Jerome Gambit: The Return of Cliff Hardy (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

The main comments are by Cliff, additions in blue are by me - Rick.

Cliff Hardy (2478) - GM Martin Kraemer (2895)

10 0 rapid, Lichess, 2023

14.Nd5+ Kd8

Aww! He saw that 14...Nxd5?? would lose to 15.Qxh5 but I guess that's to be expected with a GM.

15.Qxh5

I thought there was no point in trying to keep the queens on for an attack, since 15.Qg3 Qg4 would make it impossible for me to avoid a queen swap anyway.

15...Nxh5 16.Bg5+ Kd7 17.g4

Since the knight on h5 is lacking an ideal square to go to, I still have some initiative for my sacrificed piece.

17...h6 18.Bh4 g5 19.gxh5 gxh4 

20.c3 c6 21.Nf4 Be3 22.Ng6 Re8 23.Ke2 

Development and King safety here are more important than grabbing an offside pawn with 23...Nxh4.

23...Bg5 24.Raf1 Kc7 25.Rf7+ Kb6 26.Rhf1?!

With the GM down to under a minute left on his clock (52 seconds, in fact), I tried to play a bit too quickly here and missed the possibility of his coming bishop check. 26.Rg1, to prevent 26...Bg4+, was superior.

26...Bg4+ 27.Ke1 Bxh5 28.Rg7 Rg8 29.Rxg8 Rxg8 30.Nf4 Bxf4 31.Rxf4 Rg4 

GM Kraemer smoothly goes about exchanging pieces.-Rick

32.Rf2 h3 33.b4 Rg1+ 34.Kd2 Rg2 35.Ke3 Kb5??

A lesson here. Just before this move, I got a bit depressed because with rooks about to come off the board, I thought the simplified position would make it easy for him to blitz the win out, even though he only has about 26 seconds left on his clock to my 1 minute and 59 seconds left. But when he didn't play 35...Rxf2, I was startled back into action and made sure to move my rook away.

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: The Return of Cliff Hardy (Part 1)

Regular Readers of this blog are probably familiar with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) adventures of private eye "Cliff Hardy".

If not, do a quick check with the "search this blog" function and enjoy a selection of his games that have graced these posts.

I want to share Cliff's latest Jerome, with his notes - and with a few of my own comments (in blue), as well as diagrams.  

I just finished playing a GM in an online Jerome Gambit game. It was an interesting experience because it was being streamed live on Twitch by the grandmaster and so at least 80 spectators were watching the game live. I am often playing bullet games online but this was a ten minute each game so a lot of time to think about the moves. 

My opponent was German GM Martin Kraemer. Since the handle he was playing under was DrawDenied_Twitch, I could already presume that offering him any draw offers during the game would likely be a waste of time! Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything he said in the stream because he was doing it in German and 'kindergarten' is about the only German word I understand.

The Database contains well over 500 of Cliff's games, so he was quite familiar with the opening and the play that develops - this experience is one of those "trade offs" (the effect of relevant knowledge on time usage during a game) mentioned in the previous post  - Rick. 

Cliff Hardy (2478) - GM Martin Kraemer (2895)

10 0 rapid, Lichess, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

The thing that really impressed me this game (about the GM but also about the Jerome Gambit 😉) was the incredible respect that my opponent gave to the opening by spending a lot of time on some of his early moves. He took my bishop on f7 on move 4 almost immediately but started to spend lots of time here.

5...Nxe5

Played after 1 minute and 33 seconds thought.

6.Qh5+ Ke6!?

Played after 2 minutes and 27 seconds thought. Regular Jerome Gambit blog readers may well be aware that this is indeed Stockfish's favoured move in this position but is clearly a brave decision for Black to make to bring his king out into the centre of the board.

7.Qf5+

Clock times remaining: me - 9:46; GM - 5:55

7...Kd6 8.f4 

Instead, 8.d4 was seen in Cliff Hardy - NN, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2016 (1-0, 37) as reported in "Jerome Gambit: You Gotta Believe". The move is as old as Tonetti - Ruggeri, Rome, 1863 (1-0, 23) and appeared in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis in the January 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal - Rick

8...Qf6 

Of note:

8...Ne7 appeared in Cliff Hardy (blindfolded) - NN, 10 0, lichess.org, 2018 (1-0, 13) - see "Jerome Gambit: Another Cliff Hardy Blindfold game"; and

8...Nd3+ was seen in Cliff Hardy - NN, 1 0 bullet, Lichess, 2019 (1-0, 13) - see "Jerome Gambit: Too Clever" - Rick

9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3 Ke7 -++

Stockfish slightly prefers 11...Kc6 -++

Cliff had already encountered 11...Kc6 a few years ago, in Cliff Hardy - NN, 1 0 bullet, Lichess, 2019 (1-0, 64), as seen in "Jerome Gambit: Merry Christmas!". His comments - 

This game intrigued me as Black was unusual in being able to find the excellent 11...Kc6! move in this variation. Unfortunately, he was forced soon after that to become really generous this Christmas, as the presents began to be handed out......

