The following game is my third Jerome Gambit in the Chess.com Giuoco Piano tournament. With two wins and a draw, I am happy with "my" opening - but, as the following game shows, my middlegame play needs improvement!
perrypawnpusher - dzetto00
Giuoco Piano tournament, Chess.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Kf8
Here we have the Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit, dating back to a couple of correspondence games, Daniel Jaeger - Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, 1880 (Black won both).
7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Ke8 9.O-O
Instead, 9.Nc3 Nf6 10.O-O Bd6 was how perrypawnpusher - Chesssafety, Italian Game, Chess.com, 2012 (1-0, 25) continued. Of Black's 10th move I noted "an interesting idea that sets up tactical chances on the Kingside" although I criticized White's next move, 11.Qe3 - "Carrying on as if everything is "normal", while Black actually can play 11...Ng4 now, with serious threats."
9...Bd6
Less aggressive was 9...d6 in Petasluk - ilanel, blitz, FICS, 2014 (0-1, 49)
10.Qf3
Trying to follow the lesson of perrypawnpusher - Chesssafety, Chess.com, 2012. For once I did not want Black's Knight to "harass" my Queen (after 10.Qe3) with a move like 10...Ng4.
10...c5 11.d3 h6 12.Nc3 Nf6
Black has defended against Bc1-g5, as well as d2-d4.
White's strategy should be to quickly get his Rooks working on the e- and f-files - especially since Black's King and Queen are precariously placed. Unfortunately, that will mean developing his dark-squared Bishop to either a meaningless square (d2) or exchanging it off and easing Black's "traffic jam" (i.e. the Bishop at d6 blocks the pawn at d7 which blocks the Bishop at c8 which blocks the Rook at a8).
13.Bf4 Bxf4 14.Qxf4 d6 15.Rae1 Nh5 16.Qd2 Be6 17.f4
Finally White has a Jerome-looking position! My big challenge was could I make use of the time that my opponent spent on 10...c5, 11...h6 and 15...Nh5 ? The answer is "yes" - and "no".
17...Kd7 18.e5 Rhf8 19.d4
Hoping to open up central files against the King and Queen.
19...Rxf4
A surprise.
20.Rxf4 Nxf4 21.Qxf4 Qg5
Another surprise; and, actually, not the best move.
I exchanged Queens here, as I thought it would mean at least a drawn endgame, with some chances to win. It seemed to be a good idea at the time.
22.Qxg5 hxg5 23.d5
My original idea had been to exchange Queens and then play 23.exd6 Kxd6 24.dxc5, but then I saw that 23...cxd4 for Black, instead, messed up things. I then looked at 23.dxc5 dxc5, but I was concerned that the open position would favor Black's Bishop and make things drawish (or worse).
I finally came upon an idea that was paradoxical (and wrong) - a line where I thought I could get serious play in a closed position.
23...Bf5 24.e5+ Ke7 25.Rf1 Rf8 drawn
I had totally overlooked the simple idea of Black using the Rook for protection of the Bishop. Instead, I was caught up with the ideas behind 25...Bxc2? 26.Rf7+, etc. (I lost our first game by similarly overlooking a move, thinking he had to block a check with his Rook - when I would have good play - when he simply used his Knight, and I was busted.)
My opponent suggested that we had reached a draw, and I agreed by offering one, which he accepted.
By the way, the proper response to 21...Qg5 was 22.Qf3!?, continuing the attack on Black's King, by making use of a diagonal as well as the central files, e.g. 22...Rb8 23.dxc5 Qf5 24.Qd1, but that is computer analysis that I need to study another day...
Given that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a "refuted" opening, should White grab the chance for a draw if he sees one? Or does this go against the whole idea of playing a wild, destabilizing and gambling opening?
Is there a point where the Gambiteer should realize that things have gotten difficult enough that he should save a half point, rather than surrender the whole thing?
The following game is an interesting example of these issues.
deriver69 - golddog2
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com 2016.
1e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.O-O Nd4
An odd move, reminiscent of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit; but perhaps not too odd: there are 10 previous examples in The Database, and White won 6, lost 4.
6.Nxe5+ Ke7
Better was 6...Kf8 7.c3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.d4 Bb6 which is about equal according to Stockfish 7.
7.d3
Instead, after 7.c3 Ne6 8.d4 Bb6 Stockfish 7 says White has the advantage.
7...d6 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.Ng4 Bxg4 10.Qxg4 Nxc2
Here we have a typical messy Jerome Gambit position. Stockfish suggests that Black should take the time to get his King out of the pin, with 11...Kf8.
