Jerome Gambit: Developing (Part 2)

 

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be fun and exciting at any level of play.

In fact, while I struggle to understand the nuances of master and grandmaster play, I can better understand the efforts of club players like myself.

Here is the second game of an informal match. The players have swapped colors.

drewski02 - dperez22

3 2 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+ 

I think I betray my skepticism of this move in calling it the "face palm variation". See "Jerome Gambit: The Face Palm Variation" and "Jerome Gambit: Return of the Face Palm Variation".

White has a plan, and he carries it out successfully in this game. That's the problem. Again, the blitz time control and a developing familiarity with the Jerome Gambit may be the culprits.

There is a bit of history to the move. The Database has 590 games with this position, with White scoring 23%. If we look only at the 431 games where Black played the strong and correct 5...Qxg5, White scores only 16%.

This game is a good example of the humorist's "You offer material; if you win, it's a sacrifice, if you lose, it's a blunder".

Yes, this time 5.Ng5+ worked, but I would not rely on it in the future.

5...Qxg5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Bxg5 

White has a Queen for two pieces, and would still be better after 7...Bxb2 8.Nd2 Bxa1 9.Qxa1.

The problem with the line for White is if Black does not capture the d-pawn with the Bishop, but, instead, plays 6...Qxg2.

 

analysis diagram

After 7.Rf1 Qxe4+ 8.Be3 Nxd4 White is down two pieces, and facing a deadly attack. 9.Nc3 can be met by 9...Bb4, and White's King will find no rest.

Back to the game. 

7...Bxb2 8.Qd5+ 

White's Rook is in danger? Bah! The Jerome Gambit Queen always wants to attack!

8...Kf8 9.O-O 

Very well done. The Rook on the soon-to-be-opened f-file is more important than the soon-to-disappear Rook on the a-file.

9...Bxa1 10.f4 Nge7 

Black's best chance was to block the f-file with 10...Nf6 11.Bxf6 gxf6 when 12.c3 d6 would signal a much slower game.

 

Now White finishes up, concluding the game with a nice Queen sacrifice.

11.fxe5+ Ke8 12.Qf7+ Kd8 13.Qf8+ Rxf8 14.Rxf8 checkmate

Very nice.

Jerome Gambit: Developing (Part 1)

 

I enjoy sharing Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games played by masters and grandmasters. 

I also enjoy sharing my own games, providing history, insights and analysis where I can - even if I tend to get a bit long winded.

I especially enjoy games of players who are new to the Jerome Gambit, and possibly new to chess itself.

Recently, I received a handful of games between two developing players. I would like to share them, for a couple of reasons.

First, you may well find them to be exciting. Second, if you are an experienced player and Jerome Gambiteer, you might notice the slips in play, but still enjoy the games through the lens of nostalgia -everyone is new to the Jerome at some point.

dperez22 - drewski02

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.f4 Qf6 8.Qe8+ 

This move screams out to be played. (In fact, The Database shows it has been played 4 times before.) White's Queen continues her attack. If Black blocks the check with his Knight, White can capture his Rook.

The problem with this analysis is that it is not deep enough. This is the product of both the blitz time control and not enough experience with different Jerome Gambit lines.

Also, while defenders object that an early active Queen in the Jerome Gambit violates the rules of good play, their argument grows stronger if Her Majesty continues to work without assistance.

For starters, Black can play 8...Ne7 here, as 9.Qxh8 would be met by the strong 9...Qh4+. After 10.g3 Qg4, White's lonely King would face 3 Black pieces (an old piece of chess wisdom mentions "three pieces and an attack"). Capturing the Knight with 11.fxe5 would lead to being checkmated in 5 moves, while helping the Queen escape with 11.Qxh7 would lead to being checkmated in 9 moves. Everything else would allow 11...Nf3+ followed by doom and gloom.

8...Qe7

Well, was all that worry wasted? Black does not want to give up the Rook, after all, but the offer to exchange Queens is also good for him.

9.f5+

Another bit of chess wisdom - that not all teachers agree with - is that "a bad plan is better than no plan at all". Here, White continues his aggressive moves. He has to. He is down two pieces. The objectively "best" move of withdrawing the Queen has almost not chance of success.

White benefits from Black's acceptance that he must know what he is doing. Also, this fits in well with the common blitz strategy of continually making threats: the defender may be able to successfully deal with each threat, but the time devoted to find the right moves could lead to the loss of the game. 

9...Kf6 10.Qh5 

Sadly, the Queen retreats. Perhaps at this point, Black threw his hat in the air.

The game is not over, however. Black does not quite relax, but his focus on developing his light square Bishop leads to trouble.

10...b6 11.g4 Bb7 12.g5 checkmate

Ouch. That had to hurt.

Jerome Gambit: In the End, It Was the Pawns (Part 4)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - jjdd57

3 d/move, "Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2021

It was time to see how far the extra "Jerome pawns" would take me. If White can make something out of his Queenside, he will be able to crash through in the center.

