Jerome Gambit: Dismiss At Your Own Peril Addendum

We close this look at the recent games of NJ-Avrel and his attraction to Ng5 and Qb3+. This time his opponent takes the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) more seriously, and develops an advantage that grows, until...

To steal from Jurassic Park, "The Jerome Gambit will find a way".

NJ-Avrel - ThyPandanator

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.O-O Nf6 6.c3 Rf8 

Black is interested in castling-by-hand.

7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Ng5+ 

Helping things along.

 9...Kg8 10.Qb3+ 

White loves the dynamic duo, his last 2 moves, and it is hard to argue with the success they have brought. See "Jerome Gambit: Dismiss At Your Own Peril" and "Jerome Gambit: Dismiss At Your Own Peril Redux". At a slower time control, he would probably have had to choose e4-e5 each time.

10...Kh8 

Ah, yes, when defending against the Jerome Gambit, just about any move will do. Not.

Better was 10...d5

11.Nf7+ Rxf7 12.Qxf7 Bxd4 

Instead of winning the enemy Queen or delivering a smothered checkmate, White has had to settle for winning the exchange. He still has a lot of work to do.

13.Nd2 d5 14.exd5 Qxd5 15.Qf8+ 

Of course, exchanging Queens was possible, but White prefers to keep Her Majesty active.

15...Qg8 16.Qa3 h6 

17.Rb1 

Hoping to unpin the b-pawn in order to play b2-b3.

17...Bf5 18.Ra1 Qf7 19.Nf3 Bb6 20.b3 Qg6 

Black's 2-pieces-for-a-Rook advantage is amplified by White's lack of development.

21.Bf4 Be4 22.Bg3 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Nh5 24.Qf8+ 

A slip, perhaps pushed by the ticking clock. 

24...Rxf8 25.Rae1 Black left the game

Well, that was unexpected.

Perhaps Black disconnected because his flag was about to fall.

Perhaps he was offended that White continued to play after dropping his Queen.

In any event: 1-0

Jerome Gambit: Dismiss At Your Own Peril Redux

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is another example of the kind of trouble tht can befall Black when he refuses to give the opening the proper respect, and constructs his defense with routine ideas.

Of course, the time control is a factor, too. White hurls his attack, and Black has to decide how to counter; for so many players, the first is easier than the second.

NJ-Avrel - Niaaax

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.O-O 

Once again, a "modern" variation of the Jerome Gambit.

5...Nf6 6.c3 Re8 

NJ-Avrel faced 6...Rf8 in at least a couple other games: 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.e5 Nd5 10.Qb3 Nce7 (10...Ke6 11.Ng5+ Kf5 12.Qf3+ Kg6 13.Qxd5 Nxd4 14.Na3 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Nxc1 16.Raxc1 Qxg5 17.Nc4 Bxf2 18.Qd3+ Kf7 19.Rxf2+ Kg8 20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.Rxf8 checkmate, NJ-Avrel - Qweek, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org) 11.Bg5 c6 12.Nc3 Kg8 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Qxd5+ Kh8 16.Rae1 Qb4 17.a3 Qxb2 18.Qd6 Rg8 19.Ng5 h6 20.Nf7+ Kh7 21.Qd5 Black left the game, NJ-Avrel - wamity, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021.

7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bxd4

Black would have done better retreating the Bishop, as in NJ-Avrel - korao, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021 (1-0, 11)

9.Ng5+ 

NJ-Avrel likes this move, although Stockfish 13 recoils in horror, preferring, of course, 9.Nxd4. But we are about to enter interesting waters, again.

9...Kg8 10.Qb3+ Kh8 

Again, this seems like a safe place for the King, but it is really disastrous. The second player would have been much better off after 10...d5 11.exd5 Qxd5.  

11.Nf7+ Kg8 

Similar to yesterday's game, Black is about to lose his Queen, which should be enough to produce a resignation.

12.Nxd8+ 

And, similar to yesterday's game, White also had the opportunity to "lose" his own Queen with 12.Nh6+ Kh8 13.Qg8+ Nxg8 14.Nf7 checkmate.

12...Kh8 13.Nxc6 

Certainly good enough to win, although there was still the smothering 13.Nf7+ Kg8 14.Nh6+ Kh8 15.Qg8+ Nxg8 16.Nf7 checkmate. 

13...dxc6 

Black's chances lie solely with the clock.

14.Bg5 Nxe4 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Nd2 

At first blink, this looks powerful, forking the enemy Queen and Rook - but, but, but...

17.Qd1 

Tick, tick, tick. Both players overlook 17.Nxd2, but it really doesn't matter. 

