The Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit leads to a tense and complicated game for both sides. As Joseph Henry Blackburne demonstrated early in the life of the Jerome, Black can generate a wild counter-attack by returning one sacrificed piece and offering a Rook as well. On the other hand, analysis since has shown that White can draw, and practical play shows he can often do better - in games in The Database White scores 68%.
Philidor 1792 - NN
2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qd5+
White decides to steer clear of the dangers of 8.Qxh8 and grab another pawn. He hopes to show his three extra pawns will outweigh his opponent's extra piece. Philidor1792 has had significant success with the pawns vs the piece in the Jerome Gambit.
8...Be6
Seen previously was 8...Kg7 in RevvedUp - Fritz 8, 2 12, 2006 (0-1, 19).
9.Qxb7
Or 9.Qd3 Nf6 10.O-O Qe7 11.b3 Ng4 12.Bb2 Ne5 13.Qf3+ Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Bh3 15.Bxh8 Qg5+ 16.Kh1 Qg2 checkmate, hattta - VictoriaBot, FICS, 2012.
9...Rb8
An anternate idea was 9...Rc8 seen in stampyshortlegs - Sir Osis of the Liver, JG Tourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 39).
10.Qa6 Qh4
At first glance it looks like Black is the one playing a gambit, with the subsequent lead in development of pieces. However, if White can consolidate his position behind his pawns, he can eventually put them on the march and look for balance.
As the game goes, Black uses his pieces to keep pressuring his opponent, and the point is his.
11.Qe2 Bg4 12.Qf1 Nf6 13.d3 d5 14.Nc3 Rhe8 15.h3 Bd7 16.g3 Qh5 17.f3 Bd4 18.Nd1 Kg7 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.Nxe3 dxe4 21.fxe4 Qa5+ 22. Kd1 Qc5
So far White's pawn cover has held up, but his oppponent's pressure is relentless and his lead in development is crushing.
23.Qf2 Nxe4 24.dxe4 Rxe4 25.Re1 Rxb2 26.Re2 Bxh3 27.Ng2 Qd6+ 28.Kc1 Rbb4 29.Nf4 Bg4 30.Rxe4 Qd1 checkmate.
The following game has a Knight sortie for Black, and one for White. One is effective, one is not. The "Jerome pawns" join in the fun for White.
Wall, Bill -Guest293396
PlayChess.com, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+
We have seen this position recently in another of Bill Wall's games, vs Mydrik.
5....Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd4+
Possibly a slip on Black's part, although the move has been seen before, so perhaps he was looking for a simple way to return the sacrificed piece. Still, 9...Bd6 10.e5 Bc5+ looked like a better choice, leading to an even game.
10.Qxd4 Re8
Others:
10...d6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.fxe5 Bg4 14.exf6 gxf6 15.Nc3 Rd7 16.Ne4 f5 17.Bg5 Kg6 18.Nc5 Rd5 19.Ne6 Re8 20.Nxc7 Black resigned, Fietsenzo - oritelgavi, FICS, 2014;
10...c6 11.e5 Nd5 12.c4 Qb6 13.c5 Qb4 14.Qf2 Rf8 15.Bd2 Qxb2 16.Bc3 Qxf2+ 17.Rxf2 b6 18.Bd4 Kg8 19.Nc3 Nxc3 20.Bxc3 bxc5 21.Rb2 Rxf4 22.Rf1 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 Ba6+ 24.Kf2 Rf8+ 25.Ke3 Bb5 26.Ba5 Rf5 27.Bc7 Rf7 28.Rd2 h6 29.h4 Re7 30.Bd6 Re8 31.Ke4 c4 32.Bc5 a6 33.Rxd7 c3 34.Rd1 c2 35.Rc1 Ba4 36.Kf5 Rd8 37.Be3 Rd1 38.Ke6 Rd3 39.Bf4 Bb5 40.Rxc2 Rd4 41.g3 Bd3 42.Rd2 Bc4+ 43.Kf5 Rxd2 44.Bxd2 Bxa2 45.Bb4 Kf7 46.g4 Be6+ 47.Kf4 Bd5 48.g5 hxg5+ 49.hxg5 Ke6 50.g6 Bc4 51.Bd6 a5 52.Ke4 a4 53.Kd4 Bb5 54.Kc3 Be2 55.Kb4 Bh5 56.Kxa4 Bxg6 57.Kb4 Bf5 58.Kc5 Be4 White forfeited on time, ndrwgn - lobisonte, FICS, 2013;
10...Qe7 11.e5 Nh5 12.f5 Re8 13.Qd5+ Kf8 14.Bf4 Nxf4 15.Rxf4 Qxe5 16.Qxe5 Rxe5 17.f6 gxf6 18.Rxf6+ Kg7 19.Rf1 b6 20.Nc3 Ba6 21.Rfd1 Rae8 22.Rxd7+ Kg8 23.Rxc7 Rf8 24.h3 Ref5 25.Kh2 Rf2 26.Ne4 Rxc2 27.b4 Rxc7 28.a4 Rc4 29.b5 Rxe4 30.bxa6 Rf2 31.Rc1 Rxa4 32.Rc8+ Kg7 33.Rc7+ Rf7 34.Rb7 Rxa6 35.Rb8 Ra2 36.Re8 b5 37.Re3 b4 38.Rb3 a5 39.h4 Ra3 40.Rb2 b3 41.h5 a4 42.h6+ Kg6 43.g4 Ra2 White resigned, HauntedKnight - JustaHobby, FICS, 2010.
