The Mingrelia Defence: The Jerome Gambit Contravened

I was sorting games to add to The Database when I ran across a surprising number - anything more than 1 or 2 would have surprised me - of games that started 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6.

Wow, I thought to myself, Even if this idea is rather primative, what a very effective way to avoid the Jerome Gambit!*

How odd to discover that there are 316,288 games at lichess.org which start this way. (For the record, there are only 207,306 Jerome Gambits there with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.) 

Researching a bit, I found the game 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.O-O Qg6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 d6 8.Nd5 Kd8 9.f3 Bh3 10.Nxc6+ bxc6 11.Nf4 Qf6 12.Nxh3 Black resigned. Not surprisingly, it was from George Koltanowski's blindfold exhibition (10 games) given in Edinburgh in 1937. An amateur tries to fool the blindfold player.

With a little more work I found on CHESS MARGINALIA, from Wilhelm Steinitz’ chess column in New York Daily Tribune, June 18, 1893: A. de Smitten – The Prince of Mingrelia, Russia 1893 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 4.Nc3 Nge7 5.d3 h6 6.Nb5 Kd8 7.Be3 a6 8.Nc3 g5 9.Qd2 Bg7 10.0-0-0 g4 11.Ng1 Nd4 12.Re1 b5 13.Bb3 Rf8 14.Nce2 Qb6 15.Bxd4 exd4 16.f4 a5 17.a4 bxa4 18.Bxa4 Rb8 19.b3 c5 20.Ng3 Ba6 21.Qf2 Qb4 22.e5 Nd5 23.Nh5 Nc3 24.Qh4+ Kc7 25.Nxg7 Nxa4 26.Ne2 Qa3+27.Kd2 Rxb3 28.Nc1 Rxd3+ 29.Nxd3 Qc3+ 30.Ke2 Qxc2+ 31.Kf1 Bxd3+ 32.Kg1 Be4 33.Qg3 Nc3 White Resigned

The Prince of Mingrelia? Fortunately, Sarah's Chess Journal had him covered.

I suspected that this was not the earliest game available, and soon ran across, from The Westminster Papers, June 1871: Joseph H. Blackburne - J.A. Manning, City of London Chess Club, Blindfold Exhibition, London, May 2, 1871, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 4.0—0 d6 5.Nc3 Be6 6.Nd5 Bxd5 7.exd5 Na5 8.d3 h6 9.Bd2 Nxc4 10.dxc4 Qd8 11.Re1 Be7 12.Bc3 Nf6 13.h3 0—0 14.Nh2 Qd7 15.Ng4 Qf5 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qd3 Qg6 18.Qxg6 fxg6 19.Re2 g5 20.b4 Rad8 21.a4 e4 White wins.

Since 1871 pre-dated the "birth" of the Jerome Gambit  - Alonzo Wheeler Jerome published his analysis in the Dubuque Chess Journal of April, 1874 - I decided to stop my research..

Had I ever faced the Mingrelia Defence myself? I had to check...

Oh, dear, I had. It hadn't made the posts of this blog because it wasn't a Jerome Gambit.

perrypawnpusher - hgamez 

2 12 blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6

4.O-O Bc5

Now that Bxf7+ has been defended against, Black can continue with this move.

5.Nc3 Nge7 6.Nd5 Nxd5 7.exd5 Na5 

8.Nxe5

A cheap shot. Stockfish 15 recommends 8.d4!? maintaining White's advantage.

8...Qxe5

It was blitz. What can I say?

9.Re1 Bxf2+

To shake things up.

10.Kxf2 Nxc4 11.Rxe5+ Nxe5 12.Qe2 d6 13.d4 

13...Bg4 14.Qe4 f5 15.Qe1 O-O-O 16.dxe5 Rde8 17.e6 

17...c6 18.c4 c5 19.Bf4 Kc7  20.Qa5+ b6 21.Qxa7+ Kd8 22.Qd7 checkmate

Okay, so maybe Black should let go of 3...Qf6 and allow the Jerome Gambit, after all. 

Still, it was interesting to see that Grandmaster Timur Gareyev (2605) played and won with 3...Qf6 at the 10th Chennai Open International Grandmaster tournament in 2018... 

*- It hurts my head to report that lichess.org has 712 games with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 and then 4.Bxf7+ anyway.

