Philosophy and the Jerome Gambit

Oh, my.

Bill Wall just sent me his latest Jerome Gambit game and I wrote back and said it was an example of "existential chess".

I was thinking about the idea of a "negative halo effect" that I had touched on in earlier posts (see "Halo Effect", "Feeling Lucky", "Kick Me" and "Dizziness Due to Success"). I mean the perception that if one starts a game with the "wrong" opening then one can be expected to continue to produce "wrong" chess and the whole game can be expected to be equally "wrong".

How dare Bill, instead, follow up with strong play, avoid missteps and win with a mating attack??

It reminds me of a quote from Justin E. H. Smith's essay "The Flight of Curiosity"

To take an interest in that false belief is not to reject the truth, but only to wish to fill out our picture of the truth with as much detail as possible, and not because of some aesthetic inclination to the baroque, but rather because false theories are an important part of the puzzle that we ... should be trying to complete: that of determining the range of ways people conceptualize the world around them.

Wall, Bill - U80
PlayChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 

White has only a pawn for his sacrificed piece. However, beyond the "theory of infinite resistance" this particular White has a lot of experience (over 400 games in The Database, for example) and if there are tricks, traps or nuances to be exploited, he will know about them or be ready to find them.

8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3

Instead, for 9.f3 see Wall,B - Guest903719, Playchess.com, 2013 (1-0, 47).

The related 9.f4 was seen as far back as Jerome,A - Shinkman,W, Iowa, USA, 1874 (1/2-1/2, 42).

9...Re8

Recently played: 9...c6 10.f4 c5 11.Qf2 Neg4 12.Qd2 Rf8 13.h3 Nh6 14.e5 Nh5 15.g4 Ng3 16.Rf3 Qh4 17.Kg2 Bxg4 18.hxg4 Nxg4 19.Qd5+ Ke7 20.Qxb7+ Ke6 21.Qd5+ Kf5 22.Qd3+ Ke6 23.Qxd6+ Kf7 24.Qd5+ Kg6 25.Rxg3 Qh2+ 26.Kf3 Qf2+ 27.Kxg4 Rxf4+ 28.Bxf4 h5+ 29.Kh4+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ g6 31.Qxg6+ Kh8 32.Qg7 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest708676, PlayChess.com, 2016. 

10.Bg5 Kg8

Black has prudently castled-by-hand and is "objectively" better.

Or 10...h6 11.Bh4 c5 (11...Be6 12.f4 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com, 2014 [1-0, 25]) 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Rad1 Nc4 14.Qc1 Qb6 15.b3 Ne5 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.f4 Ng4 18.f5 c4+ 19.Kh1 Nf2+ 20.Rxf2 Qxf2 21.fxe6+ Rxe6 22.Rf1 Qd4 23.Qxh6 Qxc3 24.Qh7+ Ke8 25.Qg8+ Kd7 26.Qxa8 cxb3 27.Qxb7+ Qc7 28.Qxc7+ Kxc7 29.cxb3 Rxe4 30.Kg1 Re6 31.h4 d5 32.h5 Kd6 33.g4 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Rc1 Re7 36.Kf3 d4 37.Rc6 Rd7 38.Ke2 d3+ 39.Kd2 Rd4 40.Rc7+ Kg8 41.Rxa7 Rxg4 42.Kxd3 Rh4 43.a4 Rxh5 44.a5 Rb5 45.Kc4 Rb8 46.a6 f5 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.a7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest5111265, PlayChess.com, 2014. 

11.f4 

A rare reversal: 11.Nd5 Be6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Rad1 c6 14.Nf4 Qb6 15.Qc3 Qc7 16.Rd4 c5 17.Rd2 Rad8 18.Rfd1 Qe7 19.f3 b6 20.b3 Ng6 21.Qe3 f5 22.Nxg6 hxg6 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Qh6 Qg7 25.Qxg7+ Kxg7 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.Rxd6 Kf6 28.c4 Ke5 29.Rd2 a6 30.Kf2 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.Re2+ Kf6 33.Kg3 c4 34.bxc4 bxc4 35.h4 c3 36.Rc2 Rc8 37.Kf4 Bxa2 38.Rc1 c2 39.Ke3 Bb3 40.Kd4 f4 41.Kd3 Rd8+ White resigned, Wall,B - Guest4809124, PlayChess.com, 2013. 

