Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 2

If you are playing an opening that is "off the beaten path" and your opponent takes you off of that path, is it a good thing or a bad thing? In the following game Black's opening creativity serves him much less well than following the stodgy main line of the Jerome Gambit.

jankrb (2055) - Red House (1588)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7

Of the almost 4,600 games in The Database which reach the position after White's 5th move, only 9 show Black's 5th move response, with the simple Knight recapture being the most popular alternative. See "An Odd Line In An Odd Line" and "Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation".

6.Nxc6+

Best play now appears to be 6.Qh5! which appeared in 3 games: guest1200 - satmonger, Internet Chess Club, 2001 (1-0, 26); stivb_99 - spymaster, GameKnot.com, 2008 (1-0, 7);  and UNPREDICTABLE - aladu, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 70).

Each time, Black missed the best defense, pointed out by Rybka, 6...Bxf2+!? 7.Kxf2 Qf8+ 8.Nf3 Nf6, although White would still have an edge.

6...bxc6

Stronger was 6...dxc6, preventing the White d-pawn from advancing 2 squares, as in perrypawnpusher - salla, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 31).

7.d4 Bb6

There is no need to repeat the offbeat 7...Bb4+, from CoachCrupp - zzzozzzo, FICS, 2008: 8.c3 Bd6 9.Bg5+ Nf6 10.e5 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Kf8 12.0-0 h6 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Be3 d5 15.Bc5+ Kg8 16.Nd2 h5 17.Nf3 Bg4 18.Qd3 Bxf3 19.Qg6 checkmate.

8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.e5 Ba6 

10.exf6+

An interesting try, according to Houdini, is 10.Qf3!? Kf7 (not 10...Bxd4 11.Bxf6+ gxf6 12.Qxf6+ Ke8 13.Qxh8+ Ke7 14.Qxh7+) 11.Nd2 h6 (a bit better than 11...Bxd4 12.exf6 Re8+ 13.Ne4 Rxe4+ 14.Qxe4 Bxb2 15.Rb1 Bxf6 16.Qf3 Qe7+ 17.Kd1 Re8 18.Bxf6 gxf6±) 12.Be3 Re8 13.0-0-0 and White has an advantage as he will recover his sacrificed piece.

10...gxf6 11.Be3 Qg8 12.Rg1 Re8 13.a4 c5 14.a5 cxd4 15.axb6 dxe3 16.Rxa6 axb6 17.fxe3 Qg5

Both Kings remain uneasy, but White has an extra piece which he can make use of as soon as he consolidates his position.

18.Qf3 Kf7 19.Kd2 Re7 20.Nc3 Rhe8 21.Nd5 Re4 22.Nf4 Qc5 23.Ra3 Qe5 24.Rd3 Qa5+ 25.c3 Qb5 26.Qh5+ Qxh5 27.Rxd7+ Black resigned

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 1

The following game, from a Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at RedHotPawn.com played last year, shows that complicated postions can arise that can challenge both players. In turn, the Queens, then the Kings, face grave danger.

musirapha (1874) - ZorroTheFox (1447)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qc3 

More frequently played is 8.Qe3.

8...Be6 9.d4 Bd7 10.Qb3+ Kf8 11.f4

11.0-0 was safer. If White was looking for trouble, he could always have played 11.Qxb7!? but he would have risked having his Queen offside for a while.

11...Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh3 13.Qxb7 Rc8

The Rook is probably better placed on the e-file, after which Black should continue his infiltration of the Kingside, as Houdini suggests, 13...Re8 14.Nc3 Qg2 15.Rf1 Bh3 16.Qb5 Qxh2 17.Qe2 Qxe2+ 18.Kxe2 Bxf1+ 19.Kxf1. 

14.e5 N8e7 15.Qf3 h6 

With 5 pieces developed to White's 1, Black does not need to play such a timid move, especially when he had available the useful 15...Bc6. Sometimes the Jerome Gambit can intimidate, however.

16.Nc3 d5 17.Be3 Nf5 18.Kf2

An alternative to consider was 18.0-0-0. 

