Happy Blog Birthday

Happy Blog Birthday.

This blog started on June 10, 2008, with "Welcome".

I posted daily for almost 5 years, before changing to the current arrangement of posting every-other-day.

Dozens of good Readers have contributed games and analysis.

Hundreds of players continue to experiment with the Jerome Gambit and its relatives.

Many thanks for 7 years of fun and excitement!

Doing the Enemy's Work

I like the Jerome Gambit in all its variations, and I love to show a snappy Jerome Gambit win; but sometimes it is necessary to balance the scale, and give Black a hand, too...

acuriel - DOCTOERDETROIT 
blitz, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qf5+ Nf6 6.Qxe5

Here is a position in the Abrahams Jerome Gambit that has been reached in 72 games in The Database. What is Black's best move now?

6...Bxf2+ 

Of course.

However, the move was played in only 7 of the aforementioned games, less than 10% of the time! Defenders, step up your game!

7.Kxf2 

Unwittingly going along with Black's plan.

7...Ng4+ 

Forking King and Queen.

White resigned

Borrowed As Good As Own

If you stay up-to-date with ideas in the Jerome Gambit (by reading this blog, for starters) there will always be some new ideas to pick up and use in your game.

Wall,B - Guest539122
PlayChess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6 

Sharing HauntedKnight - galpone, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 18) in "Familiar Territory" earlier this year I wrote

When I was playing over this game, I saw Black's move and chuckled. HauntedKnight practially owns this line.

That doesn't mean, of course, that Bill Wall can't "borrow" it.

7.dxe5 Bxe5 8.Qd5+ 

In "Shortcut" I expressed a preference for this move over the also-strong 8,Qh5+.

8...Kf8 9.Qxe5 Qe7 

Black's Queen comes to the rescue, but White has already recovered his sacrificed piece and is a pawn up, with a safer King.

10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.Nc3 d6 12.0-0 Qe5 13.Qxe5 dxe5

Exchanging Queens often means the end of danger to the King - but not today.

14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Rf8 checkmate

Please note the White Bishop at d6!

Reddit

While wandering the internet the other day, I ran into some interesting comments on the Busch-Gass Gambit ( See "Worth A Second Look" Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3; as well as "Busch-Gass Gambit") at Reddit: 
www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/2gcbgj/buschgass_gambit/


(Unrelated, but also interesting, was "Delightful Duel 'Banter Blitz' with Miss Tactics (IM Sopiko Guramishvili) and Miss Strategy (IM Anna Rudolf)".

Toward Disaster

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I have joined a Chess.com 12-player "Giuoco Piano" tournament (3 groups of 4 players each).

I immediately got to start a couple of Jerome Gambits, so we'll see how they turn out.The first game is racing along the lines of a refutation that has many blog posts here, all saying that White is lost, White is lost...

Well, sad to say, White did lose - but part of the reason was my refusal to play a thematic "Jerome pawn" advance which would have helped keep the play dynamic. The second big mistake was to not be as familiar with Jerome Gambit history as I should be. Ouch.

perrypawnpusher - auswebby
Giuoco Piano Tournament, Chess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Ke8

Instead, 8...Nf6 was seen in a couple of correspondence games between Daniel Jaeger (White) and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome  in 1880.

More reently, Bill Wall faced 8...Qf6 in a handful of games: Wall,B - GoldCoinCollector, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 17);  Wall,B - GuestZCLK, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15); Wall,B - Guest340293, PlayChess.com 2012 (1-0, 41); Wall,B - Josti, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 26); and Wall,B - Guest4644930, PlayChess.com, 2014, (1-0, 26).

9.Nc3 Nf6 10.0-0 d6 

Or 10...Bd6 as in perrypawnpusher - Chesssafety, Chess.com 2012, (1-0, 25).

11.d3

White got away with the Knight jump 11.Nd5 in xcvbnm -SAHFAN, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 28), but I should have been more familiar with the game (in The Database) as Black was better most of the game; and White's win came only when his opponent blundered into a mate-in-2.

11...Be6 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Qxe3 Kd7 14.f4 Rhf8 15.f5 Bg8 16.d4 Rae8 17.Rae1 Kc8 18.Qg3 

Instead, it was time for 18.e5. The text allows Black to take a step toward preventing that move, and my response (see the note to White's 11th move) sealed my doom.

18...Nd7 19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.exd5 Qf6 

I thought I had a few tricks against Black's King on the back rank, but, really, there was nothing.