41.Kd5 Kf5 

This move keeps my King off of e6 for the time being, and keeps open the option of invading my Kingside via f4, if the opportunity arises, but it does nothing to stem my expansion on the Queenside. In fact, my monarch will find another entry point. The Black King needed to fall back with 41...Kf7, although White would still be better.

42.d7 Ne6 43.Kd6 h5 44.c5 bxc5 45.bxc5 Nd8 

46.Kc7 Ne6+ 47.Kxb7 Nxc5+ 48.Kc8 Nxd7 49.Kxd7 Kxe5 

Black has eliminated the enemy central pawns, at the cost of his Knight, but his defensive tasks are still too great. (If the a-pawn were not there, Black would win easily.)

50.a4 Kd5 51.Ke7 

White's a-pawn will either advance and promote, or act as a decoy to pull Black's King away from its defense of the Kingside.

51...Kc5 52.Kf6 g4 53.fxg4 hxg4 54.Kg5 Kb4 55.Kxg4 Kxa4 56.h4 Black resigned

Whew.

Jerome Gambit: In the End, It Was the Pawns (Part 3)

 

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - jjdd57

3 d/move, "Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2021

White's chances rest with his "Jerome pawns".

25.c4 Nb6 26.Ba5 

A bit stronger might be 26.b3, especially if Black eventually returns a Knight for two pawns, because then White would have a Bishop versus a Knight.

26...Kd7 27.Bxb6

Again, 27.b3 might be better.

27...axb6 28.Rg4 

The f-file might be a better place for the Rook.

28...g6 

Black's pawn should take two steps, not one. The Chess.com computer calls the move a mistake.

After the game, Stockfish 14 suggested 28...g5 29.h4 Ng6 30.hxg5 h5 31.Re4 c5 32.Ke2 cxd4 33.Kd3 Nxe5+ 34.Kxd4 Kxd6 when White's pawn center is blown up and the second player is better. That's complicated, though.

29.Ke2 

A mistake, as well. The Rook needed to go to the f-file.

29...c5 30.Kd3 cxd4 31.Kxd4 Ne6+ 

White's King rushes to the center, as does Black's Knight.

The question now is can either Rook penetrate into the enemy's camp?

32.Ke4 g5 

Black moves the pawn to where it is protected, and envisions an outpost for his Knight at f4. Nonetheless, after the game 32...Nc5+ was the computer's choice.

33.Rg3 Rf8 34.Rf3 Rxf3 35.gxf3 Nf4 

White has managed to exchange off the Rooks, but now the enemy Knight pays a visit. It is temporary, however.

36.Kf5 Ne6 37.Ke4 Ke8 38.Kf5 Kf7 

I was willing to repeat the position to reach a draw. My opponent was not.

39.Ke4 Kg6 

This looked scary for White, but Black cannot afford to have his King invade the Kingside, as that would allow my King to advance in the center - where my pawns are faster. I was not so sure about that at the time, but looking back, it seems so.

40.b4 

Hoping that the extra pawns can help.

40...Nd8 

It is not readily apparent - it certainly was not to me at the time - but Black's Knight is not fully safe here. Best, according to Stockfish 14, is 40...Kg7 41.a4 Kf7 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Ke8 44.Kd5 Kd7 45.h3 Nf4+ 46.Kd4 Ne6+ with a draw by repetition.

That's right, those scary "Jerome pawns" are not enough to win.

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: In the End, It Was the Pawns (Part 2)

 

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - jjdd57

3 d/move, "Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2021

10.Nc3 

The notion here is to develop a piece and discourage ...d7-d5. A dozen years earlier, I had given up on that idea, and played 10.d3, instead, only to face 10...d6, in perrypawnpusher - pfink, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 25) 

10...d5 11.exd5 

After the game, Stockfish 14 showed a preference for either 11.d3 or 11.f3 followed by h2-h4-h5 against 11...Kf7. Uh, okay.

11...Qxe3+ 

The computers think that this exchange is an error, suggesting that Black should focus, instead, on winning White's advanced d-pawn with 11...Kf7 and 12...Rd8.

12.fxe3 Bf5 

It is time to take stock.

White has 3 pawns for his sacrificed piece, which is probably why the Chess.com computer gives Black an slight advantage (a little more than 1/2 pawn), while Komodo 12 sees White ahead by about that much, and Stockfish 14 sees the game as about even.

Black has fended off any wild attack by White, and so can consider his opening successful. On the other hand, if White has sacrificed two pieces and is now "even", he has sufficient compensation.

The opening battle between us was a draw.

Entering the middlegame without Queens, Black has the better development, while White has an interesting central pawn mass.

13.d3 Bd7 14.O-O Ke7 15.e4 Rae8 16.Bg5 Rhf8 

Both sides develop. Black can castle-by-hand in either direction.

