Jerome Gambit: Searching for A Few Answers (Part 2)

[continued from previous post]

We are following a Jerome Gambit game by angelcamina, who has allowed himself the "luxury" of a full 5 minutes to play his game, instead of his usual 1 minute bullet (no increment in either case).

Some of the tactics that follow are both beautiful and mind-boggling.

angelcamina - nanangtisna

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

Black's Rook is attacked, and there are two moves that allow his Queen to protect it.

In the meantime, White's Queen is menacing the enemy King, but the defense has adequate resources.

10...Qf6 

Often f6 is the square for Black's Queen, and in some lines (in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit) even White finds the need to protect his Rook by putting his Queen on f3 - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Qg5 7.cxd4 Qxg2 8.Qf3 - but not here. In the game, after 10...Nf6 11.Qxg5+ Ke6, Black's King would be shaky, but he would be better.


11.Qxc7+ Bd6

One of the funniest things about computer chess programs, including Komodo 10, is that they seem to have a reasonable, innate distrust of the Jerome Gambit, and, therefore, consider a draw to be an acceptable, even desirable, outcome. So, instead of the text, the recommendation is 11...Qd6 12.Qg7+ Qf6 13.Qc7+ Qd6, etc. with a draw by repetition.

Again, nanangtisna makes a reasonable move - but it is met by an unreasonable response.

12.d4+ 

When you sharpen your tactics in bullet play, this kind of a shot comes naturally.

12...Kxe4 

The best reply. It is fascinating to look at 12...Kxd4, which is met by the unassuming 13.Qa5. The more you look at White's move, the scarier it gets. Sure, White remains under-developed and a piece down, but he is threatening checkmate, and the enemy King is under fire, such as 13...Kxe4 14.Nc3+ Kf5 (sad, but all others are worse) 15.0-0+ Kg6 (15...Bf4 16.Nxd5) 16.Rxf6+ Nxf6 when White's Queen and pawn outweigh Black's Rook and Bishop.

13.Nc3+

But the clock still ticks! With 13.Qc3, White would have forced  13...Kf5, giving him 14.O-O+ again, when 14...Kg6 would lose the Queen, as in the above note, and 14...Bf4 would be met by the wonderful 15.Qg3 Qxd4+ 16.Be3.

13...Kxd4  

Incredibly, Stockfish 11 recommends, instead, 13...Kf5 14.O-O+ Kg4!? and exchanging Queens with 15.Rxf6 Bxc7 seems to lead to an edge for Black. Bumping Black's King first, with 15.h3+, and then exchanging Queens is supposed to lead to an even position - but I do not know how to reconcile these two evaluations.

I can't imagine working out these lines while avoiding a time forfeit.

14.Qa5 

A solid move. If angelcamina had started out with, say, 10 minutes on his clock, he might have found the creative 14.Be3+ which continues the tactics fest: 14...Ke5 (14...Kxe3 15.Nxd5+ Kd4 16.0-0-0+ Ke5 17.Qc3+ and Black will lose his Queen) 15.Qa5 (again threatening mate as in the note, above, to Black's 12th move) Kf5 16.O-O+ and again the Black Queen is a goner.

14...Bg4  

The clock ticks for Black, too.

Instead, 14...Qe7+ 15.Ne2+ Ke5 seems to give Black (a piece up) hope, but the skewer with 16.Qc3+ would then win a Rook. White would also have the safer 16.Bd2 Bg4 17.0-0-0 - of course, offering a piece that cannot be taken, i.e. 17...Bxe2 18.Bc3+ Kf4 19.Qxd5 - when, after 17...Kf5 18.Qxd5+ Kg6 19.Rhf1 White still offers that piece on e2, and with 19...Bxe2 20.Qf5+ Kh5 21.Qh3+, etc., the game would settle into a draw by repetition of position.

As once Geoff Chandler wryly suggested, maybe the Jerome Gambit is a draw, after all.

15.Qxd5 checkmate

Once again, fortune has favored the bold.

Now, please give me a few minutes to catch my breath...

Jerome Gambit: Searching for A Few Answers (Part 1)

I am used to playing over 1-minute (no increment) Jerome Gambit games by angelcamina. Occasionally I have wondered, what would happen if he had more time to work his magic?

Recently I found out - he sent me a 5-minute game that got weird, fast, and that's saying something for a Jerome Gambit.

For some enlightenment, I did what I usually do: turning to The Database I looked at some of the games with that line that had been played previously. There were only 5, I'm not sure how many of those games had a grip on the line, either.

So, I turned to my trusted Komodo 10 for insight - you can probably guess how that turned out.