17... Nxf1 18. Qxf1 Bd7 19. Nc3 Rxe3 20. Qf7 Be6 21.Qxc7 b6 22.Qb7 Rd8 23.Qxa7 h6 24.Qxb6 Re2 Black resigned

 White can gather up both Rooks and then checkmate at his leisure.

Jerome Gambit: Dismiss At Your Own Peril

One problem with dismissing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) as a "junk" opening is that critical lines of play can be overlooked - of course because ordinary, routine play should be enough to defeat a refuted opening, right?

The following blitz game argues otherwise.

NJ-Avrel - korao

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.O-O 

White believes that he has done enough damage with the Bishop sacrifice, and so he stops there, instead of investing another piece with 5.Nxe5+, and castles. This "modern" variation appears in 1,750 games in The Database, where White scores 39%.

This can be compared to the 7,819 games with 5.Nxe5+, where White scores 57% . 

5...Nf6 6.c3 Re8 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb4 

Black places his Bishop where it will keep White from protecting his e-pawn by putting a Rook on e1. Should White try 9.Nc3, Black would then have 9...Bxc3, removing the defender of the e-pawn.

The alternative was the retreat 8...Bb6, which was probably stronger.

9.Ng5+ 

The alternative was to protect the e-pawn by advaning it, 9.e5. White has a particular attacking motif in mind.

9...Kg8 10.Qb3+ 

Interestingly enough, Stockfish 13 recommends that 10.e5 (which it prefers) be met by returning a piece with 10...d5 11.exf6 Qxf6 when Black would still have an edge.

10...Kh8 

If only chess were this easy. There was a way to remain ahead: 10...d5 11.e5 h6 12.exf6 hxg5 13.Bxg5 gxf6 when White will have to figure out where to retreat his Bishop, and his attack will have disappeared - while he remains a piece down.

11.Nf7+ Black resigned

I suspect that Black resigned when he realized that he was losing his Queen. Pity. If he had hung around a bit longer he would have gained a chance for "immortality", at least in the Jerome Gambit universe: 11...Kg8 12.Nh6+! Kh8 13.Qg8+! Rxg8 14.Nf7 smothered checkmate! 

(The Database has 65,767 games, but only 10 of them end in a smothered mate.)

Jerome Gambit: Not So Easy

When Joseph Henry Blackburne crushed the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in 1884, he made it look easy.

Ever since, analysts have fought back, arguing No, it's a win for White, and eventually It looks like a draw, after much excitement.

Still, wherever the Jerome is played, there are defenders who will try the Blackburne, and the result will be success for the one who knows the opening better, who has the greater tactical skill - or who happens to be luckier on that day.

The following 3-minute game reflects the chances for and against the Blackburne. It's quite a challenge for a blitz game. Be sure to check out the notes, too, as there is plenty of fighting chess to be found there.

Fandorin83 - funcrabby

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 

Blackburne's offer of the Rook. Given the chance, Black will soon offer more.

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O 

This is one of two ways that White deals with the Blackburne defense. 

The other is 9.d4, which has scored 10 - 1 according to The Database. Three continuations show how complex the play can become

Black wins the Queen for two Rooks and a Bishop: 9...Bb4+ 10.c3 Bh3 11.gxh3 Re8 12.O-O Nf6 13.Qxe8+ Kxe8 14.cxb4 Nxe4 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Qxh3 17.f3 Kd7 18.Be3 Qf5 19.Rae1 Kc8 20.Rf2 b5 21.Kg2 Kb7 22.h4 ;

White's Queen escapes and he is up a piece, but his King is uneasy: 9...Qxe4+ 10.Be3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Rf1 Bb4+ 13.c3 Bf5 14.cxb4 Bd3 15.Nd2 Re8 16.Qh4 Kg7 17.Qg3 Bxf1 18.Nxf1 Qd5 19.O-O-O Qxa2 20.d5 ; and

White's Queen escapes but Black wins it for two Rooks and an attack that fizzles: 9...Nf6 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.O-O Bd7 (12...Be6 13.Nf3 Bxf2+ 14.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 15.Kxf2 Rxh8 16.Nxe5+) 13.Qxa8 Bc6 14.Qd8 Qg4 15.Qxc7+ Kg8 16.Qxc6 bxc6 17.Nf3 Bb6 18.h3 Qf5 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Qxc2 21.Rac1 Qe4 22.Rfe1 

9...Nf6

Following Blackburne's plan of working to trap White's Queen. With luck, he can sacrifice the other Rook, as well.

