Jerome Gambit: Over Time, You Learn A Few Things

I checked - fehim's games in The Database go back to 2005. Over time, he has learned a few things about how to play the Jerome Gambit. The following game shows White's attack following Black's King across the board.

fehim - Tomalak
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Be6 

This position can be found in 23 games in The Database, with White scoring 78%. Black's move is not bad, but it certainly encourages f2-f4, with the threat of f4-f5, which had to have been encouraging to the first player. 

10.O-O N8e7 11.f4 

This is an improvement over fehim's previous game with the line: 11.d4 Kd7 12.f4 Bc4 13.Re1 Kc8 14.b3 Ba6 15.a4 Rf8 16.f5 Nh8 17.b4 b6 18.a5 Bb7 19.c4 Nf7 20.Bb2 Re8 21.Nc3 Nxf5 22.Qh3 g6 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Qxf5+ Qd7 25.Rxe8+ Nd8 26.Qxd7+ Kxd7 27.Rg8 Ne6 28.Rxa8 Bxa8 29.d5 Nd4 30.Ne4 c6 31.Bxd4 Black resigned,  fehim - ReyanshiKhatrim, FICS, 2018. 

11...Bf7 12.d4 Kd7 

Black's attempt to castle-by-hand on the Queenside is an unorthodox response to White's growing pawn center. 

13.f5 Nf8 14.Qh3 Kc6 

Black's King is uneasy about the possibility of a discovered check from f4-f5, but this move is risky. Better was to skulk back to the center with 14...Ke8.

15.Nc3

This is a reasonable move, although 15.d5+ would have been sharper.  Komodo 10 opines that Black would have to return a piece, then, with 15...Bxd5, when White would clearly be better.

The game now drifts toward equality.

15...b6 16.Qf3 Kb7 17.e5+ c6 

18.e6 Be8 19.Be3 Rc8 

Black's move gives White ideas. Better was the consistent 19...d5.

20.a4 Kb8 21.a5 c5

This allows some opening of lines. Instead, hoping to clog things up with 21...b5 was a better choice.

22. axb6 Qxb6 23.dxc5 dxc5 24.b4 

24...Bc6 25.Qg3+ Qc7 26.Bf4 Black resigned

Provocation

The chess player, graviton, at the online site FICS, is not a Jerome Gambit afficionado, but he can turn Jerome-ish when he is provoked. He will take offense at the Blackburne Shilling Gambit. He will also react sharply to an ill-advised ...Na5. The following game is anexample.

graviton - porttela
10 0 blitz, FICS, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O

Black can be excused if he believed that his opponent was planning on a quiet game. Why not go along with the first player, and simply work to gain the "minor advantage"?

4...Na5

Ill advised. Expecting 5.Bb3, to be met with 5...Nxb3, he overlooked the straight-forward 5.Nxe5, which would have been a fine reply. He also overlooked White's actual response.

5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke6 

The King would have been safer at f8.

7.d4

The next time around, graviton might try the still-unplayed (according to The Database) 7.Qg4+ which would have been even more punishing: 7...Kxe5 (7...Kd6 or 7...Ke7 would lose the Queen, while 7...Kf6 would lead to mate) 8.d4+ Kd6 (other moves would lead to loss of Queen or mate) 9.dxc5+ Kc6 10.e5, when the Knight at a5 will soon fall and Black's King is still unsafe.

7...Bd6

Allows checkmate. Black had to play 7...Nf6 and try to hang on.

8.Qg4+ Ke7 9.Bg5+ 

White has figured out his way to a win. It would be a bit academic to point out 9.Qxg7+ Ke6 10.d5#.

9...Nf6 10.Bxf6+ gxf6 11.Qg7+ Ke6 12.Qf7 checkmate

BSJG: Explore and Move On

It is fun to play through games sent to me by readers, or discovered in The Database, and see what is new in the main lines of the Jerome Gambit and related openings. Occasionally, I also find explorations off of the beaten path, like the following 3-minute game, which contains an additional lesson: White is successful in his first outing with a line, but, when Black finds a more solid defense, it is probably time to move on to the next exploration... 

SorryYouLose - adina
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.c3 

What is this? The move is not entirely new - there are 35 examples in The Database, with White scoring 40 % - but it seems like it would be more at home after 5.Nxe5+ Ke6, or in the main line (non-Jerome) Blackburne Shilling Gambit, i.e. 4.c3.