11.e5 Ng4
This "attack" is brushed off, but the retreat 11...Ng8 also has its difficulties, e.g. 12.Qd5+ Kf8 13.Nc3 d6 14.Qe4 Qh4 15.g3 Qh5 16.Qb4 c5 17.Qe4 h6 18.Nb5 Qf7 19.Nxd6 Qe6 20.Nxe8 Kxe8 21.f5 Qe7 22.Be3 Rb8 23.Rae1 b6 24.Bf4 Bb7 25.Qa4+ Kf8 26.f6 Qe6 27.fxg7+ Kxg7 28.Qxa7 Qd5 29.Qxb7+ Rxb7 30.e6 Qxa2 31.Be5+ Kg6, White forfeited on time, frizerkaHR - cebop, FICS, 2013.
12.h3 Nh6 13.f5
The "Jerome pawns" are in their glory.
13...Ng8 14.Nc3 c6 15.Ne4 Qb6 16.Ng5+
This Knight will win material, and usher in the pawns.
16...Kf8 17.Nxh7+ Ke7 18.f6+ gxf6 19.exf6+ Nxf6 20.Qxb6 axb6 21.Nxf6 Black resigned
White is up a piece and a pawn, as well as having the safer King.
I have always found the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit to be one of the more difficult variations in the Jerome. This is probably due to the additional development which, among other things, restricts my Queen from making wild advances.
Even Bill Wall has experienced relative "difficulty", scoring only 91% in his games with the line. The following game is quite a rarity.
Wall, Bill - Guest343560
PlayChess.com, 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Qe2
Also seen are 6.d4 and 6.Nxe5+.
6...d5
Other moves have allowed Bill to utilize his Queen on a different diagonal, e.g. 6...Rf8, which led to 7.Qc4+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qc4 Qe7 10.d4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxe4 12.Nxc6 Qh4 13.O-O Rxf2 14.Nxe4 Rxg2+ 15.Kxg2 Bh3+ 16.Kh1 Qg4 17.Qf7 checkmate Wall,B - Roberts,C, Chess.com, 2010. See also Wall,B - Hamilton,E, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22); Wall, Bill - NFNZ, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 15); and Wall,B - Guest1872464, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 30).
Or 6...d6 7.Qc4+ as in Wall,B - Guest1459913, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 38).
Or 6...h6 7.Qc4+ d5 8.Qxc5 as in Wall,B - DarkKnight, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 23),
7.exd5
Better was 7.Nxd5, as in Wall, Bill - Samvazpr, Chess.com, 2010 (0-1, 25)
7...Nd4
This is an improvement over 7...Nxd5 8.Qc4 Nce7 9.Nxe5+ Ke6 10.Qxc5 Kxe5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.c4 b6 13.d4+ Ke4 14.Qc6 Be6 15.Qxe6+ Kxd4 16.cxd5 Qxd5 17.Be3+ Kc4 18.Rc1+ Kb5 19.Qxd5+ c5 20.O-O Rhd8 21.Qc4+ Kc6 22.b4 Kb7 23.Qd5+ Ka6 24.Qc6 Rac8 25.Qa4+ Kb7 26.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 cxb4 28.Qxb4 Rc7 29.Qb5 h6 30.Rd7 Rxd7 31.Qxd7+ Ka6 32.Bd2 g5 33.a4 g4 34.Qb5+ Kb7 35.Bxh6 a6 36.Qd7+ Kb8 37.Bf4+ Ka8 38.Qc7 b5 39.Qb8 checkmate, papernoose - jsit, FICS, 2004.
8.Nxe5+ Kg8 9.Qc4 Qd6 10.O-O a6 11.Nd3 Ba7 12.Rb1 Bf5
Black is developing, while White struggles to get his pieces coordinated. An attack on White's King combined with an attack on his Queen brings the game to a quick conclusion.
13.a3 Ng4 14.g3 Nxh2 15.Kxh2 b5 White resigned
Philidor1792 sends a game with the heart of the Jerome Gambit, if not the moves...
NN - Philidor1792
2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5
The Busch-Gass Gambit. In some cases it envisions a reversed Jerome Gambit. See "Worth a Second Look... "Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 and "The Busch-Gass Gambit".