Finally, I reviewed my blog, and, although I had peeked at the line, before - see "Boris isn't so hot..." and ''Jerome Gambit Hammer" - there was still more to be said.

Here's how it all came down...

angelcamina - nanangtisna
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 g5 

Here's a position you don't see very often. What is it all about? What is Black getting at?

It is possible to get a hint by looking at a Bill Wall game that continued 8.fxe5 Qf8, as if Black were offering a counter-gambit followed by a threatened Queen check at f2. Bill wasn't impressed, however, and quickly found a solution after 9.Rf1 Qe7 10.Qg4+ Kxe5 11.Qf5+, Black resigned, facing a mate in 1, Wall,B - Lisandru, Chess.com, 2012. The defender's Queen should have gone to g7 instead of e7, but 10.d4 would have then cemented White's avantage. 

8.fxe5 Kxe5 

After a long think (26 ply), Komodo 10 passes up this move, as well as 8...d5 and 8...Ne7, and chooses Stockfish 7's suggestion from 4 years ago, 8...Nf6 9.exf6 Qxf6 10.Rf1 Qg6 11.Qe2 Ke7, with White up about a pawn and a half.

But nanangtisna's choice of move is reasonable.

9.Qf7 

Setting up a mating net.

Previously, 9.Rf1 was seen in GuestCRJQ - Despistado, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26),  Wall,B - Boris, sparkchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 16) and Vlastous - PornobeshKumar , internet, 2016 (1-0, 13).

Also successful was 9.c3 Be7 10.d4+ in Black,D - Boris, sparkchess.com, 2012 (1-0, 18). 

Probably best is Komodo 10's (and Stockfish 7's!) 9.d4+, as 9...Bxd4 10.Bxg5 Nf6 11.Bxf6+ Kxf6 12.Rf1+ Kg7 13.Rf7+ Kg8 14.Rf3 Bf6 15.Nc3 Kg7 remains, as I noted

a line worth looking at in detail as an example of building an attack.

9...d5

Often this strike at the center, opening up lines for development, serves Black well in the Jerome Gambit. Here, though, 9...Nf6 might have been better, although White could meet it with 10.d4+, with play similar to that in Vlastous - PornobeshKumar, Internet, 2016.

It is worth pointing out, again, that this is a 5-minute blitz game, and it is always easier to come up with improvements after the fact.

10.Qg7+

Out of the blue, Komodo 10 prefers 10.b4. It takes a moment to realize that it has not just found a way for White to castle - 10...Bxb4 11.0-0 - as it further recommends that Black answer with 10...Nf6, giving up a piece to 11.bxc5. No, the b-pawn advances to allow White to subsequently fianchetto his dark squared Bishop.

The idea 10.b4 Bd4 11.c3 Bb6 12.d4 reminds me of a suggestion that Stefan Bücker made to me in a similar line, back in 2004, when I still hoped to have my Jerome Gambit article published in his fantastic chess magazine, Kaissiber. See, fittingly, "Delusions of Grandeur".

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Largely Overlooked by History

I wanted to share another eronald (of lichess.org) game for a number of reasons. He faced one of the more challenging defenses to the Jerome Gambit, he selected a line of play that was recommended over 140 years ago - and which has been scarcely played at all. This game also allows me to tuck in a note from my research that comes from I-do-not-know-where. 

eronald - ayushsankar1006
5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

This can lead to either the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6, or Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. Both are complicated and each can be dangerous for the unwary. 

My preference to play, and not to face, is Whistler's. See "More (Update): Whistler's Defense" for a discussion.

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qd5+ 

The highly dangerous (for White) 8.Qxh8 appeared in Jerome - Norton, D., correspondence, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 20) and Jerome - Whistler, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15). Jerome was fortunate to gain a half point from the two games. The December, 1876 issue of  American Chess Journal, commenting on the Whistler game, recommended 8.Qd5+ without analysis.

Then 8.Qd5+ practically disappeared from the face of the earth. Perhaps it should be referred to as Jerome Gambit Secrets #12 ?

I have in my notes something from a 2020 1 0 bullet game at
lichess.org - the players are not named

If played correctly 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qd5 + Kg7 9.d4 Bb4 + 10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 Bd6 12.Qxe7 + Bxe7 13.f3 White plays one piece, and for the second they have more space and two pawns - you can still play very much (position on the interactive whiteboard), both on the one and the other side. Although, objectively speaking, Black has a win, but you need to make fairly accurate moves, let's recall the game of the unforgettable Mikhail Tal - how many could hold their position after the Tal victims, who turned out to be objectively won in the home analysis?

