In the following game, Philidor1792 makes the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) look like just another day on the job. Ho-hum. Do the work. Collect the point. Philidor1792 - guest2052 Internet online game, 2012 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Nf6 9.0-0 d6 10.Qe3
Here we have a standard Jerome Gambit position. Mrjoker, for example, has reached it 21 times, and scored 76%. Perrypawnpusher has reached it 36 times, and scored 79%. 10...Qe7 11.Nc3 Be6 12.f4 Nf8 An improvement over 12...Ng4 as in Wall,B - Hirami,Z, Chess.com 2011(1-0, 20). 13.f5 Bf7 14.d4 N8d7
15.Qg3 Kf8 16.Bg5 Re8 17.Rae1
Playing e4-e5 is "job one" for White. 17...Bc4 18.Rf3 Qf7 19.b3 Ba6 20.e5 dxe5 21.dxe5
21...Nh5 22.Qf2 Nb6 23.e6 Qg8 24.Qc5+ Black resigned
In the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) sometimes Black's Knights can't help themselves, they just have to harass the enemy Queen. It seems like a good idea at the time, but things do not always turn out as they are planned. The time invested in the horsing around is lost. Philidor1792 - guest2052 Internet online game, 2012 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Breaking the pin, while still protecting the (retreated) Knight. The "Jerome pawns" are getting ready to roll. 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.e5 dxe5 Rybka suggests that the only way out of this mess for Black is tactical: 21...h4 22.Qe3 Qe7 23.f6 gxf6 24.Rxf6 Rh7 25.Rxd6 Bf5 26.Rf6 Bxc2 27.Qd2 Nd7 when White sacrifices the exchange 28.Raf1 Nxf6 29.exf6 Qd7 30.Qxc2 for an edge. 22.dxe5 h4 23.Qf4 Qh6 24.Qd4 Kh7
As in many successful Jerome Gambit games, it is hard not to notice Black's misplaced Knight on b6, and his undeveloped Bishop and Rooks. 25.Qe4 White had the threatening 25.Rf4, but he had to see that after the tricky response 15...Rd8, he could still proceed with 16.Qe4. 25...Bd7 26.e6 Be8 27.Rf4 Kg8
28.Qe5 Allowing the blockade, while 28.f6 was playable right away. 28...Qf6 29.Qe3 Rd8 30.Raf1 Rh5 Rybka sees a way out for Black: 30...Nd5 31.Nxd5 Rxd5 32.Qxa7 Rh5 33.Qxb7 Rhxf5 34.Rxf5 Rxf5 35.Rxf5 Qxf5 36.Qe7 Bg6 37.Qd8+ Qf8 38.Qxh4 Qc5+ 39.Kh1 Qxc2 40.Qd8+ Kh7 41.Qh4+ Kg8 42.Qd8+ Kh7 43.Qh4+ Kg8 44.Qd8+ Kh7 45.Qh4+ Kg8 draw 31.Ne4 Qd432.Qxd4 Rxd4 33.f6
Even without Queens on the board, the breakthrough wins. 33...Rxe4 34.f7+ Bxf7 35.exf7+ Kf8 36.Rxe4 Black resigned
The latest game from Bill Wall (with notes by him): I played an interesting Jerome Gambit yesterday, and with a little luck I won in
22 moves. I sort of trapped his king and queen at the same time. Wall,B - Guest327668 Playchess.com, 2012 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+ [As seen in Wall - Yunfan, Chess.com, 2011, (1-0, 18) and Wall - Zhu, Chess.com, 2011, (1-0, 19) - Rick] 9...Qd7 10.Qe2 Nf6
11.d4 Qg4 12.f3 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qh5 14.Nc3 c6
15.e5 dxe5 16.0-0 Bh3 I expected that. Perhaps better is 16...Kf7, threatening 17...exd4. 17.Re1 Kf7
Or 17...Rf8 18.dxe5 Nd7. 18.Ne4 I wanted him to move the f6 Knight so I could get in g4 and not have hims sac to open up my king. I wasn't sure about 18.dxe5 Rhe8 19.f4 Bg4. 18...Nxe4 19.g4 This looked better than 19.Qxe4 exd4 and I am in trouble. 19...Qh4 The only place for the Queen and it seems trapped and out of play. I thought I could hold after 19...Bxg4 20.fxg4 Qh4 21.Qxe4. 20.Qc4+ Better than 20.Qxe4 Rhe8 21.Qf5+ Qf6. 20...Kf6
The king has to move somewhere. Perhaps better is 20...Ke8 21.Rxe4 Rf8. 21.Rxe4 I almost played 21.dxe5+ Nxe5 22.Qxe4, but Black has 22...Qxe1+! 23.Qxe1 Nxf3+ and Black wins. 21...Rhe8? 22.g5+ and Black resigned If 22...Kf5, then 23.Qf7 mate. Black could hold out a little bit more with 22...Ke7 23.Rxh4 Nxh4 24.dxe5 Nxf3+ 25.Kh1, then 26.Qb4+, but White should win this.
The saying "all's well that ends well" is doubly relevant to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) player. On one hand, it is a reminder that the "ugly" beginning of a game is not as important as the beautiful (winning) end of play. Also, a knowledge of endgame play, in the case of the following game, specifically that of pawns vs piece play, is very helpful.
