Jerome Gambit: A Fun Game

I recently received a fun game. It wasn't perfect, it was a blitz game between a couple of club level players. In fact, at times it resembled a couple of wrestlers, wearing roller skates, on ice...

But - White played the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), he aggressively went after the enemy King, and he kept at it until there was a checkmate.

That's why we play the Jerome, right?

Play over the game. How much will you see? How much will you miss?

xLopap - Joaozin0016

3 2 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.Nc3 

An energetic alternative to 8.f4. The Database has 121 earlier examples, with White scoring 27% - but xLopap plans to improve on that.

8...Ne7 9.Nb5+ Kc6 10.Qxe5 Kxb5 

Black's King has wandered far from home. Is there a checkmate yet?

White can sacrifice a pawn with 11.d4 d6 12.Qg3 Bxd4 13.Qb3+ but that doesn't seem to be enough. He decides, rightly, to get a Rook pawn - and behind it, a Rook - involved.

11.a4+ Kc6 12.d4 

Which pawn, which pawn?

Do you go for the King, or do you stop and pick up a piece?

He could have tried 12.Qc3 b6 13.d4 d6 14.dxc5 dxc5 15.Qxg7, but that seems like a distraction.

Besides, he is playing against another average guy, not Stockfish. Let's get that center pawn out.

12...Bd6 

A good idea at a bad time. Simplest would have been to kick the enemy Queen with 12...d6. He still is going to surrender the Bishop after 13.Q-moves (Why?) but a long-term strategy will pull him through.

The problem? In a 3 minute blitz game, there often is not time to develop a long-term strategy. 

13.d5+  

Attack the King! 

White, however, overlooks his sudden good fortune and a chance to end the game... How?

13...Kb6 

It is still: Target the King.

14.Qd4+ 

The Queen continues her attack, and maintains her dominance over the Bishop - which, at least, no longer blocks the d-pawn, which blocks the light-squared Bishop, which hems in the Rook... Typical problem in defenses agaist the Jerome Gambit.

After the game, Stockfish 13 cooly suggested 14.a5+, instead, when 14...Ka6 15.Qc3 b6 (Black will lose a piece, anyhow) 16.axb6+ Kb7 17.bxa7 Nxd5 (saving the poor Bishop from e4-e5) 18.exd5 Qe7+ would be enough push back for Black to try to settle things down and have an edge.

14...Bc5 

The White Queen is doing a lot of moving, but so is the Black Bishop. It was not clear (tick, tick, tick...) that 14...c5 was the way out: 15.dxc6+ Kc7 16.cxb7 Bxb7 17.e5 Bxe5 (that poor Bishop!) 18.Qxe5+ d6 (stalwart pawn!) 19. Qc3+ Nc6 when Black would have the standard piece-for-two-pawns Jerome Gambit defender edge - and the King hunt would be over. 

15.a5+ Kb5

There are no good squares for the King to go to, but why is this worse than 15...Ka6?

16.Qa4+ 

This works. So does 16.Qd3+ Kb4 17.Qc3+ (or 17.Bd2+) checkmate.

16...Ka6 17.Qc4+

Piece or pawn?

After the game it will be good to look at 17.b4.  Black's best response would be 17...Bxf2+ (the Bishop simply can not escape tragedy) 18.Kxf2 c6 19.c4 (funny move) b6 20.axb6+ Kxb6 21.c5+ Kb7 22.dxc6+ dxc6 23. Qa6+ Kc7 (the King is escaping!) 24.Bf4+ Kd7 25.Rad1+ Nd5 26.Qc4 Rf8 27.exd5 Qh4+ 28.g3 Rxf4+ 29.Qxf4 Qxf4+ 30.gxf4. White has the endgame advantage of the exchange and a pawn - and that pawn is an advanced, protected passed one.

17...b5 18.Qxc5 

It was bound to happen.

18...d6 19.Qb4 

19...c6 20.c4 

Must... get... to... enemy... King...

