Jerome Gambit: Early Shock

Club players defending against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) are often shocked by the early Bishop sacrifice, and this can put them off of their game right away.

In a recent email, Yury V. Bukayev shared a very old game (played approximately 400 years ago) that must be one of the earliest examples of psychological shock in chess.

NN - Gioachino Greco

miscellaneous game, 1620

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5 

Yury says that most probably White plans Ng1-f3-g5 while Black should defend his pawns f7 and e5.  

3...Qe7 4.Nc3 

Yury says, it's a bad White's idea to include this move into his plan, because 4...Nf6! could destroy the whole plan. After 4.Nf3 Black can choose also a more aggressive way: 4...Bxf2+ (with the idea 5.Kxf2!? Qc5+!) or 4...Nf6 with enough complicated fight in both cases

4...c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 

Yury says, the blow 5...Bxf2+ isn't good: 6.Kxf2! Qc5+ 7.d4 Qxc4 8.Qxe5+, and White captures the pawn g7 and gets the advantage : if 8...Kf8? then 9.Qc7! with a win.Yury says, it is Black's weak gambit, because after 6.Qxe5! Black gets the worse position: 6...Bxf2+ 7.Ke2! ; 6...Qxe5 7.Nxe5!, and here Black has no compensation for a pawn. We could see the strong Bxf7+ blow on the following possible way: 7...b5 8.Bxf7+! Ke7 9.Bb3 b4 10.Na4 Nxe4 11.Nxc5 Nxc5 12.Bc4, and White has a very large advantage, Yury says.

6.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 

The result of shock. He would have done better with 7.Ke2. Now he will lose his Queen to a Knight fork.

7...Ng4+ 8.Kf1 Nxe5 White resigned

Jerome Gambit: The Endgame

Sometimes an attack leads to checkmate. Other times it leads to an avantage in material that must be converted in the endgame.

That is why even practitioners of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) need to keep working on their endgame skills (in addition to their attacking skills).

The following game is a good example. (It also probably shows the impact of time trouble.)

mahammadsadeghi - TheBeetles

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

White has done well. He is ahead a Bishop and a pawn. He has blockaded his opponent's advanced passed pawn. He can advance and promote his own passed pawn, which his opponent will then have to give up his Rook for.

One possible concern: the clock.

66.Rh4+ 

This move wins (it leads to a checkmate in 15 moves) but you might ask, Why doesn't White simply advance and promote his h-pawn?

I think that he might have been concerned about the following line: 66.h7 Rf1+ 67.Kh2 Rxe1 68.h8=Q Rh1+! 69.Kxh1 e1=Q+ 70.Kh2 Qe5+! 71.Qxe5 stalemate. 

analysis diagram

It is helpful to remember Black's stategem of sacrificing the Rook (68...Rh1+) in order to draw the enemy King to the first/last rank, so that he can promote his pawn to a Queen with check.

There is a hole in this analysis, however, quite possibly due to time pressure. If, instead of promoting his pawn right away (68.h8=Q) White played the careful 68.Re3, he would have stopped the enemy passed pawn from promoting. Then it would be time to advance his own pawn and win.

Back to the game.

66...Kg5 67.Bf2

We can see that White is still worried about Black's Rook, so he keeps it off of the f1 square.

Indeed, if 67.h7 Rf1+ 68.Kh2 Rxe1 68.h8=Q Rh1+! 69.Kxh1e1=Q+ 70.Kh2 Qxh4+ 71.Qxh4+ Kxh4 the resulting King + pawn vs King ending is drawn.

analysis diagram

Nice, and tricky, but, again, there is a hole in the analysis - possibily due to time pressure - as White could play 69.Re4! instead of promoting his pawn, to stop the enemy passer first; and then win.

67... Rxh6 68. Rxh6 Kxh6 

White has lost his h-pawn, but exchanged Rooks. His Bishop can hold up the enemy pawn until the King arrives to capture it.