11...Nc6 12.Qa4

Bill tried 12.Qd3 in Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22)

12...Bd7 13.Rae1 h6 14.Bh4

Better than 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Qb3+ Kh7.

14...Ne5 

Cute. Better, though was 14...Kh8 

15.Qb3+ Nf7 

There are plenty of complications to offer White, including: 15...Be6 16.Qa4 b5 17.Qxb5 c6 18.Qa4 Neg4 19.Qxc6 Rc8 20.Qa6 Bc4 21.Qxa7 Bxf1. 

16.e5 

Bill is not interested in either 16.Qxb7 Rb8 17.Qxa7 Rxb2 18.Nd5 Rxc2 or 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Qxb7 Qd4+ 18.Kh1 Qb6. The truth lies elsewhere.

16...dxe5

A bit of a better choice for Black is 16...Be6, when either  17.Bxf6 or 17.Qxb7 dxe5 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 would be good for him; although the draw with 17.Qa4 Bd7 18.Qb3 Be6 19.Qa4 etc might arise.

17.fxe5 Be6 18.Qa4

As Bill points out, again not 18.Qxb7 Nxe5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Rf4 (20.Rd1 Qb8) 20...Rb8. 

18...Bd7

Instead, 18...Nxe5 19.Rxe5 Qd7 20.Bxf6 Qxa4 21.Nxa4 gxf6 22.Rc5 c6 23.Rxf6 looks about equal. 

19.Qd4 

Not 19.Qf4 g5; nor 19.Qa3 Nxe5 nor 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qh4 f5.

This Wall guy is becoming troublesome by avoiding trouble! 

19...g5 

This looks like either frustration or impatience.

20.exf6 gxh4 

Or 20...Rxe1 21.Bxe1 Bc6 22.Qe3. 

21.Rd1

Now Bill goes from threat to threat, first threatening 22.Qxd7. 

21...Nd6 22.Qd3 

Threatening 23.Qg6+. 

22...Bf5 

Time to give some material back, but not 22...Kh8 23.Qg6 Nf5 24.Rxf5 Bxf5 25.Qg7 checkmate 

23.Rxf5

Bill gives the alternative 23.f7+ Kxf7 24.Rxf5+ Nxf5 25.Qxf5+ Kg7 26.Rd7+ Qxd7 27.Qxd7+ and White would also be better.

23...Nxf5 24.Qxf5

24...Qxd1+ 25.Nxd1 Re1+ 26.Kf2 Rxd1 27.Qg6+
Kf8 28.Qg7+ Ke8 29.Qe7 checkmate

Update: RedHotPawn Jerome Gambit Tournament

The field for the Jerome Gambit Tournament at RedHotPawn (see "New Jerome Gambit Tournament") is complete, and the games have started - in fact, almost 2/3 of them have been completed already!

Group 1
SeinfeldFan91
ZorroTheFox
RODbr
eagleswing

Group 2
procyk
deriver69
rigidwithfear
golddog2

Group 3
kristjan
LittleDonkey
JeanTylerGabriel
BigD00

Group 4
junnujannu
HikaruShindo
Dalradian
rkmmax

There is an interesting mix of Jerome Gambit veterans and novices, so the play is quite interesting.

A win is worth 3 points. A draw is worth 1 point. The leader(s) of each group will advance to a final group, the winner of which will win the tournament.

Results and games will appear here.

Their Majesties' Greed

In the following game Black shows prudence in not having his King hunt for material. He defends well, until he sends his Queen off hunting, falling into a gambit trap that the first player has set. That is all White needs to take the advantage and wrap up the game.

topsoul - moisesserraramos
10 0, lichess.org, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Ke6 

Black heeds the general advice to bring his King home from the battelefield. There is too much danger in His Majesty chasing pawns.

White has a variety of options here. His pawns are important players.

