The Jerome Gambit

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Bobby Fischer, His Ultra-Short Game & The New View

(by Yury V. Bukayev)

The 80th anniversary of the birth of the deceased great chess maestro WCC Top GM Robert James Fischer is coming these days. Let’s consider one of his earliest known games. Thus, once he has played an ultra-short game which can be very educational for somebody. Here it is with my brief commentaries.

Jacob Altusky – Robert J. Fischer

offhand game, USA, 1954

1.e4 e5

2.Nf3 Nc6

3.Bb5 a6

4.Ba4 d6

5.d4?! b5

6.Bb3 Bg4?!

It was a serious mistake by Bobby Fischer (it isn’t so wonderful: he was 11 years old), because it permits his opponent to get an extra pawn and a not little advantage after 7.dxe5! dxe5 8.Qd5 Qxd5 9.Bxd5 Nge7! 10.Nxe5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6. After 6.Bb3 Black should play 6…Nxd4 with the good position.

7.Bxf7+?

Although we can thank Jacob Altusky (a little or a lot?) for this Jerome-ish move (he was 23 years old and could know that year about the 80th anniversary of the publishing of the Jerome gambit), but this move was weak, and its idea for that game was absolutely wrong. Mr. Altusky’s mistaken idea will be understood after his next move.

7. … Kxf7

8.Ng5+??

After our analysis we can understand that he has planned the following: 8…Ke8?? 9.Qxg4 with 9…Nxd4 10.Qd1, or 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qd1.

8. … Qxg5! ,

and White resigned. Of course, White missed this blow. And after 9.f3 Qg6 10.fxg4 Qxe4+ White had no real chance to save the game.

According to my idea, Jacob Altusky could make this game “immortal” after 8…Qxg5. Thus, it was an offhand game only, and he (J.A.) could make the following with his young opponent (B.F.) instead of the resignation.

J.A.: Queen (J.A. is touching his Queen) f three: check! (J.A. is replacing his Queen to the square f3.) Three: check – do you have anything against it? Three: check!! Do you hear me, Bobby??

B.F.: Well, three: check…

J.A.: Yes, three-check! (J.A. is stopping the chess clock.) And this my check – 9.Qf3+! – is the third one. So I have won this three-check chess game, you remember three-check chess rules! Don't become very sad. For your further successes you should learn opening theory of 3-check chess including 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5? 4.Bxf7+! Kxf7?? 5.Nxe5+! with the fastest win. In fact, I also could play 8.Nxe5+! Ke8! 9.Qxg4! – with the win – in this our finished game instead of my 8.Ng5+!.

B.F.: But we have played ordinary chess!!!

J.A.: Really? Well, in this case you have won. Sorry! It is a joke in honour of the birth of three-check (or 3-check, or three checks) chess!

Contact the author: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru

[A legal using of this investigation with a reference to it is permitted

and doesn’t require author’s consent.]

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Who Plays The Jerome Gambit Often?

I have asked the question before - Who plays the Jerome Gambit?

Back in May of 2010, I could ask who was "King of the Hill", and noted that while kingmaple had 619 games in The Database, he was outpaced significantly by DragonTail, with 1,213 games.

(It turns out that was not the whole story.)

Five years later, in "Who Plays the Jerome Gambit?", I pointed out that DragonTail continued to lead, with 1,445 games in The Database.

That last number was an error - in 2015 DragonTail actually had 1,529 games in The Database, his last ones being played in 2012.

That increase is significant, as a player who I had overlooked - suzana - actually had 1,499 games in The Database at that time, barely being relegated to second place.

In fact, the neglected suzana had the same number of games in The Database as of May of 2010, which would have taken the top of the list back then.

Today, while I am pleased with my own 692 games in The Database, that hardly approaches mwafakalhaswa's 1,046 games, or Bill Wall's 1,185 games.

We all continue to lag behind suzana and DragonTail.