10.d4 

I don't know for sure, but I would guess that White remembered that d2-d4 was one of the solutions to the Blackburne defense - but 3 0 blitz games are full of partially remembered stuff, and this move is a good example.

The way out was 10.Qd8 Bb6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3  although Stockfish 13 shows that it takes some work to keep the advantage, i.e. 12...Bf5 13.Qb3+ Kg7 14.d4 Rd8 15.Nd2 Qxd4 16.a4 a5 17.h3 e4 18.Nb1 Qe5 19.Na3 Be6 20.Qc3 Qxc3 21.bxc3 Rd6 22.Bf4 Rc6 23.Be5 h5 24.Bd4 Bc5 25.Nb5 b6  Whew!

That said, the move serves its purpose brilliantly.

10...Bxd4 

Now everything works like clockwork. Almost.

Black needed to find 10...Bh3!, when his attack would roll on, e.g. 11.Qxf6+ (there's no help for it: 11.Qxa8 allows checkmate after 11...Qg4; and 11.gxh3 Rxh8 12.dxc5 leaves White with a Rook and a Bishop for his Queen, while Black can also gather up some loose pawns as well) Kxf6 12.gxh3 Bxd4 13.c3 Bb6 and Black's material advantage will be supplemented by an active Queen vs White's vulnerable King.

11.c3 

In turn, White misses a chance to liberate his Queen and grab back the advantage: 11.Qd8 Bb6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Be3 Bh3 (nice try!) 14.Qd1 (again, 14.Qxa8 allows mate after 14...Qg4) Rd1 (you've got to love it, taking the Rook now still leades to checkmate) 15.Qe2 Be6 (sad) 16.Nd2 and White is ahead the exchange as things begin to settle down.

That's a lot to wade through in a blitz game.

11...Be5

This move makes sense, as it safeguards the Bishop and adds to Black's attack. That said, 11...Bh3 was still possible, and even 11...Ng4  could be played, as the move threatens checkmate and uncovers the Bishop's attack on the Queen.

12.f4 

A typical Jerome Gambit move when there is an enemy piece on e5, and one that complicates things further. Black now has two ways to pursue his attack on the King (see the above note) and he chooses ther lesser one.

12...Ng4 

Instead, 12...Bh3 13.fxe5 (13.Qxa8 still loses to 13...Qg4, but after a few more wrinkles) 13...Rxh8 14.Rxf6+ Kg7 15.gxh3 dxe5 16.Rf3 Rd8 (encouraging the White Knight to block its Bishop's diagonal) 17.Nd2 Qe1+ 18.Rf1 Qe3+ 19.Rf2 Rf8 20.Nf3 Qxe4 21.Kg2 Rf5 22.Bd2 Qd3 23.Raf1 Rxf3 24.Rxf3 Qxd2+ The material would be about even, but the position favors Black. 

13.fxe5+ Black resigned

As the Joker said, "Why so serious?" What has changed so that Black has to resign?

Well, we can start by guessing that the clock was becoming a factor.

Also, Black's only viable response at this point is the Blackburnian 13...Bf5, when 14.h3 (have to guard against mate) Rxh8 15.hxg4 Qxg5 16.exf5 gxf5 and White has Rook, Bishop and Knight for his Queen. Black can work to build an attack after 17.Nd2 with 17...h5 18.Nf3 Rg8 19.Rf2 h4 but 20.exd6 cxd6 21.Bd2 h3 22.Re1 looks better for White, especially after 22...hxg2 23.Nd4.

Quite a battle!

Jerome Gambit: Not Necessarily Time to Resign

It is interesting to look at the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, after having examined the game in yesterday's post. Just another indication that things are not quite "ordinary" when it comes to this opening.

z4fk - fergalokane

10 0 blitz Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Nf6 

This is still not the right way to respond to White's Queen's presence.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 Nxe4 10.Qf5+ Black resigned

Hmmm...

We saw in NN - NN, Chess.com, 2021 that 10.Qd5+ Kf6 11.Qxe4 

did not work because of 11...Re8, pinning and winning the White Queen. In the current game, if Black should retreat his King to either e8 or g8, this would block his Rook's access to the e8 square, allowing White to capture the Knight.

If instead Black were to respond with 10...Qf6, an exchange of Queens directly, or after 11.Qd5+ Qe6, would leave White simply a pawn ahead.

Black's best move in the above position, however, is 10...Nf6, when he will have some compensation for his pawn minus in terms of development and tempo gains against the enemy Queen. Not necessarily time to resign.