It is not every day that you see the Jerome Gambit and the Magician from Riga mentioned in the same paragraph! 

Of course, Tal has already been mentioned on the blog: see "The Evans-Jerome Gambit Returns (Part 1)" and "Correctness".

8...Kf8 

If, instead, 8...Kg7, the game continued 9.d4 Bb6 10. Bg5 Nf6 11.e5 Nxd5 White resigned, levigun - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004. This is the only other 8.Qd5+ game in The Database.

9.O-O c6 10.Qc4 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 

12.Qf4+ 

White declines the pawn (12.Qxd5), as Black could then develop his Bishop or Knight, attacking the Queen with tempo. 

12...Nf6 13.d4 Bd6 14.Qd2 Qe4 

This looks a bit odd, although Black retains his advantage.

Given that this was a 5-minute blitz game, and taking into consideration Black's previous move, perhaps he was planning to set up the Bishop + Queen battery, but at the last second, noticed that 14...Qe5 would drop Her Majesty?

15.Re1 Qh4 16.Qh6+ Qxh6 17. Bxh6+ Kf7 18. Nc3 Ng4 

ayushsankar1006 continues to press his attack, even with Queens off of the board. Both players now ignore the pawn at h2 for a short while.

19.Bg5 Be6 20.Nb5  

Perhaps planning to allow the h-pawn capture, and then trap the Bishop with g2-g3, while limiting where the prelate could otherwise retreat to? Or, was the clock ticking? In any event, 20.h3 was probably the move to make. 

20...Bxh2+ 21.Kh1 a6 

The fly in the ointment. The Knight is invited to leave.

22.Nc7

Likely the clock.

22...Bxc7 23.f3 White resigned

Jerome Gambit: Patient Who Suffered Not Too Long

I recently receive a Jerome Gambit game from eronald, who plays online at lichess.org. His comment

For your entertainment, here is my latest Jerome treatment of a patient who suffered not too long.

Indeed! Especially in blitz.

eronald - basel82
5 1 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Nf6 

Ah, yes. I am reminded of the comment by FM Stefan Buecker, in the online ChessPub Forum, over a decade ago

Searching for a forced refutation of a rare opening, with the clock ticking, requires more courage than many have.

(For the record, he was not referencing the Jerome Gambit - but he might as well have been. For other "might as well have beens", see "Were They Talking About the Jerome Gambit Again?")

I am also reminded of the old, vaudeville joke, which I pass on to all defenders

patient: Doc, it hurts when I do this [demonstrates] 

doctor: Well, then, don't do that.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qc4+ Be6 11.Qe2 Re8 12.O-O Ke7

Certainly completing castling-by-hand with 12...Kg8 would have been more prudent.

Please, Doctor eronald, put this patient out of his misery.

13.f5 Bd7 14.d4 Rg8 

Strange symptomatology, Doctor. Will he survive?

15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Nd5 

Oh, dear. Not having the best of days. (Time trouble?)

17.Bg5+ Kf8 

Interposing the Knight with 17...Nf6 is equally horrible, e.g. 18.exf6+ Kf8 19.fxg7+ Rxg7 20.Bxd8 Bc6 21.Rd1 Rxg2+ 22.Qxg2 Kxg2 when White is a Rook, two pieces, and a pawn ahead.

18.Bxd8 Rxd8 19.e6 Re8 

This pin will not hold...

20.exd7 Rd8 

If 20.Rxe2 d8/Qch 21.Re8 Qxd5, etc.

21.f6 

Doc, I keep seeing pawns. They're everywhere!

21...g6 22.Nc3 Rxd7 23.Nxd5 Rf7 24.Rae1 Rxf6 25.Qe7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Danger of Open Lines

Here is the latest Jerome Gambit from angelcamina, played, as usual, at bullet speed (one minute, no increment) at lichess.org. The danger of open lines against the enemy King is amply illustrated.

angelcamina - night-moves
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 g6 

In a 1-minute game, attacking the Queen can seem like a good thing to do; figuring out how to respond would at least take some clock time. Just night-moves luck, however, angelcamino had faced this weak defense (The Database says White scores 76%) a few months earlier, so he was familiar with it.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 

Taking the Rook was a little bit stronger, but the text still leaves White better - and his Queen can respond to a possible 9...Qh4+ with 10.Qf2.

9...Qe7 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.O-O Nf6 

White is up a couple of pawns, and has the safer King.

12.Qb3 Nxe4 13.Nc3 Nxc3 14.dxc3 d6 

White now opens a file and a diagonal, and the game comes to a brutal conclusion.

