Not What Was Expected

In the following game Bill Wall played the Jerome Gambit, retreated his Queen to an odd square, allowed it to be exchanged off - and, later won. All in all, not what was expected for a "refuted" opening, played loosely - but what did you expect? Bill goes on to win in the endgame.

Wall,B - Guest10254637
PlayChess.com, 2014

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3

A more usual retreat is 8.Qg3, but Bill likes to experiment. 

8...Qf6 9.0-0 

A small caution: 9.Qb3? Qxf2+ White resigned, GeniusPawn - satori, FICS, 2000. 

9...Qxc3 

Also seen was 9...Bd4 10.Qxc7 Bxb2 11.Bxb2 Qxb2 12.Qxd6+ Ne7 13.Nc3 Kf7 14.Qf4+ Ke8 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Kd8 17.Rfe1 Qxc2 18.Qg5+ Kc7 19.Rac1 Qxc1 20.Rxc1+ Kb8 21.Qe5 checkmate, guest714 - guest1041, Internet Chess Club, 2003.

10.Nxc3 

White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece.

10...Nf6 11.d3 Kf7

Black did not castle-by-hand in Abijud - djinmaster, FICS, 2005:  11...Bg4 12.a4 a6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nd5 Bd4 16.c3 Be5 17.f4 Be2 18.fxe5 Bxf1 19.Rxf1 dxe5 20.Nxf6 Ke7 21.Nd5+ Kd7 22.Rf5 c6 23.Nb6+ Ke6 24.Nxa8 Rxa8 25.Rh5 Rh8 26.Kf2 Rh7 27.Ke3 Kf6 28.g4 b6 29.h4 c5 30.Rf5+ Ke6 31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 Rh3+ 33.Kd2 Rh2+ 34.Kc1 Black forfeited on time. 

12.Re1

Bill points out two alternatives: 12.Na4 Bb4 13.a3 Ba5; and
12.Be3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 c6. 

12...Rf8 13.h3 Bd7 14.a4 Rae8 15.Be3 Bb4

I suspect that Black felt good about this move, taking advantage of the fact that the Bishop cannot be kicked away by a2-a3. The fact is, though, that White can now spring his "Jerome pawns".

16.f4 a6 17.Re2 Bc6 18.Rf2 Bxc3 19.bxc3

Black will now give back his piece to fracture White's pawns.

19...Bxe4 20.dxe4 Nxe4

The rest of the game is interesting, as White's pawns are not as weak as they appear - or the pawn structure gives chances to White's pieces. The game is balanced - for a while.  

21.Rf3 Nxc3 22.Bf2 Ne4 23.Bd4 d5 

24.Rb3 b6 25.Rd1 Kg8 

Completing castling-by-hand, but perhaps that was no longer necessary, in which case it is not a good use of tempo. 

26.Be5 Nc5 27.Rc3 c6

Bill points out the better 27...Rd8 28.Bxc7 Nxa4. 

28.a5 Nd7 29.axb6 Nxb6 30.Rxc6 Nc4 31.Rxd5 Ne3

Black misses his chance to exchange off White's Bishop and head toward  a R + Ps endgame where he has practical drawing chances, Bill notes: 31...Nxe5 32.fxe5 Rf5 33.Rxa6 Rfxe5 34.Rxe5 Rxe5.

32.Rd7 Rf7 33.Rxf7 Kxf7 34.Kf2 Nd1+ 35.Ke2 Nb2 36.Kf3 Na4 37.Rxa6 Nc5 38.Ra7+ Black resigned

Happy New Year!

Wishing Readers an exciting, healthy and hopeful 2015!

Alert! Alert!

In my last post I mentioned that I have a Google "alert" set for "Jerome Gambit". I griped that it rarely returned anything, and when it did, it mostly gave a link to one of the posts on this blog (not always a current one).