18...c6 19.Na4 Nxe3 20.Kxe3 Bg4 21.Qf2 Ke7

22.Nc5 Rhe8

Here both players overlook that 22...Nxf4 23.Qxf4 Rhf8 would trap the White Queen. 

23.Raf1 Kf8 24.f5 Ne7

25.f6

This move is okay but, instead, 25.Ne6+ Kg8 26.Nf4 would trap the Black Queen. 

25...Nf5+ 26.Kd2 gxf6 27.Qf4 Qg2+ 

Black is thinking about the wrong King, as his own monarch requires attention (protection).

28.Kc3

This escape works in the game, but Houdini points out that the strongest idea was to sacrifice the exchange with 28.Rf2 Qxh1 29.Qxg4 when White's attack will be the one to crash through, e.g. 29...Ng7 30.Nd7+ Kf7 31.Nxf6. A Rook up, Black is helpless. 

28...Qe2 29.b3 Ne3

It is hard to believe at first (or second) glance, but the computer suggests that Black can survive with the cheeky 29...fxe5, giving the following hearty battle: 30.Qxh6+ Kg8 31.Qg6+ Ng7 32.Rf7 exd4+ 33.Kb2 Qe5 34.Re1 Bh5 35.Qh6 Bxf7 36.Rxe5 Rxe5 when it assesses that White's pawns help his Queen balance out play against Black's Rook, Bishop and Knight, e.g. 37.Nd7 Re2 38.Nf6+ Kf8 39.Qh8+ Ke7 40.Qxc8 Kxf6 41.Qxc6+ Ne6 42.Qxd5 Rxh2 43.g4 Rf2 44.b4. 

Now White can defend his King (with an exchange sacrifice) and get back to his attack.

30.Rf2 Nd1+ 31.Rxd1 Qxd1 32.Qxf6+ Kg8 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Rf7 Qa1+ 35.Kb4 Qxd4+ 36.c4 Qd2+ 37.Ka3 Qa5+ 38.Na4 Black resigned

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament (Round 2)

Here is the second round of the second Jerome Gambit thematic tournament that I encountered at RedHotPawn.com from 2013 (won by jankrb), starting from the Jerome Gambit position:

musirapha (1874) - ZorroTheFox (1447)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

(1-0) This game will be covered in a subsequent post.


ZorroTheFox (1447) - musirapha (1874)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.d3 h6 4.c3 d6 5.Be3 Bb6 6.Bxb6 axb6 7.Nbd2 Bd7 8.a4 Qe7 9.b4 Rhf8 10.Nc4 Kg8 11.Qb3 Kh8 12.Nh4 Qf7 13.Nd2 Qxb3 14.Nxb3 Rf7 15.Rfe1 g5 16.Nf3 Kg7 17.Ra2 Nh5 18.Rd1 Bg4 19.Nbd2 Nf4 20.d4 Ne2+ 21.Kh1 Nxc3 22.Raa1 Nxd1 23.Rxd1 Nxd4 24.Ra1 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Nxf3 26.Nc4 Nd4 27.Kg2 Raf8 28.Ra2 Rf4 29.a5 b5 30.Na3 Rxe4 31.Rb2 c6 32.Nb1 Re2 White resigned


jankrb (2055) - Red House (1588)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

(1-0) This game will be covered in a subsequent post.


Red House (1588) - jankrb (2055)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Nc3 Rf8 4.d3 h6 5.h3 Kg8 6.Kh1 Nd4 7.Be3 d6 8.Na4 Nxf3 9.Nxc5 Nh5 10.Nb3 Qh4 11.gxf3 Qxh3+ 12.Kg1 Rf6 White resigned

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 3

The following game is in some ways the opposite of the previous one. The game slides down the slippery slope from move 4, toward a Black win. White misses a chance to complicate the game, and perhaps take the advantage, at move 21. The game then continues to slide slowly toward the "inevitable" "0-1".

deriver69 (1401) - musirapha (1874)

Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qe3 Nf6

Over 300 games in The Database reach this position, with White scoring 46%.

9.O-O Re8 10.d3 Kg8 11.Nc3 c6 12.f4 Qb6 13.Qxb6 axb6

The game has gone its own way, with Black wisely castling-by-hand and White delaying the advance of his "Jerome pawns" until after the Queens have been exchanged.

