Jerome Gambit: Computer Defense Triumphs

Boris, from Kazkhstan, sent me a number of his exciting Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games, but first he shared this interesting computer vs computer game. It is a bit of a one-sided affair, as this particular version of Stockfish is rated about 500 points higher than this particular version of Houdini - it would have been interesting if Stockfish had offered "Jerome Gambit odds".  

Houdini 1.5 - Stockfish 11

computer game, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 

"Here the engines started working" Boris noted.

6.d4 Qh4

This variation does not have a name, but I have referred to it as  "pie in the face" variation because of its surprise value - and strength. It is as old as Sorensen - Anonymous, Denmark, 1888 (1-0, 27).

7.O-O Qxe4 8.dxc5 Nf6 9.Nc3 Qc6 10.Be3 b6 

11.Bd4 Ng6 12.cxb6 axb6 13.Qd2 Nh5 14.a4 Rf8 15.f3 Kg8 

Black castles-by-hand. White's pieces are developed, but his pawns are inactive. In this position, a major Jerome Gambit strategy - play solidly, quietly, patiently, waiting for Black to over-reach - is not available against a world class computer.

16.Kh1 Bb7 17.b3

Komodo 10 suggests some piece shuffling instead with 17.Qf2 Qd6 18.Be3 

17...Ngf4 18.Qf2 

Black's pressure is such that Komodo 10 rates it better than a Rook ahead.

18...Rae8 19.a5 Re6 20.Ra4 

Komodo 10 suggested that it might as well have pushed the pawn. 

20...Nh3 21.Rc4 

Capturing the Knight would have led to a checkmate in 7 moves.

21...Nxf2+ 22.Bxf2 Qd6 

Down a Queen, a human playing as White would resign here.

23.Bh4 Ba6 24. Rd1 Qe5 25. Rcd4 Rf4 26. Rxf4 Nxf4 27. Ne4 Qh5 28.Bg5 Rxe4 

Boris pointed out In this position both engines saw checkmate - Stockfish sees mate in 10, Houdini sees mate in 21, but after one move is played, sees mate in 9." 

White resigned

Defenders of the Jerome Gambit, take note.

I have just one word to offer: Rematch?

Jerome Gambit: Pieces and Pawns Active

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ) game, Bill Wall shows that there can still be life for White after the exchange of Queens - if he keeps his pieces and pawns active.

Wall, Bill - NN

lichess,org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 

8.O-O Nf6 9.Nc3

Also recently seen, with chances to transpose: 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 Nc6 11.Qd3 Re8 12.Nc3 Ne5 13.Qd1 Ng6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Qf3+ Kg8 17.Qb3 Kh8 18.f3 c6 19.Nc3 Qb6+ 20.Qxb6 axb6 21.a3 Ne5 22.Rad1 Re6 23.Rd4 c5 24.Rd5 Bd7 25.Rfd1 Nf7 26.a4 Bc6 27.R5d2 Bxa4 28.Nxa4 Rxa4 29.b3 Ra8 30.Kf2 Rd8 31.Rd5 Ne5 32.f4 Nc6 33.e5 Nb4 34.Rxd6 Rexd6 35.Rxd6 Rxd6 36.exd6 Kg8 37.Ke3 Kf7 38.Ke4 Ke6 39.f5+ Kxd6 40.g4 Nxc2 41.h4 Nd4 42.g5 hxg5 43.hxg5 Nxb3 44.f6 gxf6 45.g6 Ke7 46.Kf5 Nd4+ 47.Kg4 Ne6 48.Kh5 b5 49.Kh6 c4 50.g7 Nxg7 White resigned, Andili - PremiumShoe, 5 0 blitz, FICS, 2020. 

9...Re8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Ng6

12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Qc4+ Be6 14.Qxc7+ Qe7 15.Qxe7+ Rxe7 16.f4

White keeps up the threats.

16...Bc4 17.Rf2 Kg8 18.Rd1 d5

Overlooking something?

