The Jerome Gambit Is For The Birds

Recently I noticed a tweet (via Twitter) from ParamountDealz ("Manufacturer and supplier of the world's finest chess products: Chess Sets, Chess boards, Tournament chess combos, Chess Clocks, Chess bags, Scorebooks") about the "extremely aggressive opening JEROME GAMBIT" which very clearly describes the topic of this blog

The Jerome Gambit is an extremely aggressive opening that usually derives from the Guioco Piano. White sacrifices both his king side bishop and knight in exchange for an exposed king and the possibility of an aggressive attack. Moves usually start with: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 White usually continues with Qh5+ . This gets the most important piece into the attack early and leaves black with the most possibilities to blunder.

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

(For some reason Google Translate felt the need to translate the tweet from Bulgarian to English, although ParamountDealz is a company based in India. Go figure.)

 

What is "The Database"?

Readers of this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) have no doubt noticed that I regularly refer to "The Database.

What is "The Database"?

Currently it is a chess games database (using ChessBase) that contains over 75 thousand games and analyses It is currently in ChessBase format, but I can easily produce a pgn database from it.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, the main line Jerome Gambit.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ and 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, both variants of the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.Bxf7+, the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+, the "Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit", or Noa Gambit.

There are 6,388 games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+, The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

There are games with the declination 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+.

There are games with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+, the Abrahams Jerome Gambit.

That leaves miscellaneous games that are Jerome-related, primarily through an early Bxf7+. 

Besides being a large selection of games to consult or play over, The Database has a reference function. With over 20 years of games from FICS (plus lesser numbers from other sites like lichess.org) - believe me, that took a lot of work in the beginning, downloading games & using the "filter" function & visually inspecting the results - I have a pretty good representative sample (not just wins, but losses and draws as well) of how online club players play the kind of openings this blog covers. 

Players can consult their favorite computer (over the years I have used Crafty, Fritz, Houdini, Komodo, Rybka and Stockfish) to get an "objective" assessment of play, and then they can dip into The Database and see how well the lines have fared in relevant play.

Often the computers look at a line and say "beware", while actual results suggest "dive right in".

For comparison, here are 2 historical "snapshots" of the development of The Database: "My Jerome Gambit Database" and Evolution of "The Database".

If you are interested in a copy of The Database, send me a request via email.

Jerome Gambit: Entertaining Chess Content (Part 2)

 

As mentioned in the previous post, Entertaining Chess Content has published entertaining short YouTube videos of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) being played against various Chess.com bots.

Now ECC has now come out with a video of a Jerome Gambit game against the Pokimane bot. The bot is based upon Imane Anys, a very popular online streamer, gamer and internet personality.

The following game illustrates why club players love to play the Jerome. It is a classic example of the defender bringing a knife to a gunfight.

NN - Pokimane-bot

Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 

It can be a psychological ploy for Black to refuse to capture White's Knight on e5 - upending White's plan for attack. However, for this strategy to be successful, Black needs to retreat his King to f8, not e8 or, as in the game, e7.

White immediately applies pressure.

6.Qh5 Nh6 

Black protects the f7 square. The problem is that White has other threats.

Stockfish 14.1 has a gloomy suggestion to return material first: 6...Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 Qf8+ 8.Ke1 Nd4 9.Na3 Nf6 when Black, a pawn down, has at least managed to prevent White from castling.

7.Nxc6+ bxc6 8.Qxc5+ Ke6 

Black is behind in material and his King is unsafe.

I do not know the rating of the person or computer playing White, but Pokimane-bot was rated at 1000, so it has difficulties ahead.

9.d3 a6

This move is hard to understand.

10.Qc4+ Ke7 

There is a significant and immediate difference between this move and 10...Kf6.

11.Bg5+ Ke8 12.Bxd8 Kxd8 

White's Queen will now dominate play, collect material, and move towards checkmate.

13.Nd2 Ke8 14.Qc3 Ng4 15.Qxg7 h6 

Aimless, indifferent to loss. The Pokimane-bot appears depressed.

White finishes the game powerfully.

16.Qxh8+ Ke7 17.Qg7+ Ke6 18.Qxg4+ Ke5 19.Qg6 d5 20.Nf3+ Kf4 21.Qg3 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Entertaining Chess Content (Part 1)

Entertaining Chess Content publishes short YouTube videos of, among other things, the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) being played against various Chess.com bots. I am not sure how realistic the play of these bots is, but I have to admit that they are entertaining and addicting.  

Who wouldn't be interested in seeing how the Jerome fares against the Play Magnus [Carlsen] bot, the Wesley So bot, the Anish Giri bot, the Ian Nepomniachtchi bot and the Aman Hambleton bot? 

Now ECC has now come out with a Jerome Gambit game against the Agadmator bot.

Agadmator, himself, is Antonio Radić, a very popular Croatian YouTuber and chess player. It is not surprising that Chess.com has him as one of their computer personalities.

