Jerome Gambit: An Objectively Terrible Gambit

Just encountered a funny 6-minute video "THE JEROME GAMBIT (over the board with Omar)" showing a riotous (lightly NSFW language) over-the-board Jerome Gambit game between friends (one of them hosts willtaylorchess). "Jerome's in the house!"

There is a mention of this blog, in passing, as well as an accurate assessment that the opening in question is "an objectively terrible gambit" - but the suggestion that I spent 20 years of my life researching the Jerome Gambit (true) and that I am a "geezer" (true) who "was so convinced that it [is] good" (false) is slightly misleading.

The fact is, the Jerome Gambit is a refuted opening that I have scored 80% with. (That pales in comparison to Bill Wall's 94%.) I don't pretend that makes sense, but it often makes for entertaining chess play. ☺

Jerome Gambit: Not Worth The Effort

One reason for the popularity of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in club play is that it is so bad, opponents do not always take it seriously.

Of course, that is exactly the kind of mental set that leads to disasters such as in the following game.

DientesDDS - erol14

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6 9.Qd5+ Ke7  10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qg5+ Kf7 12.Qxd8 Black resigned

Go ahead and laugh. In this 1800+ player vs 1800+ player game, Black threw away his Queen and his game along with her. True, it was a 3-minute blitz game, but the clock wasn't the issue - the Jerome Gambit just wasn't worth the effort of playing seriously. Ooops...

A few months earlier, DientesDDS faced an opponent who played the more accurate 11...Ke8, and he had to play a dozen more moves before scoring the full point. That's right, another miniature.

Jerome Gambit: Lessons from the Grandmaster's Games (Part 4)

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is a pretty ordinary one - if you are a grandmaster, that is. It is another 3-minute blitz game from an online speedrun, "GM Hikaru on 1900s: They Don't Make Em Like They Used To".

It is educational to watch how Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura makes solid move after solid move, risking little, patiently keeping his position intact, limiting his opponent - until he has the opportunity to strike.  

GM Nakamura - NN

3 0 blitz, internet, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 d6 

It is important to mention an alternative here, as the game is relevant to the note below: 7...Qe7 8.Qe3 Nf6 9.d3 d5 10.f3 Re8 11.O-O Kg8 12.Qf2 c6 13.Nc3 Be6 14.Be3 Bf7 15.Bxa7 dxe4 16.dxe4 Qb4 17.Bd4 Ne5 18.a3 Qe7 19.h3 Bc4 20.Rfe1 Rad8 21.Rad1 Ned7 22.e5 Nd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.f4 g6 25.Rd3 Rf8 26.e6 Nc5 27.Bxc5 Black resigned,  GMHikaruOnTwitch - simonsah2004, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021.

8.Qe3 Nf6 9.O-O Re8 10.d3 d5 11.f3 Kg8

White will not rush things. Black's 10...d5 is a good, thematic move, and it fits well with the piece (Knight, Rook) pressure on the pawn at e4. The attacker has become the attacked, a reversal sometimes seen in the Jerome Gambit.

In turn, Black shows patience as well: he castles-by-hand. There was an exchange of pawns in an earlier GM Nakamura game: 11...dxe4 12.dxe4 Kg8 13.b3 c6 14.Bb2 Nd5 15.Qf2 Nb6 16.a4 Be6 17.Nc3 Rc8 18.f4 Bf7 19.Rad1 Qc7 20.h4 Ne7 21.a5 Na8 22.Qg3 g6 23.Qg5 Rcd8 24.Qf6 Rd6 25.Rxd6 Black resigned, GMHikaruOnTwitch - Math694, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021.

12.h3 c6 13.Qf2 Qb6 14.Nc3 Qxf2+ 15.Rxf2 dxe4 16.dxe4 Bd7 

Black has the standard piece-for-2-pawns material advantage, and has exchanged Queens. His King is safe, and he leads in development. Stockfish 14 rates him as about a couple of pawns better.

All he has to do is defeat a grandmaster from this position, or avoid losing on time to one of the top blitz players in the world...

17.Be3 a6 18.Rd1 Be6 19.Rfd2 Ne5 20.Bf4 

White's position is solid. What can Black do?