19.b3 Ba6 20.e5

White could gain a pawn with 20.exd5, but it is not clear how long he could keep it. He decides to safeguard the e-pawn and then make the capture.

20...Rd8 21.Nxd5 Red7 22.c4 

22...b5 

The plan is to undermine the pinned Knight by attacking the supportive pawn on c4. It doesn't quite work.

23.e6 

Thoughtful. In some lines, it is better to have the pawn on e6.

23...Rb7 

Leaving the other Rook unprotected. Still, White would show an advantage after 23...Rd6, e.g. 24.Rfd2 bxc4 25.Nf6+ gxf6 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.Rxd6 cxb3 28.axb3 Bb5. White's Rook + 2 pawns will succesd against the Bishop and Knight, in the endgame.

24.Nf6+ gxf6 25.Rxd8+ Kg7 26.Rd7+ Rxd7 27.exd7 Black resigned

Alonzo Wheeler Jerome Update

It is time to update what we know about Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Dan Watson added in an earlier Comment a link to the findagrave.com site, where the following "personal war sketch" for Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (of the Jerome Gambit) can be found.

I have been able to render in text some of the above.

Dan also passed along some family history for Jerome

Alonzo’s parents were Phebe Ann Wheeler and George Friend Jerome.  Phebe's parents were William Wheeler and Martha Thorne.

 

Phoebe had a brother – Alonzo J. Wheeler.  Pardon the pun, but Alonzo J. Wheeler was a big wheel in the Wheeler family.   

So Alonzo Wheeler Jerome’s first name is from his Uncle Alonzo, and his middle name is from his mother’s maiden name. 

That is where all of the ties in to agricultural equipment come in.  He must have had family business with his uncle and grandfather. 

Alonzo Wheeler also met Lincoln, so that explains Alonzo Wheeler Jerome’s tie in to his love of Lincoln even before he was in the army.

 The above references to acricultural equipment and Abraham Lincoln can be seen in the blog posts "The Great Debate" Parts I, II, III, IV, and Conclusion.

Thank you, Dan!

Jerome Gambit: What's A Pawn Among Friends?

The following Jerome Gambit game ends with White still in possession of all 8 of his pawns. A peek into the notes will reveal that he had chances to give one or more away - but who can complain about an interesting win? Enjoy

thedarkdanster - MadCircle

3 2 blitz, Chess.com, 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 Nf6 

10.Nc3

Also recently seen: 10.f4 Ng4 11.Qf3 Qe7 12.f5 N6e5 13.Qe2 g6 14.d4 gxf5 15.dxe5 Qxe5 16.O-O Qxh2, checkmate, Atti0130 - StephanBerg, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.

10...Ng4 

When in doubt, attack the White Queen.

11.Qe2 Kf7 12.h3 

An alternative was the humorous 12.f4, as if 12...Nxf4, play might continue 13.0–0 Qf6 14.Qf3 g5 15.Nd5 Qd4+ 16.Kh1 Rf8 17.h3. White takes a short cut and winds up with h2-h3 immediately.

12...N4e5 13.d4 Nc6 14.Qc4+ 

Protecting the d-pawn, but, again, it could be let go, as 14.0-0 Nxd4 15.Qc4+ Ne6 16.f4 would be the answer.

14...Ke7 

These kind of things happen in 3 2 blitz games, alas. Perhaps Black was too busy trying to unravel the mysteries of the Jerome Gambit.

15.Bg5+ Kd7 16.Bxd8 Rxd8 17.O-O-O Ke7 

White has to keep moving forward, with one eye on the clock.

18.Nd5+ Kf8 19.Nxc7 Rb8 20.Ne6+ Bxe6 21.Qxe6 Nb4 22.a3 Na6 23.g3 Re8 24.Qxd6+ Kg8 

25.e5 Rbd8 26.Qxd8 

He has plenty of pawns.

26...Rxd8 27.f4 Nc7 28.c4 a6 29.d5 b6 30.Rhe1 Kf7 31.f5 Nf8 32.g4 h6 33.d6 Ne8 34.b4 a5 35.e6+ Kf6 36.e7 Black resigned

White threatens to "lose" a pawn in the most delightful way: promotion.

