The following game is a good example of how defense - especially defending against an attack on the King - is more difficult than attack. Black has ways for his King to escape punishment, but he is not able to find them, and the game ends as many gambits end, successfully for the attacker.
An interesting idea: attacking the Queen and leaving the f-file open for the Rook. Recently, we have also seen 8...Qf6 9.d4 (9.Qh3 Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 Nf6 11.d3 Kc6 12.Bg5 d6 13.Qg3 Nfg4 14.Ne2 Qf7 15.d4 Nf2+ 16.Kd2 Nxe4+ 17.Kc1 Nxg3 18.hxg3 Qf2 19.Kd1 Bg4 20.Re1 Nc4 21.dxc5 Qd4+ 22.Kc1 Qxb2+ White resigned, noory - emranhamidm, FICS, 2020) 9...Qxf5 (9...Bxd4 10.Nb5+ Kc5 11.Nxd4 Kxd4 12.Be3+ Kc4 13.Qh5 Kb4 14.Qe2 Qc6 15.c3+ Ka4 16.b3+ Ka5 17.b4+ Ka4 18.Qd1+ Kb5 19.a4+ Kc4 20.Qd4+ Kb3 21.Rb1+ Kxa4 22.b5+ Qc4 23.Rb4+ Black resigned, NN - NN, lichess.org, 2020) 10.dxc5+ Kxc5 11.Be3+ Kc6 12.exf5 Nf6 13.O-O-O d5 14.Bd4 Re8 15.f3 Bxf5 16.b4 a6 17.a4 b5 18.Rhe1 Nc4 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Nxd5 Re2 22.Rd4 Rxc2+ 23.Kd1 Rd2+ 24.Rxd2 Nxd2 25.Ne7+ Kd7 26.Nxf5 Nc4 27.axb5 axb5 28.Nd4 c6 29.Ke2 Nd6 30.Nb3 Ke6 31.Kd3 Kd5 32.Nd2 Nc4 33.Ne4 Ne5+ 34.Kc3 f5 35.Nf6+ Ke6 36.Nxh7 Ng6 37.Ng5+ Kf6 38.Nh3 Ke5 39.g3 f4 40.Nxf4 Nxf4 41.gxf4+ Kxf4 42.Kd4 Kf5 43.Kc5 Kf4 44.Kxc6 Kxf3 45.Kxb5 Kg4 46.Kc6 Kh3 47.b5 Kxh2 48.b6 Kg3 49.b7 Kg4 50.b8=Q Kf5 51.Qb5+ Ke4 52.Qd5+ Kf4 53.Kc5 Ke3 54.Qd4+ Kf3 55.Kd5 Kg3 56.Qc3+ Kf4 57.Qd3 Kg4 58.Kd4 Kf4 59.Qe4+ Kg5 60.Qe5+ Kg6 61.Ke4 Kf7 62.Qf5+ White won on time, penguingim1 - sutcunuri, lichess.org, 2020) 9.Nb5+ Kc6 10.Qxe5 Kxb5 Black can capture the Knight, but it would be safer to play something like 10...d6 or 10...Qe7. 11.a4+ Kc6
Maybe now Black thinks he can get in ...d6, but it is too late for that. He needs another plan. He could have tried 11...Ka6 12.Qxc5 b6!? and his King can escape to b7. 12.Qd5+ Kb6 13.a5+ Kb5
Again, Black would have helped himself more with 13...Ka6, this time answering 14.Qxc5 with 14...d5 (14...b6 is not as effective) 15.b4 Qd7 16.0-0 and White has an edge, although a checkmate isn't available. However, after the text, it is. 14.c4+ Kb4 15.O-O Good enough. You might want to work out the alternative: 15.b3 Qf6 16.Ba3+ Kxb3 17.Qd3+ Ka4 18.Bb2+ Kb4 19.Bc3+ Kb3 20.Bxf6+ Kb4 21.Qc3#. 15...c6
The position after the 15th move in the following game is worth a close examination. It is clear that White has gotten enough in return for his material sacrifices, but the compensation is not in terms of a loose or hanging piece that will soon be scooped up - it is in the unrelenting pressure on the Black King. But, does he have more than an even game? Anonymous - Anonymous 5 5 blitz, 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.Nc3 c6 A recent alternative, also designed to keep White's Knight out of d5: 10...Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 12.d4 c6 13.f4 Re8 14.e5 Ng4 15.Qf3 Nh6 16.f5 Bxf5 17.g4 Nxg4 18.Qxg4 Kg8 19.Rxf5 dxe5 20.Bg5 Qe6 21.Re1 Rad8 22.Bxd8 Rxd8 23.dxe5 Rd2 24.h4 Rxc2 25.h5 Nf8 26.Rxf8+ Black resigned, odoaker2015 - Marienkaefer24h, lichess.org, 2020. 11.f4 a6 12.O-O Nf6 13.e5 White is in a hurry, otherwise he could have gotten in 13.d4, first. 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Nxe5 15.b3 Ned7
