Jerome Defense to the Evans Gambit

I recently received an email from Philidor 1792 who shared a game of his where his Evans Gambit Declined was met with a Jerome Gambit-style defense. The game became quite complicated, although our hero won in the end. (Ask not for whom the chess clock flags, it flags for thee...)

Philidor 1792 - guest234
blitz, 3 0, www.bereg.ru, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4

The Evans Gambit. Black declines the pawn.

4...Bb6 5.a4 Nf6

This is risky, but perhaps Black had already planned his sacrifice.

6.a5 Bxf2+

In the only similar game that I have seen, Black avoided the sacrifice: 6...Bd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Nc3 O-O 9.d3 h6 10.Ne2 Ne6 11.f4 exf4 12.Nxf4 Nxf4 13.Bxf4 c6 14 Be3 d5 15.Bb3 Bg4 16.Qd2 Re8 17.exd5 cxd5 18.O-O d4 19.Bf2 Be6 20.Bxe6 Rxe6 21.Qf4 Rd6 22.Bg3 Nh5 23.Qxd6 Qxd6 24.Bxd6 Rd8 25.Bc5 Rb8 26.Bxa7 Ra8 27.Bxd4 Rc8 28.c3 Rd8 29.Rf5 g5 30.Rb5 Nf4 31.Rxb7 Nxd3 32.a6 f5 33.a7 Nf4 34.a8=Q Ne2+ 35.Kf1 Rf8 36.Bc5 Ng3+ 37.hxg3 Rxa8 38.Rxa8 checkmate, Ian Rodrigo Sanchez Su - Enzo Quesada, IRT SANTISIMO NOMBRE DE JESUS 2015 -III. 

7.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 8.Kg1 d5 9.Bb3 Qd6 10.d3 Nf6 11.c3 O-O 

Black has two pawns for his sacrificed piece, plus a solid pawn center, good development and a safe King. While Stockfish 6 rates White as about 1/2 a pawn better, the first player's uncertain King and locked in Rook make things anything but easy.

12.b5

Choosing the Queenside to battle. Otherwise, 12.Bg5.

12...Nxa5 13.Ba3

The computer gives a couple alternative lines: 13.Rxa5 Qb6+ 14.d4 Qxa5 15.dxe5 Qb6+ 16.Nd4 Nd7 17.Bf4 c6 18.bxc6 bxc6; or 13.Bc2 Qb6+ 14.d4 Re8 15.h3 e4 16.Ne5 Rxe5 17.Rxa5 Bd7 18.Ra3 Rf5. 

13...Qb6+ 14.Kf1 Ng4 

Things are becoming uncomfortable for White - but, remember, he is a master of the 3 0 blitz game, and, as the Rolling Stones sang, "Time is on my side."

15.Qe2 Nxb3 16.Ra2 Ne3+ 17.Ke1 e4 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.cxd4 Qxd4 White won on time

Retro

My suggestion is that Readers start off the new year by looking back. There is a lot of information in the previous 2,160 blog posts here!

Not sure of the names of all of the lines in the Jerome Gambit? Review some "Jerome Gambit Nomenclature".

Check out "Some History of the Jerome Gambit" Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Catch up on "Jerome Gambit: Early Opening Tomes" Part 1 and Part 2.

Meet "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (early)" and "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)". 

Catch up on Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in "The Man, The Myth, The Legend" and "What kind of a man...?"

Play over "The Classics I (a first look)" and "The Classics II (a first look)".

Of course, if you want to go waaaaaaaaay back - with the help of the internet archive WaybackMachine - you can read my earliest posts at the Chess History Center website, which pre-date this blog, but show that I was investigating the Jerome Gambit as far back as 2001. 

Happy New Year!

Another Example of the Vitzthum Attack

Earlier on this blog, I have looked at the Sarratt or Vitzthum Attack as a possible fore-runner to the Jerome Gambit. (See "A Bridge To... Somewhere?", "Another Distant Relative?", "The Sarratt Attack" and "Another look at the Sarratt Attack").

Recently I discovered a game published in the "Chess" column of the April 23, 1876 issue of  the St. Louis Globe - Democrat. I have changed the notation from descriptive to algebraic and added some diagrams. The comments remain those of the newpaper's chess editor.


Chess in St. Louis
A Rapid Skirmish, Recently Played At St. Louis Chess Club

Mr. H - Mr. M 
St. Louis Chess Club, 1876

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4

This was long the accepted move at this point, but now 4.Nxd4 is now more common.

