By the Numbers

While I was finishing up my games in the third round of the Chess.com Italian Game thematic tournament, I received a challenge from another player, and was able to inject some more Jerome-ish fun into my game.

We followed a line that I was familiar with, and although it took an odd turn or two, the result was pleasing.

perrypawnpusher  - eaadahl
Chess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. I have played it 51 times, scoring 88%. pblond has two of the three wins against me; the other was an embarassing mouse-slip Queen-loss on move 8.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6

The Database has almost 27,000 games in it, yet there are only 7 (until now) with this position; and I had White in all of them, scoring 100%.

8.Qxe5 

Here Black resigned in perrypawnpusher - JohnBr, blitz, FICS, 2010 and perrypawnpusher - AcesFullofKings, blitz, FICS, 2011.

8...Bd6

Or 8...Qf6 as in perrypawnpusher - alekbb, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 47); or

8...Be7 as in perrypawnpusher - PravinMamania, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 50); or

8...Nf6 as in perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 46) and perrypawnpusher - wadada, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19)

Best is 8...Bf8!?, planning to trap White's Queen after 9.Qxh8?.

9.Qxh8 Qf6 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6 11.d3 h5 

White has the exchange plus two pawns for the advantage.

I survived the silly 11...Be5 12.Bxh6? in perrypawnpusher - apinheiro, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 35)

12.Nc3 a6 13.Bg5 Bc5 

The time limit on our game was three days per move, but obviously this was played too casually.

14.Bxf6 Kxf6 15.Nd5+ Kg7 16.Nxc7 Rb8 17.Nd5 d6 

I was pretty sure that if I opened the game up, Black's two Bishops would be a good match for my Rook and Knight. Therefore I took some time to see how I could make use of my extra pawns.

18.c3 Be6 19.Nf4 Bf7 20.d4 Bb6 21.Nh3 Bc4 22.Rfe1 Re8 23.f4 d5 24.e5 Bc7 25.Nf2 a5 26.g3 b6 27.h3 Bd8

I don't think that my timid play impressed my opponent.

28.b3 Bb5 29.Rac1 Bc7 30.c4 dxc4 31.bxc4 Ba6 32.d5 Bc8 

Black is ready to play cat-and-mouse, his Bishops against my pawns, but it is time to open the position and finish things up.

33.d6 Bb8 34.c5 bxc5 35.Rxc5 a4 36.Rb1 Ba7 37.Rc7+ Black resigned

The Jerome Gambit Doesn't Always Win

What can I say??

A new addition to The Database, Randompl - Steftcho, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1/2-1/2, 47), in case you missed it:

White ran out of time and Black had no material to mate.

Bummer.

The Jerome Gambit Re-Animated

The Jerome Gambit is dead. Everyone knows that. 

Dead, dead, dead.

Dead as, say, White's game, below, after four moves, or six moves, or eight moves or ten moves...

Funny thing, though: under the right circumstances, the dead can be re-animated. Then, it is time to be careful. They bite.

Ôèëèäîð1792 - Guest543
www.bereg.ru, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 

8.d4 Bxd4 9.Bg5 Ne7 10.Bxe7+ Kxe7 11.Nc3

This is an improvement on the previous Ôèëèäîð1792 - Guest543 game.

11...Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 d6 13.Qh5 Bg4 14.Qh4+ Kd7 15.Qg3 Qf6 16.0-0 

16..Be2 17.Rfe1 Bc4 18.f4 Nc6 19.Rad1 Qg6 20.Qh3+ Kd8 21.e5 d5 22.f5 Qe8 

Black is still fine, but White has cranked up both the "Jerome pawns" and his Rooks. As long as White attacks, Black will have to defend.

23.f6 gxf6 24.exf6 Qf7 25.Qg4 Bxa2 26.c4 Bxc4 27.Qxc4 Qxf6

At last. Black's wobbly light-squared Bishop was one sign that he was weakening, but here's the key: compare the location of his Rooks with White's Rooks.

Smart play by White, or what the zombies would say, "Brains!"

28.Qxd5+ Kc8 29.Qd7+ Kb8 30.Re8+ Nd8 31.Qxd8+ Black resigned

Study the Classics

Serious chess players studying serious chess openings are often encouraged to study the classic games that illustrate thematic play. 

Likewise, less-than-serious chess players studying less-than-serious chess openings - the Jerome Gambit comes immediately to mind - still would benefit from studying the "classic" games from that line of play.

(That brings to mind an interesting challenge: what are the "classic" games in the Jerome Gambit praxis? Certainly this is fodder for discussion and a series of posts later on in the year.)