I do not know who or what is playing the White pieces in the following game.

NN - Agadmator-Bot

Chess.com, 2022

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 

This is a standard position in the Jerome Gambit. The Database shows 365 previous examples.

9...Be6 

This move is inaccurate, as White will soon play f2-f4, threatening f4-f5 with the fork of two pieces. Black has an interesting, if offbeat way of dealing with the threat.

10.O-O Nf6 11.f4 Bg8 

The difficulty with this move - a novelty - is that the Bishop traps the Rook, which is usually developed at f8 or e8, sometimes as part of castling-by-hand.

Stockfish 14.1 judges that White has compensation for his sacrifice. 

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Neg4 

Attack the Queen: A common idea amongst those who defend against the Jerome Gambit, sometimes right, often wrong.

14.Qf4 Qe7 15.Re1 h5

An interesting idea - if it is an idea at all. I remember my old Chess Challenger 7 dedicated chess computer would play ...a5 or ...h5 when it assessed that its King was safely defended, usually in the middle of the board, and it couldn't "think" of anything else.

16.h3 Nh6 

A tempting line - not for the computers, I admit, but for humans - was something like 16...Bd5, increasing pressure on White's pawn center, and not being afraid of 17.hxg4 hxg4, activating the Rook and making the shifting of Black's Queen to the h-file look dangerous. White should try 18.Nc3 - his Rook at e1 is unsupported, and his center can use the support - when 18...Re8 19.Bd2 Bc6 (19...Qf7 is met by 20.Nxd5) 20.Re2 Qf7 21.Rae1 Qh5 can be met by 22.Qg3 Qh1+ 23.Kf2 and Black's attack has come to naught.

17.Nc3 Rh7 

Incomprehensible. Better 17...Re8.

Now White begins to outplay his/its opponent.

18.Bd2 Nf7 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Nxe5 

Giving back some of the sacrificed material, perhaps seeing that as better than further retreat with 20...Ne8. 

21.Rxe5 Qd6 

White's lead in development is decisive.

22.Nb5 Nd5 23.Nxd6 Nxf4 24.Ne4 Nxh3+ 

When a computer wrestles with the "horizon effect" (the point at which its search ends) and starts making poor moves, even throwing material away, it can be compared with being depressed.

White neatly wraps things up.

25.gxh3 b6 26.Re1 Re8 27.Rxe8+ Kxe8 28.Nc5+ Kf7 29.Nd7 g6 30.f6 g5 31.Bxg5 h4 34.Re5 Rg7 35.fxg7 Bh7 36.Bd2+ Bf5 37.Rxf5 checkmate

Nice.

Computer Ideas in the Jerome Gambit (Part 2)

 

[continued from previous post]

Petasluk - GriffyJr

5 0 blitz, FICS, 2021

10.d4

The proper response, played as early as blackburne - Temmo, third Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.com, 2008 (1-0, 13), and played since by Jerome Gambit stalwarts such as MrJoker, Bill Wall, perrypawnpusher, shugart, ZahariSokolov, Littleplayerparis and Astral1119.

10...Qh4+ 

If 10...Bxd4 then 11.Qd5+.

11.Kf1 

A bit better might have been 11.Kd1.

11...Qf6 

This is the kind of error a human makes in a blitz game - not a computer. The odd thing is that GriffyJr has made this error at least twice against Petasluk.

It is true that now all of White's responses except one lead to positions favorable to Black, but it is not hard for White to find that proper response.

12.dxe5+ Qxe5 

Now exchanging Queens would lead to an even game, although Black eventually won in Petasluk - GriffyJr, 5 0 blitz, FICS, 2017 (0-1, 30).

A Jerome Gambit player might very well remember this missed opportunity, and be prepared the next time around - even if that opportunity came 4 years later. I can imagine Petasluk saying "I'll be back."

13.Bf4 

Computer says Ouch.

13...Qxf4+ 14.Qxf4+ Black resigned

Computer Ideas in the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)

Chess computer programs continue to get stronger. They make relentless opponents. For Jerome Gambit examples on this blog, check out "Ionman vs the Bots" and "Bots on Our Side (Parts 1, 2 & 3)"

I have employed several programs over the years to help me annotate games for this blog. Most of the time they are helpful (but sometimes I don't understand what they are doing).

Five years ago (see "Jerome Gambit: A Machine Idea") I looked at a human vs computer game that featured a computer-generated novelty in the Jerome Gambit. Recently, the opponents faced off again, and I thought I would update their battle.

The ending is quite unexpected, and causes me to question the first pargraph in this blog. Wait and see. 

Petasluk - GriffyJr

5 0 blitz, FICS, 2021

There are 555 games by Petasluk in The Database. He has scored 63%.

GriffyJr, based on Dr. Roberty Hyatt's program Crafty, has been a very strong defender against the Jerome Gambit. The Database has 65 GriffyJr games, where the program has scored 94% with Black.