Jerome Gambit: He Who Takes the Queen's Knight Pawn...

As a young chess player I remember being cautioned He who takes the Queen's Knight pawn sleeps in the gutter. It was a warning against using your Queen to grab a small amount of material at the risk of taking her out of play with poor results.

This notion came up last year in the blog post "Jerome Gambit: The 'Debate' Again" concerning the game Wall, Bill - Gilex, internet, 2022 (1-0, 21).

Playing blitz at lichess.org, tacticgod (with 165 games in The Database) has tackled the question in a number of games. 

tacticgod - Tosch2

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 

Developing and protecting the King. Is it worth giving up the pawn? Stockfish 15 definitely thinks so.

However, this is a blitz game, and Black must find the right moves in order to keep his advantage. In the meantime, White would do well to activate pieces to help his Queen.

9.Qxb7 

Irving Chernev in the October, 1974 CHESS magazine wrote that, according to a Hungarian proverb, It is never safe to take the queen knight pawn with the queen - even when it is safe.

White has three pawns for his sacrificed piece.

Black is better developed, although his King is more exposed.

9...N8e7 

tacticgod has faced alternatives:

9...Nf6 10.f3 (10.d3 Qd7 11.O-O Rhb8 12.Qa6 Rb6 13.Qa3 Rab8 14.Qc3 Kg8 15.f4 Bf7 16.b3 Rc6 17.Qd2 Nf8 18.Bb2 Qg4 19.Qf2 N8d7 20.Na3 a6 21.Nc4 d5 22.Ne3 Qe6 23.f5 Qe7 24.exd5 Nxd5 25.Nxd5 Bxd5 26.Qg3 Nf6 27.Rae1 Qc5+ 28.Kh1 Qxc2 29.Bxf6 Rxf6 30.Rc1 Qxa2 31.Rxc7 Bf7 32.Rxf7 Rxf7 33.Qxb8+ Rf8 34.Qb6 Qe2 35.Rf3 Qd2 36.Qe6+ Kh8 37.h3 Qd1+ 38.Kh2 Qxb3 39.Qxb3 Black resigned, tacticgod - fox_eg, lichess.org, 2022) 10...Qd7 11.O-O Rhb8 12.Qa6 Nf4 13.d4 Ng6 14.Qe2 d5 15.e5 Ne8 16.f4 Bf5 17.Nc3 c6 18.Na4 Nc7 19.Nc5 Qc8 20.h3 Ne6 21.Nxe6 Bxe6 22.g4 Nh4 23.Qf2 Qd8 24.f5 Bc8 25.b3 Kg8 26.f6 Ng6 27.Bg5 Be6 28.f7+ Kf8 29.Bxd8 Rxd8 30.h4 Nh8 31.g5 Rd7 32.Qg3 Rc8 33.h5 Re7 34.h6 Ng6 35.hxg7+ Kxg7 36.Qh2 Rf8 37.Qh6+ Kh8 38.Rf6 Rexf7 39.Rxe6 Nf4 40.Rf6 Ng6 41.Rxg6 a5 42.Rf6 Rxf6 43.gxf6 Rg8+ 44.Kh2 Rg6 45.Qf8+ Rg8 46.Qf7 h6 47.Rg1 Rxg1 48.Kxg1 h5 49.Qg7 checkmate, tacticgod - kd28. lichess.org, 2022; and

9...Rb8 10.Qxa7 Nf6 11.d3 d5 (11...Ng4 12.O-O Qh4 13.h3 N4e5 14.Qe3 h6 15.f4 Nc6 16.f5 Nge5 17.fxe6+ Kxe6 18.c3 g5 19.d4 Nc4 20.Qe2 Ke7 21.Qxc4 Qxe4 22.Na3 Rhf8 23.Bxg5+ hxg5 24.Rfe1 Qxe1+ 25.Rxe1+ Kd7 26.Qe6+ Kd8 27.d5 Ne5 28.Nc4 Rxb2 29.Nxe5 dxe5 30.d6 Rff2 31.Qe7+ Kc8 32.Qxc7 checkmate, tacticgod - Jumaa19, lichess.org, 2022) 12.f3 dxe4 13.fxe4 Re8 14.O-O Kg8 15.Bg5 Rxb2 16.e5 Nxe5 17.Nc3 h6 18.Bh4 Nc6 19.Qa3 Qd4+ 20.Bf2 Qb4 21.Qxb4 Rxb4 22.Be3 Rb2 23.Rac1 Bxa2 24.Bxh6 Nd4 25.Bg5 Ng4 26.h3 Ne3 27.Rf4 Ndxc2 28.Nxa2 Rxa2 White resigned, tacticgod - Paul_Bishop, lichess.org, 2022. 