  

Jerome Gambit: A Series of Shocks

I recently ran across a short YouTube video by Zaf Chess, presenting a Jerome Gambit game. It could easily have been titled "A Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit", because it showed the ups and downs of playing the opening; or it could have been called "Once Again, Beware the e-file" because of the dangers therin.

The game contained a series of shocks, and White did well to maintain his composure and continue to play for the win.

Let's take a look.

NN - NN

Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Nf6 

Black has been shocked by the opening, but he believes that he has the solution. This reminds me of the old aphorism: Act in haste, repent at leisure. It seems like such a great idea to develop a third piece to combat the enemy Queen -  but only if you don't give it much thought.

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 Nxe4 10.Qd5+ Kf6 11.Qxe4 

Likewise, not mindful of the dangers of this capture.

There are no other exact examples of this position in The Database - but there are over 50 games with similar positions with the Black Rook pinning and winning the White Queen along the e-file.

I had warned about this kind of danger a long time ago in "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter XVII" and more recently in "Jerome Gambit: e-file, Friend and Foe".

Instead of the text, White could have tried a useful Queenside fianchetto with 11.b4 Qe8 12 Bb2+ Kg6 followed by 13.O-O, or he simple could have castled right away.

11...Re8 

Shock.

12.Qxe8

It was probably a little better to try developing a piece, e.g. 12.Nc3 Rxe4+ 13. Nxe4+ Kf7 14.O-O Kg8 

12...Qxe8+ 13.Kf2 d5 

White has a Rook a Knight and a pawn for his Queen - not enough compensation, especially given his lack of development - but he rightly decides to continue to play and see what turns up. His opponent has already slipped up at least once.

14.Re1 Qh5 15.Nc3 d4 16.Ne4+ Kf5 

Jackpot.

Of course, the safer 16...Kf7 was called for, keeping his advantage, but Black eyes both the unprotected f-pawn an the unprotected h-pawn and decides that this "double attack" is worth pursuing. 

17.Ng3+ Kxf4 18.Nxh5+ 

Black resigned after losing his Queen.

By the way, it is worth noting that 18.d3+ Kg4 19.Re4 checkmate, instead, also put Black out of his misery.

Jerome Gambit: King Safety

White's Bishop sacrifice in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is designed to undermine Black's King's safety. One of Black's counters is to castle-by-hand. Another is to escape to a safe part of the board.

All of this plays out in the following blitz game, where the path away from danger is more difficult than the second player realizes.

alxaraya - sirpicha

3 0 blitz, FICS, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7  5.O-O 

This is one of the "modern" - as opposed to "classical" - variations of the Jerome Gambit, so-called because Alonzo Wheeler Jerome and those back in the time when the gambit was first being sorted out all played the main alternative, 5.Nxe5.

Some modern chess computer programs suggest that White does best to sacrifice only one piece. (Stockfish 13 goes back and forth between 5.Nxe5 and 5.0-0 before settling at 30 ply upon 5.Nxe5) 

By the way, a quick look at the position after 4 moves, considering games in The Database shows

5.Nxe5 is the most popular move, with White scoring 57%; the next two most popular moves are 5.d4 and 5.c3 - followed by 5.0-0 which scores 39 %.

To keep statistics in perspective, it must be noted that the highest scoring move is 5.a4, with 100% in 4 games. More interestingly, 5.b4 was played in 13 games and scored 54%. Not surprisingly, 5.Nh4, 5.g4, 5.Nd4 and 5.Rg1 were each only played in 1 game, and each scored 0%.

5...Nf6 6.c3 Rf8 

Black hopes to castle-by-hand, but he never gets the chance.

7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.e5 Ne8 

If you remember yesterday's post, I suggested that Black could have improved his defense by retreating his Knight. Here, I am going to suggest that the retreat is a bad idea. Different positions. In both cases, ...Nd5 is the best idea.

10.Qb3+ 

To interfere with Black's castling plans.

An interesting - and stronger - alternative is 10.Bg5, when Black returns a piece with 10...Nf6 or gets into a dangerously blocked up position after 10...Ne7 11.Qb3+ Kg6 12.Qd3+ Kf7 13.Qxh7 when White's center pawns can advance, White's Knight might find its way to e5, or his Rook to e1.     

10...d5 11.exd6+ Be6 

A logical move that suggests itself, especially in a 3-minute game.

However, it leads to White's advantage.

It is not immediately apparent that Black must save his King with 11...Kg6 when he needs to sacrifice the exchange after 12.d5 with 12...Rxf3 13.Qxf3 Nd4 maintaining the advantage.

12.d5 Qxd6 13.dxe6+ Qxe6 

A game-ending slip.

14.Ng5+ Black resigned