Still, the move has an immediate effect in disturbing Black.

5...Ne6 

Not too long after this game, SorryYouLose encountered a couple of opponents at FICS who played the much more direct (and stronger) 5...Nxf3+, and the results favored the defender: SorryYouLose - Patzerarschloch, blitz, FICS, 2019 (0-1, 13) and SorryYouLose - pugachevsky, blitz, FICS, 2019 (0-1, 12).

The text move is a novelty, according to The Database. It gives White another chance to grab the pawn at e5, leaving Black with only a small edge.

6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Nf6 

White has sacrificed a piece for a pawn. In return, he has a full pawn center facing an uneasy enemy King.  

8.d5 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 

10.Nbxd2 

With this capture, White protected his e-pawn. He overlooked the stronger 10.Qxd2, which is not troubled by 10...Nxe4, as 11.dxe6+ would win back the sacrificed piece and give time for the Queen to excape the Knight on e4's attack. Instead of grabbing the pawn, Black would do better, after 10.Qxd2, to move his attacked Knight to either c5 or f8, maintaining a small advantage.

These things happen in 3-minute blitz games.

10...Nc5 11.Ng5+ Kg8 12.e5 

"Jerome pawns" want to be pushed. 

12...Nxd5 13.Nde4 

13...Nxe4 

A slip. Black would be okay now, after 14.Nxe4, but White has something better.

14.Qxd5+ Kf8 15.Qf7 checkmate

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: Huh?

On the surface, the following Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit is clear enough: White plays a recommended 8th move and checkmates his opponent on move 13. Yet, a peek at the notes - at what could have been played - is a bit head-spinning. The game turns out to have been a suspension bridge over churning, raging waters. 

foko - borodin
FICS, 2019

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 

Probably the strongest continuation for White.

6...Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Kxd4 

Black's pawn capture is risky; he would do better to head to safety with 7...Ke6. Still, with the move Black throws down the gauntlet: Can you punish me for this pawn grab?

8.Qb3

White has tried 8.d3 (see here, here, here and here), as well as 8.Nc3. I have recommended 8.Qb3, but it had remained unplayed - until it was seen 3 times in The Database in 2019.

Although Black's King looks vulnerable, play can become complicated, and White needs to realize that often his Queen has to go to f7 to help tighten a checkmating net. Earlier in the year, foko had played 8.Qb3 against sabishii in a standard FICS game, and after many changes of fortune, Black finally won in 55 moves.

I have to admit, I would probably play 8.d3 the next time I faced this line.

8...Ke5 9.Qd5+ 

Stockfish 10 likes 9.Qf7, while Komodo 10 likes 9.d4+ Kf6 (9...Kxd4 10.Qd5#; 9...Kxe4 10.Qf3+ Kxd4 11.Qf5 d5 12.Be3+ Kc4 13.Na3+ Kb4 14.Qd3 Qe8 15.Qc3+ Ka4 16.b3+ Kxa3 17.Qa5+ Kb2 18.Rb1+ Kxb1 19.Kd2+ Kb2 20.Bd4#) 10.Qf3+. Both agree that the text gives Black a slight edge.

9...Kf6 

10.d4 

More solid was 10.d3.

Leading to wacky complications - not a quick draw by repetition - is 10.Qf5+, e.g. 10...Ke7 11.Qe5+ Kf7 12.Qd5+ Ke8 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qe5+ Qe7 15.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 16.Kd1 Qxg2 17.Re1+ Kf7 18.Qxh7+ Bg7 19.Qh4 Qf3+ 20.Kc2 Qc6+ 21.Nc3 d5 22.Qb4 Be6 and perhaps Black has an edge...

10...Qe8 

This clears things up. Black could have lurched ahead with 10...Ne7.

11.Bg5+ Kg6 12.Qf5+ Kh5 13.g4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Little Things Add Up

Sometimes the Jerome Gambit results in a tactical explosion that clearly wins the game. Other times, as in the following encounter, it leads to positions where an observer might muse "Sure, okay, but that's just a little thing, right, how can it lead to a loss?" The little things add up.

Wall, Bill - Guest7121133
PlayChess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

Bill is 8 - 0 from this standard position, which goes back at least as far as Charlick - Mann, corresponcence, Australia, 1881 (1-0, 72). The Database has 196 games with this position, with White scoring 71%.