Ôèëèäîð1792 - Guest 543
www.bereg.ru, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6

8.d4 Bxd4 9.Bg5 

This move comes from the classic game Tonetti - Ruggieri, Rome, 1863 (1-0, 23), which no doubt thrilled - or, at least, amused -  chess players around the world.

The alternative, 9.Na3, was seen in the earlier Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1877 (0-1, 41); and updated in "An Intriguing Letter" Parts 1, 2 & 3 and "Some History of the Jerome Gambit" Parts 1 & 3.

9...Ne7 

This is a significant improvement over Ruggeri's 9...Nf6. Guest 543 has passed his first test.

10.Bxe7+ Qxe7 11.c3 Nd3+ 12.Kd2 Nxf2

Black is "winning all over the place" - but, didn't he forget something??

13.Qd5 checkmate

Oh, yeah, that's right...

Be Prepared!

The chessboard can be a scary place, and it is always a good idea to be prepared for what might show up there. This advice also refers to defenders who face the unbalanced Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). Luckily for them, many refutations of the gambit have been published.

Lucky for the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, chess games, do not, yet, "play themselves".

Wall,B - Guest3164644
Playchess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Qf6 

A defense suggested by NM Eric Schiller in his 1998 Unorthodox Chess Openings.

8.Rf1

Unfortunately, this move is not covered in UCO.

8...g6 9.Qh3+

Threatening 10.fxe5

9...Ng4

Seen previously:

9...Kf7 10.fxe5 Qxf1+ 11.Kxf1 d6 12.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall, B - Guest1690223, Playchess.com, 2012; and

9...Ke7 10.Nc3 c6 d6 (10...c6, Wall,B - XCCY, FICS, 2011 [1-0,21]) 11.Nd5+ Kd8 12.Qg3 Qe6 13.fxe5 dxe5 14.d4 Ne7 15.dxc5 Nxd5 16.Bg5+ Ke8 17.exd5 Qxd5 18.Rf2 Be6 19.Rd2 Qxc5 20.0-0-0 Rf8 21.Qh4 h5 22.Bh6 Rf5 23.Rd8+ Rxd8 24.Rxd8+ Kf7 25.Rf8+ Qxf8 26.Bxf8 Kxf8 27.Qd8+ Kg7 28.Qxc7+ Kh6 29.h4 Rf1+ 30.Kd2 Rf2+ 31.Ke3 Rf5 32.Qd8 a6 33.Qh8 checkmate, Wall,B - Aburasian, Chess.com, 2010. 

10.Qxg4+ Ke7 11.Nc3 d6? 

12.Nd5+ Kd8 13.Nxf6 Bxg4 14.Nxg4 h5 

White is up two pawns.

15.Nf2 Kd7 16.Nh3 Re8 17.d3 Nf6 18.Ng5 Ng4

Black has done well in attending to his development. He should not try to mimic White's wandering Knight.

19.h3 Nh2 20.Rh1 Black resigned

Another Serving

Following up on the previous post, "More Russian Home Cooking" it is relevant to point out Yury V. Bukayev's article on the Evans-Bukayev Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 h6!? 5.b4!, which contains some Jerome Gambit accents such as 5...Bxb4 6.c3 Bc5 (6...Bf8 7.d4 Na5 8.Bxf7+; 6...Ba5 7.0-0 [7.d4 d6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+]]d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Bxf7+) 7.d4 exd4 8.0-0 Na5 9.Bxf7+; and 5...Bb6 6.b5 Nd4 7.Bxf7+.

Xороший appetit!

More Russian Home Cooking

I can always count on Yury V. Bukayev for new and interesting chess ideas. Check my link to Bruno's Chess Opening Articles, or "Something New in Something Old" or "Even in the Most Respectable of Settings" or "Update" or "Trick Fork" or "Improve Your Chess" or any number of other posts you can search this site for.

Here's the latest email that I have received. I have not dug deeply into the idea, but it is sure to put a sparkle in your play!

Dear Rick, 
I have the following new present for you! It's my discovery! 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 h6 5.a3 (White has the auxiliary threat: 6.b4.) 5...Nd4? 6.Bf7!! White has a very strong attack! (6.Ne5?! Qg5!-+; after 6.Na4 or 6.b4 black can play 6...Bd6! without fast white's winning.) If you agree, you may call it as "Bukayev GP Jerome counter gambit", where "GP" is the well-known words: "giuoco piano". Later I'll write you about interesting line: 5.Qe2 Nd4...

Best wishes! Yury V. Bukayev