12.Nc3 d6 13.Bf4 Qh5 

The GM spent spent 2 minutes and 37 seconds on that move. With the remaining clock times now down to 5:39 (me) and 1:38 (him), I clearly had a big time advantage. But since this GM's Lichess bullet rating at the time of our game was precisely 3000, I realised that the value of my time superiority was quite limited!

[to be continued] 

Jerome Gambit: Blitz And A Matter of Trade-Off

In chess played at blitz time control, your goal is not only to beat your opponent, it is to beat the clock. It does you no good to have the better position as you watch your flag fall. 

There is a balance between moving quickly (beat the clock!) and making good-move-after-good-move (beat the opponent!). Spending time on one can cost you with the other.

pablosko - austinwheeler03

3 0 blitz, lichess,org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 d6 

Not the most common way for Black to return one of the sacrificed pieces in the Jerome Gambit. In fact, I neglected to mention it in "Jerome Gambit for Dummies 2.0 (Part 6)".

Still it does the job, and in a 3-minute blitz game it is a move that can be selected quickly.

The Database has 86 games. White scores 55%.

7.dxe5 

It was probably stronger to grab the Bishop with 7.dxc5. 

7...Qh4 8.O-O 

This position could also have been reached via the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qh4 7.0-0 d6 8.dxe5, as was the case in the game Barnett - Gingras, Vermont, 1899 (0-1, 32) - which was obviously so interesting that I appear to have covered it twice: "Jerome Gambit: More Research" and "Jerome Gambit: Too Hazardous". (Ooops)

8...Bg4 

Taking advantage of the pin on White's f-pawn to add an attack on the Queen.

Instead, the weaker 8...dxe5 would have transposed to Kurtenkov - Carlos100S, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 (1-0, 42) - see "Jerome Gambit: Believe in Me".

9.Qd2 dxe5  

Preparing to bring his Rook to d8 to further distress the Queen - but Her Majesty moves first.

(I can't imagine that I would have found the move for Black that Stockfish 15 suggests - retreating the Bishop to e6.)

10.Qd5+ Kg6 11.Qxc5 Bf3 

Going for broke. Nothing comes of it, however. 

12.gxf3 Nf6 13.Qxe5 Black resigned

Any dynamic move by Black would run into 14.Qg3+ Qxg3 15.hxg3 and the second player would be a piece and two pawns down, without benefit of his Queen.

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined

Sometimes a chess game will unfold simply. The defender misses a threat, the attacker uneashes it, the game is over.

SorryYouLose - snob

3 0 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

4...Ke7 

The BSJG declined.

Blitz games can go like this.

White is content to simplify.

5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 7.d3 

Black's King is displaced. 

White can develop a stronger center with f2-f4. He also has a basic threat.

7...d6

Earlier, SorryYouLose had an opponent who also missed the threat: 7...c6 8.Bg5+ Black resigned, SorryYouLose - PlatinumKnight, blitz, FICS, 2017. 

However, one earlier opponent did not miss the threat: 7...h6 8.Na3 d6 9.Bf4 Be6 10.Qd2 c5 11.Nb5 Kd7 12.e5 g5 13.Bg3 Qb6 14.Nxd6 Qxb2 15.O-O Bxd6 16.Rfb1 Qa3 17.exd6 b6 18.f4 g4 19.f5 Bxf5 20.Qxh6 Rae8 21.Rb3 Qa6 22.a4 Be6 23.a5 Bxb3 24.Qh7+ Kc6 25.Qc7+ Kd5 26.Qf7+ Kc6 27.Qxb3 Qb5 28.Qf7 Black forfeited on time, SorryYouLose - pugachevsky, blitz, FICS, 2020. 

8.Bg5+ Black resigned

And that's that.

Jerome Gambit: Patience Wins Out

The Jerome Gambit can often lead to wild attacking play, but sometimes it leads to quieter positions where the attacker needs to show some patience instead of trying to whip up an attack that is not really there.

However, as in the following game, patient play is often rewarded.

Wall, Bill - PauloF

Internet, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Ng4 

As I mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Dispatched" concerning Wall, Bill - NN, Florida, 2019 (1-0 , 22).

The fun thing about being two pieces up is that you can find so many ways to give one back. This move is quite rare, but, of the four games with it, in The Database, two times Bill Wall was playing White. It is really hard to surprise him.

Besides, Bill had already seen the move in  Wall,B - LethoStark, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 31) - see "Jerome Gambit: Swarming Pieces"

7.Qxg4 

Stockfish 15 prefers 7.dxc5, but I suspect that Bill was simply avoiding the annoying followup 7...Qh5, making Kingside castling somewhat risky.