14.Be3 Bd7 15.f5 Ne5 16.Bxb6 Ra6 17.Bf2 c5 18.Be3 Neg4 19.Bf4 b5 20.Ne2 Bxf5

The position is a bit more complicated than either player appreciates.

White realizes that 21.exf5 Rxe2 would be clearly to Black's advantage, so he moves his Knight to a safer square; but in doing so he misses a chance to mix it up.

Challenging is 21.h3!? as now Black's Bishop is in an uncomfortable position, e.g. 21...Ne5 22.Bxe5 or 21... Nh6 22. Bxh6 in each case followed (if Black recaptures) by 23.Rxf5 with an edge for White.

It looks like after 21. h3!? White has an edge after 21...d5 (or 21...Bxe4 22. dxe4 Ne5) 22.hxg4 Bxg4. 

21.Ng3 Bg6 22.h3 Ne5 

23.Bg5 Nh5 24.Nxh5 Bxh5 25.Rf5 Rf8 26.Rxf8+ Kxf8 27.Rf1+ Ke8 28.a3 Ra7 29.g4 Bg6 30.Kg2 Rf7 31.Ra1 h5 32.gxh5 Bxh5 33.a4 b4 

34.a5 Ra7 35.a6 Nc6 36.h4 Nb8 37.Bf4 Kd7 38.e5 Rxa6 39.Rxa6 Nxa6 40.exd6 Nb8 41.Kf2 Nc6 42.Ke3 Bg6 43.Kf3 Nd4+ White resigned

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 2

When should you actually win a won game? If your opponent blunders in the opening - and, dear Readers, that is an objective assessment of the Jerome Gambit, after all - should you redouble your efforts and finish him off quickly? Or should you wait and use your extra piece in middle-game tactics? Maybe you should wait for the piece vs pawns endgame?

Whatever your choice, you should not shilly-shally, but get about the business of using your advantage in some way - instead of frittering it away. In the following game White is objectively lost after four moves - but Black is objectively almost as  bad off after four more moves. The game is effectively over after another four moves.

musirapha (1874) - deriver69 (1410)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.d4 Nxd4 

Black would do better with either of the other two available captures, with 5...Bxd4 for choice. 

6.Nxe5+ Ke8 

One attraction of playing unusual openings is that your opponent can be lulled into playing "just any old move." The right retreat  was 6...Ke7. 

7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 

Black does well not to get involved in an excursion into foreign lands such as 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1? since what follows is sharp retribution: 10.Ne5+ Ke7 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Nc3 Qg5 13.Nc4+ Kc6 14.Qd5+ Qxd5+ 15.exd5 checkmate.

9.Qe5+

For a moment, White slips. This is the right kind of move when playing similar positions in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, but in the current position the prosaic capture 9.Qxc5 is better.

9...Kf7

Too cooperative. With 9...Ne6 Black would rescue two pieces.

10.Nxh8+ Qxh8 11.Qxc5

Now everything is fine for White, and his opponent's next move makes it "finer."

11...Nxe4 12.Qd5+ Kf8 13.Qxe4 

A Rook is a Rook is a Rook.

13...d6 14.Bh6+ Kf7 15.0-0 Bf5 16.Qd5+ Be6 17.Qh5+ Ke7 18.Qh4+ Kd7 19.Nc3 Rg8 20.Kh1 Nf5 21.Qh5 Nxh6 22.Qxh6 Bd5 23.Nxd5 Rg6 24.Qh3+ Kc6 25.Ne7+ Black resigned

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 1

Familiarity with the Jerome Gambit can give Black an edge in play, as may be the case in the following game.

(Yet, when I sent jankrb a message of congratulations for winning the tournament, he replied that he had never played in any other Jerome Gambit tournament, so he had no more games to share. Interesting.) 

eagleswing (1096) - jankrb (2055)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4.Kxf7 5.c3

One of the "modern" (i.e. non-5.Nxe5+) lines in the Jerome Gambit which I have seen only in online play.

5...d5

Black is ahead in development and decides to open the position. His King's relative lack of safety is not a big issue.