This is a very interesting Jerome Gambit position. Black has an extra piece, White has an extra pawn. Black's King is unsafe, however, and there is the typical defensive flaw: his Knight blocks his Bishop, which, in turn, blocks in his Rook. White's development is much more effective. What can the first player do? First, there is the decoy sacrifice, 16.Ba3!?. After 16...Qxa3 17.Rae1 g6 18.Ne4 Kg7 19.Nxf6 Nxf6 20.Rxf6!? Rf8 21.Rxf8 Qxf8 22.Qd4+ Kg8 23.Qc4+ Kg7 24.Qd4+White forces a draw by repetition. If Black is unhappy with this outcome, he can play 17...Qc5, and, after 18.d4 Qh5, 19.Qe7+ Kg8 20.Rxf6!? gxf6 21.Re3 he will see that his opponent has full compensation for his sacrificed Bishop and Rook, and Black will have to sue for peace, himself, with 21...Qd1+ 22.Kf2 Qxc3+ 23.Kg1Qb1+ 24.Kf2 Qc2+, etc. White could also try something a little less flashy, say 16.Ne4 Kf7 17.Bb2 Re8 18.Rae1, but after 18...Qxe4 19.Qxe4 Rxe4 20.Rxe4 his Rook and pawn would balance out Black's 2 Knights, for an even game. All of which probably at least partially explains the move White chose, which may not have been as powerful, but was easy to understand. 16.Qf3 h6 17.a4 The Bishop would like to go to a3, without sacrificing itself. The calm move seems to have misled Black. 17...Rg8 18.Ba3 c5 19.d4 Hitting the pinned pawn at c5. As in the notes above, 19.Rae1 was quite powerful. 19...b6
It is time to recall that this is a 5-minute blitz game. 20.a5 Undermining the pinned c-pawn. 20...Rb8 21.axb6 Nxb6 22.Bxc5 Qxc5 23.dxc5 Nbd7
White's plan to win the Queen has succeeded. 24.b4 Rxb4 25.Qc6 Rb8 26.Qd6+ Kf7 27.c6 Kg6 28.cxd7 Bxd7
29.Rxf6+ gxf6 30.Qxd7 The rest is mopping up. 31...Rbd8 31.Qg4+ Kh7 32.Qf5+ Rg6 33.Rxa6 Rdg8 34.Ra7+ Kh8 35.g3 R8g7 36.Rxg7 Kxg7 37.Nd5 Rg5 38.Qd7+ Kg6 39.c4 h5 40.c5 Rxd5 41.Qxd5 f5 42.c6 Kg5 43.c7 h4 44.gxh4+ Kxh4 45.c8=Q f4 46.Qcg8 Black left the game
White has enough time to be sure he avoids stalemate.
When putting together a Jerome Gambit repertoire, it is useful to have access to both "objective" evaluations - say, from a computer chess engine - and "subjective" evaluations - as from a collection of games that can tell you how successful a line has been. Often a move that is not "objectively" best may score very well in actual play. The following game, and its notes, illustrate this. Anonymous - Anonymous 5 8 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit, a tricky, trappy line that Black hopes comes as a surprise for White. 4.Bxf7+ The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, which usually comes as a surprise for Black. 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6
Black often plays 5...Ke8, encouraging White's Queen, as several recent games show: 6.Qh5+ g6 (6...Ke7 7.Qf7+ (7.d3 Nf6 8.Qh4 d6 9.Bg5 dxe5 10.Nc3 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Nd5+ Kf7 13.Nxf6 Be7 14.Qh5+ g6 15.Qh4 Bxf6 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Qg3 Rf8 18.f3 Kg8 19.Kd2 Qf4+ 20.Qxf4 exf4 21.Rxa1 Be6 22.Rd1 Bxa2 23.Ke1 Bb3 24.Kf1 White resigned, Akash_12345 - lord-stanly, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 7...Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc6 9.Qd5 checkmate, Akash_12345 - Oliv99, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 7.Nxg6 hxg6 (7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nxa1 9.Nxh8+ Ke7 10.Qf7+ Kd6 11.Qd5+ Ke7 12.Nc3 Bg7 13.Qf7+ Kd6 14.Qxg7 Nf6 15.Nf7+ Black resigned, Akash_12345 - me_am_emson, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; 7...Qf6 8.Nxh8+ Kd8 9.Nf7+ Ke7 10.Ne5 d6 11.d3 dxe5 12.Bg5 Nxc2+ 13.Kd1 Nxa1 14.Bxf6+ Nxf6 15.Qxe5+ Kf7 16.b3 Bb4 17.Qxa1 Bg4+ 18.f3 Be6 19.Qd4 Be7 20.Qe3 b6 21.Qf4 Bd6 22.e5 Be7 23.exf6 Bxf6 24.g4 Ke7 25.Qxc7+ Bd7 26.Re1+ Be5 27.Rxe5+ Black resigned, Akash_12345 - dibeantonio, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 8.Qe5+ Ne7 9.Qxh8 Black resigned, brunchess34 - Anonymous, Chess.com, 2020,9...Ng8 Black resigned, Anonymous - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2020. For the record, The Database has 1,788 games with 5...Ke8, with White scoring 60%. 6.Qg4+ The Database has 121 games with this move, with White scoring 42%. Also recently seen: 6.Qh5 Nf6 7 Qf7+ Kxe5 8.f4+ Kd6 9.e5+ Kc6 10.exf6 Qxf6 11.Qc4+ Kb6 12.O-O a6 13.d3 c5 14.Be3 Be7 15.c3 Nc2 16.Qb3+ Nb4 17.cxb4 Kc7 18.bxc5 Kb8 19.Nc3 d6 20.Nd5 dxc5 21.Nxf6 Black resigned, angelcamina - luquitas2018, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020. The Database has 155 games with 6.Qh5, with White scoring 57% White's strongest move, "objectively", is 6.c3. The Database has 392 games with 6.c3, with White scoring 62%. 6...Kxe5 7.f4+ Kxe4
