Jerome Gambit: First The Idea Arrives...

When I am playing blitz, I noticed that first an idea for a move arrives, then I evaluate it.

Only, sometimes I don't evaluate, I just play the move, because it feels right.

That is certainly a time-saving practice that I sometimes get away with, and sometimes not. I can not recommend it to others.

Think first, then evaluate, then play the move.

 

perrypawnpusher - GuestHTXV

5 5 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 

For 7...Ke8, see perrypawnpusher - Lark, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 59)

8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3 

9.Qxc7 is too dangerous for White because of 9...Qxe4+. It certainly did not feel right.

9...Nf6

Or 9...d5 as seen in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 26) 

10.Nc3 

10.d3 was played in perrypawnpusher - hogmaster, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net 2008 (1-0, 37) and perrypawnpusher - pfink, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 25) 

10...c6

Stronger was 10...d5 as in perrypawnpusher - jjdd57, Piano Piano tournement, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 56). 

11.d4 Kf7 

Preparing to castle-by-hand.

12.O-O Rf8 13.f4 Kg8 

What do you think?

White has two pawns for a piece, and a strong pawn center. I was happy with my position. After the game, Stockfish rated White a little less than a pawn better. 

14.f5 Nh8 15.e5 Nd5 

I expected the consistent defensive move 15...Ne8.

In the post mortem Stockfish 15.1 suggested 15...d5 with an edge to White.

16.Qg3 

I did not want to spend a move on 16.Nxd5 and I was not stressed by the idea of Black exchanging Knights on c3 (his best response). I did know where I wanted my Queen to go.

16...Nf7 

Activating the cornered Knight - a good idea in the abstract, but flawed in this particular case.

17.f6 

The proper response. 

17...Nxf6 

Giving back some of the sacrificed material, but it is too late.

18.exf6 g6

Protecting against mate at g7, but costing the Queen. ("Best" was giving up Her Majesty with 18...Qxf6)

19.fxe7 

Here my opponent had about 5 1/2 minutes left on his clock, and he let it run. I figured he preferred to lose on time instead of resigning. However, when about half of the time had run off, he disconected, which led to a forfeit.

Lei Tingjie Has Beaten Ju Wenjun in Game 5 of the Women’s World Chess Championship Match with the Italian Game

Lei Tingjie Has Beaten Ju Wenjun in Game 5 of the Women’s World Chess Championship Match with the Italian Game 

 (by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

Let’s analyse the early opening stage of the today’s main chess game GM Lei Tingjie – GM Ju Wenjun (Game 5: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2537229 ): 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 

This sequence is very popular among top chess players in the modern time, but I don’t recommend both 4.d3?! and 4…Bc5?!, if you want to make the best move. Thus, after 4…Be7! White doesn’t have an advantage. 

5.0-0 

I don’t recommend to play 5.0-0?!, I recommend to play 5.Nc3!, and White gets an advantage (here are my old analytical researches on it, by transposition of moves: https://chessproblem.my-free-games.com/chess/games/ChessArticle.php?art=C50A , https://chessproblem.my-free-games.com/chess/games/ChessArticle.php?art=C50B ). 

5…d6 6.c3 a5 7.Bb3 

I don’t recommend to play 7.Bb3?!, to play both 6…a5?! and 6…a6?!. Thus, after 7.d4! AN White gets an advantage (here is my old analytical research on it after 6…a6, by transposition of moves: https://chessproblem.my-free-games.com/chess/games/ChessArticle.php?art=C54A , the situation after 6…a5 is analogous to it). 

It maybe, Ms. Lei Tingjie has known about my idea 7.d4!, but reminisced Game 3 of this Match (the Anti-Berlin system of the Spanish Opening), where she blundered a pawn on e4 after her move d3-d4, after her mistaken play. In Game 3 I recommend the way 8.Ba4! AN with the continuation 9.Qe2!, 10.0-0-0! (the same is also good after 8.Bc4!? AN), analogously to my old analytical research ( https://chessproblem.my-free-games.com/chess/games/ChessArticle.php?art=C54B ), instead of her way 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.d4. Of course, the position of that game differs a lot, but this psychology could work today. 