6.d3 Bb6 7.Be3

If White wants to stir up mischief, he probably needs to try something like 7.Ng5+. Houdini 3 offers an interesting line which is ultimately good for Black, as White's Queen is at risk, but it is complicated and tricky and the second player might slip along the way: 7...Kf8 8.Qh5 Qf6 9.O-O dxe4 10.Nxh7+ Rxh7 11.Qxh7 Bf5 12.Qh8 exd3 13.Be3 g6 14.Qh7 Bxe3 15.fxe3 Re8 16.e4 Re7 17.Rxf5 gxf5 18.Qh5.

7...Bxe3 8.fxe3 dxe4 9.dxe4 Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 Nf6

Black is up a piece for a (doubled) pawn.

11.Nbd2 Rd8 12.h3

With this move White's game begins to unravel.

12...Nxe4 13.Ke2 Ng3+ 14.Kf2 Nxh1+ 15.Rxh1 Bf5

16.g4 Bg6 17.e4 Rd3 18.Ke2 Rad8 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Ngf3 b5 21.b4 a5 22.bxa5 Nxa5 23.Rc1 Nc4

24.Nxc4 bxc4 25.Rc2 Bxe4 26.Nxe5 Rxh3 27.Rc1 Ra8 28.Nxc4 Rxa2+ 29.Nd2 Bg6 30.Kf2 Rxd2+ 31.Ke1 Rg2 32.Kf1 Be4 33.Re1 Rh1 checkmate

Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament (Round 1)

As I mentioned earlier, while wandering around the RedHotPawn.com website I ran into a couple of Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments from 2013. Since it has been a while since this blog covered a thematic tourney, I thought it would be nice to present all the games. (I have selected a few for individual attention.)

Here is the first round of the second tournament (won by ), starting from the Jerome Gambit position:

ZorroTheFox (1447) - BigD00 (973)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.0-0 Nd4 3.Nxd4 exd4 4.d3 a6 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qxc5 b6 7.Qxd4 Nf6 8.e5 Nh5 9.Bh6 d6 10.exd6 c5 11.Qd5+ Be6 12.Qf3+ Nf6 13.Qb7+ Bd7 14.Nc3 Rb8 15.Qxa6 Ng4 16.Be3 Qh4 17.h3 Ne5 18.f4 Nc6 19.Ne4 Nb4 20.Qc4+ Be6 21.Qc3 Rhc8 22.Ng5+ Ke8 23.Nxe6 Nd5 24.Qd2 Rc6 25.Nc7+ Nxc7 26.dxc7 Rxc7 27.Rae1 Rd8 28.Bxc5+ Kf7 29.Bxb6 Rcd7 30.Bxd8 Rxd8 31.Rf3 Qf6 32.c3 Kg7 33.Qe3 Qf7 34.Qe5+ Kh6 35.Qg5+ Kg7 36.Re7 Rf8 37.Rxf7+ Rxf7 38.f5 Kf8 39.fxg6 hxg6 40.Qxg6 Black resigned


BigD00 (973) - ZorroTheFox (1447)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.c3 Nh6 3.Ng5+ Kg6 4.h4 d6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Nxd4 7.Rh3 Bxh3 8.gxh3 Qe7 9.Qd3 Nhf5 10.Nd2 Nxh4 11.b4 Bb6 12.f4 Rae8 13.Bb2 h6 14.Ngf3 Nhxf3+ 15.Nxf3 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Qxe4+ 17.Qxe4+ Rxe4+ 18.Kd2 Rg8 19.Rf1 Kf5 20.a4 g6 21.a5 Be3+ 22.Kd3 Bxf4 23.Ba1 Rge8 24.Bc3 Re3+ 25.Kd2 Rf3+ 26.Kc2 Rxf1 27.Kb3 Re3 28.h4 Be5 29.Kc4 Rxc3+ 30.Kb5 a6+ 31.Ka4 Ra1 checkmate


