Jerome Gambit: Mattoscacco

Long-time contributor to this blog Yury V. Bukayev points out an Italian language video focusing on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) "Apertura Imbattibile di Scacchi | Gambetto Jerome" (and even mentioning this blog with a screen shot of "Jerome Gambit: I Am Not Encouraging "Perfect Chess").

One of a number of presentations by Mattoscacco, this video takes a light-hearted approach as it touches on main line Jerome play, as well as taking a peek at 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+ and 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+. 

Although my knowledge of Italian is quite limited, I enjoyed looking at the variations given. 

At 17 minutes, it is worth a look - and listen.

Jerome Gambit: Four Squared

 

A short YouTube video by Four Squares (@FourSquares) showing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), "100 Chess traps #48 Jerome gambit", is one of many on the site. 

The short video showcases a quick checkmate. Although unidentified, the game is blackburne - karmmark, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2007. 

Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: Refuted.

The nightmare of playing a "refuted" opening is that sometimes actually gets refuted.

Faster time controls help the attacker. Surprise helps.

Sometimes it is not enough.

pablosko - yooooooooo

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4 

First appearing in Sorensen - X, Denmark, 1888 (1-0, 27).

7.O-O Nf6 8.dxe5 

White is under pressure, but taking the enemy Bishop when he has the opportunity (8.dxc5) is probably more helpful.

8...Ng4 

9.Qd5+ 

Striking out, but it does not save him.

9...Ke8 10.h3 Bxf2+ 11.Rxf2 Qxf2+ White resigned

Checkmate is next.

It does not always have to end this way.

Jerome Gambit: What Can We Learn? (Part 3)

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - auswebby

3 days/move, "Giuoco Piano Game", Chess.com, 2022

28.Nxd5 

Played with a sense of resignation.

28...Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Rxd5 

As long as Black keeps his two pieces and King active, he will have the advantage.

30.Re1 Rd7 31.g4 Kb6 

32.Re5 Rd2+ 33.Re2 Rxe2+ 34.Kxe2 Kc5 

I know, I know, why haven't I resigned?

Hold on, I have one joke left.

35.Kd3 Kb4 36.f4 a5 37.Kc2 Ka3 38.Kb1 

38...Bd5 

After 38...Bxb3 I intended to resign, things looking hopeless after 39.axb3 Kxb3. Imagine my surprise after the game when Stockfish 15 pointed out that 40.g5 Kc4 41.g4 g6 42.f5 gxf5 43.gxf5 Kd5 44.f6 Ke6 45.Ka2 h5!? 46.gxh6 ep Kxf6 47.h7 Kg7 48.Kh3 Kxh7 49.Ka4 Kg6 50.Kxa4 would be a draw.  

So that's why auswebby played the text move.

39.g3 Bf3 40.g5 Be4+ 41.Ka1 Bf5 42.b4 axb4 43.g4 Bxg4 44.f5 

Now if 44...Bxf5 45.g6 Bxg6 (or 45...hxg6) the position would be a stalemate draw.

44...b3 45.axb3 Bxf5 46.g6 Bxg6 

White resigned

Excellent game by auswebby!

Jerome Gambit: What Can We Learn? (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - auswebby

3 days/move, "Giuoco Piano Game", Chess.com, 2022

13.Be3 

I think it was Alexander Kotov, in his Think Like A Grandmaster, who described an imaginary, but common, situation: in a complicated position, a player looks at one line, then a second one, analyzing both but being unable to choose between one or the other - so he finally, quickly, plays a third move without much consideration.

The move in the game was the result of me not being sure which move was better, 13.Nd2 or 13.f4.

13...Qg6 

Taking advantage of the fact that White's Queen cannot safely escape exchange. The rogue Queen is part of Jerome Gambit strategy and tactics, and seeing her leave the board was not encouraging to me.

14.Nd2 Qxg3 15.hxg3 Be6 

With the option of playing either c3-c4 or f2-f4, White should feel comfortable with his central pawn preponderance, but exchanging pawns would open lines for the enemy pieces, so I decided to sit still, instead.

16.f3 

After the game Stockfish 15 suggested 16.a4 c6 17.a5 Bc7 18.f3 h5 19.b4 Rc8 20.Bf4 Kf7 21.Kf2 Rhg8 22.Bg5 Rge8 23.Rh1 Kg6 24.Bf4 d5 25.Bxc7 Rxc7 26.e5 Rf8, leaving Black two pawn's worth better. Of course, that was well beyond my understanding of the position.

