Jerome Gambit: New Tournament

I have started my games in the first round of a 16-player (4 groups of 4) "Play the Italian Game III" tournament at Chess.com.

Since the starting moves are 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 it is possible for my opponents to deny me the chance to play a Jerome Gambit by avoiding playing 3...Bc5. So far, all three have done so.

Alas, even though I have replied 3...Bc5 in my games, no one has played 4.Bxf7+ against me, either.

I will have to make do with a Monck Gambit, for now.

Jerome Gambit: Monck Gambit, Game Score Corrected

Looking into the Monck (or Noa) Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+) - for some background, see the post "Jerome Gambit: Chaos in a Two Knights (Part 1)" - I ran across the following article in the June 8, 1895, issue of the Montreal Daily Herald

Chess Column

The Monck Gambit

Anything new in the way of openings or that cannot be found in the books is always interesting. The following variation of the Two Knights' defence, which went by the name of the Monck Gambit in Dublin some years since, will be found amusing. We copy from the Baltimore News.

Game No. 61.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.N/fg5+ Kg6 8.Qf3 dxe4 9.Qf7+ Kxg5 10.d4+ Kh4 11.h3! Bb4+ 12.Kf1! g6 13.g3+ Kh5 14.g4+ Kh4 15.Qb3! Bc3 16.Qxc3 e3 17.Qxe3 Bxg4 18.hxg4+ Kxg4 19.Qe4#

 This unnamed, undated and unplaced game is identical to the game Pollock - Amateur, which I found in Pollock Memories: A Collection of Chess Games, Problems, &c., &c., Including His Matches with Eugene Delmar, Jackson Showalter, and G.H.D. Gossip (1899), by William Henry Krause Pollock, and posted on this blog 7 years ago - with the exception of the very last move. The book version ended with 19.Qh3#.

Or did it?

I returned to Pollock's book online and examined the game. It ended "19.Q mates", which does not help determine what the final move was.

However, in the Montreal Daily Herald chess column quoted above, the paragraph following the game started

Simultaneous Play

On Wednesday evening Dr. W. H. K. Pollock gave an exhibition of simultaneous play at the St. Denis Chess Club...

If Pollock was around, it is likely that the "Chess Column" writer at the Herald got the checkmating move right.

Which means that I got it wrong.

Hence the correction. The game ended with 19.Qe4#. I have made the change in The Database as well. 

By the way, the earliest Monck Gambit that I have in The Database predates both Monck's, Noa's and Pollock's efforts, as given in Louis Paulsen A Chess Biography with 719 Games (2019) by Hans Renette, quoting the November 1857 issue of The Chess Monthly November 1857

Paulsen, Louis - Fuller, W.J.A, blindfold exhibition, New York, 1857: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.Nfg5+ Bxg5 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Nxg5+ Kg7 10.Qh4 Nd4 11.Kd1 h6 12.Nf3 Nxf3 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.gxf3 b6 15.h4 Bb7 16.Rh3 Rf8 17.Ke2 Rf5 18.d3 Raf8 19.Be3 Bxf3+ 20.Kd2 c5 21.c3 d5 22.d4 exd4 23.cxd4 c4 24.Rc1 Be4 25.a3 Rf3 26.Rg3 b5 27.Rcg1 a5 28.Kc3 Rxf2 29.Bxf2 Rxf2 30.Rc1 Rh2 31.Re3 Rxh4 32.b4 a4 33.Kd2 Rf4 34.Rce1 h5 35.Rg3 h4 36.Rge3 Rf6 37.Rh3 g5 38.Rg1 Kh6 39.Ke2 Kh5 40.Rh2 g4 41.Rf2 Bf3+ 42.Ke3 Re6+ 43.Kf4 Re4+ 44.Kf5 Rxd4 45.Re1 Be4+ 46.Ke6 Rd3 47.Rf8 g3 48.Rg8 c3 49.Rf1 Rf3 50.Rxf3 Bxf3 51.Kf5 Be4+ 52.Kf4 c2 53.Rh8+ Kg6 54.Rc8 g2 and Black won

Jerome Gambit: Easy Come...

When playing over a 1-minute game by angelcamina, at lichess.org, it is easy to forget that he completes his wins in 60 seconds - or less - because the play seems so, well, easy...

angelcamina - FutureWorld_Champion

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+ c6 10.Qc4 

In earlier games angelcamina has retreated his Queen to b3 or b4

10...Qe7 11.O-O Ne5 

Instead, 11...Nf4 might have furthered his attacking chances on the Kingside. 

12.Qa4 Bd7 13.d4 c5 14.Qb3 

Black is attacking White's center, as White's Queen looks to grab the enemy b-pawn.

14...c4 

This change in plans - as opposed to, say, 14...cxd4 15.Qxb7 Bc6 - may be motivated by the attractiveness of attacking the Queen in a 1-minute bullet game.

15.Qg3 

It was safe to play 15.Qxb7 Nf3+ 16.gxf3 Rd8, but White seemed suspicious. Time control issue.

15...Ng6

White's game certainly looks easier to play.

16.Nc3 Kd8 17.f4 Nf6 18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Nh5 20.Qf3 

Black's hanging Knight on h5 keeps him from playing the otherwise very useful 20...Bc6. 

20...Qh4 21.Qxb7 Ke7 

Black's King is the one in danger. White's moves come easily. 

22.Nd5+ Ke6 23.Nc7+ Ke7 24.Nxa8 Ngf4 25.Bxf4 Nxf4 26.Qb4+ Kd8 27.Qxc4 Qh5 28.Rxf4 Qe2 

A final slip, probably clock-induced.