4...Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5

All "book" so far.

9...Rf8

9...d5 is the only correct move here, giving black the better game.

10.Bh6 Re8 11.Nd2 Kg8 12.Qd5+ Kh8 13.Qf7

White now wins by force, let black play as he will.

13...Rg8 14.Nf3 Qe8 15.Ng5 and wins 

A Long Day In The Life of the Jerome Gambit

Sometimes Jerome Gambit games are easy, sometimes not. Sometimes they are pretty, sometimes pretty ordinary. Always they are complicated. Always they are exciting. Enjoy the following game, high notes and low.


Laaber - Ausxh,
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+

The text is thematic, but 6.Nxc6 is probably better: 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Qh5+ g6 (7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qd6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.e5 Ng4 11.Qf4+ 1-0 Wall,B - Gebba, Chess.com, 2010) 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qc3 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1609773, PlayChess.com, 2013;

Not 6.Nxc6 bxc6? 7.Qh5+ as seen in perrypawnpusher - rodrigojalpa, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 25); perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 42);  Wall,B - Qwerty, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 9); and Wall,B - LFTN, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 20), for example.

Interestingly, Stockfish 6 prefers 6.Nxc6 Qh4!?

6...g6 7.Nxg6 Bxf2+

Best!?

8.Kd1 

8.Kxf2 is playable: Blackstone,J - Dommeyer,C, Campbell, CA 1960 (1-0, 13); Philidor 1792 - Guest834593, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 16); ZahariSokolov - naijachampion, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 34).

The alternative, 8.Kf1, doesn't work if Black follows up with 8...Nf6!?, but that hasn't shown up in The Database yet, only 8...hxg6?! in jecree - lhoffman, FICS, 2008. 

8...Nf6 9.Nxh8+

White is overlooking something.

9.Qf3 was seen in Petasluk  - Klonkku, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 57). 

9...Kf8 

Black, too: 9...Nxh5.

And some thing else.

10.Qf5

Missing: 10.Qf7 checkmate. 

10...d6 11.Qxf2 

White will be up the exchange and a couple of pawns once he gives back the Knight at h8.

11...Bg4+ 12.Ke1 Qe8

Trying to mix it up again.

13.d3 

There was nothing wrong with 13.Qxf6+.

13...Kg7 14.Bg5 Nxe4 15.dxe4 Qxe4+ 16.Be3 Nd4 

White is winning, but it may not feel that way to him.

17.Nc3 Nxc2+ 18.Kf1 Nxe3+ 

19.Kg1 Qe5 20.Re1 Rxh8 21.Rxe3 Qd4

The extra Rook will help White, once it gets free. But first White will take advantage of Black's last move and win the Queen.

22.Re7+ Kg6 23.Qxd4 Rf8 24.Qxg4+ Kf6 25.Qe6+ Kg5 26.h4+ Kf4 27.Nd5+ Kg3 28.Qh3 checkmate

No Doc

Bill Wall is not a professional psychologist, but when it comes to playing off-beat chess openings, he understands a lot about how his opponents think. This can be of considerable help when playing the Jerome Gambit.

In some of the notes I give a number of complete Wall games that have been referred to in previous blog posts, but have never been presented in their entirety.

Wall, Bill - Guest2928386
PlayChess.com,  2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

The Jerome Variation of the Jerome Gambit, played by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome against David Jaeger in correspondence, 1880.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3

Bill has also tried 9.Nc3 Nh5 (or 9...Kf7 as in perrypawnpusher - truuf, blitz, FICS, 2011 [0-1, 32] or 9...Ng4 as in perrypawnpusher - klixar, blitz, FICS, 2007 [1-0, 33]) 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.d3 Qxf3 12.gxf3 Bd7 13.Ke2 Bd4 14.Be3 Bf6 15.Nd5 Bd8 16.Rhg1 Kf7 17.f4 c6 18.Nc3 g6 19.f3 Be6 20.Rad1 Rf8 21.d4 d5 22.Kd3 Bc7 23.Ne2 Ke7 24.e5 Ba5 25.c3 Bb6 26.a4 Rae8 27.Ra1 Ba5 28.b3 Kd7 29.Rg2 Kc8 30.Kc2 Ng7 31.Kb2 Kb8 32.b4 Bd8 33.a5 Bh3 34.Rg3 Bf5 35.Nc1 Ne6 36.Kb3 Be7 37.Rg1 Bh3 38.Nd3 g5 39.fxg5 Rxf3 40.Rg3 Rxg3 41.hxg3 Rg8 42.a6 Bxg5 43.Rh1 Bf5 44.Bxg5 Bxd3 45.Bh4 Bxa6 46.Kc2 Kc8 47.Rh2 Kd7 48.Rf2 Ke8 49.Rf6 Rg6 50.Rf5 b6 51.Rh5 h6 52.Bf6 Kd7 53.Rh3 Bc4 54.g4 a5 55.bxa5 bxa5 56.Rh2 a4 57.Kb2 Nf4 58.Ka3 Bb3 59.Rh4 Nd3 White resigned, Wall,B - Ahmadi,S, Chess.com, 2010.