20...cxd5 

Expecting 21.cxd5. He needed to find 20...Rb8, when White could try to blow things up with 21.c5, or sigh and play 21.0-0.

21.Qxb5 checkmate

Excelsior!

Jerome Gambit Declined: ChessBrah

 

Igor Bondari and Dan Middlemiss tipped me off that ChessBrah - Canadian Grandmaster Aman Hambleton - has posted another (be sure to see the first hilarious video) YouTube video on the Jerome Gambit, this time on the Jerome Gambit Declined. (You might want to check out "Jerome Gambit: First Steps [Part 5]" for some basics).

It seems that someone dared play the Jerome Gambit against the GM. You can guess how that went.

Actually, you don't have to guess, as here is the game.

dontcallmelab - ChessBrah

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kf8 

The Jerome Gambit Declined.

For the record, The Database has 340 games with this position, with White scoring 56%. However, only one of those games - this one - included a Grandmaster, with White scoring 0%. Just a bit of perspective. 

5.Bb3

Well, all right. If this were a Grandmaster vs Grandmaster game, I would put my money solidly on White. However, given that GM Hambleton is playing someone he might very well be able to give Queen odds to - I'll hang onto my Social Security, I think.

5...Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.d3 Bg4 

"You don't Jerome me, buddy."

White is up a pawn, Black's King is less secure, so far things are going okay for White.

8.h3 Bh5 9.O-O Nd4 

FaithBreaker_@chessbrah don't forget to send the declined theory to the blog guy 

Still fine, but things are about to get complicated. For example, White can (and should) now play 10.Nxd4, because if 10...Bxd1 then 11.Ne6+ Ke7 12.Nxd8 Bxc2 13.Nxb7 Bxb3 14.axb3 Bb6 15.Na5 would leave White a couple of pieces ahead. Of course, a GM would simply play 10...Bxd4, and look to complicate things further on.

10.g4 Nxg4 

alec044 Gotta send this match in to the blog

Instructive. Black wants to checkmate White's King, and so sidesteps the simple win of the "minor exchange" with 10...Nxb3 11.axb3. (If White survives, he can point that move out in the post mortem.) 

11.Nxd4 Bxd4 12.Qf3+ 

White attacks, and defends his Kingside. He could have taken time to collect the enemy Knight first, but he is concerned: there is no way that a Grandmaster would sacrifice a piece just for the heck of it, is there? 

Actually, the Knight offer by Black is worth it in terms of the anxiety it produces, as well as the loosening up of White's Kingside. Besides, someone started the game off with an opening that often sees him sacrifice a couple of pieces for the heck of it, right? I am pretty sure we left Kansas a while back.

12...Nf6 

"How are we going to prosecute this?"

13.Qg3 h6 14.Ne2 

Challenging the Bishop on d4 with an already developed piece. He might have considered 14.Be3 blunting the piece's impact on the diagonal.

14...Bb6

Yes, the ChessBrah saw the hanging Knight. No need to bother with it. He was already turning his mind to how the checkmate would look.

15.Re1 g5 16.c3 Rh7 17.Bc2 Rg7 

"My Bishop is going to be part of the mating attack this game, and you guys are going to understand why I kept that piece on the board, why I kept it on h5. Trust me, it will become apparent right now."

18.Kh2 Kg8 

19.d4 Qe7 20.Ng1 

The piece was more helpful where it was, not where it is going - to f3. More lines are going to open - for Black's pieces.

20...Rf8 21.Bd2 exd4 

22.e5 d3 

Opening the diagonal for the Bishop.

23.exd6 

A double attack on the enemy Queen.

White's last chance - which might only last for a move or two - was 23.Bb3+ Kh7 24.exf6 Qxf6. Black's position still looks quite menacing.

23...Qd7 24.Bb3+ Kh8 25.Nf3 

25...Ne4 

Black generously surrenders the Knight, anyhow. The rest is the stuff of nightmares.