Jerome Gambit: The Advantage of the Attack

One advantage of attacking in chess is that if you make an inaccurate move or two, you might lose your attack. However, when defending in chess, if you make an inaccurate move or two, you might lose your King. This is one of the many attractions of the Jerome Gambit. The following imperfect bullet game is a fun example.

lilbisgod - gdhug

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.Qxc5 Nf6 8.e5 

An interesting idea, both kicking the enemy Knight and pointing at d6. But: Beware the e-File! Even in bullet chess.

8...Re8

Recently seen was 8...Ne8 9. Qd5+ Kf8 10.e6 dxe6 11.Qxd8 Black resigned, ouwafhusadkgj - NN, no clock, Chess.com, 2020. 

9.O-O Rxe5 

10.Qc4+ d5 11.Qb3 Be6 12.Qxb7 

Courting danger. Can Black respond?

12...a5 13.Qc6 a4 14.d4 Re4 15.c3 Bf5 16.Nd2 Re6 17.Qc5 Qb8 18.Nf3 Qb6 

Yes, yes, when you are ahead in material, it is often a good idea to exchange Queens. But it is so easy to overlook things in 1-minute games!

19.Qxb6 

Missing the fork with 19...Ng5+.

19...cxb6 20.Bf4 

See the note, above.

20...Nxf4 21.g3 Nd3 22.Rad1 Nxb2 23.Rd2 Nc4 24.Rc2 Bxc2 

White will fight on. Perhaps the clock was on his side?

25.Ng5+ Kg6 26.Nxe6 Nd2 27.Nf4+ Kf5 28.Re1 

Is it possible that lilbisgod has been reading GM David Smerdon's The Complete Chess Swindler ? Excellent!

 28...Nde4 29.f3 Nd2 30.Re5 checkmate

Brilliant.

Years ago, I had a chess pal who would regularly complain, "I was beating you, right up to the point where you checkmated me!" Indeed.

Jerome Gambit: GM vs GM!?

I received a tip the other day about a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game played online. The time control was 3 minutes, with no increment. White won.

Oh, and White was U.S. chess champion Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Black was Grandmaster Dmitrij Kollars of Germany.

Sure, GM Nakamura was making a speed run, and his focus was on "garbage openings" - there was also a clip of him looking at a Jerome Gambit line, and he seemed amazed / amused that there wasn't SOMETHING to the Jerome. From a grandmaster point of view: nah.

The Jerome has winning chances if it is a surprise, if the time limit is blitz, and if the defender becomes inattentive due to over-confidence.

Take a look.

SanitationEngineer - GM_dmitrij

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

Sure, why not, up 2 pieces.

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6 

GM Kollars backs up.

I would love to send GM Nakamura the following continuation, from abhailey - peonconorejas, net-chess.com, 2008: 9...Nf3+ 10.Kd1 Ne7 11.e5+ Kc6 12.Qe4+ d5 13.exd6+ Nd5 14.gxh4 Bg4 15.Qa4+ b5 16.Qa6+ Nb6 17.c4 Nd4+ 18.Ke1 Rhe8+ 19.Kf2 Nf5+ 20.Kf1 Bh3 checkmate

10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Qxe5+ Kxe5 12.b4 

The Database has only 2 earlier games with this move. White was an anonymous online player in 2004; I played the move in 2008.

That would all be coincidence. It is most likely that GM Nakamura bumped into the Jerome Gambit due to Canadian GM Aman Hambleton's amusing video on the opening.

12...Bd4 

Interesting. For 12...Bxb4? of course, see "Jerome Gambit: An Article" for the relevant Jerome-Mills variations analyzed by Yury V. Bukayev.