69.Kh2 Kg5 70.g4 

This looks like a mouse slip. If, instead, 70.g3, then White's King can approach the enemy pawn and eventually capture it: 70...Kf5 71.Kg2 Ke4 72.Be1 Ke3 72.Ba5 Ke4 73.Kf2 Kd3 74.Be1 Ke4 75.Kxe2.

analysis diagram

The Bishop has done a wonderful job, and now it will not be a complicated task to promote the g-pawn.

If you have followed this analysis, you might prefer the more direct 70.Kg3, with a similar result: 70...Kf5 71.Kf3 Ke5 72.Kxe2 Ke4 when 73.g3 would also lead to the above diagram, and a win for White.

Alas, losing the g-pawn is too much.

70... Kxg4 

71.Kg2 Kf4 72.Kg1 Kf3 73.Be1 Ke3 74.Kg2 Draw

White can not get to the pawn to capture it. 

Black's attempt to promote the pawn will always fail to Bxe1.

Jerome Gambit: The Way It Is

Okay, so on this blog I show you - every day, almost - the best, winning, lines for the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), and most of you are going to disbelieve them, ignore them, or forget them. You are going to play something else.

The fun thing is, you are probably going to win your games, anyhow. 

That is the way it is with the Jerome Gambit. 

Take a look.

Wolfpack1051 - aliozbek

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

First off, I hope you noticed that this is a 1-minute (no increment) bullet game. That means you could shift your King back and forth for the whole game, and if you did it quickly enough - and avoided an annoying checkmate - you would win on time.

Some players - like Wolfpack1051 - enjoy  playing a wild opening like the Jerome Gambit. Maybe they win on time. Maybe they checkmate you first.

I'm just saying.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Here is what drew me to this game: Black decides that accepting one piece is enough - for now.

White can withdraw his Knight with 6.Nf3 (there are no game examples in The Database), but that would be kind of silly.

He can protect his Kight with 6.d4 (2 - 2 in The Database) or 6.f4 (2 - 2 in The Database), but  Black can simply capture on e5, and his King placement would be helpful. Advantage: Black.

White can ignore the whole situation and play 6.0-0 (also a novelty) but Black still has 6...Nxe5 or even 6...Bd4, again with  the better game.

Luckily, not even a month ago (see "Jerome Gambit: More Concrete") I covered what to do in this situation - with links to earlier play and analysis, as well. White has the forcing 6.Qg4+!? Kxe5 7.d4+ Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 Nxd8 11.Qg3 d6 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. O-O-O Nc6 and White's extra Queen and pawn is better than Black's extra 3 pieces.

6.Qh5 

Other than 4.Bxf7+, this is the Jeromest of Jerome moves, so it is really no surprise to see it here. I have played it, shugart has played it, angelcamina has played it. Overall, The Database says it has scored 4 - 1.

But the "objective" fusspot, Stockfish 14, rates Black as now being more than 4 1/2 pawns better - that is almost a Rook's worth.

Still, this is a bullet game, and anything can happen.

6...Nxe5 7.f4

Stockfish 14, annotating this game in "blunder check" mode, labels this as the "last book move". I find it interesting that Stockfish has a Jerome Gambit "book" at least 7 moves deep.

7...Ng6 

Black quickly (tick, tock) selects a move that makes sense - save one piece (he is ahead 2 of them), risk another. (See "Jerome Gambit: A Plan")

With more time to consider - the whole point of playing the Jerome Gambit in a bullet game is that Black does not have much time to consider - Black would have found the less sensible (but stronger) 7...d6, 7...Nd3, 7...Qf6 or 7...d5.

8.f5+ 

Another Jerome Gambit lesson.

If White plays the simple 8.Qxc5, he would have an even game, maybe a slight edge. Things would probably calm down, though.

Instead, he plays a move that has one okay response - otherwise, the best Black gets is an even game, the worst, a losing one.

Like Clint Eastwood said in the "Dirty Harry" movie, "...You've got to ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky?' " 

8...Ke5 

Not today.

Instead, 8...Ke7 9.fxg6 d6 10.e5 Qe8 11.d4 Bb6 settles things down a bit, and Black can claim an advantage, but it is a shaky one. 

