Jerome Gambit: As Advertised (Part 1)

My most recent Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game in the ongoing Giuoco Piano tournament at Chess.com featured a line of play that I had looked at, but had only tried once before. It led to a complicated game - but, also a win.

If you want to know more about the variation, be sure to check out the links in the notes.

perrypawnpusher - DocBrowne

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

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

Black is not just blocking the check and kicking the White Queen. This move leads to complications that include sacrificing the Rook at h8 - see "What About the Rook?"

7.Qxe5 d6 

Most chess players, if they know anything at all about the Jerome Gambit, know about Joseph Henry Blackburne's destruction of the opening, in Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (1-0, 14).

Jerome Gambit theory has progressed a lot since then. Check out  the comprehensive "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 1)"

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.d4 

As I wrote earlier

I would like first to look at the under-investigated 9.d4. After all, if 9.0-0 leads to a draw, as Chandler and Dimitrov have argued, then 9.d4 might be the better chance for White to fight for an advantage.

Also, return to "Jerome Gambit Discovery" for more ideas on 9.d4. 

9...Qxe4+ 

Instead, 9...Bb4+ 10.c3 Qxe4+ was seen in  perrypawnpusher - bakker, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33).

10.Be3 Nf6 

The main plan for Black in the Blackburne defense is to attack White's King while trapping (and possibly winning) White's Queen. This move helps lock in the Queen.

Instead, 10...Qxg2 has been seen in 3 games in The Database, with White winning all 3 - although the position is complicated.

 

The earliest example I have of 9.d4 in The Database is Marfia,J - Stelter,J, Offhand Game, 1964 (1-0, 19) which continued 10...Qxc2 11.dxc5 dxc5 12.Qc3 when Black had failed in both of his objectives.

11.Nd2 Qxg2 12.0-0-0 b6

White is ahead the exchange.

After the game, I was shocked to see that Stockfish 14.1 assessed the first player as being almost a Queen better.

It is clear that Black's dark square Bishop is likely lost, and White's Queen has a way to escape imprisonment and avoid the threatened ...Bb7. A major factor in the imbalance has to be the difference in King safety, but I certainly wasn't sensitive to that while I was playing.

[to be continued]

Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1)

 Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 1)   

  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

 

Dear reader, you know that usually I write about new theoretical inventions and psychology in chess openings on this blog, but sometimes I write here about notable chess games which aren’t very important for theory, but have some other importance.   

The Part 1 of this my work is about wrong Anatoly Karpov. Thus, it’s a story about my notable training Jerome gambit games against a little boy Tolya (Anatoly) Karpov in Moscow this year. Now he is a very weak chess beginner only, and his father told me about it and asked me to play against him. His father said me: “Dear Yury Vyacheslavovich, could you play, please, not strongly to make a game interesting for my son? Could you not punish him after his mistakes, please, by your winning responses?” I answered him: “Well, I’ll play not strongly on the first stage. I’ll not punish him after his FIRST mistake only”. Thus, here is our first game:  

 

Bukayev, Yury  –  Karpov, Anatoly (boy)   

 

                         Game 1 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Ke7 5.Nh4 Kd6 6.Nf5 checkmate. 

 

I understood that boy’s fear of my attack has caused this panic flight of his King. Tolya asked me then about the best White’s possible move after his possible 4…Kxf7, and I answered: “5.Nxe5+”. Tolya asked me to play more, and I turned the chess board. And I said to his father: “Well, in this game I’ll not punish him after his FIRST AND SECOND mistakes only”. 

 

Karpov, Anatoly (boy)  –  Bukayev, Yury 

 

                         Game 2 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nf3 Qxf2 checkmate. 

 

Tolya became enough sad, and I didn’t permit myself to beat him more that day. But during our next meeting he said me: “My dad said me that my move 6.Nf3 was too silly”. I asked him: “And what was his recommendation instead?” The boy answered: “My dad said only that some other moves could be possible, although my position couldn’t permit me to hope on a win”. I said him with a wide smile: “Let’s repeat that position, but I’ll have White pieces in our Game 3!” And we started to play again.      

 

Bukayev, Yury  –  Karpov, Anatoly (boy)   

 

                         Game 3 

  

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Nxe5 Qh4 6.Nd3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxg2 8.Qe8 checkmate. 

 

I understood that all these games are notable. The two first of them have created a new record for the Jerome gambit. Thus, Rick Kennedy wrote in his post, where he summarizes the Jerome gambit practice (July 13, 2021), that there are no games with a checkmate at more early move than the 7th one. And all these games show us a rare situation for the practice of JG, where a checkmate is made while White’s Bishop is on f7. Thank you, dear Tolya and your dear father! Dear Tolya, your serious wins are in your future! It maybe, you will be a World Champion too!