8.O-O d6 9.f4 Kf7 10.Qb3+ Ke8 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Qxd4+ 13.Kh1 Qxe5

Alas, it is also dangerous for Her Majesty to chase pawns, as the rest of the game shows.

14.Qf7+ Kd8 15.Qxf8+ Qe8 16.Qxg7 Ne7 17.d3 Bf5 18.Bg5 Kd7 19.Rxf5

Even more brutal was 19.Re1

19...Qh5 20.Qxe7+ Kc6 Black resigned

Inaccuracies and Blunders

I found it interesting to see how the computer at lichess.org annotated the moves of the following Jerome Gambit played there. Of course the silicon player does not like the Jerome - but, in its assessment, it takes a number of "inaccuracies" by Black for White to be able to level the game, and a "blunder" for White to gain the advantage.

The notes and variations given below are from the "machine", except for a few of my own comments, given in red.

Bigcaptain - perseus15

blitz 5 2, lichess.org, 2015

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

C51 Italian Game: Jerome Gambit (0.17 â()/^ -1.87) Mistake. Best move was Nc3.

4.Nc3 d6 5.Na4 Bb6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d3 O-O 8.a3 Be6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Bd2 Qe8.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6?!

(-1.96 â()/^ -1.03) Inaccuracy. Best move was ...Bxd4.

6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 

It is interesting that the computer missed 6...Qh5!?

7.dxe5 Ke8

A novelty according to The Database.

8.O-O Ne7 9.Nc3 d6?!

(-0.65 â()/^ 0.01) Inaccuracy. Best move was ...Ng6.

9...Ng6 10.Nd5 Nxe5 11.a4 c6 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.f4 Nf7 14.b4 Qe7 15.Qd4 b5 16.a5. 

10.Bf4?!

(0.01 â()/^ -0.77) Inaccuracy. Best move was Qh5+.

10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qh4 dxe5 12.Rd1 Bd4 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Ne2 Qe6 15.Nxd4 exd4 16.Rxd4 Nc6.

10...Rf8 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qh4 Nc6?!

(-0.63 â()/^ -0.01) Inaccuracy. Best move was ...dxe5.

12...dxe5 13.Rad1 Qxd1 14.Nxd1 exf4 15.Nc3 Be6 16.Qxh7 Bd4 17.Qh6 Rd8 18.Rd1 Rd7 19.Nb5 

13.Bg5 Ne7??

(0.00 â()/^ 5.52) Blunder. Best move was ...Qd7.

13...Qd7 14.exd6 cxd6 15.h3 Bd4 16.Nd5 Bxb2 17.Rad1 Be5 18.f4 Bd4+ 19.Kh1 Qf7 20.Rxd4 

14.Nd5 Rf7??

(5.56 â()/^ 8.58) Blunder. Best move was ...Be6,

14...Be6 15.Bxe7 Qd7 16.Nf6+ Rxf6 17.exf6 h5 18.e5 Kf7 19.exd6 cxd6 20.Rad1 d5 21.Qf4 

15.Nf6+ Rxf6 16.exf6 

Black resigned

Black has two pieces for a Rook and two pawns, but he faces disaster along the d8-h4 diagonal. True, his Queen can slip to safety with 16...Qd7, but after 17.Qxh7 White's checkmate threats are deadly. All that is left is 17...Qe6, when 18.fxe7 leaves the defender facing the thread of Qh7-h8+ and an impending pawn promotion. The logical 18...Bd4 falls to 19.Rad1, as 19...Qf7 20.Qxf7+ Kxf7 21.Rxd4 loses material while 19...Bxb2 saves the Bishop but allows the Rook to enter the fray with Rd1-d3-f3.

That is a lot to deal with in a blitz game!

Give the Jerome Gambit A Little Respect

I feel kind of bad about the following game. In our earlier matchup in the Chess.com Giuoco Piano tournament, I had ground out a 2-pawn endgame victory. I had cheerfully said to my opponent of our next game, "I expect you to destroy me utterly and enjoy it thoroughly. :-)"

Alas, it was not to be.

perrypawnpusher - iceland2010
Giuoco Piano Tournament Chess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6 

Ahead by two pieces, Black is too casual in his reply. (He can protect his Knight with 6...Ke6; or dodge the check with 6...Kf8; or block the check with 6...g6 or 6...Ng6; in each case with good prospects.)