And let me finish this research. I can’t exclude that the way 3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 was chosen by the Women’s World Champion instead of 3…Bc5 to prevent some sharp systems including strong and other systems which can be found on this famous blog. I would recommend the Women's World Champion Ms. Ju Wenjun to not be sad and to choose more strong and more aggressive opening systems in this Match further, although the result of Game 5 wasn’t a consequence of its early opening stage. 

Contact the author:  istinayubukayev@yandex.ru     

© 2023 Yury V. Bukayev (Copyright © Bukayev Yury Vyacheslavovich 2023). All rights reserved.  

[A legal using of this investigation with a reference to it is permitted   and doesn’t require author’s consent.] 

Jerome Gambit: What Is Black Up To?

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can lead to unexpected play by both sides, especially in blitz games.

In the following game, I repeatedly had do ask myself, What is Black up to? 

Of course, the second player had the last laugh in this game, when I finally had to ask myself, What is White up to?

driver62 - fany541

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 

What is Black up to? By playing aggressively he gives White more to think about than the routine 6...Bxd4 or the theoretical 6...Qh4.

7.c3 Bxc3+ 

This is a bit over the top, however: 7...Ng6 and 7...Qh4 would have kept Black's advantage.

8.Nxc3 Nc4 

Again, what is Black up to? He had Knight retreats to c6 or g6 instead.

Perhaps he was thinking about the creative possibility 9.Qb3 d5 10.Nxd5 Be6 11.Qxc4 (better 11.Nf4) c6 which would have been good for him.

9.O-O 

Not going in for adventure. A sharper alternative was 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5 b6 12.Qa3 as in Wall,B - Guest3440, chesstempo.com, 2018 (1-0, 21). 

9...d6 10.Qe2 

Despite the warning in the note to Black's 8th move, 10.Qb3 would have been good for White, but with complications, e.g. 10...b5 11.Nxb5 d5 12.Qf3+ Nf6 13.e5 c6 14.Nc3 Qe7 15.Re1 Re8 16.b3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Kg8 18.h3 Qf7 19.Ba3 Nh5 20.Qxf7+ Kxf7. 

White goes after the enemy Knight a different way.

10...Qh4

Again: What is Black up to?

11.Qxc4+ Be6 12.d5 Bd7 13.f4 Rc8 

White now has the initiative and the advantage.

14.f5 

Locking in the enemy Bishop and making way for his own.

14...Ke8 15.Bf4 Nf6 

Now 16.e5 looks crushing.

16.Bxd6 

My guess is that this is based on an oversight which is revealed in White's next move.

16...cxd6 17.Qxc8+ 

If you don't see (or remember) the Bishop on d7, then this move logically follows the last. 

17...Bxc8 18.Nb5 Kd7 19.Rad1 Ng4 White resigned 

A reminder that anything can happen in a 3-minute game.

Jerome Gambit: While I Was Busy on the Computer This Morning...

 

While I was busy on the computer this morning, I decided to put all that work in the background and play a quick game online at FICS (Free Internet Chess Server).

I challenged a relatively weak computer program, Rusalka. Our game reminded me that nowadays the problem is not how to make a chess program smart, but, rather, how to make a smart computer dumber, so that humans have a chance against them. See "Jerome Gambit: Artificial Wha?".

perrypawnpusher - rusalka (c)

2 12 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6. Nxe5+ Nxe5 7. d4 Bd6

The Database has 83 games with this position. White scores 45%. Looking at my own games, I have scored 50% in 4 tries. This is all in light of the computers' evaluation of the position as being about  4 1/2 pawns better for Black. (What would International Master Erik Kislik think?)

8. dxe5 Bxe5 9.O-O 

This move (new for me) was only Stockfish's second choice (30 ply), as I found out after the game.