However, once again it linked me to a game at lichess.org. The contest is a one-minute, "bullet" game featuring the Jerome Gambit!

dwcgc at lichess.org is a player from the Netherlands with a taste for unorthodox chess openings - played very quickly (in the following game, slightly slower than a second a move). Take a look.

dwcgc- MorgailenkoBULLET
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Ng6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.f4 d6 10.f5 Ne5 11.Bf4 Qe7 12.Bxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5 14.Nc3 b6 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bb7 17.Rae1 Rhe8 18.c4 e4 19.g4 Re7 20.Rf4 Rae8 21.Kf2 Kf6 22.Ke3 Kg5 23.Ref1 c5 24.Rh1 h6 25.h4+ Kf6 26.g5+ hxg5 27.hxg5+ Ke5 28.Rg1 Rf7 29.f6 Kd6 30.Rgf1 gxf6 31.gxf6 Rh8 32.Rf5 Rh3+ 33.Kd2 Rh2+ 34.R1f2 Rg2 35.Ke2 Rxf2+ 36.Kxf2 Bc8 37.Ke2 Bxf5 38.Ke3 Rxf6 39.Kf4 Bg6+ 40.Ke3 Rf3+ 41.Kd2 Bh5 42.Ke1 e3 43.Ke2 Rh3+ 44.Kd3 Rh2 45.Kc3 e2 46.Kb3 e1Q 47.Ka3 Qg3+ 48.b3 Black lost on time

I also found a recent game with dwcgc playing the Busch-Gass Gambit (see "Worth a Second Look... "Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), a sort-of "reversed Jerome Gambit."

DanDan2016 - dwcgc
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Nf6 5.Qe2 c6 6.Ng5 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.Bb3 Qb6+ 9.Qe3 Ng4+ 10.Ke2 Nxe3 11.dxe3 0-0 12.Rf1 Be6 13.Nc3 Nc6 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Qb5+ 16.c4 Qc5 17.Nxf7 Rxf7 18.Bxf7+ Kh8 19.Bd5 Ne7 20.b3 Nxd5 21.cxd5 Qxd5 22.Ba3 h6 23.Rad1 Qb5+ 24.Ke1 Qa5+ 25.b4 Qxa3 26.Rd7 Qxb4+ 27.Ke2 Qb5+ 28.Kd2 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Kh7 30.Rff8 Qb4+ 31.Kd1 Qa4+ 32.Ke2 Qg4+ 33.Kd3 Qxg2 34.Kc4 Qxh2 35.Kd5 Qg2+ 36.Kxe5 Qc6 37.Kf5 Qg6+ 38.Kf4 Qg5+ 39.Kf3 Qxd8 40.Kf2 h5 41.Rxd8 h4 42.Ra8 h3 43.Rxa7 h2 44.Kg2 h1Q+ 45.Kxh1 Black lost on time

Alert!

I have a Google "alert" set for "Jerome Gambit". It rarely returns anything, and when it does, it mostly gives me a link to one of the posts on this blog - not always a current one.

The other day, however, it linked me to the following game at lichess.org. The game is given there as an example of "Bishop's Opening, Jerome Gambit," which is a bit of a misnomer, in that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome did not play or analyze the line (as far as I have been able to discover in 13 years of research into the Jerome Gambit).

I have called the line the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" (see Part 1 and Part 2 among several references), after the British chess player and author Gerald Abrahams (1907 - 1980) who referred to it as the Jerome Gambit in at least two of his books.

In the following game, White is not able to develop an attack worthy of the piece sacrificed, and eventually loses on time in an undermanned endgame. 

vitula - Pigmalion
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7

"Bishop's  Opening,  Jerome  Gambit" according to the site.

4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Nc3

From The Database:

5.Qxe5 d6 (5...Qe7 6.Qf4+ Qf6 7.Qg3 Ne7 8.Nf3 Bd6 9.Qh3 Ng6 10.g3 White resigned, Eveque - igigfufu, FICS, 2011) 6.Qg3 Qf6 (6...Nf6 from Philidor 1792 - guest543, www.bereg.ru, 2014 [1/2-1/2, 42]) 7.Nc3 c6 8.Nge2 b5 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Bg5 Bxc3+ 11.Nxc3 Qg6 12.0–0–0 h6 13.Qxd6+ Qxd6 14.Rxd6 Bb7 15.Rd8+ Kf7 16.Bf4 g5 17.Bxb8 Rh7 18.f4 Ne7 19.Rf1 g4 20.f5 Kf6 21.e5+ Kg5 22.Ne4+ Kh4 23.e6 Ng8 24.Bg3+ Kh5 25.h3 Rxd8 hg+  Kxg4 26.Rf4 Kh5  Rh4, checkmate, Philidor 1792 - guest321, www.lichess.org; or

5.Qf5+ Nf6 6.Qxe5 Bd6 7.Qd4 Nc6 8.Qc3 Nxe4 9.Qf3+ Nf6 10.d3 Kf7 11.Nh3 Re8+ 12.Be3 Bc5 13.0-0 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Ne5 15.Ng5+ Kg8 16.Qf4 d6 17.d4 Nh5 18.Qe4 Qxg5 19.Rf5 White resigned, rnlgnd - PeterBondurant, FICS, 2011.