15.f5 gxf5 16.Bh6+ Ke8 17.Rae1 Kd7 18.Rxe7+ Kxe7 19.Re1+ Kd7 20.Qb5+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: The Improved Face Palm Variation?!

Having taken a look at what I called the "Face Palm Variation" of the Jerome Gambit, I wondered if there was an "improved" variation, where White played an early d2-d4, so that his Knight could safely move to g5 with the support of his dark square Bishop.

I quickly recalled the game Wright - Hunn, Arkansas,1874, played about a half year after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome published his first analysis of his gambit in the Dubuque Chess Journal. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.Bxf7+.

The line was referred to as The Macbeth Attack on the Italian language website Sacchi64. It has a relationship to the Italian Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4) as explored by Jude Acers and George S. Laven in their book The Italian Gambit and A Guiding Repertoire for White - 1.e4, (although they were not interested in Bxf7+)  as well as to the Lewis Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4) and the Von der Lasa Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Bc5).

The Database has 1,413 game examples, with White scoring 37%.

Here is a recent game. Beware: the tactics get out of hand, quickly. White (who has almost 700 games in The Database) shows a number of  practical choices to keep the clock at bay.

drumme - RikTheKing
4 0 blitz, FICS, 2020.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.d4 exd4 

A bit stronger, according to Komodo 10, is 5...Bxd4, although the result for White of the 645 games in The Database was only 26%. 

6.Ng5+ 

By playing an early Bxf7+, White has avoided the Sarratt or Vitzthum Attack, although that's not necessarily a good thing.

6...Ke8 7.O-O h6 

Facing a gambit can be scary, and it's natural to want to kick at the attacking piece - but this dismantles Black's defense, rather than helping it.

8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 

Black is now at risk for losing a lot of material.

10.Qd5+ 

White is not feeling very greedy, or perhaps in a 4-minute blitz game there wasn't the time (or need) to dig deeper: 10.Bf4+ Ne5 11.Bxe5+ Kxe5 12.Qxg7+ Nf6 (12...Qf6 13.f4+ Kd6 14.e5+) 13.f4+ Kd6 14.Nf7+ Kc6 15.Nxd8+ would have been painful for Black.

10...Ke7 11.Qxc5+

Grabbing the enemy Bishop, but it was stronger to play 11.Qf7+ Kd6 to return to the line given in the note above, 12.Bf4+ etc.

11...d6 

Do I have to do this all over again? 

Didn't I do it right the first time? 

Do I have to do this all over again? 

How many times do I have to make this climb? 

from Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again? 

12.Qc4 Ne5 

Black could have grabbed the Knight, and hung on: 12...hxg5 13.Bxg5+ Nf6 14.f4 Qg8 15.Qxg8 Rxg8 16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Nxe5 18.Re1 Ke6 19.Bf4 Nfg4

13.Qxd4 Nf6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Qc3 hxg5 16.fxg5 Nxe4 

Well...

At first glance, Black seems to have played himself out of difficulty. Alas, it is actually a checkmate in 9, for White.

17.Qxg7+ Ke6 18.Qg6+ 

Now, interposing a piece will cost Black a piece. There wasn't time to suss out 18.Qf7+ Ke5 19.Nc3 Qg8 20.Bf4+ Kd4 21.Rfd1+ Kc5 22.Be3+ Kb4 23.a3+ Ka5 24.b4+ Ka6 25.Qf1+ Qc4 26.Qxc4+ b5 27.Qxc6 checkmate 

18...Kd5 

19.Nc3+

Again, development makes the most sense when time is short. Instead 19.c4+ Kc5 20. Be3+ Nd4 21.Qxe4 Kb6 22.Bxd4+ c5 23.Bxh8 was crushing. 

19...Nxc3 20.Qd3+ Ke6 

This might have seemed the safest choice, but it was not. 

21.Qxc3 

I am sure that after the game drumme found 21.Qf5+ Ke7 22.Qf7 checkmate 

21...Ne5 22.Qb3+ Kd7 

Black's uncomfortable King and extra piece is slightly outweighed by White's better development and 2 extra pawns. Although the players' fortunes now go up and down, White keeps the pressure on.

23.Bf4 Qe8 24.Rae1 Kd8 25.Qd5 Qc6 26.Qb3 Re8 

Note, for the umpteenth time, Black's light-squared Bishop at home, blocking his Rook. Typical defense-to-the-Jerome-Gambit "sin".

27.g6 Nxg6 28.Bg5+ Ne7 29.Rxe7 Rxe7 30.Bxe7+ Kxe7 31.Qf7+ Kd8 32.Qf6+ Ke8 33.Re1+ Kd7 34.Qe7 checkmate