Most players, if they are aware of the Jerome Gambit at all, remember something about J.H. Blackburne destroying it in a wonderful miniature ending with a Queen sac and mate.
We've discussed the topic before: what if you only remember parts of Blackburne's counter-attack?
After all, the Jerome isn't really worth the defender's full attention, especially in a blitz game, is it?
perrypawnpusher -NN
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bd6
Okay, okay, Blackburne actually played 7...d6 here, but perhaps my opponent was thinking of an "improved Blackburne Defense"?
(Actually, in The Database Black scored 9% in 32 games, so it's not really much of an improvement.)
8.Qxh8 Nf6
I'm pretty sure that Blackburne trapped White's Queen with this move...
9.Qxd8 Black resigned
Sure, an example of taking advantage of my opponent's distractedness. Still, this is the fifth example of such a Queen "sacrifice" in The Database, so I have to encourage readers: the next time your opponent looks at your opening disdainfully and says "I have half a mind to..." – say Thank you!
When I wander over to the ChessCafe website, I like to read the monthly column by Abby Marshall (USCF Candidate Master, currently rated 2192) "The Openings Explained". She's a hard worker, she's not afraid of playing gambits (the King's Gambit is her specialty) – and she used to be from my home town.
This week's topic is "The Two Knights Defense, Center Fork Trick" [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5], something that has been discussed on this blog a number of times before (like when you play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 looking for a Jerome, and your opponent plays 3...Nf6; can your 4.Nc3 get him to cough up 4...Bc5, so you can play 5.Bxf7+ ?). For just a sample of posts, try "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 3)" and "Further Explorations (Part 1 and Part 2)"
Don't forget to review Yury V. Bukayev's analysis as well, which I will be sending to Abby.
Just saw a reference to the television show "Pawn Stars".
I checked it out right away!
Man, was I disappointed...
It's not AT ALL about chess.
Intrigued by yesterday's Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) game (see "Tumbling Dice"), I thought I'd take a look at the line in The Database and see what up-to-date data I could drum up.
I was surprised to see that White, ahead a pawn and having prevented Black from castling, only scores 58% in 238 games. Admittedly, that's better for White than the straight Jerome Gambit line – 44% in 8,737 games – but it still seems light.
(Perhaps one must take into account the level of play, and Geoff Chandler's "blunder table".)
Breaking it down was not much help.
In 205 games, when Black declined the Bishop sacrifice with 5...Kf8, White scored 57%. Immediately removing the White Bishop from danger or exchanging it off – what would appear to be the simplest and best plan for the first player – did not matter a whole lot. In 51 games White played 6.Bxg8, scoring 63%. This was better than the 25 games in which White played 6.Bb3, scoring 56%; and the 18 games where White played 6.Bc4, scoring 53%. However, only one of those percentages is an improvement on the core 57%.
(We seem to have hit another one of those Jerome Gambit anomalies: by playing a "worse" line, White, apparently, scores "better" – or at least not any worse.)
In the 33 games where Black played 5...Ke7, however, White scored 71%. That should be an indication for Black – although accepting the Bishop with 4...Kxf7 remains the best idea.
I was looking for a recent example of the Jerome Gambit Declined, a rather rare beast, when I ran across a game by an upstanding member of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, HauntedKnight.
The following game, however, takes on the look of some tumbling dice, as the fortunes of both players change widely. However, as we have seen recently ("Wonderland"), White's "secret weapon" (i.e. it can take time for Black to figure what is going on in the Jerome, and how to play against it) finally snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Congrats, HK, a win is a win.
HauntedKnight - Merfis
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.d3 h6 7.0-0 Na5 8.Nxe5 Nxb3 9.Ng6+ Kf7 10.Nxh8+ Kg8 11.Ng6 Nxa1 12.Be3 Qe8 13.Nf4 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Qe5 15.Nc3 Nxc2 16.Qxc2 c6 17.Ng6 Qe8 18.Nh4 d5 19.Qb3 Kh7 20.Re1 dxe4 21.dxe4 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Qxe4 23.Nf3 b6 24.Qf7 c5 25.h4 Be6 26.Qc7 Bxa2 27.h5 Qg4 28.Ne5 Qxh5 29.Rf1 Bd5 30.Nd7 Qe2 31.Nf6+ Kh8 32.Nxd5 Qxb2 33.Qb7 Rd8 34.Nf4 Qa3 35.Ne6 Qxe3+ 36.Kh1 Qxe6 37.Qxa7 c4 38.Qc7 Rc8 39.Qg3 c3 40.Re1 Qf6 41.Qg4 Rd8 42.Qh5 c2 43.Re8+ Rxe8 44.Qxe8+ Kh7 45.Qe4+ Qg6 46.Qe3 b5 47.Qc1 Black forfeited on time
Sometimes a defender, having wandered into the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), feels out of place, as things are not quite what was expected, as if it's a trip to Wonderland...
perrypawnpusher - anelante
blitz, FICS, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Ke7
The earliest example I have of this move (which might as well be called the "buyer's regret" variation) in The Database (with the addition of my game, White has scored 89% in 23 games) is SirOops - mentalGIANT, standard, FICS, 2001 (1-0, 25); although it certainly must have been played over-the-board earlier.
8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5
Surprisingly, I missed playing my usual "nudge" 9.Qd5+, driving the King to the back line to interfere with the Rook.
9...Nf6 10.Nc3 d6
White is up two pawns, and it is hard to see Black's compensation.
11.Qe3
Probably not best, given that it leaves White's Queen and King on the same file that Black's Rook can quickly go to. Nothing bad happens, as a result, but this reinforces the point that White should have "nudged" when he had the chance.
11...Rf8
Black prudently castles-by-hand. After the game Rybka suggested the wild 11...d5 12.Qf4 g5!? 13.Qg3 (13.Qxg5 Rg8 14.Qf4 Rg4 15.Qe5 dxe4 16.0-0) 13...dxe4 to reduce White's advantage.
12.0-0 Kg8 13.d4 b6 14.f4 Bb7 15.e5 Re8
16.Qd3 Ng4 17.Qg3
Or 17.h3 as Rybka later suggested.
17...Bc8 18.f5 dxe5 19.Qxg4 exd4
20.Bh6
Missing the better 20.Ne4
20...Qf6 21.Bg5 Qc6 22.Nd1 Black forfeited on time