In subsequent play I accidentally achieved part of that recommendation. 

16...Kd7 17.Kf2 Rac8 

One more "lockdown" variation suggested by the computer: 17...a5 18.d5 Bxe3+ 19.Kxe3 Bf7 20.a4 h5 21.c4 c6 22.Rh1 Rhe8 23.Kd4 Ra6 24.Ra3 Rb6 25.Rb3 Rb4 26.Rxb4 axb4 27.b3 Rc8 28.Rb1 Ra8 29.Ra1 Kc7 30.a5 c4+ 31.Kd3

Analysis diagram

Clearly White is worse here, but can he hold on in his fortress?

Back to the game.

18.d5 Bf7 19.Nc4 Bxe3+ 20.Nxe3 

My King is not as brave as Stockfish 15's and does not choose to advance by capturing the Bishop.

20...c6 

Black, for his part, would like to open lines.

21.dxc6+ 

Too obliging, but I somehow thought that opening lines would benefit me. (Perhaps it was the location of Black's King.) Consistent with keeping things close would have been 21.c4.

21...bxc6 22.c4 Kc7 

23.Rad1 Rhd8 24.Rc1 

Wavering. Doubling Rooks on the d-file made more sense, again with the idea that pressure on the pawn at d6 would keep things static.

24...Kb7 25.b3 d5 26.exd5 cxd5 27.cxd5 Nxd5 

Allowing Black to play ...d5 was not wise.

White now has a position where his pawn majorities on both sides might lead to something in a game played at blitz speed, but with the time control in this game being 3 days per move, that would be a slim hope - especially considering Black's extra Bishop.

It is interesting that Komodo 13.02, which is a bit more "human like" in its move choices, evaluates the position as about 1 3/4 pawns better for Black, while the stronger Stockfish 15 sees Black as 3 1/2 pawns better. 

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: What Can We Learn? (Part 1)

There is more to annotating a lost chess game than discovering which moves to attach the "?!" and "?" symbols.

When that game starts out as a Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+, it can always be tempting to give the 4th and 5th moves "?"s and sign off with "...and the rest is a matter of technique (for Black)".

But, I play the Jerome Gambit (376 games from the 5th move given above; scoring 81%), and a lot of other club players do, as well. 

So the question is: What can we learn from this defeat?

The following game took place in the 4th round of the 2022-2023 "Giuoco Piano Game" tournament at Chess.com. My opponent had scored 8 - 0 - 0 in his group in the 1st round, 5 - 0 - 3 in the 2nd round, and 6 - 1 - 1 in the 3rd round, for a total of 19 wins, 1 loss and 4 draws.

We had met once before, 7 1/2 years ago, and the blog post "Toward Disaster" gives a clue as to how perrypawnpusher - auswebby, "Giuoco Piano" tournament, Chess.com, 2015 (0-1, 37) turned out. He was rated about 60 points higher than me back then, maybe twice that for this game.

perrypawnpusher - auswebby

3 days/move, "Giuoco Piano Game", Chess.com, 2022

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

If I am playing in a Giuoco Piano or Italian Game tournament, regardless of the time control, I will  play the Jerome Gambit every chance I get.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

The Jerome Defense to the Jerome Gambit (see "Jerome Gambit / Jerome Defense"), was mentioned by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in his analysis published in the July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal.

A half dozen years later Jerome used the defense against his own gambit in two games: Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (0-1, 14) and Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880 (0-1, 40)

To take a broader perspective, The Database has 1,965 games with this move. White scores 48%.

I have played 40 games games against 6...Kf8, scoring 76%.

7.Qxe5 Qe7 

The analysis engine at lichess.org, commenting on a different game with the same position, fussed that 7...Qe7 was "inaccurate", preferring 7...d5.

Consulting The Database - which has almost 25,000 games starting with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ plus an additional 55,000 related games - I found 2,171 examples with 7...Qe7. White scored 42%. (That means Black scored 58%, which is not bad for an inaccuracy.) 

By contrast, in the 10 games where I faced 7...Qe7, I scored 70%. 

Although 7...d5 is very rare in the games in The Database, of the 5 games it contained, White scored only 20%, so the silicon beast may be onto something. That would make the move "Jerome Gambit Secret #17", I think.