29.Qxe2 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Updating Early Secrets (Part 6)

 

As befitting a blog on an unusual opening such as the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it looks like I unwittingly produced two different earlier posts containing different "Jerome Gambit Secret #16".

The first looks at a position that could have arisen from one of my games.

A position search in The Database turns up 16 games.

However, in 9 of them, it is White to move, while in 7 of them it is Black to move.

Even more baffling, in those 9 with White on the move, none of the first players found Qg5+, winning the Black Queen.

But, all is not lost. In 4 of the games, Black played a move that allowed White to still play Qg5+ and win the Queen. In 3 of those games, White did so, but the fourth ended with the note "0 - 1, cheat detected".

You can't make this stuff up.

The second "Jerome Gambit Secret #16" focused upon the following position, where White was hunting the Black King, but the defender was still, technically, better

Black played 10...Bxf2+ and after 11.Kxf2 Ng4+ White resigned.

Finally, "Jerome Gambit Secret #17": 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d5

The Database has only 5 games with this position, but White has scored only 20%.

Jerome Gambit: Updating Early Secrets (Part 5)

Here are a few more updates, as we noted a few posts ago, 

From "Jerome Gambit" Secret No More"

Jerome Gambit Secrets continue to be revealed. Most recently, I had to cross #13 off the list, as it was not longer secret. This one was on behalf of the defender, and to White I can only say with a smile "Don't say I didn't warn you"

"Jerome Gambit Secret #14" came in a line where Black avoided the Jerome: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Many of us would now choose 6.Qh5, but the move looked at was 6.Nc3, which still leads to an equal position. The Database has 9 games with 6.Nc3, with White scoring 44%. It is interesting that lichess.org has 27 games, with White scoring 68%.

"Jerome Gambit Secret #15": 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3 d5

...d5 is a thematic move for the defense against the Jerome Gambit, and it is not surprising that Stockfish 15.1 evaluates the resulting position as about 2 1/3 pawns better for Black. Yet, The Database has only 12 games with the move, with White scoring 58%.  Even more, lichess.org has 230 games, where White scores 65%. As is often the case in the Jerome, playing the "best" move does not necessarily make the position less complicated.

Jerome Gambit: Updating Early Secrets (Part 4)

 

Continuing the series, started  a few posts ago, here are a few more updates from earlier blog posts featuring "Jerome Gambit Secrets".

"Jerome Gambit Secret #10": 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3 Ke7 12.c3

Moving a pawn instead of a Knight to c3 was the suggestion, although it does not appear to be much of an improvement. The Database has 33 games with 12.Nc3, with White scoring 70%; compared to 10 games with 12.c3, with White scoring 40%. Stockfish 15.1 does see 12.c3 as about a 1/2 pawn better compared to 12.Nc3, but both leave Black better.

In "Jerome Gambit Secret #11", after the Bishop-return line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 Ng6 9.O-O 

the computer recommended either 9...d5 or 9...h5 for Black.

The Database has one game with 9...d5 (a win for Black) and no games with 9...h5, so the moves remain largely "secret".

Things were a bit different with "Jerome Gambit Secret #12": 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qd5+

The highly dangerous (for White) 8.Qxh8 appeared in Jerome - Norton, D., correspondence, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 20) and Jerome - Whistler, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15). Jerome was fortunate to gain a half point from the two games. The December, 1876 issue of  American Chess Journal, commenting on the Whistler game, recommended 8.Qd5+ without analysis.

Then 8.Qd5+ practically disappeared from the face of the earth.

Years after this "Secret", things have become less secret. (For example, see Yury V. Bukayev's " Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 7)" and "JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 15)") The Database has 36 games with 8.Qd5+; White scores 50 %. Moreover, lichess.org has 421 games, with White scoring 48%.

Jerome Gambit: Updating Early Secrets (Part 3)

 

As we have been doing, starting  a few posts ago, here are a few more updates from earlier blog posts featuring "Jerome Gambit Secrets".

"Jerome Gambit Secret #7" addressed the somewhat unusual defense response to a center pawn fork of two of his pieces: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Nc4 

The Database has 12 games with this position. White scores 67%.

As I noted

So - if Black plays the almost "secret" 6...Nc4, smile, but do not celebrate yet. Go for the Queen check at h5, consider the "nudge" at d5, and prepare for complex play where you can hope for an advantage (with a draw in hand, per Stockfish).

I have noticed in its analysis that Stockfish seems to "mistrust" the Jerome Gambit, that it sometimes has White run to a draw whenever possible. In this line it looks at 7.Qh5+ and if 7...Kf8 recommends 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.Qh5+, etc. draw; after all, White is two pieces down.

"Jerome Gambit Secret #8" explored a line that was probably more confusing that it should have been. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 there are almost 600 games with the position in The Database, with White scoring 55%, yet if you add 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.O-O Bd6  

then White scores 39% in 14 games - even though Stockfish considers the position about equal. Certainly the plan should be to play 8.d4 or 8.f4, and then f2-f4 or d2-d4 as soon as possible, to take advantage of the "Jerome pawns".

"Jerome Gambit Secret #9" Investigated a sideline. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 White could either capture the Bishop on c5 directly or go in for a Queen-check "nudge" first, which he does here 7.Qd5+ Kf6 however, after this King's mis-step, there is the attack-the-king-minded 8.f4

According to The Database, White has scored 53% in 16 games. Lichess.org's database is more encouraging, with 19 games where White scores almost 80%.