9... Bg4 

This is different that other defenses that Bill has either played or seen:

9...Nh5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 (10...Ke8 , perrypawnpusher - maxmi, blitz, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 42]) 11.Qxf6+ Nxf6 12.Nc3 Ke7 13.Ke2 Be6 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Kxe3 Ng4+ 16.Ke2 Rhf8 17.f3 Nf6 18.d4 a5 19.a4 c6 20.Rhe1 Rae8 21.Rab1 Rb8 22.Kd2 Nh5 23.d5 Bd7 24.Re3 Be8 25.b4 axb4 26.Rxb4 Nf6 27.a5 c5 28.Rb1 Nd7 29.Nd1 b5 30.axb6 Nxb6 31.Kc1 Bg6 32.Reb3 Nd7 33.Ne3 Rxb3 34.Rxb3 Ra8 35.Kb2 Ra6 36.Rb7 Rb6+ 37.Rxb6 Nxb6 38.h4 Kf6 39.Ng4+ Ke7 40.Ne3 Kf6 41.g3 Be8 42.Kc3 Bg6 43.Ng4+ Ke7 44.Nf2 Be8 45.g4 Kf6 46.f4 Bb5 47.h5 h6 48.Kd2 Nc4+ 49.Ke2 Ne5+ 50.Ke3 Nc4+ 51.Ke2 Ne5+ 52.Kd2 Nf7 53.Nd1 drawn, Wall,Bill - Guest6614602, PlayChess.com, 2014

9...Ng4 10.O-O Qf6 (or 10...Ke8 as in perrypawnpusher - salla, blitz, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 18]) 11.c3 (or 11.Nc3  perrypawnpusher - marianomocoroa, blitz, FICS, 2010 [1-0, 14]) 11...Bxf2+ 12.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 13.Qxf2+ Nxf2 14.Kxf2 Be6 15.Nd2 Ke7 16.Nf3 Rhf8 17.h3 Rf7 18.Bg5+ Kd7 19.Kg3 h6 20.Bd2 g5 21.Rf1 Raf8  22.c4 c6 23.b4 b6 24.c5 g4 25.hxg4 Rg8 26.g5  hxg5 27.Rh1 g4 28.Ng5 Re7 29.cxd6 Kxd6 30.Rh6 Kd7 31.a4 Bf7 32.a5 b5 33.Bf4 Rg6 34.Nxf7 Rxh6 35.Nxh6 c5 36.bxc5 Kc6 37.Nf5 Re8 38.Bd6 Rd8 39.Nd4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Filipmihov, FICS, 2012. 

9...Kf7 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Rf8 12.O-O Kg8 13.Nd2 Qe8 14.Nf3 Bd7 15.Rae1 a5 16.h3 Nxe4 17.dxe4 Qxe4 18.Nd4 Rae8 19.Rxf8+ Rxf8 20.Rf1 Rxf1+ 21.Kxf1 Qe5 22.Qxe5 dxe5 23.Nf3 Bf5 24.Nxe5 Bxc2 25.Kf2 Be4 26.g4 Kf8 27.Kg3 Ke7 28.Kf4 Bb1 29.a3 Ke6 30.h4 c5 31.Nf3 b5 32.e4 a4 33.Ng5+ Ke7 34.Ke5 h6 35.Ne6 Bxe4 36.Nxg7 Bf3 37.Nf5+ Kf7 38.Nxh6+ Kg6 39.Kf4 Bd1 40.Nf5 b4 41.h5+ Kh7 42.Ne3 Be2 43.Nd5 bxa3 44.bxa3 c4 45.Nc3 Bd3 46.Nxa4 Bc2 47.Nc3 Bd3 48.a4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Badbeat994, Chess.com, 2010.