The Jerome Gambit has a number of refutations, and while it does not command a lot of respect, it should receive at least a little.

7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+

I have been in this position 6 times before this game, and won 5. The Black Bishop will fall in the next move or two, and White will be up a couple of pawns.

Black resigned

A GM Weighs In on the Jerome Gambit

I recently received an email from David Black (see "Exploring the Evans Jerome Gambit", "Alternate Universe" and "Influence") with some hilarious news.

Hiya Richard, 

Thought you would be interested in this. 

Jon Speelman former world championship candidate has started a new column and was asking for readers games. So I sent him one of my Jerome gambit games for a bit of fun and here is his response. 

Hi Dave,
Many thanks,
What a splendidly purulent gambit which nevertheless must be horrible to face in a five minute game and quite tough at slower time limits.
Cheers,
Jon 

cheers

Dave 

I think Dave is referring to GM Speelman's new "Agony Column" at ChessBase.com. It should be very, very interesting.

End It

Short games, often wins by checkmate, provide good tactical lessons on how to finish a contest quickly. Although White, in the following match, does a stellar job grabbing the full point in less than a dozen moves, he likely saw even faster ways to do so, once he reviewed his play. Follow along for the ride!

berria - SlowDave
standard, FICS, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5

This nameless attempt to avoid the Jerome Gambit - and grab the "two Bishops" after 4.Bb3 Nxb3 - has been covered many times in this blog (see "Opening Discussion, Not Quite Closed"), but the following game shows a new idea for the defense.

As with many miniature games, White should play over the game and its notes, so that the attacker is ready for an unusual variation of this unusual defense.

4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5

Best for White is 6.d4 d6 7.Qg4+. 

6...Qe7

A rare move. Its always a good idea for Black to put his Queen on e7 or f6, right?

7.d4

A couple of the few examples of this particular line in The Database continued:

7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Qxa5 Nxe4 9.Qxc7 Qd6 10.Qc4+ Qd5 11.Qxd5+ (11.Nd4+!) 11...Kxd5 12.O-O Nd6 13.Nc3+ Kc6 14.Ne5+ Kb6 15.Nd5+ Ka5 16.d3 g6 17.Bd2+ Ka6 18.Nc7+ Kb6 19.Nxa8+ Kc5 20.Nc7 Kd4 21.Bc3+ Kc5 22.Nxd7+ Kc6 23.Bxh8 Kxd7 24.Nd5 Ke6 25.c4 Nf5 26.Rfe1+ Kd6 27.Re8 Ng7 28.Bxg7 Black resigned, diegolli - Mattlaff, FICS, 2010;

7.Qf5+ (best) Kd6 8.Nc3 (8.Nc4+ Nxc4 9.Qd5#) 8...c6 9.d4 g6 10.Qf4 Ke6 11.d5+ cxd5 12.exd5+ Kd6 13.O-O Qxe5 14.Qb4+ Kc7 15.Qxa5+ Kb8 16.g3 d6 17.Bf4 Qf5 18.Qd8 Be7 19.Bxd6+ Black resigned, EAPL - Falx, FICS, 2008; also

7.Qh3+ Kd6 8.Qd3+ Kc5 9.Qe3+ Kb4 10.a4 Qxe5 11.Qa3+ Kc4 12.d3+ Kd4 13.Qc3# 

7...d6 8.d5+ 

Or 8.Qf5#; or 8.Qg4+ Kf6 9.Bg5#; or 8.Qh3+ Kf6 9.Qf3+ Bf5 10.Qxf5#. 

8...Kf6 9.Bg5+ 

Or 9.Qg5#; or 9.Qf3+ Kxe5 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Na3 Qf6 12.Bc3+ Nd4 13.Nc4# 

9...Kxe5 10.Bxe7+ Black resigned