Black's strongest response to the pawn capture is the sharp 9...Qg5!?, allowing White to grab a Rook or check the King. It shows up only once in The Database 10.O-O (10.Qxa8 is met by 10...Qxg2 and Black is much better; 10.g3 is probably best) Bh3 (10...Nf4!? is stronger) 11.Qxc7+ N8e7 12.Qc4+ Kf8 13.g3 Qg4 14.f3 Qd7 15.Rf2 Rc8 16.Qd3 Nc6 17.Nc3 Nce5 18.Qe3 Nc4 19.Qd4 Nge5 20.d3 Nb6 21.f4 Ng4 22.Rf3 Qf7 23.Qxd6+ Kg8 24.f5 Qh5 25.Qe6+ Kf8 26.Qxc8+ Ke7 27.Qxh8 Ne5 28.Qxg7+ Kd6 29.Qf6+ Kd7 30.Rf4 Nf3+ 31.Kf2 Nxh2 32.Qg7+ Kc6 33.Qf6+ Kb7 34.Qe7+ Ka6 35.Rh4 Ng4+ 36.Ke1 Qxh4 37.gxh4 Bf1 38.Kxf1 Ne3+ 39.Ke2 Nbc4 40.Bxe3 Nxe3 41.Kxe3 Kb6 42.Nd5+ Kb5 43.b3 Kc6 44.a4 a5 45.Qc7 checkmate, PedrosF1 - CHESSGINT22, lichess.org, 2020.

10.O-O Ne5 

I think that the Knight would be more effective at f4. At e5, it encourages f2-f4-f5.

tacticgod also faced 10...Rf8 11.f4 (11.d3 Kg8 12.f4 Bc8 13.Qb3+ Kh8 14.Nc3 Bd7 15.d4 Nc6 16.Be3 Rb8 17.Qa3 Nb4 18.Rac1 Nc6 19.f5 Nge7 20.Ne2 Qe8 21.c3 Qf7 22.b4 Qf6 23.Rf3 Nd8 24.Rcf1 Nf7 25.Nf4 Bc6 26.d5 Bb5 27.Bd4 Qg5 28.R1f2 Ne5 29.Rg3 Qf6 30.Nh5 Qh6 31.Be3 Qxh5 32.h3 Qd1+ 33.Kh2 Nc4 34.Qxa7 Nxe3 35.Rxe3 Qc1 36.Rg3 Rbc8 37.Qd4 Qh6 38.Rg4 Qf6 39.Qe3 c6 40.c4 Bxc4 41.e5 Qxe5+ 42.Qxe5 dxe5 43.Rxc4 cxd5 44.Rxc8 Rxc8 45.f6 gxf6 46.Rxf6 Kg7 47.Re6 Re8 48.Rxe5 d4 49.Re4 Kf7 50.Rxd4 Ra8 51.Rd2 Ra3 52.b5 Nc8 53.Rb2 Nb6 54.g4 Kg6 55.h4 h5 56.g5 Kf5 57.Rf2+ Kg4 58.Rg2+ Kf3 59.g6 Nd5 60.g7 Nf4 61.Rg3+ Ke4 62.Rxa3 Black resigned, tacticgod - oliveirarrm, lichess.org, 2022) 11...Rb8 (11...Bd7 12.f5 Ne5 13.Qb3+ Ke8 14.d4 N5c6 15.c3 Qb8 16.Qd1 Kf7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Qg5 Rf7 19.b3 Qd8 20.Qg3 Bc8 21.Bg5 Qd7 22.Nd2 Ba6 23.Rf2 Kh8 24.Qh4 Re8 25.Nf3 Ng8 26.a3 Nf6 27.Bxf6 Rxf6 28.Re1 Bd3 29.Rd2 Ba6 30.c4 Qe7 31.Ng5 h6 32.Ne6 Rxe6 33.Qxe7 R6xe7 34.Rc1 Rxe4 35.d5 Ne5 White resigned, tacticgod - Mensah10, lichess.org, 2022) 12.Qxa7 Bd7 13.d4 Kg8 14.f5 Nc6 15.Qa4 Nge7 16.Qc4+ Kh8 17.c3 Qe8 18.g4 Qf7 19.Qxf7 Rxf7 20.b3 g6 2.f6 Ng8 22.g5 h6 23.h4 hxg5 24.hxg5 Nd8 25.Rf4 Ne6 26.Rh4+ Rh7 27.Rxh7+ Kxh7 28.Na3 c5 29.d5 Nc7 30.Nc4 Nb5 31.Bd2 Bg4 32.Kf2 Rd8 33.Kg3 Bh5 34.a4 Na7 35.Bf4 Nc8 36.a5 Rd7 37.a6 Na7 38.Nxd6 Rd8 39.e5 Nc8 40.Nf7 Re8 41.e6 Nb6 42.c4 Nc8 43.a7 Nb6 44.Nd6 Ra8 45.Nb7 Nxf6 46.gxf6 Kg8 47.Nxc5 Kf8 48.Bd6+ Ke8 49.f7+ Black resigned, tacticgod - Iniesta12, lichess.org, 2022. 