20...Nc4 21.Rf2 Rad8 22.Re1 Nb6 

A mistake, but his opponent does not catch it.

23.b3 

White makes the c4 square inhospitable for his opponent's pieces. Slowly he forces the pieces back.

It was possible to win the exchange with 23.Bc7.

23...Rd7 24.Be3 Nc8 25.Na4 Red8 26.Nc5 Re7 27.e5 Nd7 

28.Nxb7 h6 

A slip. It is quite possible the clock was a factor.

29.Nxd8 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Hard-Working Neurons

Bullet chess games - often 1 minute, no increment - can put a strain on the brain, even those that do not involve the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

The following game is a good example of that kind of quick chess, with an interesting question at the end. Were the hard-working neurons over-worked?

girlinthemoonxxxxxxx - LeClaire802

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.d4 Bxd4 

9.Nc3 

The alternative, 9.c3, was seen as long ago as Andres Clemente Vazquez - Giraudy, 1876 (1-0, 18) and as recent as radoslove - GMHikaruOnTwitch, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (0-1, 24). 

9...Qf6 10.Nb5+ Ke7 

For the record, 10...Kc5 was the continuation in Jerome,A - Norton,D, corr, 1877 (0-1, 41) - although White's Knight reached b5 via a3.

11.Bg5 Black resigned

It is often a serious blow to one's chances to lose a Queen, but here the loss has to be seen in context. Black is already 2 pieces ahead, and after, say, 11...d6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.Qg5 Bb6 14.0-0-0 Nf7, he has 3 pieces for a Queen and a pawn. The game would look about even.

Jerome Gambit: Sillycon Defense?!

One criticism that has been leveled against some who favor a particular opening or defense is that they, in their fervor, tend to overlook sharing effective responses.

I have not heard this charge leveled at this blog, and for a good reason. If there is a refutation to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), you will find it here.

In the following game, I was pretty much destroyed by my opponent. 

Part of this comes, no doubt, from my choice to play the Jerome in a game with a very generous time limit of 1 move / 3 days, instead of blitz. 

The main reason, though is that Alfil_7 was well-prepared and willing to pursue his counter-attack with gusto.

Obviously, I have some repair work to do.

perrypawnpusher - Alfil_7

3 d/move, "Piano Piano", 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.f4 Kc6 

Nine years ago, I presented Philidor1792 - NN, casual game, 2012 (0-1, 17), and commented

A new move, as far as I can tell. When you are two pieces up, as Black is, you can simply give one back, and remain with the advantage.

The anonymous NN was not soon alone: VMACforever - Sillycon, standard, FICS, 2013 (0-1, 23) was played a year later. Since Black in that game was a 2369-rated computer program, it is tempting to label 8...Kc6 the "Sillycon defense".☺

Six years ago, when I posted "A Surprising New Defense Against the Jerome Gambit", I asked

Can Black's King simply walk away from his Knight like that??
The remainder of the game suggests that he can.

One year ago, when I presented the game Lc0 - Stockfish 11, 2020 (0-1, 43), I warned "Jerome Gambit: The Future Is Here".

In all, The Database shows 11 games with 9...Nc6, played before mine, with White scoring 4 - 7 (36%). By comparison, the basic 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ scores 48%

9.Qxe5 Nf6 10.d3 

Although I did not know it at the time of this game, this move seems to have been introduced in Jagulep - jitendrabhand, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2018 (0-1, 38).

My reason for playing 10.d3, as opposed to 10.d4, was given in my notes to the Lc0 - Stockfish 11, 2020 game

This [10.d4] is a typically aggressive Jerome Gambit move, that, superficially, blocks Black's dark-square Bishop, which is essential for White to castle. However, Komodo 10 was suspicious, preferring 10.d3, realizing that castling will not be possible, and resisting what danger might come down the e-file.

10...d5 11.Qc3 Re8 12. b4 

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

12...Nxe4 13.dxe4 Rxe4+ White resigned

Wow. 

There is nothing but pain and sorrow ahead.

Very fine game, Alfil_7!

Jerome Gambit: Lessons From the Grandmaster's Games (Part 3)

It is possible for a club player to keep up with a grandmaster, especially when the GM is giving "Jerome Gambit odds" - for a little while, at least.

