Jerome Gambit: Previously, In the Precomputer Era

!!!!!

Wandering the internet the other day, I ran across a Russian language chess site that teased

Previously, in the precomputer era, often against obviously weaker rivals, we played like this: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7 +?

My computer offered to translate the site to English, and I found it lots of fun.

(There is a link to this web site, as well as lichess.org.)

There is also some cogent advice

...Indeed, the dynamic capabilities of the position are a lot of trouble for Black.Therefore, it is useful to play this beginning against the engine both for whites and blacks - this will definitely contribute to the growth of tactical skill. 

The author has done his homework. The infamous game NN - Blackburne, of course, is given, but there is also with Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875; Lowe - Cudmore, corr, 1881; Keeble - Cubitt, Norwich, 1886; Sorensen - X,  Denmark, 1888; and even Wall - Bison engine, 2015. 

It is well worth a visit.

Jerome Gambit Declined: Grumping, Yet

While I'm on the topic of the Jerome Gambit Declined, I thought I would dig a little deeper...

MrJoker - david2play
2 12 blitz, Internet Chess Club, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 

The Jerome Gambit Declined.

Certainly, strongest for Black was 4...Kxf7, but on rare occasions the defender decides If you want me to take the Bishop, I won't take the Bishop. That being the case in this game, the Black King is probably better off on f8 as opposed to e7.

5.Bxg8 

The typical argument can otherwise ensue, where best to retreat the Bishop, d5, c4 or b3?

MrJoker's solution, of course, is playable. I will leave the discussion of 5.b3, 5.c3, 5.Nc3, 5.d3, 5.d4, 5.Nxe5, 5.Qe2, 5.0-0, 5.Ng5 and 5.Bh5 (all are in The Database) for later posts.

5... Kxg8 6.O-O 

A reasonable move, played by HauntedKnight, Petasluk, shugart, Superpippo, Wall, and others, as well.

6...d6

For 6...Qf6 see Wall, Bill - Guest558953, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 15).

Looking at the diagram, you can ask yourself What does Black have for his gambitted pawn? Not very much - but he is playing his own game.

7.c3 h6 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb4 

Better to have retreated the Bishop, as White shows.

10.Qb3+ Kh7 11.d5 Ba5 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Bd2 Bb6 15.Rad1 Ba6 

Black is developing, but White, as a Jerome Gambit player, must enjoy being the player with the extra piece.

16.Rfe1 Qf6 17.Be3 Ba518.Bd4 Black forfeited on time

Black's future was not bright, anyhow.

Jerome Gambit Declined: Still Grumpy

I'm still feeling grumpy about the Jerome Gambit Declined (see my previous post, "Jerome Gambit Declined: Table Turned"), but it's an even-handed grumpiness. Let me show you what I mean.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Ke7

This is how my most recent opponent played. Declining the offer of the Bishop is rare, and doing so by moving the King to e7, instead of f8, is even more rare.

5.Bxg8

This was a suggestion from my last post, and it should be considered, if only because it "solves" the issue of where, otherwise, to retreat the Bishop.

5...Qxg8

The correct recapture, but only seen in 1 of 8 games in The Database. The problem with 5...Rxg8, seen as early as Drewbear - AAlekhine, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2007 (1-0, 33) is that White replies 6.d4, threatening to skewer Black's King and Queen with 7.Bg5+, thus winning a piece.

Alas, only two players responded correctly to 5...Rxg8 - Drewbear, in 2007, and Bill Wall, in 2015 - the latter, the game ended after 10 moves.

As for the text, I have only one game to guide me, a lightning game from 2008. We can follow that for a bit.

6.d4

This is kind of funny. Stockfish 10 prefers 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nd5+ Kd8 8.d4 exd4 9.Bg5+ Kd7 10.0-0, giving up a pawn to do - what? He develops his Bishop, forcing Black's King to block Black's light-squared Bishop, which, in turn, blocks Black's Rook... Certainly a Jerome Gambit strategy if ever there was one.