11.f4 Nd7 12.f5 

12...Nc5 

It is tempting to attack the intruding Queen while making an escape route for the attacked Bishop, but this idea falls immediately to 13.fxe6 check.

In this complicated position Black should have tried 12...Bc4 13.d3 a5!? because the Bishop would be safe, e.g. 14.dxc4 Nc5 15.Qb5 c6 and the Queen will not escape. Instead of grabbing a piece, White would need to open a line of retreat for his Queen with 14.e5!? (even game) although things can still be complicated  14...Bd5 15.e6+ Kg8 16.Qb5.

It is all a lot to work out in a blitz game. 

13.Qb5 Bd7 14. Qc4+ Ke8 

White's Queen has escaped the consequences of her greed - this time.

The face-off between Her Majesty and three enemy pieces is interesting.

15.b4 Na4 16.d3 a6 

It looks like Black plans to continue to harass with an upcoming 17...Bb5.

17.Qd4 Kf8 

This move does not protect the King, it puts him at great risk. Even though it is ugly, the better defense of the g-pawn was 17...Rg8. 

18.f6 

The position screams out for this move.

18...Nf5 19.fxg7+ Black resigned

A favorable outcome for White, despite the non-involvement of his Queenside pieces.

Jerome Gambit: Strangest Game

The strangest Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game that I have seeen in a while...

