One temptation that afflicts many who defend against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is to attack White's Queen - not so much as part of a larger plan, but simply because the defender can.

In most cases, the offending piece is the Knight.

In the following game, instead of retiring politely, Black's Bishop repositions itself in order to attack the enemy Queen. The move is part of a plan, but it fails, nonetheless.

A pleasant Jerome Gambit blitz win.

Robepersky - anzali

5 0 blitz, FICS, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

This position is as old as Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (0-1, 14) and Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (0-1, 40).

8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.c3 d5 10.d4 Bd6 

The Bishop attacks White's Queen, while also aiming at the enemy Kingside. With a 3:1 piece development advantage, Black feels comfortable.

However, White's "Jerome pawn" messes things up.

11.e5 Kg8 

Black immediately breaks the pin on his Knight. Also possible was 11...c6 12.0-0 Bb8 13.exf6 saving the Bishop and giving up the Knight, when White would have a slight edge. 

12.O-O Nh5 

Now the Knight attacks the Queen, but the tactics are not on its side.

13.exd6 Nxf4 14.dxe7 Ne2+ 15.Kh1 Nxc1 16.e8=Q checkmate

Jerome Gambit: One Mistake

Club players - and even masters - know that the game isn't over, just because you made one mistake. There is usually time to fix things.

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is an excellent example.

RaenKid - dtz90

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4... Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

The annotation from Chess.com correctly labels this a 
"Critical move". This is Whistler's defense, as opposed to Blackburne's defense, 7...d6.

The players have a complicated game ahead of them. It is recommended that White not capture the Rook.

8.Qxh8

The difficulty with this move is that now 8...Qxe4+ is very dangerous.

8...Nf6 

dtz90 does not get any support from the notes. This move is described as "From winning to losing." 

9.d3

RaenKid recovers quickly.

Both players now make plans to attack the enemy King.

9...Qe5 10.Bh6 Qd4 

This looks scary, but White has everything under control.

11.Qg7+ Ke6 12.Be3 Qxb2 13.Bxc5 Qxa1 

Just has he has planned, Black has almost drawn even with his opponent when it comes to material. However, that is largely irrelevant.

 

14.Qe7 checkmate

The end of the game is a bit ironic: White's capture of a Rook should have put his King in great danger; Black's capture of a Rook finished the game, due to checkmate.

Jerome Gambit: The Little Things Add Up

The following game is a good example of how the little things on defense in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game can add up to a significant advantage for White, over time. 

Wall, Bill - Yapwx

internet, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+

I am not saying that this is a bad move, but The Database shows that Bill is 45 - 0 against it. (Better was the straight forward 6...Bxd4.) 

7.c3 Bxc3+ 

Facing 6.d4, Black had to return a piece. This is how he does it.

8.bxc3 

In the past Bill has shown a preference for 8.Nxc3, although he has occasionally played the text.

8...Ng6 9.O-O d6 

Black plays defensively / preventively against White's pawns. He might have tried 9...d5 with the idea that if 10.e5, he could blockade the advanced pawn.

10.f4 Ke8 

Getting off of the dangerous f-file.

11.Qf3 

Already we see a premonition of White's winning move. 

11...N8e7 12.f5 Nh4 

It can not be a good thing to waste time annoying the enemy Queen, when you are lagging in development. White's punishment is swift.

13.Qh5+ Nhg6 14.fxg6 Nxg6 15.Nd2 

Material is even, but development and King safety clearly favor White.

15...b6

 How to go about developing the Bishop? Not this way.

16.Qd5 Rb8 17.Qf7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Piano Piano, Round 2

 

Round 2, of the Chess.com tournament "Piano Piano" has started.

I am in Group 2, along with jjdd57, Kugich, Alfil_7, PasayDefence, acasimon1987, Escaqueitor, vs33, and YellowRam.

I can count on playing 8 more Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games this round. I will post them all.

Currently I am playing the Jerome in 4 games.

To my opponents, as ever, I wish good chess!

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.