3.Nxe5 Nc6
Chiodini's Gambit. Black wishes to play a reversed Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit.
4.Nxf7
White sacrifices first!
4...Qh4
I referred to this move in an earlier post as "a light-hearted alternative" to 4...Qf6. For that move, see Ake - Evilone, ICC, 1998 (0-1, 24) and hitorkoal - Philidor1792, Chess.com, 2015 (0-1, 71).
5.d4
Not 5.Bc4 Qxf2 checkmate, Nguyen Bao Do - Dich Tai Khuu, VIE-ch, U07, 2014.
5...Qxe4+ 6.Be3 Nxd4 7.Nxh8 Nxc2+ 8.Kd2 Nxa1 9.Qh5+
Is this strange enough for you?
9...g6 10.Qxh7
White would do better to capture Black's Bishop at c5 rather than protect his Knight at h8. Bad things now happen.
10...Qc2+ 11.Ke1 Qxb1+ 12.Ke2 Qc2+ 13.Ke1 Bb4+ 14.Bd2 Qxd2 checkmate
I have been enjoying sharing with Readers the new pile of Bill Wall games that I have recently uncovered. There are still a good number to present.
To add to the fun, I just received a baker's dozen of games from Philidor1792 - Jerome Gambits and Jerome-inspired play.
On the internet chess circuit, as expected, Rebecca_Wiebe has won the Chess.com "Italian Game" tournament with an overwhelming score of 19-0-3. I was pleased to score 2 of those draws against her. I finished in 4th place (out of 35) with 10-6-2.
Meanwhile, the tumult continues in the Chess.com "Giuoco Piano" tournament, and when the smoke clears I may yet find myself on the top of my section and advance to the next round - by a hair's breadth.
One more game remains to be completed in the first round of another "Italian Game" tournament at Chess.com. I am the last of three from my section to move on to the second round, when it begins.
Of such little things, it seems, victories are made.
In the following game the players quickly reach a Queenless middle game, with Black holding the extra piece while White has two extra pawns. Both have to decide their strategies - but, in the meantime, a small tactical "pothole" crashes the second player in short order.
Wall, Bill - Guest2651667
PlayChess.com, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5
d6 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.d3 Qxf4 10.Bxf4 Nf6
Bill Wall, like Philidor 1792 (to name another in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde) is comfortable playing without Her Majesty.
11.Nc3
Other games in The Database have seen 11.h3, 11.c3, 11.O-O, and 11.Be3.
11...a6 12.f3
Bill is not in a hurry - yet. He can afford to see what else his opponent has on his mind.
12...Be6 13.Bg3 g5 14.e5
Breaking in the center makes sense now that Black has further weakened his King with another pawn move (11...a6, 13...g5). The move also contains a trap that the second player immediately falls into.
14...dxe5
Better was 14...Nd5.
15.Bxe5 Kf7
It all looks so routine and uneventful, but 15...Be7 was the proper defense. White could then snatch a pawn with 16.Ne4 (i.e. 16...Kg7 17.Nxg5) but Black might still have a small edge.
Now a simple combination decides.
16.Bxf6 Kxf6 17.Ne4+ Black resigned
After 18.Nxc5 White will have recovered his sacrificed piece and be a couple of pawns up; not something Black wanted to continue against.
This blog has not been shy about sharing the various "refutations" of the Jerome Gambit. White losses have been presented with Black losses.
The following game features Bill Wall, who has scored 95% with various Jerome variations - facing the Gambit.
Black wins so easily, one has to ask "What's the problem?"
Guest4027007 - Wall,B
PlayChess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Bxf7+
White transposes into one of the "modern" Jerome Gambit variations which does not feature Nxe5+. Recent blog posts have shown Bill winning in this manner.
5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+
This is not the preferred way to continue the attack.
A check of The Database shows that Bill has scored:
8-0 with 6.0-0;
3-0 with 6.Nc3;
2-0 with 6.Be3; and
0-1 with 6.c3 (looks like a fluke).
6...Kg8 7.0-0
For the record, Guest1053350 - Wall,B, PlayChess.com, 2014 continued 7.c3 h6 8.Qb3+ d5 9.exd5 Na5 10.Qb5 Qxd5 White resigned.
7...h6
Black has a piece for a pawn. All he has to do is swap pieces and enjoy a winning endgame. Bill makes it look easy.
8.Nf3 d5 9.Nc3 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.dxe4 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 Bg4 13.c3 Rf8 14.Rd3 Bxf3 15.Rxf3 Rxf3 16.gxf3 Kf7 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.fxe3 Rd8
See?
19.Rc1 Rd2 20.Rb1 Na5 21.h3 Nc4 22.f4 Rxb2 23.Rxb2 Nxb2 24.f5 Nd1 White resigned