11.Nc3 Nxa1 12.Rxa1
White overlooks (or ignores?) the fact that his sacrifice allows him now to draw with 12.Bxf6+ Kxf6 13.Nd5+ Kf7 14.Qf5+ Kg8 15.Qe6+ Kf8 16.Qf5+ etc. But - was he even looking for a draw?
12...c6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Re1 Bd4 15.Ne4
White continues to pressure the Knight at f6.
Black would do well to further consolidate with something like 15...Qd5. Instead, he decides to be a bit more aggressive - and this gives White an opportunity that he does not miss a second time.
15...Qb6 16.Bxf6+ gxf6 17.Qg7+ Ke6 18.Qxf6+ Kd7 19.Qg7+ Ke6 20.Qf6+ Kd7 21.Qg7+ Ke6 22.Qf6+ Kd7 23.Qg7+ Ke6 24.Qf6+ Kd7 25.Qg7+ drawn by repetition
The ongoing RedHotPawn.com Jerome Gambit tournament continues to produce interesting and educational games.
Be sure to follow the games in the notes, too, for extra excitment!
golddog2 - deriver69
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4 7.Nc3
Sang froid. White answers Black's wild counter-attack (which leaves two pieces en prise; see "A Pie-in-the-Face Variation") with a rare, but simple developing move. Anything is worth a try in such a precarious position.
For the adventurer with White, despite what a computer player might say about the position, it is reassuring to know that in 222 games in The Database, White scored a scintillating 67%!
7...Bb4
Instead, 7...Nd3+ was the odd idea of the coputer Milobot, in a crazy game that veered all over the place: 8.cxd3 (8.Qxd3) 8...Bf8 (8...Bxd4) 9.Qf3+ (9.Qb3+ or 9.O-O) 9...Qf6 10.Qh5+ Qg6 11.Qd5+ Ke8 12.O-O a6 13.f3 Ra7 14.Bf4 b5 15.Bxc7 Nh6 (15...Rxc7 16.Qe5+ Kd8) 16.f4 Qf7 (16...Rxc7) 17.Rae1 (17. Qe5+) 17...Qg6 (17...Rxc7) 18.f5 Qg4 $18 19.Qe5+ Be7 20.Bd6 Qxg2+ 21.Kxg2 Kf8 22.Qxe7+ Kg8 23.Qf8 checkmate, LeoJustino - MiloBot, FICS, 2012. Wow.
7...Ng4, like the text in the game, also preserves Black's advantage 8.Qf3+ (8.g3 Qf6 9.Qxg4 Bxd4 10.Nd5 Qxf2+ 11.Kd1 d6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qh4 Qf3+ 14.Kd2 Qxh1 15.c3 Qg2+ 16.Kd3 Be5 17.Bh6 Qh3 18.Qd8 Qxh6 19.Qxc7+ Ke8 20.Rf1 Qg7 21.Qc4 Be6 22.Nc7+ Kd7 23.Qxe6+ Kxc7 24. Rf7+ Qxf7 25.Qxf7+ Kc6 26.Qc4+ Kd7 27.Qf7+ Ne7 28.Qb3 b6 29.Qb5+ Nc6 30 b4 Rhf8 31.Qd5 Rf3+ 32.Ke2 Raf8 33.b5 Rf2+ 34.Ke1 Bxc3+ 35.Kd1 Rd2+ 36.Ke1 Rxd5+ White resigned, CoachCrupp - mathgk, FICS, 2010) 8...N8f6 9.dxc5 Nxh2 10.Qh3 Qxh3 11.gxh3 Nf3+ 12.Ke2 Nd4+ 13.Kd3 Nc6 14.a3 b6 15.Be3 Ba6+ 16.Kd2 Ne5 17.Rad1 Rhe8 18.Kc1 Nc4 19.cxb6 cxb6 20.Bf4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Rxe4 22.Rxd7+ Ke6 White resigned, Darthnik - picator, FICS, 2011.
8.dxe5
The wildness continued after 8.O-O with 8...Ng4 9.h3 h5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.hxg4 hxg4 12.Qxg4 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qh4 14.Qf5+ Nf6 15.f3 d6 16.Qf4 Qxf4 17.Bxf4 b6 18.e5 Nd5 19.Bd2 Ba6 20.Rf2 dxe5 21.dxe5 Rae8 22.f4 g6 23.Re1 Ke6 24.g4 Rhf8 25.Kg2 Ne7 26.Kg3 Bb7 27.c4 c5 28.Bc3 Ba6 29.Re4 Rd8 30 a4 Rd1 31.Rh2 Rg1+ 32.Kf3 Bb7 33.Ke3 Rxg4 34.Rf2 Black forfeited on time in a winning position, PLURkidIT - CEZRUN, FICS, 2007.