21.Rxe8+ Rxe8 22.c3 Nb6 23.Re1 Qf7 24.f6 Rxe1+ 25.Qxe1 Qxf6 26.Qe8+ Qd8 27.Qf7 Qh8 28.b3 Nd7 29.c4 Kd8 30.Kf2 Qf8 31.Qxf8+ Nxf8 32.Kf3 Ke7 33.Ke4 Kf6 34.c5 Ng6 35.g3 b6 36.b4 Ne7 37.a3 b5 White resigned.

Even A Mess Can Be Educational

Immediately after blundering on move 11, I thought about resigning; but I decided to hold on for a move... then another... then another. Eventually, I held on for the win.

Blitz games can be very strange, and those featuring the Jerome Gambit even more so. Some of the positions in the following game might make up for the questionable play of both me and my opponent.

perrypawnpusher -Toscolano
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qh4

Surprisingly a TN according to The Database.

Of note, however, is that after 8...d6 9.Qe3 a successful computer choice was 9...Qh4 in RevvedUp - Yace Paderborn, 2 12 blitz, 2006. In the same competition, 7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Qh4 was seen in RevvedUp - Shredder 8, 2 12 blitz, 2006 and Shredder 8 - RevvedUp, 2 12 blitz, 2006.

9.Nc3 d6

An indication of how weird things were going to get is that after the game Houdini recommended, instead, 9...Qg4 10.Rg1 Kd8. 

10.Qe3

I probably could have taken the pawn with 10.Qxc7, but it looked complicated. After the game, Houdini agreed with me: 10...Qg4 11.Nb5 Qxe4+ 12.Kf1 Qe7 13.b3 Bf5 14.Ba3 Qxc7 15.Nxc7+ Kd7 16.Nxa8 Nf6 17.Nc7 Kxc7 18.d3  and things would be about balanced between White's extra Rook plus 2 pawns vs Black's two extra Knights.

  


analysis diagram





10...Nf4 11.g3

A mindless move, after which I immediately thought of resigning. Of course, White needed to be brave and castle.

11...Ng2+ 12.Ke2 Bg4+

Strong, but even stronger would be 12...Qh5+. 

13.f3 Qh3 

Black is still better after playing the text, but it was time for 13...Nxe3 14.gxh4 Nxc2 15.Rb1 Bh5,  when Black would be up a piece for a pawn.

14.Qf2 Bh5

Black appears repelled by the tactical mess too, and continues to play "safe" and "normal" moves instead of doing concrete analysis - understandable in blitz.

After the game Houdini suggested that Black wade in and keep his advantage with 14...Ne7 15.d3 Rf8 16.Bf4 Nxf4+ 17.gxf4 Rxf4 18.Qg3 Rxf3 19.Qxh3 Rxh3+ 20.Kf2 Kd7. 

analysis diagram




15.d3

This is now good enough for equality, while 15.Rg1 would lead to a White advantage.

15...Nf6

This hands over the advantage - not that I was ready to take it! Black could maintain equality with 15...Ne7 16.g4 Bxg4 17.fxg4 Qxg4+ 18.Qf3 Qxf3+ 19.Kxf3 Nh4+.

16.Bg5

I was still floundering. Instead of this reasonable move White should have played 16. Rg1 with an small edge (2 pieces vs Rook) after 16...Rf8 17. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 18. Rxg2 Nxe4 19. dxe4 Bxf3+ 20. Kf1 Bxg2+ 21. Kxg2 Kd7.

analysis diagram






16...h6

Finally letting White off the hook. Instead, Black should have piled on with 16... Ng4, which wins, for example 17.fxg4 Qxg4+ 18.Kf1 (18.Kd2 Qxg5+ 19.Qf4 Nxf4; 18.Qf3 Qxf3+) 18...Rf8 19.Qxf8+ Kxf8 20.Kxg2 Qxg5. 

17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Rag1 f5 19.Qxg2 Qxg2+ 20.Rxg2 fxe4 21.dxe4 Rf8 22.Rf2 c6 

The smoke has cleared, and White ("It is better to be lucky than good") is up a couple of pawns.

23.Rd1 Kd7 24.Rd3 Rae8 25.Kd2 

An ending slip.

25...d5 26.exd5 cxd5 27.Rxd5+ Kc6 28.Rxh5 Rd8+ 29.Kc1 Rfe8 30. Rxh6+ Kc7 31.Re2 Rf8 32.Re7+ Kc8 33.Rhh7 Rxf3 34.Rc7+ Kb8 35.Rxb7+ Kc8 36.Rhc7 checkmate

Okay, say it with me, "Nobody ever won a game by resigning." Lesson learned.