jankrb (2055) - eagleswing (1096)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.Nxe5+ Nxe5 3.Qh5+ Ng6 4.Qd5+ Ke8 5.Qxc5 N8e7 6.d4 d6 7.Qc4 d5 8.exd5 Qxd5 9.Qxd5 Nxd5 10.c4 Nb4 11.Kd2 b6 12.Na3 a6 13.Kc3 a5 14.Nb5 Kf7 15.Nxc7 Ra7 16.Nb5 Re8 17.Nd6+ Ke7 18.Nxe8 Kxe8 19.a3 Nc6 20.Be3 Bb7 21.Rae1 Kf8 22.d5 Nce5 23.Bxb6 Ra6 24.Bd4 Ng4 25.f3 Nf6 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Re3 f5 28.Rhe1 Kg7 29.g3 f4 30.Re7+ Nxe7 31.Rxe7+ Kh6 32.Rxb7 fxg3 33.hxg3 Rg6 34.c5 Rxg3 35.Rf7 Rg1 36.c6 Kg6 37.Rf4 Kg5 38.Rf8 Rf1 39.Kd4 Rd1+ 40.Kc5 a4 41.c7 Rc1+ 42.Kd6 Rc2 43.c8Q Rxc8 44.Rxc8 h5 45.Ke5 Black resigned


eagleswing (1096) - jankrb (2055)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

(0-1) This game will be covered in a subsequent post.


musirapha (1874) - deriver69 (1410)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

(1-0)This game will be covered in a subsequent post.


deriver69 (1410) - musirapha (1874)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

(0-1) This game will be covered in a subsequent post.


Red House (1588) - Marko Krale (1562)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.Nc3 Bd6 3.d3 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nb5 a6 6.Nxd6+ cxd6 7.c3 Rf8 8.Re1 Kg8 9.d4 Re8 10.d5 Ne7 11.h3 Ng6 12.g3 Qb6 13.Be3 Qc7 14.Qd2 b5 15.Bxh6 Qd8 16.Bg5 Rf8 17.Kg2 Qe8 18.a4 Bb7 19.Qc2 Nh7 20.Be3 Qf7 21.Qe2 bxa4 22.Rxa4 Qf6 23.Rb4 Bc8 24.Ra1 Nh8 25.Rc4 Nf7 26.h4 Nd8 27.Nh2 Qe7 28.Ng4 Nb7 29.Rc7 Nc5 30.f3 Nf6 31.Bg5 Qd8 32.Rxc5 dxc5 33.Nxe5 d6 34.Nc6 Qc7 35.Qd2 Bd7 36.Na5 Qb6 37.Nc4 Qc7 38.Bf4 Ne8 39.e5 dxe5 40.Bxe5 Qd8 41.Qe3 Qe7 42.Re1 Bb5 43.Nd2 Nd6 44.c4 Nxc4 45.Nxc4 Bxc4 46.d6 Qa7 47.Qg5 Rf7 48.Qg4 Bb5 49.Rd1 Rd8 50.Qe6 Qd7 51.Qd5 c4 52.Bf4 Qc6 53.Qe6 Qd7 54.Qg6 Qf5 55.Qxf5 Rxf5 56.Bg5 Rd7 57.Be7 Kf7 58.g4 Rc5 59.Kg3 c3 60.bxc3 Rxc3 61.g5 Bc6 62.Rf1 a5 63.Kg4 a4 64.f4 a3 65.h5 a2 66.g6+ Ke6 67.h6 gxh6 68.f5+ Kd5 69.g7 h5+ 70.Kh4 Kc5 71.g8Q Rc2 72.Qg1+ Kb5 73.Rb1+ Black resigned


Marko Krale (1562) - Red House (1588)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit, RedHotPawn.com, 2013

1...Kxf7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.d3 Re8 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 Kg8 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nd5 Rf8 8.Bxf6 Rxf6 9.Nxf6+ Qxf6 10.h3 Qg6 11.Kh2 Be6 12.c3 d5 13.Re1 Bxf2 14.Re2 Qg3+ 15.Kh1 Bxh3 16.Rxf2 Qxf2 17.gxh3 Rf8 18.Nh2 d4 19.Rb1 Ne7 20.cxd4 Qxd4 21.Qe2 Ng6 22.Rd1 Nf4 23.Qc2 c5 24.Nf3 Qe3 White resigned