Some lines in the Jerome Gambit and related openings get a lot of attention on this blog, while others get short shrift. Below, Black uses a rare defense to the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, White misses the best response, and, after a relatively short tussle, the first player loses.
Clearly I have some educational work to do.
lorecai - ffdallagnol
blitz, FICS, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7
It is rare that I can give the history of my attention to a particular line in short order, but with "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (2)", "Please don't do that", "My Turn Again" and "BSG: Later on in theDiscussion" that's about it.
Reflecting how often Bill Wall mines The Database for ideas for play (see "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"), I feel compelled to point out that I did not provide ffdallagnol with the games collection so that he could ambush lorecai with something rare.
6.Qh5
Looks aggressive, but best, leading to only a small edge for Black, is 6.c3, as Houdini 3 lays out: 6...d6 7.Nc4 Ne6 8.d4 Nf6 9.f4 d5 10.Ne5 dxe4 11.f5 Nc5 12.0-0 Nd3 13.Nxd3 exd3 14.Qxd3 Kf7 15.Bg5 Be7 16.Nd2 Re8 17.Rae1 Kg8 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Qe4 Qd6 20.Rf3 Kh8 21.Rg3 Bd7 . I'll have to track down some of the relevant games.
6...Qe8 7.Qg5+
Wanting to keep the attack alive, but best play at this point, alas, was exchanging the Queens followed by 8.Kd1.
7...Nf6 8.Na3 d6 9.Nec4
9...b5 10.Ne3 b4
This pawn charge is fun, but not best.
11.Nd5+
White can stir up more mischief with 11.e5 bxa3 12.exf6+ gxf6 although he still would be worse.
11...Kd7 12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Qxf6
Hoping the attack on the Rook on h8 will give him time to save his Knight on a3. In a way, he succeeds.
13...Qxe4+ 14.Kf1 Qe2+ 15.Kg1 Qe1 checkmate
Here we have another game where Black seems to be unimpressed with White's "funny" opening.
I mean, come on, White has to be clowning around, right, playing that "joke opening," the Jerome Gambit?
As I've written before, "If you want them to stop laughing..."
Not all clowns are funny, though. Some are killers. Witness the following.
Wall, Bill - Guest3544144
PlayChess.com, 2013
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.Qe3 Nf6 10.f3
White's move appears to be a TN, although the idea of supporting the e4 pawn in this way is not unknown in the Jerome Gambit.
10...Kf7 11.d4 Re8 12.O-O c5
A pawn is a pawn, right? Black sacrifices one to get the Queens off of the board, ending White's attack, perhaps?
Now that's funny.
13.dxc5 dxc5 14.Qxc5 Qb6 15.Qxb6 axb6
With a piece for three pawns, Black has an even game. However, given that he had a won game at move 4, this is not actually progress.
16.Rd1 Be6 17.Nc3 Red8 18.Be3 Ne5
What's another pawn among friends?
19.Bxb6 Re8
20.Nb5
Threatening Nc7 and Nd6+
20...Re7 21.a4 Nc4 22.Bc5 Rd7 23.b3 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Na5
White is in no hurry, but slowly improves his position.
25.Nd6+ Kg6 26.f4 Bc8 27.f5+ Kh5 28.e5 Ng8
The "Jerome pawns", completely supported by their pieces, advance and bring havoc. White's next move adds an additional theme: threat to the enemy King.
29.Rd3 Ne7 30.Rh3+ Kg4
This looks risky, and it is, but the alternative, 30...Kg5, is met with 31.Be3+ Kg4 32.Rg3+ Kh4 33.Bg5+ Kh5 34.Bxe7 g5 35.Rxg5+ Kh4 36.Rg6+ Kh5 37. g4 checkmate.
31.f6 gxf6 32.exf6 Ng6 33.Be3 h5 34.Rg3+ Kh4 35.Bg5 checkmate
Five years and one week ago, I started this blog as a tentative look at a very disreputable chess opening, the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.
I started out posting daily, and after over four years, moved to posting every-other-day.
I have discovered many other adventurers who enjoy playing the Jerome, and variants of Alozo Wheeler Jerome's "Double Gambit". Their games make up The Database, almost 29,000 battles strong.
As this blog approaches its 1,700th post, it is amazing to know that there is still so much more to share.
Many thanks to everyone who has made this journey so enjoyable!
While waiting to start the last round of the Chess.com Italian Game thematic tournament - and its possible last three chances to play the so-far rather successful Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) - I logged on to FICS to try my hand at a number of blitz games.