No Fun Against the Pawns

Philidor1792 recently shared the following game, where his quest to play a sort of reversed Jerome Gambit led him to a situation where he faced a piece sacrifice and he had to deal with the onslaught of some very uncomfortable "Jerome-like pawns". It took a while to win this one.

hitorkoal  - Philidor1792
Chess.com, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 

An old line, going back at least as far as Salvio's analysis in Il Puttino, altramente detto, il Cavaliero Errante, del Salvio, sopra el gioco de Scacchi, (1604), it is currently referred to as the Busch-Gass Gambit ( See "Worth A Second Look" Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3; as well as "Busch-Gass Gambit").

3.Nxe5 Nc6 

Chiodini's Gambit. Chessville.com had a good article by Clyde Nakamura on the line. (Chessville is no longer functioning, but I was able to use the WayBackMachine to recover the article; the link should be good.)

4.Nxf7 

Interestingly, Nakamura in his article on Chiodini's Gambit quotes analysis by Stefano Vezzani, an email friend of his, which gives this move a "??" and refers to it as "a common mistake". 

4...Qf6 

A light-hearted alternative: 4...Qh4 5.Bc4 Qxf2 checkmate, Nguyen Bao Do - Dich Tai Khuu, VIE-ch, U07, 2014.

5.Qe2 

Or 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Be3 Bxe3 7.fxe3 Qxf7 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 d6 11.Nd5 Ne5 12.Qe1 Be6 13.Nxf6+ gxf6 14.Be2 Kh8 15.Qh4 Qg6 16.Rf4 Qg5 17.Qf2 Ng6 18.h4 Qe5 19.Rf3 Bg4 20.Rf4 Bxe2 21.Rf5 Qxe4 22.Rxf6 Bg4 23.Rf1 Kg7 24.h5 Bxh5 White resigned, Ake - Evilonek, ICC, 1998.

5...Qxf7 6.c3 

Here we have reached the end of Vezzani's analysis of the sub-variation, a position he evaluates as a winning advantage for Black ("-+").

Houdini 3 considers it simply advantageous for Black (by about a pawn).

As we will see - and as many have seen while facing "Jerome pawns", things are still not easy.

6...Nf6

From a strategic point of view, Houdini suggests retreating the Bishop to the Kingside with 6...Be7. 

7.d4 Bb6 8.g3 0-0 9.Bg2 d5 10.e5 Ne8 

Instead, Houdini suggests the cold-blooded madness of 10...Nxe5!? 11.dxe5 Ng4 12.f4 Bf2+ 13.Kf1 Bb6 14.Na3 Bf5 but I am not sure how appealing that is to human players. 

11.0-0 Be6 12.f4 g6 13.Nd2 Qd7 14.Nf3 Bg4 15.Qe3 Ng7 16.Ng5 h6 17.Nf3 Bh3 

18.Nh4 Bxg2 19.Kxg2 Nf5 20.Nxf5 Qxf5 21.Bd2 Ne7 22.Rac1 Rac8 23.h3 h5 24.Qf3 c5 

25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Qe4 27.Qxe4 dxe4 28.dxc5 Bxc5 29.Rce1 Rcd8 30.Bc1 e3 31.Bxe3 Bxe3 32.Rxe3 Rd2+ 33.Rf2 Rxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Rxf4+ 35.Kg3 Ra4 

36.a3 Ra5 37.c4 Rc5 38.Re4 Kf7 39.b4 Rc6 40.Kf4 Ke6 41.Ke3 Ra6 42.Kd4 Rxa3 43.Rf4 Nc6+ 44.Ke4 Nxe5 45.g5 Nd7 

With patience, Black has captured a couple of pawns.

46.Kd4 Rg3 47.Re4+ Kd6 48.c5+ Kc7 49.b5 Rxg5 50.c6 bxc6 51.bxc6 Kxc6 52.Re6+ Kc7 53.Ra6 Kb7 54.Ra3 a5 

55.Ke4 Kb6 56.Rb3+ Rb5 57.Ra3 a4 58.Kf4 Ka5 59.Ra1 Nc5 60.Rg1 Rb6 61.Ke5 a3 62.Kd4 a2 63.Kxc5 Rb1 64.Rxg6 Rc1+ 65.Kd4 a1Q+ 66.Kd3 Qb1+ 67.Kd2 Qxg6 68.Kxc1 Qg2 69.Kd1 Kb4 70.Ke1 Kc3 71.Kd1 Qf1 checkmate