8.Qf4+ 

I am not sure that 8.Qxe7+ would come to mind for the Jerome Gambiteer, but I note that The Database has 80 such games, with White scoring 59%.

8...Ke8 9.O-O d6 

10.c3 Qf7 11.Qg3 Ne7 12.d4 Bb6

White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece and a formidible pawn center. Black's extra piece gives him the Bishop pair. White's King is castled, Black's King is in on a center file with no quick escape.

Stockfish 15, which usually takes a somewhat skeptical view of the Jerome Gambit in its analysis, sees Black now as about a pawn and a half better (34 ply). That is about a two-pawn improvement for White since 4.Bxf7+, but there is plenty of work still to be done. 

[to be continued]

Happy New Year 2023

It seems appropriate to start the new year with a Bill Wall Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game featuring play all over the board - followed by a Queen sacrifice leading to a nifty checkmate. 

Wall, Bill - Smithey

Internet, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.O-O Ne7 

Black intends to put his Rook at f8 and castle-by-hand his King to g8, so this Knight move (more often seen is 8...Nf6) is designed to not block the f-file.

9.f4 N5c6

Instead, Wall, Bill - Guest2614882, PlayChess.com, 2017 (1-0, 16) continued 9...N7c6.

10.Qf2 Rf8 11.Nc3 Kg8 12.h4

Aggression, anyone?

This pawn takes center stage for a while, then disappears in the wings, only to return and have a starring role in the final act.

12...a6 

Black is not impressed. 

13.h5 Qe8 14.h6 g6 

End of story?

15.Be3 Qf7 16.Rad1 Bg4 17.Rd2 Be6 18.Qg3 Bxa2 

Black plans to return his extra piece for three pawns. The action turns to the Queen's wing, where the question is: are the 3 connected passed pawns strengths or targets?

19.b3 Bxb3 20.cxb3 Qxb3 21.Rc1 Rae8 22.f5 Qa3 23.Ra2 Qb4 24.Ra4 Qb3 25.Bg5 b5 26.Rxa6 Ne5 27.Rb1 Qc4 28.Bxe7 Rxe7 29.Rxb5 c6 30.Ra4 Qf7 31.Rba5 Kh8

Parts of the Queenside have gone up in smoke. White's pieces remain there, while Black's have been reassigned to the Kingside.

The game is in balance.

32.Qh3 gxf5 33.exf5 Rg8 

Stockfish 15 does not like this move, suggesting that Black needs to get his passed pawns rolling.

I find its recommended line of play - ending with Black sacrificing the exchange in order to then draw by repetition of position - hard to follow; perhaps White's attacking possibilities balance Black's promoting possibililties? One thing is clear, that White's pawn at h6 creates some back rank checkmate threats. Anyhow: 33...d5 34.Ra8 Ree8 35.Rxe8 Rxe8 36.Nd1 Qf6 37.Nf2 Qg5 38.g4 Qf6 39.Kg2 Rg8 40.Kf1 Nf7 41.Qg3 Nxh6 42.Qc7 Qc3 43.Ra7 Rg7 44.Qc8+ Ng8 45.Ra8 Qc4+ 46.Kg2 Rxg4+ 47.Nxg4 Qxg4+ 48.Kh2 Qe2+ 49.Kh3 with a draw coming.

34.Ne4 Rd7 

Again, the computer's preference leads to an endgame that is probably a lot clearer to Stockfish than humans (but still better for White?): 34...Rb7 35.Ra8 Rb1+ 36.Kh2 Rbb8 37.Rxb8 Rxb8 38.Qh4 Qxf5 39.Qf6+ Qxf6 40.Nxf6 Nf7 41.Ra7 Rf8 42.Re7 c5 43.Kh3 c4 44.Nd7 Kg8 45.Nxf8 Kxf8 46.Rd7 Ke8 47.Rc7 Nxh6 48.Kg3 Kd8 49.Rxc4 Ng8 50.Kf4 

35.Ra8 Rdd8 36.Rxd8 Rxd8 37.Nxd6 Qd5 

Again, the back rank threats appear, and Black cannot afford to capture the Knight because of 38.Ra8+, etc.

38.Qg3 

Threatening 39.Qg7 checkmate. 

38...Rg8 39.Qxe5+ 

Nice. The Queen sac crowns White's attack.

39...Qxe5 40.Nf7 checkmate