Stockfish 15's top choice in post-game analysis was 9.Ne2 which I had played in perrypawnpusher - LttlePrince, Italian Game Classic, Chess.com, 2020 (0-1, 29) and perrypawnpusher - andrewLLL, Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020}(1-0, 18). 

The computer's third choice was 9.f4, which I had played in perrypawnpusher - joseluislopez, 10 3 blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1,55).

The computer's fourth choice was 9.Bg5, which I had played in perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan, 14 0 blitz, FICS, San Jose, California US 2014 (1-0, 22). 

9...Bxc3 10.bxc3 Nxe4 

Ouch. A painful oversight. Yet, a look at The Database shows 8 previous games with this mistake, with White scoring only 63%.

By comparison, lichess.org has 19 games, with White also scoring 63%

(See this post's final comment, below.)  

11.Qd5+ Kf8 12.Qxe4 d5 13.Ba3+ Kf7 14.Qf4+ Kg8 15.Rad1 

I admit that I was hoping to be able to next play the cheapo 16.Rxd5 Qxd5 17.Qxf8#.

Instead, 15.Rae1 with the plan 16.Re7 was more logical. 

15...c6 

Stockfish 15.1 prefers the defensive 15...Qf6 instead, but its followup for White is nothing that I would have found: 16.Qxc7 h6 17.c4 Qc3 18.Rd3 Qxc4 19.Qe5 Qe4 20.Qa1 Bf5 21.Bb2 Rh7 22.Re1 Qc4 23.Rc3 Qb4 24.Rb3 Qc5 25.Ba3 Qc6 26.Qd4 Rc8 27.Rbe3 Material is even, but White is better.

16.c4 

Still looking for that cheapo. Still 16.Rfe1 with the idea of 17. Re7 was best.

16...Qa5 

Ouch. Best was 16...Qf6 17.Qxf6 gxf6 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Rfe1!? when any hope that the Bishops-of-opposite-colors ending which is approaching might hold a draw would be too much fantasy.

17.Qf8 checkmate

Some information about rusalka that I gathered from the FICS website

According to east-Slavic folklore, a Rusalka is a water spirit or water nymph. Rusalkas appear as beautiful young women who try to lure men into the water, where they will drown them.

Phalanx XXV, easy level 80, nodes per second limit = 260, CPU ARMv7 4-core 1.5 GHz with 2GB RAM running Lubuntu

easy levels are hardware/cpu load independent

i try to emulate human-like blunders

 

Jerome Gambit: Illogical

I have been reading International Master Erik Kislik's Applying Logic in Chess (2018) and Chess Logic in Practice (2019). It is difficult work, but worth the effort.

The chess coach has convinced me, without mentioning it by name, that playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is illogical.

Kislik has a good sense of chess computer programs (like Stockfish and Komodo) and their evaluations of positions and games. Here is a taste of his insights, should you wish to investigate his books. Consider it a Public Service by this chess blog.

Players often have little idea about the meaning of computer evaluations, so here are some guidelines on how to interpret engine scores. A +.50 advantage (with no tablebase hits) is an objective win a little less than 50% of the time, while a +1.00 advantage wins objectively nearly 80% of the time. +2.00 is closer to 95%, and +3 should be winning in well over 99% of objective cases excluding a major engine error. Hence, +.5 usually refers to a meaningful but non-decisive advantage for White (+/=), while a position that is +/- is at least 70% likely to be objectively winning. In practical games between titled players, if a player obtains a +/- position (often these positions are strategically winning if the reason for the advantage is structural) and can maintain it, the defending side rarely manages to defend perfectly and hold the position if it is at all possible.

I suppose it should be mentioned in this context that Stockfish 15 evaluates the position (30 ply) after  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ as being just about -4.00.

To quote the International Master and apply his words to the Jerome Gambit, Black "should be winning in well over 99%" of the time.

Oh, well. You have been warned.

Jerome Gambit: A Secret Weapon

 

The latest on YouTube

A video introduction to the Jerome Gambit: A Secret Weapon in the Italian Game: The Jerome Gambit || Chess

Maybe it will convince a few more players to try out the Jerome!