GriffySr also roams FICS. Likewise, The Database has 37 of its games, where the program has scored 97% with Black. 

 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Bd4

The earliest example I can find of this odd move in The Database was played in 2002 by the computer program BigBook (another Crafty clone) at FICS.

Komodo 12.1.1 (25 ply) is not impressed, rating the position now as only slightly better for Black (+ 1/4 pawn), but remember that not every novelty is an improvement.  

8.Qf5+ 

First played, as far as I can tell, by the human fehim against the computer program blik online at FICS in 2006 (0-1, 16).

The solution is not 8.c3?, for example, the two aforementioned games megagurka - BigBook, blitz, FICS, 2002: 8...Nd3+ 9.Kf1 (9.Kd1 Nf2+ 10.Ke2 Nf6 11.Qf5+ Kf7 12.cxd4 Nxh1 13.d3 d5 14.e5 Bxf5 White resigned, Petasluk -GriffyJr, FICS, 2017.) Nxc1 10.cxd4 a6 11.Qe5+ Kf7 12.Nc3 Nd3 13.Qf5+ Qf6 14.Qxf6+ Nxf6 15.e5 Ne8 16.f5 Nxb2 17.Rb1 Nd3 18.g3 a5 19.a3 b6 20.Ke2 Ba6 21.Ke3 Bc4 22.Nb5 a4 23.Rhc1 Nxc1 24.Rxc1 Bxb5 25.h4 c6 26.g4 d6 27.g5 dxe5 28.dxe5 c5 29.d4 cxd4+ 30.Kxd4 Be2 31.e6+ Ke7 32.Rc6 b5 33.Rb6 Nd6 34.Rc6 Nxf5+ 35.Ke5 Nxh4 36.Rc7+ Kf8 37.e7+ Ke8 38.Ke6 Ng6 39.Rc2 Bf1 40.Rf2 Bd3 White forfeitsed on time.

Another battle against a bot was joined with 8.f5+?, although the game turned out well for White in Moller,M - Mephisto, Denmark 2008 (1-0, 31).

The strongest continuation appears to come from a human vs human game: 8.fxe5 g6 Qh4 11.h3 Qg3 12.Rf2 Nf6 13.d4 Bxd4 14.Bf4+ Kc6 15.Bxg3 Bxf2+ 16.Bxf2 d6 17.Qa5 Nxe4 18.Qa4+ Kd5 19.Nc3+ Nxc3 20.bxc3 Ke6 21.Re1+ Kf6 22.Qf4+ Kg6 23.Re3 Bf5 24.Rg3+ Kf6 25.Bd4+ Ke6 26.Re3+ Kd7 27.Qxf5+ Kd8 28.Bxg7 Rg8 29.Bf6 checkmate, blackburne - eddie43, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2008.

By the way, "blackburne" is Pete Banks, a long time friend of the Jerome Gambit, who shows up a lot of places, including this blog, his web site, the British Chess Magazine, IM Gary Lane's ChessCafe "Opening Lanes" column and Lane's book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (2008). The Jerome gambit hangs around with some pretty interesting people!

8...Kd6 

So, what is going on?

Black's King is in the center, momentarily safe from open files or diagonals. It blocks the d-pawn which stifles the light square Bishop which limits the Rook.

On the other hand, Black has two extra pieces, while White has two extra pawns.

It is not surprising that Komodo 12.1.1 prefers Black's position, but I suspect in a human vs human game, White would be content at this point. 

9.fxe5+ 

Ionman tried the slower and riskier 9.c3 a couple of times: ionman - Fleurybot, 5 0 blitz, FICS, 2005 (0-1, 59) and ionman - FleurybotJr, 5 0 blitz, FICS, 2005 (0-1, 42) 

9...Bxe5 

Oddly materialistic for a modern computer program.

The correct 9...Kc6 was seen in five of the games in the match between Micah Fisher-Kirshner and Knight Stalker (an early version of the Fritz program), Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA, 1993 (1-0, 31); Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA, 1993 (0-1, 38); Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA, 1993 (0-1, 35); Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA, 1993 (0-1, 40); and Fisher-Kirshner,M - Knight Stalker, Mission San Nose, Fremont, CA, 1993 (0-1, 37)

[to be continued]

Excited About the Jerome Gambit

 

My Journey with the Jerome

Chess.com player Bh6_Anti-Dragon's blog My Journey With the Jerome (the above picture is from it) is an enthusiastic take on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and contains several of his blitz games. He clearly has enjoyed playing the Jerome, and even honestly includes a loss to go along with five wins.

Although Bh6_Anti-Dragon eventually decided to go back to playing the Evans Gambit, he closes the blog with an endorsement

Hope you Guys enjoyed this post, and please do try out the Jerome Gambit yourselves if you haven't already.

I hope Readers visit Bh6_Anti-Dragon's blog and play over his games.