One of the reasons White plays 6.Qg4, is so that if Black grabs the Knight, he can offer more material with 7.f4+, because if Black grabs the e-pawn... What happens next?? Don't worry. White was asked this question 24 times in The Database, and only scored 50 %. Wait until next time! That's why I analyze games and share them. 8.d3+ Kd5 9.c4+ Kc6 10.O-O Nc2
There is nothing exactly wrong with this move, but shouldn't Black be thinking about safeguarding his King, not grabbing more material? If I were White, even though I was down 2 pieces, I would feel a stirring of hope. 11.Qf3+ Kb6 12.Qf2+ c5 Proof that Black considers the game already won. Otherwise, what move would he have played that definitely would have produced "resigns"? 13.Qxc2 Qf6
Amazingly enough, now, with 14.Nc3 (with the plan to go to d5) White would equalize. 14.Qb3+ Kc7 15.Qa3 d6 16.Nc3 Qd4+ 17.Kh1 Qxd3 Time error? 18.Nb5+ Black resigned
The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has become popular with club players, of late, and certain lines have become very popular. The following game is an example of the kind of attack that can develop, but there are some good recent games in the notes, too, that are worth playing over, as well. gumman - utku_rome 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
White's Bishop sacrifice in the Jerome Gambit brings the enemy King to the f-file. Often, Black's defense brings his Queen there. After White castles - the f-file can become a dangerous place, as the following game shows. Wall, Bill - Guest744598 PlayChess.com, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
7.Qxe5 Qe7 Whistler's Defense, named for Lt. G. N. Whistler, secretary of the Lexington, Kentucky Chess Club, who played a correspondence match using the line against Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, in 1876. 8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3 Bd6 10.f4
A small improvement over 10.Qc3, seen in Wall,B - Guest3289310, PlayChess.com, 2012: 10...Qxc3 11.Nxc3 Be5 12.O-O Bxc3 13.bxc3 d6 14.d4 Ne7 15.f4 Rf8 16.d5 Kg8 17.Re1 Bd7 18.c4 Rae8 19.Rb1 b6 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5 Nc8 22.e6 Ba4 23.Re2 Nd6 24.Rb4 b5 25.c5 Nc4 26.g4 a5 27.Rb3 Bxb3 28.cxb3 Rf3 29.bxc4 bxc4 30.d6 cxd6 31.cxd6 Rd3 32.d7 Ra8 33.Rd2 Kf8 34.Rxd3 cxd3 35.Ba3+ Kg8 36.e7 Kf7 37.d8=Q Rxd8 38.exd8=Q Black resigned. 10...Bxf4 This pawn grab is not as good as Bill's suggestion, 10...Bc5. 11.Qb3+ Qe6 Better, 11...d5. 12.O-O
12...Qxb3 13.Rxf4+ Kg7 14.axb3 d6
15.d4 Ne7 16.Nc3 Bd7 17.Be3 a6
Black safeguards his a-pawn before moving his Rook. However, this gives up a vital tempo that turns over the f-file to White. 18.Raf1 Rhe8 Normally, Black could challenge the file, say, with 18...Rhf8, but here it would be met by 19.Rxf8 Rxf8 20.Bh6+ followed by 21.Rxf8. 19.Rf7+ Kh8 20.Bg5 Nc6 21.Bf6+ Kg8 22.Rxd7
Black resigned If he challenges along the f-file, he is liable to run into the notorious chess "windmill", giving up material - 22...Rf8 23.Rg7+ Kh8 24.Rxc7+ Kg8 25.Rg7+ Kh8 26.Rxb7+ Kg8 27.Rg7+ Kh8 28.Rc7+ Rxf6 29.Rxf6 Nb4 30.Rff7, when checkmate is coming. [Dear Readers: For the record, this is blog post #3,000. If you were to read them all, taking a minute per post, it would take you 50 hours. You could also follow the links in each post that interest you, or use the "Search This Blog" function to find something or someone specifically. Thanks for visiting. -Rick]