A venerable defense, but one often mistreated by White, anyway. 7.Qxe5 d6 Previous games from Philidor1792 have seen 7...Qe7 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.d3 Qxf4 10.Bxf4 Nf6
Ask your computer, and it will say that Black is better. Watch the game, and you will see that White knows better how to handle his "Jerome pawns" than Black knows how to handle his extra piece. Comfort and experience count for a lot. 11.c3 h6 12.Nd2 g5 13.Bg3 Nh5 14.d4 Bb6 15.Nc4 Nxg3 16.hxg3 Kg7
Black has steadfastly worked to gain the Bishop pair. (A computer assessment, however, is likely to say that in doing so he has dropped 1/2 of a pawn's worth of advantage. At least, that's Fritz 8's opinion.) 17.f3 Be6 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.a3 h5 20.Kf2 h4 21.gxh4 Rxh4 22.Rxh4 gxh4 23.Rh1 Rh8
The next few moves are not "best" for either player, but they illustrate the interplay of each side's advantage. 24.f4 Bg4 25.f5 Kf6 26.Ke3 d5 27.Kf4 Be2 28.e5+ Kg7
Which side would you like to play? White may have a small edge, but the game should be drawn with "best play" by both sides, as they say. Of course, that is also said about the game's starting position. 29.g4 hxg3 30.Rxh8 g2 31.Rh3 g1Q 32.Rg3+ Qxg3+ 33.Kxg3 Kh6
34.Kf4 Bh5 35.e6 Kg7 36.Ke5
This looks dangerous for Black, but his defense will hold if he can a) get his King in front of the passed pawns, while b) keeping White's King from coming out from behind the passed pawns. Black's Bishop can move back and forth, when necessary, burning tempos. 36...c6 Black would do better protecting his d-pawn with the Bishop, i.e. 36...Bf3. It is difficult to see what White can then do to win. Of course, there is37.f6+ Kf8 38.Kf4 Be2 39.Kf5 but 39...Bd3+ 40.Kg5 Be4 seems to hold. The text gives White's King an entry to the Queenside, where it can create havoc, taking the spotlight off of the pawns vs piece debate. Or, the King can make use of his entry to help the pawns, which was Philidor1792's choice. 37.f6+ Kg638.f7 Kg7 39.Kd6 Bg6 40.Ke7 Black resigned
It's time to go back to Philidor1792 for some more 9.Na3 ideas... The following game is a good reminder that it only takes one mistake to lose a game, if it's a "good" one.
In my latest Jerome Gambit game, my opponent reversed the 8th and 9th moves of the "His Nibs defense" and still got a good game. My only chance was to vary and confuse him. It worked. perrypawnpusher - rheapennata blitz, FICS, 2012 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
Probably best was 9...Ne7 10.e5+ Nxe5 11.Qxe5+ Kc6. 10.Qd5+ Here 10.g3?, transposing into the "His Nibs" variation, would have been foolish. 10...Ke7 11.Qxc5+ Kd8 Up until this point, my opponent had been using a good bit of time, as he made his way through the variation. This is a blitz slip, however, probably more reflex than planning. Instead, 11...Kf7 12.gxf3 Qxf4 13.Ke2 would have left White a pawn up. 12.Qf8 checkmate
Here is another Jerome Gambit exploration by Philidor1792, tackling an annoying defensive variation (for a game, and a discussion by MrJoker, see "Theory From the Thematic Tourney" Part 3 and Part 4), battling with his opponent and prevailing.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Ke7 9...Kd6 was seen inYace Paderborn - RevvedUp, 2006 (1-0, 48) and Morin,L-Dumont,F, Montreal, 2011 (0-1, 57). 10.Qg3 Kf7 11.Qxe5 Qh4+
Other choices by Black (all in The Database): 11...Qd6 in Wall,B, - Qi,H, Chess.com, 2011 (1-0, 14); 11...b6 in Wall,B - Redom,T, Chess.com, 2010 (½-½,59); 11...Bd4 in Fritz 5.32 - Junior 7, The Jeroen Experience, 2003 (0-1, 32) 12.g3 Qe7 13.Qxe7+ Or 13.Rf1+ in Colossus - Rybka v1.0 Beta.w32, USA, 2006 (0-1,42). 13...Nxe7 14.c3 Bb6 15.d4 Ke8
Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit Queenless middlegame/endgame, where Philidor1792 wants to make the most of his "Jerome pawns". 16.Be3 Nc617.Nd2 Ne5 18.Kd1 Ng4 19.Ke2 Be6 20.Bf4 Kd7 21.Raf1 Raf8 22.h3 Nf6 23.Kd3 Kc8 24.Re1 Nh5 25.Be5 Rf7 26.Rhf1 Nf6
White patiently maneuvers and improves the placement of his pieces. 27.g4 Nd7 28.Bg3 Rxf1 29.Rxf1 a6 30.Nc4 Ba7 31.b3 h5 32.Ne3 hxg4 33.hxg4 Bb6 34.Rf3 Nf6 35.g5 Nh5 36.Be5 Kd7
37.Nf5 Rf8 38.c4 Bxf5 39.exf5 c6 40.Ke4 Rf7 A slip, but the game remains drawish.. 41.Rh3 c5 42.Rxh5 cxd4 43.Bxd4 Bxd4 44.Kxd4Rxf5
Has White reached his goal of an endgame draw with the Jerome Gambit? 53.Kb2 No! White wants more. This seems to upset Black, who soon settles for less. 53...b5 54.Rb6+ Ke555.cxb5 axb5 56.Rxb5+ Kd457.Rc5 g5 58.a4 g4 59.a5 Rg2+ 60.Kb3 Rg3+ 61.Ka4 Rg1 62.Kb5 g3 63.a6 Ra1 64.Rg5 Ra3 65.Kb6 Black resigned