9.fxg6+ Kxe4 

Black has to return a piece. He figures it will be his Bishop. 

It will be his King.

10.Qxc5 

Final lesson. Yes, I know, he had 10.Nc3+ Kd4 11.Qd5#.

He also had figured out his own way to play for a win. The unsfe enemy King will not last long, regardless

Chocolate or vanilla? It's a matter of taste. 

10...d6 11.d3 checkmate

Nice.

Jerome Gambit: University Adventure

According to FIDE (the international chess federation)

960 students (198 women, 762 men) of 78 countries, representing 202 universities of 64 countries participated in the First FIDE World University Online Blitz Championship on Sunday, 14-18, March 2021. It was by far the biggest university event ever.

Anyone who has ever watched the 1978 college movie "Animal House" has to know that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) would show up at the World University Online Blitz Championship - and perform in its own special way...

Chaguaceda, Lasa Juan (Universidad de Valladolid, Spain) - 

Vishu Saini (Quantum University, India)

3 2 blitz, 1st FIDE World University Blitz Group C, Tornelo, 2021

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

5...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qf5+ 

Oh, no... this looks like a mouse slip.

To be fair, The Database has 6 other games with this position, and White still won twice: BoomBoomTNT-YT and Bill Wall.

The error was balanced by another game that White had in the tournament: Chaguaceda, Lasa Juan - Sithole, Sibonelo, 1.e4 1-0

7...Qf6 8.f4 Qxf5 9.exf5 Ng4 

Black has two pieces for two pawns.

White fights on, but another error seals his fate.

10.Nc3 N8f6 11.d3 d6 12.h3 Ne3 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Nxc2+ White resigned

Jerome Gambit: Strategy and Tactics

 

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is a good example of the quip by Tartakower,

Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.

While it is fun to have a winning smash-and-crash attack right out of the opening, sometimes the game takes a peaceful turn, and the Jerome Gambiteer has to bide his time, making small improvements until he finally gets the opportunity to bring the full point home.

Wheeler, Jerome H. - despistado

RedHotPawn, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke7 

There is little difference between 7...Ke8, 7...Kf8 and 7...Ke7.

The Database has 737 games with 7...Ke8. White scores 66%.

It has 333 games with 7...Kf8. White scores 68%.

It has 19 games with 7...Ke7. White scores 68%

Stockfish 13 (35 ply), with due consideration, prefers 7...Ke8 for Black over the other two moves, by about 1/3 of a pawn.

8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.d4 Re8 11.Nc3 Kf8 12.f3 c6 

Black has a piece for two pawns and has almost castled-by-hand.

White has opted to reinforce his center, and for now will refrain from wild attacks.

Steinitz believed that the side with advantage must attack, or watch his advantage waste away. This is another reason White can afford to be patient.  

13.Bd2 d5 14.O-O-O dxe4 15.fxe4 Kg8 16.Qd3 Bg4 17.Rdf1 Be6

18.Bg5 

White targets the f6 square and thinks of breaking up Black's Kingside.

18...Rf8 19.h4 Qa5 

Black does not appear to be concerned. This puts pressure on White's King, and is an ingenious way to prevent 20.h5

20.Bxf6 Rxf6 21.Rxf6 gxf6 

Now White will cut Black's Queen off from the Kingside, and give the remaining enemy Knight the boot.

22.d5 cxd5 23.exd5 Bf7 24.h5 

Sure, the computers are okay with Black's position, but Black's amygdala has to be pumping out "Danger" messages.

24...Nf4 

This is what White has been waiting for. Instead, the retreat 24...Ne7 was called for, when the attack will continue at a slower pace.

25.Qg3+ Kh8 

Giving back a piece with 25...Ng6 would not fix things, but it might slow them down.

26.Qxf4 Qb6 27.d6 Rg8 

White now shows why he weakened f6.

28.Qxf6+ Rg7 29.h6 Qe3+ 30.Kb1 Qg5 31.hxg7+ Qxg7 32.Qxg7+ Kxg7 33.d7 Black resigned

A "Jerome pawn" tiptoes toward the Queening square... Nice!