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Black's position is better after a dozen moves, and is even after one more. However, following the maxim that In the Jerome Gambit, when White equalizes, he has the advantage, White forces resignation after Black plays a half-dozen more moves.

Grandmasters, they are different.

GM Nakamura - NN

3 0 blitz, internet, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 

The Grandmaster's choice - as in SanitationEngineer - NN, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 (1-0, 45); GMHikaruOnTwitch - Jesus-vous-bat-tous, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 25); GMHikaruOnTwitch - Math694, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 25); GMHikaruOnTwitch - szachy1000, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 21); GMHikaruOnTwitch - simonsah2004, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 27) [see "Jerome Gambit: GM Hikaru Nakamura Again"] - although not as strong as the "nudge" 7.Qd5+, played as early as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1874 (1-0, 28).

7...c6 

Keeps an enemy piece off of d5, and allows for ...d7-d5.

8. O-O Qe7

According to The Database, this is a new move, and a good one.

9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Re8 11.d3 Kg8 

Black knows enough about the Jerome Gambit to castle-by-hand.

12.f4 d5 13.e5 Nd7 

I was amused to see that Stockfish 14 recommended 13...Ng4, instead, as I have criticized "attacking the Queen with the Knight, for no good reason" in the past. The line Stockfish 14 recommends is complicated, but I suppose it represents "good reason".

14.d4 b6 15.f5 Ngf8 16.Qg3 c5 

Black hopes to undermine White's pawn center before it becomes dangerous. He is a bit late, however, and he also makes a couple of tactical errors. Remember, this is a 3 0 blitz game, and it can be easy to overlook things.

17.Nxd5 Qd8 

Preventing a Knight fork of two Rooks from c7, but falling victim to something worse.

18.Bg5 Qxg5 

Falling on his sword. If, instead, 18...Nf6, White can follow with 19.Bxf6 (the g-pawn is pinned) 19...Qd7 20.e6 when 20...Nxe6 21.fxe6 Rxe6 would not be enough, as 22.Rae1 would highlight White's attack. Black would have to surrender a lot of material, and suffer checkmate anyhow.

19.Qxg5 cxd4 20.f6 Black resigned

There is too much to defend against.

Jerome Gambit: Lessons From the Grandmaster's Games (Part 2)

 

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, from the YouTube video "GM Hikaru on 1900s: They Don't Make Em Like They Used To", is a reminder to defenders and attackers alike: certain moves should be played with an awareness of the possible consequences.

GM Nakamura - NN

3 0 blitz, internet, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

It is attractive to block the Queen's check and threaten Her Majesty with a pawn, all in the same move. It is almost like a reflex action.

However, in doing so Black commits himself to sacrificing a Rook, as in the Blackburne or Whistler defenses (see "Jerome Gambit: What About the Rook?").

7.Qxe5

"Oh my gosh, I think my man just blundered the game" said GM Nakamura, at this point. "The Jerome Gambit is very OP [over powered]." 

The Grandmaster was being prescient in his comment - Black turns over the game on his next move. 

By the way, we have seen Nakamura face Whistler's defense, 7...Qe7, in GMHikaruOnTwitch -30second-guy, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 71) and GMHikaruOnTwitch - BulletManiac30sec, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com 2021 (1-0, 38).

The Database does not have a Nakamura game against Blackburne's defense, 7...d6.

7...Nf6

Black protects his Rook, but gives up his Bishop. He will be 2 pawns down.

8.Qxc5 d6 

Black could have tested his opponent's sense of humor by playing 8...Nxe4 instead. The joke? 9.Qd5+ Kg7 10.Qxe4 would be met by 10...Re8, winning the Queen. (Instead, 10.0-0 would be the move.)

So, Black could win back one of his missing pawns, but he would still be a pawn down against one of the top blitz players in the world.

9.Qd4 Re8 10.d3 d5 11.f3 

Wisdom of the grandmaster. White is ahead in material, but he does well to address his King's safety first.

11...dxe4 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.fxe4 b6 14.O-O Bb7 15.Bg5 Black resigned

Black's Knight is under attack, twice, and he cannot bring in another defender with 15...Rd6 because of 16.e5.

White gets the final laugh.