10.d4 Rf8 11.O-O Rf7

It probably would have been more prudent for Black to have castled-by-hand with 11...Kf7 and 12...Kg8.

12.Nc3 Bd7 13.f4 Ng4 

After White's Queen has made so many early moves - Qh5, Qd5, Qxc5, Qe3 - it might seem logical to "punish" her for those misdeeds; but, by wasting a tempo here and there, Black seems to actually reward such sallying.

14.Qe2 a6

This looks like a waste of time. It is enjoyable to see the recommendation of Komodo 10 (26 ply): 14...Qf6 15.Qd3 Qh4 16.h3 Nf6 17.f5 Ne7 18.Bd2 Kf8 19.Rf4 Qg5 20.Rf2 Qh4 21.Rf4, etc, draw. I have pointed out before that computer engines seem to think so little of White's play in the Jerome Gambit that they grab a chance for the first player to force a draw by repetition, salvaging a half point, whenever possible. I doubt that Bill would have gone along with such a plan.

15.f5 Qh4 16.h3 

The Knight must retreat, and Black must surrender a piece. He would do it best with the straight forward 16...Nf6 17.fxg6 hxg6, with advantage to White.

16...Nh6 

This gives White too much along the f-file.

17.fxg6 Rxf1+ 18.Qxf1 b5 19.Bxh6 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Making It Look Easy

The following bullet game makes the Jerome Gambit look so easy... like a pleasant day in the sunshine. It is easy to see why angelcamina keeps coming back to the Jerome...

angelcamina - PMLJ
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Qe7 

10.O-O Nf6 11.Nc3 Bd7 12.f4 Bc6 13.d4 

Think quick: as Black, do you want to grab a pawn, or do you want to edge your King out of the line of fire?

13...Kg8 14.e5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.b3 h6 17.c4 Bf7 18.f5 

Those pawns!

18...Nf8 19.Bb2 dxe5 20.dxe5 Re8 21.Qg3 Nd7 22.Rae1 

22...Kh7 23.e6 Bxe6 

Hoping that returning some material will help. It won't.

24.fxe6 

This is fine, and winning. More cruel was 24.Qg6+ Kg8 25.Rxe6.

24...Nf6 25.Qd3+ Kg8 26.Qg6 Rd8 27.Bxf6
Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Down the Rabbit Hole, Again (Part 5)

[continued from the previous post]

Robey, James - Steinitz, William
London, 1865

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 

The Evans Gambit, again. This time, it is accepted.

4...Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6

A position seen multiple times in the Labourdonnais - McDonnell match, as well as in the games of Andersson, Morphy, Staunton - and many others.

9.Nc3 Na5 10.e5 

This move may have been a novelty at the time, although not a strong one - 10.Bd3 was the usual response of the day. Robey seems to have been attracted by the idea of opening up the center while his opponent's King was still in place.

10...dxe5 

Careless. There was nothing wrong with 10...Nxc4 11.Qa4+ c6 12.Qxc4 d5 13.Qd3 Ne7, with a slight advantage for Black.

11.Bxf7+

This is going to hurt.

11...Kf8

Sad necessity. Capturing the Bishop allows 12.Nxe5+ and checkmate will follow.

12.Ba3+ Ne7 13.Nxe5 

13...Qxd4 14.Qh5 Qxc3 

Black grabs a piece and threatens another. He might as well - there is little else to do other than wait for checkmate.

15.Rad1 c5 16.Rd3 

White settles for winning Black's Queen. For now.

16...Qxd3 17.Nxd3 g6 18.Qf3 Kg7 

Diving into danger, but nothing was going to save his game.

19.Bb2+ Kh6 20.Qf6 Nf5 21.Bc1+ Ne3 22.Bxe3+ Kh5 23.Qg5 checkmate

Verdict: Although the game began as a clear Evans Gambit, it is quite possible that A. G. Johnson, in his Oregon Daily Journal claim, might have been so mesmerized by 11.Bxf7+ that he decided to refer to the game as a Jerome Gambit, anyhow.  Of course, describing Steinitz as being "in the zenith of his career as world's champion" would have been an error, as Steinitz had not yet ascended to the throne, by defeating Adolf Anderssen in match play.