Petasluk - bozidaranas

5 2 blitz, FICS, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8 5.Bd5 Nf6 6.c4 d6 7.h3 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Nd4 9.d3 h6 10.Nc3 Kf7 11.Be3 Rf8 12.Bxd4 Bxd4 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Ne2 Qf6 15.O-O Kg8 16.Qa4 Qg5 17.Ng3 h5 18.Qxd4 h4 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.exf5 Rxf5 21.f4 Qg6 22.Rae1 Re8 23.Re4 b6 24.Qa4 Ra8 25.Qc6 Rc8 26.Rfe1 Rff8 27.Qd7 Qf7 28.Re7 Qf6 29.R1e6 Qd4+ 30.Kh1 Qxb2 31.Rg6 Qc1+ 32.Kh2 Qxf4+ 33.Kh1 Qf1+ 34.Kh2 Qf4+ 35.Kh1 Qf1+ 36.Kh2 Qf4+ 37.Kg1 Qf2+ 38.Kh2 Qf4+ 39.Kg1 Qf1+ 40.Kh2 Qf4+ 41.Kh1 Qf1+ 42.Kh2 Qf4+ 43.Kh1 Qf1+ 44.Kh2 Qf4+ 45.Kg1 Qf2+ 46.Kh2 Qf4+ 47.Kh1 Qf1+ 48.Kh2 Qf4+ 49.Kg1 Qf2+ 50.Kh2 Qf4+ 51.Kh1 Qf1+ 52.Kh2 Qf4+ 53.Kg1 Qf2+ 54.Kh2 Qf4+ 55.Kh1 Qf1+ 56.Kh2 Qf4+ 57.Kg1 Qf2+ 58.Kh2 Qf4+ 59.Kg1 Qf1+ 60.Kh2 Qf4+ 61.Kg1 Qf1+ 62.Kh2 Qf4+ 63.Kh1 Qf1+ 64.Kh2 Qf4+ 65.Kg1 Qf1+ 66.Kh2 Qf4+ 67.Kh1 Qf1+ 68.Kh2 Qf4+ 69.Kg1 Qf1+ 70.Kh2 Qf4+ 71.Kh1 Qf1+ 72.Kh2 Qf4+ 73.Kh1 Qf1+ 74.Kh2 Qf4+ 75.Kh1 Qf1+ 76.Kh2 Qf4+ 77.Kg1 Qf1+ 78.Kh2 Qf4+ 79.Kh1 Qf1+ 80.Kh2 Qf4+ 81.Kg1 Qf1+ 82.Kh2 Qf4+ 83.Kg1 Qf1+ 84.Kh2 Qf4+ 85.Kg1 Qf1+ 86. Kh2 Qf4+ 87.Kg1 Qf1+ 88.Kh2 Qf4+ 89.Kg1 Qf1+ 90.Kh2 Qf4+ 91.Kg1 Qf1+ 92.Kh2 Qf4+ 93.Kg1 Qf1+ 94.Kh2 Qf4+ 95.Kg1 Qf1+ 96.Kh2 Qf4+ 97.Kg1 Qf1+ 98.Kh2 Qf4+ 99.Kg1 Qf1+ 100.Kh2 Qf4+ 101.Kg1 Qf1+ 102.Kh2 Qf4+ 103.Kg1 Qf1+ 104.Kh2 Qf4+ 105.Kg1 Qf1+ 106.Kh2 Qf4+ 107.Kg1 Qf1+ 108.Kh2 Qf4+ 109.Kg1 Qf1+ 110.Kh2 Qf4+ 111.Kg1 Qf1+ 112.Kh2 Qf4+ 113.Kh1 Qf1+ 114.Kh2 Qf4+ 115.Kh1 Qf1+ 116.Kh2 Qf4+ 117.Kh1 Qf1+ 118.Kh2 Qf4+ 119.Kh1 Qf1+ 120.Kh2 Qf4+ 121.Kh1 Qf1+ 122.Kh2 Qf4+ 123.Kh1 Qf1+ 124.Kh2 Qf4+ 125.Kh1 Qf1+ 126.Kh2 Qf4+ 127.Kh1 Qf1+ 128.Kh2 Qf4+ 129.Kh1 Qf1+ 130.Kh2 Qf4+ 131.Kh1 Qf1+ 132.Kh2 Qf4+ 133.Kh1 Qf1+ 134.Kh2 Qf4+ 135.Kh1 Qf1+ 136.Kh2 Qf4+ 137.Kh1 Qf1+ 138.Kh2 Qf4+ 139.Kh1 Qf1+ 140.Kh2 Qf4+ 141.Kh1 Qf1+ 142.Kh2 Qf4+ 143.Kh1 Qf1+ 144.Kh2 Qf4+ 145.Kh1 Qf1+ 146.Kh2 Qf4+ 147.Kh1 Qf1+ 148.Kh2 Qf4+ 149.Kh1 Qf1+ 150.Kh2 Qf4+ 151.Kh1 Qf1+ 152.Kh2 Qf4+ 153.Kh1 Qf1+ 154.Kh2 Qf4+ 155.Kh1 Qf1+ 156.Kh2 Qf4+ 157.Kh1 Qf1+ 158.Kh2 Qf4+ 159.Kh1 Qf1+ 160.Kh2 Qf4+ 161.Kh1 Qf1+ 162.Kh2 Qf4+ 163.Kh1 Qf1+ 164.Kh2 Qf4+ 165.Kh1 Qf1+ 166.Kh2 Qf4+ 167.Kh1 Qf1+ 168.Kh2 Qf4+ 169.Kh1 Qf1+ 170.Kh2 Qf4+ 171.Kh1 Qf1+ 172.Kh2 Qf4+ 173.Kh1 Qf1+ 174.Kh2 Qf4+ 175.Kh1 Qf1+ 176.Kh2 Qf4+ 177.Kh1 Qf1+ 178.Kh2 Qf4+ 179.Kh1 Qf1+ 180.Kh2 Qf4+ 181.Kh1 Qf1+ 182.Kh2 Qf4+ 183. Kh1 Qf1+ 184.Kh2 Qf4+ 185.Kh1 Qf1+ 186.Kh2 Qf4+ 187.Kh1 Qf1+ 188.Kh2 Qf4+ 189.Kh1 Qf1+ 190.Kh2 Qf4+ 191.Kh1 Qf1+ 192.Kh2 Qf4+ 193.Kh1 Qf1+ 194.Kh2 Qf4+ 195.Kh1 Qf1+ 196.Kh2 Qf4+ 197.Kh1 Qf1+ 198.Kh2 Qf4+ 199.Kh1 Qf1+ 200.Kh2 Qf4+ 201.Kh1 Qf1+ 202.Kh2 Qf4+ 203.Kh1 Qf1+ 204.Kh2 Qf4+ 205.Kh1 Qf1+ 206.Kh2 Qf4+ 207.Kh1 Qf1+ 208.Kh2 Qf4+ 209.Kh1 Qf1+ 210.Kh2 Qf4+ 211.Kh1 Qf1+ 212.Kh2 Qf4+ 213.Kh1 Qf1+ 214.Kh2 Qf4+ 215.Kh1 Qf1+ 216.Kh2 Qf4+ 217.Kh1 Qf1+ 218.Kh2 Qf4+ 219.Kh1 Qf1+ 220.Kh2 Qf4+ 221.Kh1 Qf1+ 222.Kh2 Qf4+ 223.Kh1 Qf1+ 224.Kh2 Qf4+ 225.Kh1 Qf1+ 226.Kh2 Qf4+ 227.Kh1 Qf1+ 228.Kh2 Qf4+ 229.Kh1 Qf1+ 230.Kh2 Qf4+ 231.Kh1 Qf1+ 232.Kh2 Qf4+ 233.Kh1 Qf1+ 234.Kh2 Qf4+ 235.Kh1 Qf1+ 236.Kh2 Qf4+ 237.Kh1 Qf1+ 238.Kh2 Qf4+ 239.Kh1 