5...Qf6 6.Nf3 d6 7.0-0 g6 8.Qg5 Qxg5 9.Nxg5 h6 10.Nf3 Nf6

11.d3 Bg4 12.Nd2 Nbd7 13.h3 Be6 14.Nb5 Bb6 15.Nc3 Ke7

16.a4 Bd4 17.Nb3 Bxc3 18.bxc3 b6 19.Ba3 g5 20.Nd2 c5 21.d4 Rhg8 22.d5 Bf7 23.f3 Bg6 24.c4 Nh5 25.Rfb1 Nf4

26.Kf2 Nf6 27.a5 Rgb8 28.Rb5 bxa5 29.Rxa5 Rb7 30.Bc1 Nd7 31.Rb5 Rxb5 32.cxb5 Nb6 33.Ra6 Be8 34.g3 Ng6 35.c4 h5 36.Bb2 Bd7

37.h4 g4 38.Kg2 gxf3+ 39.Nxf3 Bg4 40.Ng5 Nf8 41.Bc1 Nxc4 42.Rc6 Nd7 43.Rc7 Ncb6 44.Ne6 a5 White lost on time

Merry Christmas!

"Is he serious, or is he bluffing?"

I recently received another collection of Jerome Gambit, Jerome-ish, and Jerome-inspired games from Philidor 1792. The following game is a good example of the defender asking himself "Is he serious, or is he bluffing?" and not finding a good answer over-the-board. In a 3-minute game, there is often not a lot of time...

Philidor 1792 -Guest839182
3 0 blitz, PlayChess.com, 2014

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Bd6

This unusual line, with the Black Bishop calling to mind White's play in the "fork trick", was looked at in "Dealing With the Unusual in the Unusual". It should bring a smile to White's face.

8.d4

Here come the pawns! Is White serious?

A quick check with The Database shows that White is 7-2 with the move 8.Qf5+, which is probably the strongest move.

8...Nf6

Instead of withdrawing his Knight with 8...Nf7 or 8...Nc6, or seeking complications with 8...Bb4+, in each case with advantage, Black decides to kick the White Queen first. This gives White a second chance.

9.Qf5+ Ke7 10.fxe5 Nxe4

Panic. Black's position now falls like a house of cards.

11.Qxe4 Bb4+ 12.c3 Ba5 13.Bg5+ Ke8 14.Bxd8 Kxd8 15.Qh4+ Ke8 16.O-O d6 

Black resigned

In Pawns We Trust

In quick blitz games, it might be easier to "push pawns" than "calculate tactical variations". This may be one of the many secrets to Philidor 1792's success with the Jerome Gambit. In the following game, the "Jerome pawns" once again assert themselves. 

Philidor 1792 - Guest842066
3 0 blitz, PlayChess.com 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5

8...Qe7 9.Qxe7+ N8xe7

Philidor 1792 is always ready to take the "Jerome pawns" against the extra piece in the endgame. Curiously, The Database also has at least one MrJoker game with this line from each year 2008, 2009,
2010, 2011 and 2012.

10.d4 d6 11.f4 Bd7 12.O-O d5 13.e5 h5 14.g3 Nf5 15.c3 Nf8 16.Kg2 Ne6 

Blockade!

White works to lift it. 

17.Na3 Bc6 18.h3 Kd7 19.Nc2 a5 20.Bd2 b6 21.g4 hxg4 22.hxg4 Nh4+ 23.Kg3 g5

Putting too much faith in the planned blockade? This lets the White f-pawn advance menacingly, and Black's game shudders.

24.f5 Nd8 25.Bxg5 Nb7 26.Bxh4 Rag8 27.Bf6 Rh7 28.Rh1 Rxh1 29.Rxh1 Ke8 30.e6 Nd8 31.Be5 Ke7 32.Rh7+

Black resigned