26.Rxe4 Rxf3 27.Qg2 Rxf2 28.Qxf2 Bxf2 29.c4 Qxd6+ 30.Kh1 

"Guys do you remember when I said this Bishop on h5 was going to win me the game?"

30...Bf3 checkmate

Gulp.

A bit reminiscent of  the finish to Blackburne's treatment of the Jerome.

Hats off to dontcallmelab for challenging the Grandmaster. I would not have lasted half as long.

Jerome Gambit: Post Post Mortem

 

Yesterday's Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game (see "Jerome Gambit: Back to the Drawing Board") was a bit of a let down for me. I am more used to being the attacker than the attacked, more used to "1-0" than "0-1" - and this from playing an allegedly "refuted" opening.

I even wandered back to MrJoker's somber letter in "Jerome Gambit: Time For A Sobering Cup of Coffee".

But the mood didn't last long. 

For starters, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

instead of playing 7.f4 and encountering the silicon or annoying defense, I could return to my favorite 7.Qf5+.

Of course, there is also 7.Qh3, examined in depth by Yury Bukayev in his "JG: The New (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)".

I could even throw in 6.d4, if need be.

In the meantime, I have put the Lc0 engine to work, coming up with some new ideas, too. They will come in handy in the next round of the Chess.com "Piano Piano" tournament.

Jerome Gambit: Back to the Drawing Board

 

Recently I decided to be creative in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) line that I was relatively unfamiliar with. In a word, I was crushed by my opponent.

It is not unusual to meet a refutation in this opening, but it does mean that I have some work to do before I try this line again.

Follow the game and learn along with me.

perrypawnpusher - TheNatureBoy

3 days / move, Chess.com, 2021

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

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

I have only played this line twice before, perrypawnpusher - NN, Giuoco Piano thematic, Chess.com, 2016 (1-0, 15 ) and perrypawnpusher - Nivaethan2000, Giuoco Piano thematic, Chess.com, 2016 (1-0, 17), generally preferring to play 7.Qf5+ (eighty three times) before the pawn move.

7...d6 

The silicon or annoying defense - because it is the favorite of computer chess programs, and because it is annoying. Black simply gives back a piece, and despite the fact that his King is somewhat uneasily placed, the game becomes rather static.

8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Ke7 10.Qg3 Kf7 11.Qxe5 

White has gained 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but Black's dark square Bishop will prevent castling. The database has 25 games with this position, with White scoring 48%.

11...Bd4

As if the Bishop wasn't annoying enough.

12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qe2 

My plan was to weaken the f6 square, where Black's Knight would probably appear, and then attack it with Rf1 and Bg5. It turns out that there is not enough time to do that.

The Database notes that Bill Wall has played 13.Qf3+ instead in Wall - Alibak, Chess-db, 2015 (1-0, 70) and Wall - Harshini, A, Chess-db, 2015 (1-0, 49).

13...Nf6 14.c3 Re8 15.d3 Bg4 16.Qc2 Bb6 

Black's lead in development is a bit alarming. Still, I hoped to activate my pieces and castle Queenside.

17.Nd2 

After the game I looked at the thematic alternative 17.Bg5 and was shocked to see that 17...Nxe4! was completely winning, for example 18.Bxd8 Ng3+. 

17...Kg7 

I don't really understand this move, but The Database indicates that it was the computer's move in WB Nimzo 2000b - Zarkov 4.70, Torneo tematico GaJero00-A, 2009, (1/2 - 1/2, 89).

18.Nf3 Nxe4 

The decisive breakthrough. White's King is a goner.

19.dxe4 Qd5 

Equally devastating would have been 19...Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qh4+

20.Bd2 

I was not ready to resign, but there really was nothing left.

20...Rxe4+ 21.Kd1 Rf8 22.Kc1 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Rxf3 24.Rd1

Qf5 White resigned

Wow.