It seemed like everyone wanted to play me when I had the Black pieces, but when I had the White pieces - well, take a look at the following "Accelerated Jerome Gambit Declined".
perrypawnpusher - NN
blitz, FICS, 2013
1.e4 Black resigned.
Sigh.
Same.
Looking for precedents in the play of Wall - Guest2507113, PlayChess.com, 2013 (see "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"), I found the game Sir Osis of the Liver - Piratepaul, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2009, in The Database.
The play began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 d6 6.O-O h6 7.h3 Nf6 8.Be3 Bb6 9.c4 Rf8 10.Nc3 Kg8 reaching an identical position to Wall - Guest 2507113.
This is not surprising: Bill is always the first to get the updated versions of The Database, and he likes to mine the nearly 29,000 games for inspiration for future play.
Different.
As play continued, however, Sir Osis (love that name!) had greater difficulties in the game, fell behind, and found himself in dire straits, as can be seen in the following position, where he is down a piece and a couple of passed pawns.
Play continued
30.Qxe5
When, instead of exchanging Rooks, Black pressed his attack with
30...Nf4?
White quickly noted the difference, and offered the swap himself with
31.Rxf6
Not wanting to drop a piece with 31...gxf6 and slide into what would most likely be a drawn ending, Black now played
31...Nxd3
Same.
Allowing the enjoyable win
32.Rxh6 checkmate
I recently received an email from Bill Wall, noting "I looked at your last two articles on 'not Nxe5' and since you had one of my c3 games, that now left d3 and O-O to try. So I tried them both in one game..."
Wall,B - Guest2507113
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.0-0 d6 6.d3 h6 7.h3 Nf6
Some contemporary Jerome Gambit players, perhaps aided by computer evaluations, have opted not to make the second sacrifice, 5.Nxe5, in what was once called "Jerome's Double Gambit."
These "modern" Jerome Gambit variations leave White "objectively" better off than do the "classical" lines, but, to my mind (Rick) their lack of utter chaos makes playing the attack more challenging. Black says "hit me with your best shot."
As if that ever stopped Bill Wall.
8.c4 Rf8 9.Nc3 Kg8 10.Be3 Bb6 11.Rc1 Bd7
12.Nd5 Bxe3 13.fxe3 Be6 14.Qb3 Rb8 15.Rf2 Qd7 16.Nh4 Kh7 17.Qa4 a6 18.Qc2 Ne7
White's pieces have been probing the enemy position. Now he sees a chance to weaken the Kingside a bit.
19.Nxf6+ Rxf6 20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Rf1
Threatening 22.Rxf6
21...f5?
Better 21...Ng6 22.Nxg6 Kxg6
22.exf5 Nxf5 23.d4
The Knight is now pinned and White threatens Nxf5
23...Rf8?
Black keeps playing reasonable moves, and they keep not working out. Bill recommends 23...Qf7 24.dxe5 dxe5 25.Qe4 Rf8 26.g4 while Houdini 3 suggests giving up the piece directly with 23...Kh8 24.Nxf5 In either case, White would still be better.
24.d5 Bf7 25.Rxf5
Threatening 26.Rxf7+, winning the Queen
25...Kg7
Threatening 26...Bg6, pinning Rook and Queen. If 27. Nxg6, then 27...Qxf5 and Black is winning.
26.Qf2 Qe7? 27.Rf3
Threatening 28. Nf5+, forking Queen and King
27...Qg5 28.Rg3 Black resigned
In the following key game, between the tournament's second place finisher and the champion, Black's slip allowed White to equalize in a 5.c3 Jerome Gambit - only to see the favor returned at the end.
CheckmateKingTwo - Daves111
ChessWorld, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.c3 d5 6.d4
This is a more energetic reply to 5...d5.
6...exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 dxe4
Black stays active, not bothered by his King's supposedly exposed position.
9.Ng5+ Kf8 10.Be3 Bf5 11.d5
A bit better might be 11.0-0.
11...Bxc3+ 12.bxc3
Black is doing very well, but for some reason he now decides to return a piece, pretty much leveling the game.
12...Nf6 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.f3 Qxd1+ 15.Rxd1 exf3
In this tricky position, if White now castles (pinning the Black f-pawn), he keeps things in balance.
16.Nxf3 Re8
This is the problem with White's 16th move.
17.Kd2 Ne4+ 18.Kc1 Nxc3 19.Bc5+ Kf7 Black won on time, in a somewhat better position (if he can make something out of his two isolated, passed c-pawns).
