 checkmate, abhailey - peonconorejas, net-chess.com, 2008, the first "real" game where I saw this particular defense. I was convinced four years ago that the Queen sacrifice was discovered with the help of a computer (The Database, with earlier games, was not available until January 1, 2010.)
There is an old saying, a caution about the risks of walking in the footsteps of bad companions, "Follow your friends to Hell, and your reward will be a place there with them."
While I find the members of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde to be great company, we all suffer from the same, dangerous affliction that can sometimes be lethal: playing the Jerome Gambit.
Philidor1792 - NN casual game, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4
A quick look at The Database shows that there are 170 games that reached this position, and White scored 60%. This far more reflects the practical play of the Jerome Gambit than it does any objective evaluation of the situation on the board.
8...Kc6
A new move, as far as I can tell. When you are two pieces up, as Black is, you can simply give one back, and remain with the advantage.
White must now stir up some mischief, or be doomed.
Having finished yet another endgame in one of my two Italian Game tournaments at Chess.com (my next move would have been 70...c1/Q checkmate, had not my opponent resigned), I started my final game with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, only to see 3...Nf6, a perfectly good move, but one sliding away from the Jerome Gambit... I have hopes for 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, but, otherwise, I will have to wait for the second round of the other tournament to see if I can improve on my 3-1 record with the Worst Chess Opening Ever.