Very nicely done, TheNatureBoy.

Back to the drawing board before I try 7.f4 or face the annoying defense again.

Ow.

BSJG: Swift

angelcamina enjoys bullet chess, where he can dispatch his opponents quickly. In the following Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game, he out-does himself, swiftly coming to a conclusion.

angelcamina - deep140

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 

It was necessary to block the check with 6...g6 and go into the complications 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8 Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nxa1 10.Qxg8 Qg5 where Black would have an edge, and where The Database says he has done quite well.

On the other hand...

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc6 9.Qd5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Hardly Worth the Search

 

A few months ago I made reference - see "Jerome Gambit: Uneven (Part 1)" - to a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game that I had played, perrypawnpusher - Papst, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2017 (1-0, 61). 

I was surprised that I could not find the game posted on this blog, especially since it was a win for me.

I looked the game up in The Database, and all was revealed.

Black, to play, lost on time in the following position:

Not one of my finer moments.

How does that old saying go? Good luck is better than a license to steal. In this case, one point.

BSJG: Remembering

Analyzing a recent Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit game, I suddenly realized that the play - and the notes, and The Database -  rewrote my evaluation of a particular line of defense.

Actually, it reminded me of earlier - stronger - recommendations that I had made and then forgotten.

Fortunately, the player of the White pieces in the following game was able to procede to a successful finish anyway. (Warning: Stockfish's suggestions are quite bizarre.)

I think it is worth sharing, in case it appears on your chess board one of these days. 

maraeka - Lizano

5 10 blitz, FICS, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

Of course, White can also play 4.Nxe4 or 4.d3 or 4.c3 or 4.0-0. He should avoid the complications of 4.Nxe5 Qg5!?, however.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Qg5 

Black plays his signature move. Stronger was 6...Nc6 7.d4.

The most recent blog post on this line was "Jerome Gambit + blitz chess = exciting play". Some history can be found in "Meeting A Surprise With a Surprise".

7.cxd4 Qxg2 

Although this looks scary, The Database shows that White has scored 68% in this position.

Most recently, I have recommended the logical 8.Qf3, protecting the Rook and offering to exchange Queens, with White having a material advantage.

8.Qf3 

The thing is - see "Finishing It Off Smartly" and "Mate is Mate, Mate" for examples - 8.Qb3+ instead would now lead to checkmate, refuting Black's whole counter-attacking idea.

8...Qxf3 9.Nxf3 Nf6 

I do not think that Black's well-developed King compensates for the lost pawn.

10.d5+ Kd6

The King wishes to demonstrate his courage, but 10...Kf7 was wiser. 

11.e5+ Kxd5 12.Nc3+ Kc4 13.exf6 gxf6 

It makes sense to advance your King in an endgame, the better to help control play. However, this is more of a Queenless middlegame, and Black's King is in grave danger.

14.b3+ Kd3 15.Bb2 

Logical and strong.

One indication that the end is almost near is the quirky line offered by  Stockfish 13: 15.Kd1 Rg8 16.Re1 Rg1 17.Rxg1 d6 18.Re1 Bh6 19.Re4 Bxd2 20.Bxd2 b6 21.Rd4 checkmate. Not the kind of thing you would discover in a blitz game. 

15...Bc5 16.O-O-O Bxf2 

17.Rhg1 

Creative. A deflection sacrifice.

Again, an un-human line would have been 17.Rde1 Rg8 18.Nd1 Bc5 19.Bc3 Ba3+ 20.Kb1 f5 21.Re3 checkmate

17...Bxg1 18.Rxg1 

This works well.

A humorous alternative was 18.Re1 Bf2 19.Re7 Re8 20.Rxe8 d6 21.Nd1 Be6 22.Rxe6 Re8 23.Nxf2 checkmate.

18...d6 

White's lead in development is crushing.

19.Re1 Bf5 20.Re3 checkmate

A fine creation!