9...Be6 10.O-O Qe8 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Qg6 13.Qe1 c5 14.Nc3 Ke7 15.Nb5 Bd7 16.Nc3 Bc6 17.Rf3 Raf8 18.Rg3 Qf7 19.Rf3 g6 20.Qh4 Qg7 21.Raf1 g5 22.Qg3 Nd7 23.Rf5 h6 24.Qf2 Rf6 25.d4 b6 26.d5 Bb7 27.e5 dxe5 28.d6+ Ke6 29.Rxf6+ Qxf6 30.Qe2 Qg6 31.Qg4+ Kxd6 32.Rd1+ Kc7 33.Qxd7+ Kb8 34.e4 Qe8 35.Qd6+ Ka8 36.Nd5 Bxd5 37.Rxd5 Qb8 38.Qc6+ Qb7 39.Qf6 Qb8 40.Rd7 Qc8 41.Qg7 Rd8 42.Rxa7+ Kb8 43.Rf7 Rd1+ 44.Kf2 Rd2+ 45.Kg3 h5 46.Qxe5+ Ka8 47.Qxg5 Qg4+ 48.Qxg4 hxg4 49.Rf2 Rxf2 50.Kxf2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Milsrilion, Chess.com 2010.

9... h6 as in perrypawnpusher - caterwaul, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 39).

10.O-O

Bill takes a wait-and-see stance. Similar, but for comparison: 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Kf7 12.h3 Be6 13.f4 c5 14.f5 Bd7 15.g4 Re8 16.O-O Bc6 17.Qf4 Qb6 18.b3 Rad8 19.Nd2 c4+ 20.Kh2 cxd3 21.Nc4 Qd4 22.cxd3 Qxd3 23.Rad1 Qc2+ 24.Rd2 Qc3 25.Nxd6+ Rxd6 26.Qxd6 Nxe4 27.Qc7+ Kg8 28.Rd8 Qg3+ 29.Kh1 Nf2 checkmate MrJoker - Macuta, Internet Chess Club, 2011. 

10...Bh5 11.h3 Qe7 12.Nc3 c6 13.a3 

Okay, Bill's got me puzzled - and I know something about the Jerome Gambit. How can he afford to play 11.h3 and 13.a3 when he is playing a gambit, and time is supposed to be of the essence?

As we will see, he accurately accesses his opponent as being unprepared or uncertain about the proper defense (although the light-squared Bishop is free and trying to protect the Kingside), so there is time for White to keep his options open.

Sometimes letting Black keep his options open can lead to him making errors.

13...Bg6 14.Bg5 Qe5 15.Bf4 Qe6 16.Na4 

If nothing else, Bill can eliminate his opponent's "two Bishops". 

16...Nh5 17.Nxc5 dxc5

Not 17...Nxg3 18.Nxe6+ Ke7 19.Bxg3 Kxe6 20.f4. 

18.Bd6+ Ke8 19.Qh2 

19...Kd7

Too casual. It is not clear that the King is safer in his new position, and the (doubled) pawn that he give up is certainly of worth.

20.Bxc5 b6 21.Bd4 Qf7 

Black's pieces are not so much developed as they are jumbled on the Kingside. His Bishop should have gone to f7 on his last move.

22.f4 Qe7 23.g4 Nf6 24.e5 Nd5

Bill points out that Knight retreats lead to trouble too: 24...Ng8 25.f5 Be8 26.f6 gxf6 27.exf6 Qf7 28.Rae1 or 24...Ne8 25.f5 Bf7 26.e6+. 

25.f5 Be8 26.c4 Nc7 27.b4

Those crazy pawns! All 8 of them.

It is important to mention that Stockfish 6 rates White about 1/2 pawn better in this position. If Black can remain calm, he should be able to hang on.

27...Rf8 28.e6+ Kc8 29.a4 Kb7 

Black has castled-by-hand, but his King still needs to be careful. I've got him right where he wants me! he might have thought, somewhat confusedly.

30.a5 Na6 31.b5 cxb5 32.cxb5 Bxb5 33.Rfb1 Nc7 

Black's light-squared Bishop continues to defend valiantly with the Knight, but - those pawns...
34.axb6 axb6 35.Qg2+ Kc8

Black's situation has deteriorated to the point that only 35...Kb8 would save him from a forced checkmate.

36. Rxa8+ Nxa8 37.Qxa8+ Kc7 38.Be5+

Black resigned

Merry Christmas!

I hope the Jerome Gambit brings you lots of "presents" - interesting games, maybe even winning ones - Rick