8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qxe4+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+ 11.Kxe2 Ne7
A lot of the tension has been taken out of the position, and with only a pawn for his sacrificed piece, White needs to find a way to make use of his open lines and Black's slightly unsafe King.
This time, he is not successful.
12.c4 b6 13.g4 Bb7 14.f3 Rae8 15.Bb2 Ng6
16.Kf2 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Rxe5 18.Rad1 d6 19.Rd3 Rhe8 20.Rf1 Re2+ 21.Kg3 Rxc2 22.Rd4 Ree2 23.h3 g5 24.f4 Re3+ 25.Rf3 Rxf3 checkmate
It is not for nothing that Gary K. Gifford coined the nickname "The Jerome Gamble" for 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+. White takes a big risk with "Jerome's Double Opening".
Defenders must be warned, however, as they were in the American Supplement to Cook's 'Synopsis' (1885) that it is "not an attack to be trifled with".
Both players in the game below threw fortune to the wind. Each will no doubt learn from their insights and oversights.
rigidwithfear - deriver69
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d4 Nxd4
Black's two alternatives for capture, 5...exd4 and 5...Bxd4, are stronger. Leaving the pawn at e5 open for capture gives Whites' ideas - and chances.
6.Nxe5+
6...Ke6
Feisty - and foolish. The equivalent to drawing to an inside straight.
Instead, 6...Kf8 is the safest and leaves Black with the advantage.
7.f4
White does not realize his good luck. Instead, he had 7.Qg4+!? which promises good things: 7...Kxe5 (Forced; 7...Kf6 leads relentlessly to checkmate: 8.Qf4+ Nf5 9.Qxf5+ Ke7 10.Qf7+ Kd6 11.Nc3 Bxf2+ 12.Ke2 c6 13.Nc4+ Kc5 14.Kd3 Qa5 15.Qxf2+ Kb4 16.a3+ Qxa3 17.bxa3#; there is little hope in 7...Ke7 8.Qxg7+ Kd6 9.Nf7+ Kc6 10.Nxd8+ or 7... Kd6 8.Nf7+ Ke7 9.Nxd8 Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Bd4 11.Kxc2 d6 12.Qg3 Kxd8) 8.Bf4+ Kf6 (8...Kxe4 9.Nc3 checkmate, Darrenshome - WildErmine, blitz, FICS, 2006 [1-0, 9]) 9.Bg5+ Kf7 7.Bxd8 and the Black Queen is gone, anyway.
7...d6
Black is not familiar with this gambit, and so he defends. His best chance was to counterattack with 7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Qh3 and he would be better.
8.Qg4+ Ke7
Avoiding 8...Kf6 9.Qg5+ Ke6 10.f5+ Kxe5 11.Bf4+ Kxe4 12.Nc3 checkmate, similar to Darrenshome - WildErmine, blitz, FICS, 2006, mentioned above.
9. Qg5+
Ouch. He had 9.Qxg7+ Ke6 10.Qf7 checkmate
9...Ke8
The "only" move, but a saving one. Now the odds turn against the Gambler again.
10.Qxg7 dxe5 11.Qxh8 Nxc2+ 12.Ke2 Bg4+ 13.Kf1 Qd1 checkmate
Some games in the ongoing Jerome Gambit tournament at RedHotPawn were over in an eye-blink. I present six (plus one), for completeness sake - but don't look away, as you might miss something.
Stay with me until the end, however, as the last game is a textbook lesson in tactical suddenness!
rkmmax - HikaruShindo
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 White lost on time
rkmmax -junnujannu
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 White lost on time
rkmmax - Dalradian
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 White lost on time
HikaroShindo - rkmmax
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Black lost on time
junnujannu - rkmmax
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Black lost on time
Dalradian - rkmmax
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Black lost on time
deriver69 - rigidwithfear
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit Tournament
RedHotPawn.com, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.O-O d6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Ng5+ Kf8 8.d3 Bg4
9.Qe1 Nd4 10.Qd2 h6 11.f3
Missing that this allows a checkmate in three moves.
11...Bh5
Or 11...Ne2+ 12.Kh1 Ng3+ 13.hxg3 hxg5 checkmate.
12.Nh3
Missing something.
12...Nxf3+ White resigned
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