6...exd4 

7.Bg5+

Striking at the King, although, with the Black Queen at g8, the move is not as strong. Probably 7.c3 was better, when Black could try 7...dxc3 or 7...d5. White would have the safer King, but he would be playing quite a different game than the usual Jerome Gambit.

7...Kd8 8.0-0

Reasonable, although the computer recommends 8.c3. 

8...Be7

Simply allows White to recover his pawn.

9.Bf4

Fine, but 9.Bxe7 Kxe7 10.Nxd4 was hard to argue with. 

9...Qf7

Now a tactical skirmish advanced White's game.

10.Bxc7 d6 11.Nxd4 Kd7 12.Nxc6 Kxc7 13.Nxe7 Qxe7 14.Re1 Rf8

Here, the clock seemed to step in.

15.e5 Qh4 16.Qe2

Instead, 16.Qxd6 was checkmate, but, remember, this was a bullet game. White won at move 32.

[This is blog post #2,750. Thanks for reading!]

Jerome Gambit Declined: Table Turned

The Jerome Gambit Declined - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7 - is beginning to annoy me. 

Some of it has to be psychological. Instead of grabbing the Bishop at move 4, and preparing to accept another piece the next move, Black says "No, thank you" and creates a bit of a gambit, himself. So, Black exchanges the opportunity for a "won" game with the chance to be a pawn down, with little objective compensation.

Huh?

perrypawnpusher - PrestonRFD
Italian Game Classic", Chess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Ke7 

The Jerome Gambit Declined, and probably not in the best way.

The Database has 49 games with this position, with White scoring 70%, including perrypawnpusher - walkinthe spirit, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 24) and perrypawnpusher - walkinthespirit, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 34).

Stronger appears to be 4...Kf8, which appears 312 times in The Database, and against which White has scored 56%.

By comparison, based on almost 14,500 games in The Database, White scores only 46% with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7.

So - Black gives up something by refusing to accept the sacrifice, but the lesson of Geoff Chandler's "blunder table" is that the pawn Black offers in return is not much of a loss on his part. In the meanwhile White is forced to create a plan.

5.Bb3 

Certainly 5.Bxg8, instead, is worth a look: it scores 8-0 in The Database. I gave it a glance before moving my Bishop, but was needlessly worried about 5...Qxg8, with two heavy pieces backing two pawns aimed at the future home of my King.

If the Bishop is not exchanged, where should it go? On any given day, computers seem to prefer 5.Bd5 or 5.Bc4, although I can not figure out what advantage those moves have over the full retreat to b3.

The Database confirms that Black has succeeded in one of his goals, that of confusing White. The eleven 5th move responses include 5.Bb3, 5.c3, 5.Bc4, 5.d3, 5.d4, 5.Bd5, 5.Nxe5, 5.0-0, 5.Ng5, 5.Bxg8 and 5.Bh5.

5...Nf6 

Sensible, predictable and, according to the computer, wrong.

6.Nc3

I know that I am supposed to know all about the Jerome Gambit, so it is a bit embarassing to see this is at least a small error, as well. White should grab the pawn at e5, initiating the "fork trick": 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 when he will get back either the piece at c5 or the one at e5. (I can console myself that there are no game examples of 6.Nxe5 in The Database. I should add this move to my "Jerome Gambit Secrets" posts.)

6...d6 7.h3

This is a boring move, designed mostly to prevent ...Bg4 as an aid to a possible ...Nd4. It was disappointing to come to grips with the realization that my advantage in the game was mostly the extra f-pawn, which wasn't going to advance any time soon. So, my plan became: small moves, small ideas, let him take the leap.

7...Re8 8.d3 Kf8 9.O-O Be6 

After the game, Stockfish recommended now that White play 10.Bxe6 Rxe6 11.Ng5 Re8 12.Nd5, with a complicated tactical line.
No matter. After

10.Bg5 

Black lost on time. 