13.c3 Bb6 14.d4+ Ke6 15.Bb2 a5 16.d5+ Kf7 17.Rf1+ Kg6 

18.Nd2 Nf6 19.Nf3 Re8 20.e5 h6 21.O-O-O 

21...Ng4 22.Rde1 axb4 23.cxb4 Ne3 24.Nh4+ Kh7 25.Rf7 Kg8 

Black has been defending well, despite his extra piece remaining undeveloped at c8, but he is playing one of the top blitz grandmasters in the world. This slip is enough.

26.e6 dxe6 27.Rxg7+ Kf8 28.Ng6 checkmate

Wow.

Thank you, GM Nakamura.

Thank you, too, GM Kollars, for playing along.

Jerome Gambit: Inescapable Problems

The following Jerome Gambit game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) features a creative, but ineffective, defensive line - and attacking move which creates inescapable problems for Black's Queen and King.

Richi_the_king - poglas

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 

7.Qxe5 Bd6 

Attacking the Queen, but letting go of the Rook.

8.Qxh8 Qg5 

Things have already gotten out of hand, and the text does not fix them, nor did any of these other recent tries -

8...Qe7 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.Qxg6 Qf7 11.Qxf7+ Kxf7 12.O-O Bc5 13.d3 d6 14.Be3 Bb6 15.Bxb6 axb6 16.a3 Be6 17.Nc3 Nf6 18.b4 c5 19.b5 Nd7 20.f4 Ke7 21.f5 Bf7 22.f6+ Nxf6 23.Nd5+ Nxd5 24.exd5 Bxd5 25.Rae1+ Be6 26.Re3 Kd7 27.Rfe1 Re8 28.c4 Bf7 29.Rxe8 Bxe8 30.g4 Bg6 31.Re3 Bf7 32.h4 Be6 33.g5 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Kg3 Bf5 36.Rf3 Kg6 37.Kf4 Be6 38.Re3 Bf5 39.Re7 Bxd3 40.Rxb7 Bxc4 41.Rxb6 Kh5 42.Rxd6 Bxb5 43.Rh6 checkmate JabbaKappa - Zauberer, Chess.com, 2020;

8...b6 9.Qd4 Bb7 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.O-O Rf8 12.d3 Ke8 13.Nb5 Bc5 14.Nxc7+ Kd8 15.Ne6+ Qxe6 16.Qc4 Qf7 17.Qxf7 Rxf7 18.Bg5+ Kc8 19.c3 h6 20.Bh4 g5 21.Bg3 h5 22.d4 Be7 23.d5 h4 24.Be5 d6 25.Bd4 Rf4 26.f3 Kd7 27.b4 Ba6 28.Rfd1 Bc4 29.a4 a6 30.Bxb6 Bf6 31.b5 axb5 32.axb5 Bxb5 33.Rab1 Bc4 34.Rb4 Be2 35.Rdb1 Bxc3 36.Ra4 Rf8 37.Bd4 Bd2 38.Rb7+ Ke8 39.Ra8 checkmate, timinphilly - BrennanBibic, Chess.com, 2020;

8...Qe8 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.d3 Bb4+ 11.Nc3 d6 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Ke7 14.Qg7+ Kd8 15.Qf6+ Kd7 16.a3 d5 Black resigned cian_hudder - 11wduuwdbjn, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020; and

8...Nf6 Black resigned Mathiasgraabeck - IMMERAMZOCKEN23, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020, 9.Qxd8 Black resigned, Fedez9292 - mnt0788, 1 0 bullet, Chess.com, 2020.

9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Nf6 11.Qh8+ Ng8 

12.d3 Qf6 13.Bh6+ Kf7 14.Qh7+ Ke6 15.Qxg8+ Ke7 

Unfortunately, 15...Qf7 would allow the exchange of Queens, with little compensation for the lost Rook and pawns; and 15...Ke5 would be met with 16.Qd5 checkmate.

16.f4 

How does Black deal with the threat 17.Bg5 ?

16...b6 17.e5 

This wins - but so does 17.Bg5.

17...Bxe5 18.fxe5 Qxf1+ Black resigned

What else? There was no way to escape checkmate - other than resignation. Wow.