Game drawn by the 50 move rule

This easily beats the longest Jerome Gambit game I had mentioned in the earlier post "The Database: The Long And The Short Of It (Part 1)".

Certainly the automatic draw function was not set for either Petasluk or bozidaranas; the draw could have been claimed about 200 moves earlier.

I messaged Petasluk - who has 561 games in The Database - about the game, but his mailbox was full. 

bozidaranas appears in a baker's dozen games, all defending; I have messaged him as well. 

Jerome Gambit: Chessified

 

If you like to snack on short chess videos, I can recommend "Chessified" at YouTube.com. It features a large number of quick looks at opening lines, specific games, and challenges.

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) video touches upon only the first 6 moves, but is notable because of its assessment 

In theory this gambit is awful but in practice it is really fun because White has so many interesting options.

This reminds me of  FM William Graif's comment which I quoted in an earlier blog post named the same

The Jerome Gambit isn't an opening. It's a philosophy.

Jerome Gambit: Checkmated in Front of the Queenside Pawns

It is not safe out there. Pawns are for protection. Kings don't need that much fresh air.

In the following game, Black's King forgets these warnings.

jpayero - nathanael31

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

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 

The "sillycon defense": Black's King tries to tip toe away from danger.

9.Qxe5 d6 10.Qd5+ Kb6 

The history of chess has a multitude of games where the King is checkmated in front of his Queenside pawns. More prudent was the withdrawal 10...Kd7. 

11.d4  

Makes sense.

Stockfish 15 prefers to see 11.Qb3+ Kc6 first, and then 12.d4. Why? 

Because the computer recommends Black to respond to 11.d4 with 11...Bb4+ and the Queen intermezzo would make that move unplayable.

11...Qe8

The Queen plans to intervene directly in the defense of her King.

An alternative was to bring heat to the enemy, e.g. 11...Bb4+ 12.c3 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qh3 14.cxb4 Qg2 with an uneasy but even game.

12.dxc5+ dxc5 13.Be3 Qc6 14.Qb3+ Qb5 15.Qc3 Nf6 

King safety is the major difference between the two sides.

In this case, White can deliver checkmate.