From a club player's point of view, the "extra" pawns can be easier to work with than the "extra" piece. At this point, the computers agree.

17.d4 h6 18.Bd2 c6 

19.d6+ 

Slipping past Black's c-pawn.

Things are already becoming complicated. Stockfish 14 suggests, instead, 19.e5 Nh5 (19...Nxd5 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Bb4+ Ke6 22.Bxf8 would win the exchange for a pawn) 20.Rfe1 Nhf4 21.e6 Bc8 22.dxc6 bxc6 23.Ne4 Nh4 24.d5 cxd5 25.Bb4+ Kd8 26.Ba5+ repeating the position, for a draw. Stockfish loves to see White fight for a draw in the Jerome Gambit.

19...Kd8 20.e5 Nd5 21.Ne4

Rather than exchange the Knight, I would prefer to keep it and kick Black's Knight with an eventual c2-c4.

21...Bf5 

White has two protected passed pawns, but they look like they could be easily blockaded.

22.Rae1 Bxe4 

Maybe giving up the "minor exchange" wasn't best.

23.Rxe4 Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Nf8 

White still has 3 pawns for the sacrificed piece. Black's Knight eyes e6 as a blockading square. White has a chance to add some mobility to the center pawns by advancing the Queenside ones.

The middlegame battle, too, has been a drawn.

[to be continued] 

Jerome Gambit: In the End, It Was the Pawns (Part 1)

I just completed a complex and challenging Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game in the second round of the "Piano Piano" tournament at Chess.com.

It doesn't feel like it should have gone that way - either I should have crushed my opponent, or he should have refuted me, right? That's the Jerome way.

Instead, we fought in the opening, we fought in the middlegame, and we fought in the endgame.

My opponent resigned when we were in a King and pawn vs King endgame and it was clear that the pawn was going to advance and promote.

Before that, a balanced Queenless middlegame tilted my way because of my "extra" pawns against his "extra" piece.

Of course, it all went back to the opening, where I "purchased" those pawns for the price of one little piece...

I am going to rely on post mortem analysis by Stockfish 14 and the Chess.com computer - plus looks into The Database - to help make sense of what happened.

(My opponent was rated over 150 points above me. I suspect he will utterly destroy me in our next game, now that he has the White pieces.💀)

perrypawnpusher - jjdd57

3 d/move, "Piano Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2021

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

The other day I was watching a video of Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura viewing the Chess.com analysis of 4.Bxf7+ from a game - he couldn't believe that the program considered the move "book"!

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

Once again the Chess.com computer fusses that this is an "inaccuracy" (of about 1 1/4 pawns), preferring 6...Kf8. Fair enough. The Database shows 2,874 games with 6...Ng6, with Black scoring 45%, against 941 games with 6...Kf8, where Black scored 50%.

My own record in 137 previous games with White against 6...Ng6 is 79% (with virtually no difference in results between 6...Ng6 and 6...Kf8).

YMMV.

7.Qd5+ Kf8 

Interestingly enough, the Chess.com computer considers this move only "good", assessing 7...Ke8 as "best". The difference would be moot if I had played the "best" move on move 9, exchanging Queens - in which case it would not matter on which of the two squares the Black King was, as the computer considered capture by the King (instead of the Knight) as "best".

The Database nods ever so slightly: 7...Kf8 appears in 362 games, with Black scoring 32%; 7...Ke8 appears in 782, with White scoring 34%.

I think this is another example of how a strong computer chess program can provide intellectually interesting insights of little practical value to club players. Of course, tactical insights are another thing, and I appreciate and prize those efforts. 

8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3 

This is an "inaccuracy" according to the Chess.com computer, dropping the assessment of my position about a pawn's worth. It preferred 9.Qxe7+.

This could be a helpful assessment, going forward, contributing to a reassessment, particularly because The Database disagrees: it has 67 games with 9.Qe3 (certainly the position is more familiar), with White scoring 72%, and only 11 games with 9.Qxe7+ (White usually avoids trading Queens), with White scoring 64%.

9...Nf6 

A solid alternative is 9...d5, which has appeared in a couple of games, with a win for each side. By transposition, 10.d3 Nf6 11.f3 would then be 1-0 perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26)

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: For Club Players

 

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is for club players.

I know, I know, under special circumstances, the occasional master or grandmaster (e.g. GM Hambleton and GM Nakamura) will give it a try, for fun and adventure.

Mostly, though, it is for club players.

That is why I am going to mention the YouTube video "How to defend against the Jerome Gambit!", one of the videos presented by AimlockR.

In the video, a young player explores the Jerome Gambit, using the Chess.com interface and its computer analysis for guidance. He doesn't actually present new lines, and although he has played the Jerome, it turns out that he played his game on a different site, so it is not available at the time he put the video together. 

Yet "How to defend against the Jerome Gambit!" is such a wonderful example of the energy and enthusiasm of a club player, I found it quite enjoyable, and I suspect you will, too.