Jerome Gambit: Doggone

 

As Readers of this blog know, I play my slower-time-control Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games at Chess.com.

I stopped by the site today and discovered a new feature - "Hide Your Homework! The New Dog Bots Are Here".

Players have the opportunity to match their chess skills against dog bots (computer programs) Benji, Wishboy, Buddy Buckets, Pinky, and Ponchik, ranging in rating from 300 to 2600.

I decided to challenge Wishboy, in part because he is described as "the bookish host of a public-access TV show."

(Side note: That pairing of "dog" and "bookish" reminds me of an old Groucho Marx comment, “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”)

Here is our game. It is a light-hearted encounter. Wishboy was a "good boy" and let me win.

perrypawnpusher - Wishboy

casual game, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

Not for the last time did Wishboy comment, "Dog as my witness, I will never read another book. Chess is way more dramatic!"

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qf6

Apparently Wishboy is out of his "book" when it comes to the Jerome Gambit. This move blocks White's Queen from capturing the Rook at h8, but it leaves the Bishop hanging. The Database has 201 games with this move, and White scores 75%.

Whistler's (insert canine joke here) defense 7...Qe7 was stronger.

 8.Qxc5 d6 

Losing the trail of the opening. Some suggestions are 8...Qb6 or 8...c6 or even 8...Qe7 

8...c6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - Saveurking, 3 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 34)

 9.Qe3 

Was I afraid of being bitten? Or was I not paying attention? With Black's Queen at f6, his pawn at c7 was unprotected.

The consistent 9.Qxc7+ was certainly playable: the Database has 47 games, with White scoring 79%.

I was surprised to see that I have shied away before, playing 9.Qc3 in perrypawnpusher - Raankh, 3 12 blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2 - 1/2, 54). 

9...Kg7 

9...Ne7 was seen in perrypawnpusher - frencheng, 7 5 blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 23) 

10.Nc3 Be6 11.O-O Qe5 

I am not sure of the idea behind this move, or if there even was one. It does pose for me the eternal JeromeGambit question: d-pawn or f-pawn?

12.d4 

Of course the computers prefer 12.f4. 

12...Qh5 13.f4 Re8 14.Qd3 Ne7 

The "Jerome pawns" were ready for 14...Nf6 as well, i.e. 15.e5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 Bxd5 17.c4 Be6 18.d5 Bf5 19.Qd4.

15.d5 Bg4 16.Qd4+ Kh6 

Black's King is in danger wherever it goes, but relatively "safer" was 16...Kg8. 

17.f5+ g5 18.Qf6+ Ng6 19.fxg6 hxg6 

I was fine with the possibility of 19...Rhf8 20.Qxf8+ Rxf8 21.Rxf8 with two Rooks for my Queen.

20.Qd4 

No hurry.

20...Rhf8 21.Bd2 a6 

This tempo loss makes my central pawn push look good.

Of couse, lots of things look good when you are a piece ahead.

 22.Rxf8 Rxf8 23.e5 

23...Qh4 24.e6 Kh5 

The royal couple edges away from home, but there is no safety elsewhere.

25.h3 Qg3 26.Qxg4+ 

I recently re-read my first chess book ever, Chess the Easy Way by Reuben Fine. I am certain that he did not say such a thing, but I came away (again) with the idea that a chess game could be reduced to winning a pawn, then exchanging everything else off, finishing with promoting that pawn to a Queen...

Of course, in this case I have more than an extra pawn.

26...Qxg4 27.hxg4+ Kxg4 

I do not know if Wishboy has the option of resigning, or if the program has to play things out to the bitter end.

28.Rf1 Rc8 29.e7 b6 30.Rf8 Kh5 31.Rxc8 c5 32.dxc6 g4 33.e8=Q Kh4 34.Qe7+ Kg3 35.Rh8 b5 36.Qe3 checkmate

When asked what he thought about the game, Wishboy would probably respond "Ruff".

 

I suspect that the Buddy Buckets is out there waiting for me...