I am not sure why. Perhaps: the real world.

Strange game, right to the end.

Tournament: Italian Game Classic

I have moved to a 7 - 0 score, with one game incomplete, in the first round of the Chess.com "Italian Game Classic" tournament. That score includes two wins with the Jerome Gambit - one, admittedly on time, which, nonetheless has its educational points, and which will be posted shortly. 

(As I mentioned, one of the players who fell before the Jerome tried it for himself, and was rewarded with a win.)

As all the other players in my group have at least 3 losses, I can count on moving on to the next round, with more Jerome Gambit opportunities.

This is a large tournament - 20 groups of players each - so, who knows how many Jeromes I will be able to rack up?

Win, lose, proud or embarassed - I will share them all.

Jerome Gambit: A Rarity

I don't share a lot of Jerome Gambit losses by Bill Wall because, quite frankly, he doesn't lose many of them.

The following game should set and example for defenders: Black made his extra piece count more than White's extra pawns.

Could it be that simple?

Wall, Bill - Guest9159455
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.d3 Nh5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

White does not always go in for the exchange of Queens, but here he concludes that he can make good use of his pawns.

12.Nc3 Kf7 13.h3 d5 14.exd5 Re8+ 15.Kd1 Bd7 16.f3 Bd4 

17.Ne2 Bc5 18.c4 Bf5 19.d4 Bd6 20.b3 Re7 21.g4 Rae8 

White's pawns are active, but Black's pieces are dangerous.

22.Nf4 g5 23.Ne6 Bxe6 24.dxe6+ Rxe6 25.Bxg5 Re2 26.Rf1 Ba3 27.d5 Rg2 28.h4 Nd7 29.h5 Nc5 30.Bd2 Ree2 31.Bc3 Re3 White resigned

BSJG: Such An Environment

How many strong ideas can you come up with, at a minute a move? How about at a minute a game?
Again, angelcamina thrives in such an environment. He has met this opponent before.

angelcamina - Skhokho1507
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. I suspect it kills at bullet time control.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. White wishes to be the aggressor.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 Nf6 

The position has gotten quite wild, but it is focused upon the Black King, which is the right idea in quick chess. Black's move looks inspired, but it is actually not as strong as 7...hxg6, which presents White with some difficulties after 8.Qxh8?! (8.Qxg6+ would be best)

8.Qe5+ Ne6 9.Nxh8 Bg7 10.Qf5 Bxh8 

White has a Rook and three pawns for two pieces, but the game will not be decided by mere material.

11.e5 Nd5 12.Qxh7 Bxe5 

13.Qg8+ 

The greedy 13.Qh5+ Kf8 14.Qxe5 was stronger, not just because it grabs a piece, but because it also reduces the defenders who want to counter White's Queen. But - Her Majesty has a one-track mind.

13...Nf8

You have to wonder what White would do after 13...Ke7 14.Qxd8+ (what else?) Kxd8. I imagine angelcamina would go with the direct 15.h4!?, but who knows?

14.f4 

How does that song go? Kick 'em when they're up. Kick 'em when they're down... Surely, the piece grab, this time 14.Qxd5, would lead to a win, eventually, but White is not playing for the "eventually".  

14...Nxf4 15.O-O 

Of course. A bullet move if I ever saw one. 

15...Ne2+ 16.Kh1 Qe7 17.d4 

17...Bxd4 

The computer recommends 17...Bxh2 18.Rxf8+ Qxf8 19.Qxf8+ Kxf8 20.Kxh2 Nxd4 when the game is mostly balanced.  

18.Bg5 

This move provides more heat and more pressure as Black's clock winds down. In a longer game, White would have found the thematic 18.Bh6. 

18...Ng3+ 

Thinking of an escape line that will never come. Instead, 18...Qg7 would extinguish White's attack - But Black does not have the time.

19.hxg3 

White won on time.