7...Bxd4 8.e5 Bxe5 

A natural mistake. I mean, if White is going to "throw away" two pieces, of course he would squander another pawn... Black's reasoning leads him astray. He would have done better with the cautious 8...Bb6. 

9.Qh5+ g6 

Slightly better by comparison, leading to an even game, was 9...Ke6, seen in Wall, B. - NN, Florida, 2019 (1-0, 22), mentioned earlier. 

10.Qxe5 Nf6 

11.O-O d6 12.Qb5 

I don't know what the time control was on this game, but I suspect that it was blitz. This is one of Bill's Go ahead and think about it moves that he sometimes comes up with - this time the question concerns Black giving up or not giving up his b-pawn.

12...a6 13.Qb3+ Kg7 14.Nc3 b6 

What do we have here? White has a small lead in development, and his King is a little bit safer.

Bill has faced these Jerome Gambit positions a lot. He knows if he is patient and plays solidly, something will eventually turn up.

15.f4 Re8 16.Nd5 Be6 17.c4 Bxd5 18.cxd5 Re4 

19.Qc3 Kg8 

Unpinning his Knight, because the White pawn on d5 is no longer protected. He should have tried the patient and prophylactic 19...Qd7, followed by doubling his Rooks on the e-file.

20.f5 Nxd5

Black is not impressed by White's pawn strike and goes ahead with his planned capture.

Stockfish 15's suggestion shows the f-pawn sowing chaos: 20...Nd7 21.f6 Ne5 22.f7+ Nxf7 23.Rxf7 Kxf7 24.Qf3+ Qf6 25.Qxe4 

21.Qd3 

A small move containing a lot of venom.

21...Re5 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.Qxg6+ Kh8 24.Qh6+ Kg8 25.Rf3 Black resigned

Black will have to surrender a lot of material in order to avoid checkmate.

Jerome Gambit: AI Once More

 

After the previous post, I decided to visit ChatGPT - an example of Artificial Intelligence (AI) - one more time and ask a couple more questions.

Of course, most of the general public, including chat bots, has a limited knowledge of chess and its intricacies. So I was not surprised when I asked ChatGPT about the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, and it replied that it was a chess opening that went 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4. That is actually the Scotch Gambit, although Blackburne did play it a few times.

My final exchange was quite educational, however.

Have you ever heard of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit?

No, I haven't heard of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. It's possible that it's a rare or obscure variation of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, or a misnamed or entirely different line. The names and classifications of chess openings can sometimes be imprecise or controversial, and new or obscure lines are regularly discovered or devised. In any case, a deep understanding of the strategic and tactical elements of the game is more important than memorizing specific opening names and variations.

Take that, human being! 

Jerome Gambit: AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a popular topic these days. There are even AI chat bots that are available to interact with.

I decided to visit ChatGPT and see what it had to say.

My first attempt at asking about the Jerome Gambit received the reply that it was a chess opening played by the French player Jerome Michel.

Non. Ce n'est pas correct.

I figured we were chatting before either of us had had our morning coffee, so I let it go for a while.

Later I tried again, and the bot replied

The Jerome Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5. The gambit refers to Black offering a pawn on c5, which White can choose to accept or decline. The idea behind the gambit is to create a quick and open position where Black can try to attack White's king, while White aims to develop their pieces and build a strong position. The Jerome Gambit is considered a very aggressive and tactical line, and is not often seen at the highest level of play.

Well, that wasn't quite right, either - offering a pawn on c5? - but it was closer. 

I tried "Are you familiar with Alonzo Wheeler Jerome?". The response was not too surprising - part wrong, part right - but seemed to indicate that the bot was not familiar with my blog.

I'm not aware of a chess player named Alonzo Wheeler Jerome. The name doesn't appear to be associated with a well-known chess player or with the Jerome Gambit in particular. It's possible that this person was a local player or someone who played chess as a hobby, but there is not enough information available to say for certain.

Then I tried "What do you think of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ?"

The move 4.Bxf7+ in the Jerome Gambit is a speculative sacrifice that aims to gain an advantage by removing the black king's defender, the bishop on c5. The idea behind the sacrifice is that Black's king is exposed and vulnerable to attack, which can lead to a quick win for White if executed correctly.

However, the sacrifice is not considered to be very sound from a positional point of view, and Black can often equalize or even gain an advantage after White's aggressive play. As a result, the move 4.Bxf7+ is not often seen in high-level games, and more cautious options such as 4.d4 or 4.Ng5 are generally considered to be safer and more reliable ways for White to continue.

Overall, the move 4.Bxf7+ in the Jerome Gambit is a sharp and tactical line that can lead to interesting and complex positions, but it is not considered to be a reliable way for White to gain a lasting advantage.

I was impressed. 

I should have stopped there.

Instead, I spoiled it all by asking about the Jerome Gambit again a little bit later, when the bot gave the moves of the Fried Liver Attack - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 - as those of the Jerome...

Quelle dommage.