Jerome Gambit: Very Practical Play

My last two Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games have featured sacrifices of the exchange (see "Jerome Gambit: Those Jerome Pawns, Again (Part 1)" and "Jerome Gambit: Zzzzzz.... Huh? (Part 1)"), so I was pleased to receive the following game, where White sacrifices a Rook for a minor piece - twice.

What makes the exchange sacrifices attractive is that they were not grand surprises, they were just parts of some very practical play. White was just on his way to winning the game.

n0freelunch - Ninjaaa5000

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

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 

A standard position in this line that shows up 150 times in The Database.

10.O-O Be6

Black is developing by rote, and will soon have to retract this move.

11.f4 

Of course. White threatens to fork Black's Bishop and Knight.

11...Bd7 

I was amused - but enlightened - to see that this position occurred in perrypawnpusher - Mences, 2 6 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 38) with Black to move, as my opponent had taken only 1 move to place his Bishop on d7.  

12.e5 

A bit stronger was 12.f5, but White was ready to get his attack going, starting with opening lines.

12...Nd5 13.Qe2 dxe5 14.fxe5+ Kg8

15.e6 Bc6 16.Qf2 Qf8 17.Qf7+ Qxf7 18.exf7+ Kf8 

White's advanced passed pawn gives Black something to constantly think about.

19.b4 Nxb4 

It is tempting to suggest that Black had pawns on his mind. This grab is dangerous. Simply returning the Knight to f6 was better.

20.Ba3 Bb5 

Following the old rule: If your opponent attacks one of your pieces, you don't have to defend it, you can simply attack a more valuable piece of his.

The problam for Black here is that White can capture with check.

21.Bxb4+ Ne7 22.Na3 

Practical chess. Stockfish 13 objects, but White wants to keep his f7 pawn protected.

Remember, too, that this is a 3-minute game. That's not a lot of time for Black to unravel all of the mysteries of the Jerome Gambit.

22...Bxf1 23.Rxf1 g6 

If only it were possible for Black to play ...Kg7 and ...Rhf8, he might finally get the enemy passer under control. Alas, there is no time - and the idea does not work, anyhow.

24.Nb5 Kg7 25.Bc3+ Kh6 26.Bxh8 Rxh8 

27.f8=Q+ Rxf8 28.Rxf8 Nf5 29.Rxf5 

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

White has enough extra material to win. He removes Black's last defending piece. Giving up the exchange does not matter.

29...gxf5 30.Nxc7 Kg5 31.Nd5 f4 32.Kf2 Kf5 33.Ne7+ Ke5 34.Nc8 Kd5 35.Nxa7 Kc5 

36.Nc8 Kc6 37.Ne7+ Kd6 38.Nf5+ White won on time

Black can not protect his Kingside pawns, stop White's passed d-pawn, and defend against White's wily Knight, so perhaps the clock did him a favor.

Jerome Gambit: History Lesson

I was roaming the internet, wondering if anyone else these days was dealing with the Jerome-ized version of the Two Knights Defense, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+, a line I have occasionally referred to as an "impatient Jerome Gambit" because White sacrifices his Bishop before Black plays ...Bc5.

I came upon a pleasant surprise.

Do you remember "Battle Chess"? The early chess-playing program on a variety of platforms, featuring basic graphics and even more basic chess?

Well, there is a 2017 YouTube video of the game Doucette, Matthew - Battle Chess, NES (level 1) [1990], featuring this line of play.

If you think that the Jerome Gambit and its relatives are primative, then you will appreciate the computer treatment of this line from 30 years ago. I had to share it.

Plaing the game over here will take a lot less time then watching the video.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+ Kg6 6.Qf3! 

Why the "!"? Shouldn't the move get a "?!" because of the reply 6...Nd4 ?

Matthew gets credit for knowing his opponent: early computers were serious material-grabbers. While modern programs have been mostly cured of this affliction, there is simply no way that Battle Chess can resist temptation in this game.

6...Kxg5 7.Qf5+ Kh6 8.d3+ g5 9.Qxg5 checkmate.

Awesome.