16.Na3 Qc6 17.Nc4+ Kb5 18.a4+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: It's the Check that Counts

I recently (in "Jerome Gambit: Gift Horses") mentioned the "Counter-Jerome Defense" or the "Counter-Jerome Gambit" as a strategy that defenders might use - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

The idea is to follow up 8.Kxf2 with 8...Qf6+ and exchange of Queens. In effect Black returns a sacrificed piece to stifle White's brutal attack and force him to play an (allegedly) painful pawn-up game.

Sometimes White tries to counter this counter with a counter of his own, by declining the Bishop. That might be a bit too much "psychology". 

Black has a quirky 8th move alternative to 8...Qf6+ that I have looked at in the past (see"Jerome Gambit: In The End A Win", "Jerome Gambit: How Much A Victory For Black?", "More Useful Junk" and "I don't get it") and which appeared in a recent game.

What if the second player avoids the Queen swap and threatens to fork the enemy King and Queen all in one move - with 8...Nf6 ?

I know, it all sounds a bit theoretical, and not a little sketchy, but it has happened in 4 previous games. Admittedly, White won 3 of the games, but ironically he dropped a game where he later did allow Black to fork his King and Queen.

Let's take a look at the recent outing, a 5-minute blitz game. There is a lesson in there, somewhere.

Selrah - Fernandoagua

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

Reaching the above diagram.

8.Kxf2 Nf6 

The alternative.

9.Rf1 

Thinking ahead.

9...Ng4+ 10.Kg1+ 

Played with check. Bummer.

It is easy to overlook such a thing in blitz play.

Now Black is in trouble.

10...Kg8 11.Qd5+ Kg7 12.Qd4+ 

It is already possible to point out 12.Qf7+ Kh6 13.d3+ Qg5 14.Bxg5+ Kxg5 15.Qf4+ Kh5 16.Rf3 Nf2 17.g4+ Kh4 18.Qh6+ Kxg4 19.Rg3#.

White has his own ideas about winning. He checkmates faster than my suggestions, anyhow.

12...Kg8 13.Qc4+ Kg7 14.d3 

For the record: 14.Qf7+ Kh6 15.d3+ Qg5 16.Bxg5+ Kxg5 17.Qf4+ Kh5 18.Rf3 g5 19.Qf7+ Kh4 20.Rh3#. Not that it matters.

14...Qh4 15.Qf7 checkmate

Brutal.

Jerome Gambit: Welcome to the Jungle

Some lines in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) are clearer than others. Some are a vast jungle.

In the following game both players wander through a difficult and dangerous variation where one misplay can be disastrous.

Schauspielerr - Boxberg666

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4  Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ 

Here we have the "Nibs" defense or variation. It dates back to at least 1899 and is not the kind of thing that a player usually just stumbles into. Yet I have not found any other games with the line featuring either Schauspielerr or Boxberg666.

There is a significant amount of information on "His Nibs" in the blog posts "Entering the Maze (Parts 1, 2 & 3)". It is well worth checking out.

I have done well with White in the line, and The Database shows 144 games with White scoring 59%, but this has to do, in part, with familiarity with the play, as Stockfish 15 (25 ply) asseses Black as being almost a Rook better!

10.Kf1 

The computer sees little difference between the text move and 10.Kd1. The Database, however, has 35 games with 10.Kf1 (White scores 76%) and 86 games with 10.Kd1 (White scores 65%).

The inference to be drawn from both evaluations is that White should definitely avoid 10.Ke2.

10...Ne7 11.e5+ 

A practical choice, although the silicon choice is 11.Qxc5+. 

11...Kc6 12.Qe4+ Kb6

Missing the tricky escape path: 12...d5 13.exd6+ Nd5 14.gxh4 Bh3+!? when Black's extra pieces will best White's extra Queen. 

13.gxh4 Nxh4 

The situation has changed. Black's King is in greater danger, as his opponent shows.

14.d4 d5 15.dxc5+ Kxc5 16.Be3+ Kc6 17.Qa4+ b5 18.Qb4 Nhf5

19.Qc5+ Kd7 20.Nc3 b4 21.Nxd5 Ba6+ 22.Kf2 Nxe3 23. Qxe7+ Kc6 24. Nxb4+Kb5 26.Nxa6 Kxa6 27.Rad1 Black resigned

No exit.