Jerome Gambit: Funniest Jerome Gambit

Yury V. Bukayev sent me what may be the funniest Jerome Gambit ever played. Sure, the players are children, and the Jerome is an excellent choice for them, but, still...

D.K. - P.B.

EU-ch U08 Germany, 2003

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Nf3 Bc5 

Reaching the Jerome Gambit via the Bishop's Opening.

5.O-O Bxf2+ 

Well, that came as a surprise. More psychology?

6.Rxf2 Nd4 

A painful mis-step.

Not surprisingly, The Database has another game with the much more normal 6...Nf6: 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.c3 d6 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.Qf7 checkmate, UmusBdreamin - QFM, FICS, 2008. 

7.Nxe5+ Ke8 

Okay, White is in control, with more material and a coming attack on an unsafe King. What would you do?

8.Rf7 

Planting a Rook in enemy territory, but leaving himself open for the counter 8...Qg5!?.

Strongest was adding the Queen: 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Nxg6 Nf6 10.Qe5+ Ne6 11.Nxh8 d6 12.Qxf6 Qxf6 13.Rxf6.

Even 8.Nf7 was better motivated. 

8...Nh6 9.Nc3 

White is right, the Rook does not have to move, but this is not the correct choice - 9.Qh5 was. 

9...Rf8 

Looking to eject the enemy Rook, but this was also a mistake. 

10.Rxg7 

10...Rxf8+ with advantage to White.

10...Rg8 

The Rook has a job, and it intends to do it, wrong-headed as ever.

Instead, 10...Qf6! 11.Qh5+! Kd8!, where White has some advantage, but he will need to find the best moves to keep it, because the position is sharp.

11.Rxg8+ 

Why not? White sees nothing wrong with cooperating with Black, here.

You probably saw that he also had 11.Qh5+ Kf8 12.Rf7+ Ke8 13.Rxh7+ Kf8 14.Qxh6+ Ke8 15.Qh5+ Rg6 16.Qxg6+ Kf8 17.Qf7# 

11...Nxg8 Black resigned

12.Qh5+ leads to checkmate.

Jerome Gambit: A Few Tactical Ideas in Your Pocket

It is always good to have a few tactical ideas in your pocket - you never know when they might come in handy. 

The following game is won by such an idea.

Mauricio060215 - Cpt_Joseph

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

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

 4...Kxf7 5.O-O 

This is one of the so-called "modern" variations of the Jerome Gambit, because Alonzo Wheeler Jerome and early players all focused, instead, on 5.Nxe5+.

White decides that sacrificing one piece is enough.

The Database has 1,971 games, with 5.O-O. White scores 41%.

It has 20,917 games with 5.Nxe5+. White scores 57%  

But our silicon friend suggests that the story is not over. At 40 ply, Stockfish 15's analysis is that 5.Nxe5+ is only .2 of a pawn better than 5.O-O. That's not much of a difference at all.

The question should be: How wild a game do you want?

5...Be7 

Black has defensive plans.

6.c3 d6 7.d4 Nf6 

8.dxe5 dxe5 

Okay, thinks White, let's try something

9.Qb3+ Be6 

Bingo!

So many defenders against the Jerome Gambit love to harass the White Queen.

But White is ready.

10.Ng5+ 

Of course.

Rememer, this is a 5 minute blitz game. Such a thing is less likely to occur with longer time controls.

10...Kg6 

Black flees his castle behind a wall of pawns.

11.Qxe6 Rf8 12.Qf5+ Kh6 13.Nf7 checkmate

Very nice.

Win and Lose With the Bishop Sacrifice Gambit!

Yury V. Bukayev directed me to Michael Tam's "Adventures of A Chess Noob" website, subtitled, appropriately, "learning and having fun with chess!"

In particular he wanted me to see "Win and lose with the Bishop sacrifice gambit!" This was not a particular opening, but, as Mr. Tam pointed out, a thematic idea that can occur in a number of openings. "This is best characterized by the Jerome Gambit" he says, although he adds "The Jerome Gambit is completely unsound, I don't recommend it."

The rest of the video is Mr. Tam showing two games, one where he  defended a Two Knights defense and one where he played a Vienna Gambit. Both featured the Bishop sacrifice.

He sagely suggests that you make the sacrifice "only if you have an immediate attack that can take advantage of the exposed King". That has always been a criticism of the Jerome. (It is also why White often follows 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 with the further sacrifice 5.Nxe5+ and attack, i.e. 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+)

I recommend visiting the site (with some stunning graphics), which has many videos about many openings, and especially watching Mr. Tam play over the second game, the Vienna Gambit. It is truly wonderful to hear Mr. Tam talk about how Stockfish continues to rate the defender as doing far better, move by move, even though you are watching the pieces on the board and you know that you are seeing him crush his opponent.  

Happens in the Jerome Gambit, too, I have to add.

The World Champion Has Used Yury Bukayev’s Advice on 4…Be7 in Game 11 of the Match with Enough Success

 The World Champion Has Used Yury Bukayev’s Advice  

on 4…Be7 in Game 11 of the Match with Enough Success  

(by Yury V. Bukayev) 

 

Let’s analyse the opening stage of today’s main chess game GM Lei Tingjie – WCC GM Ju Wenjun (Game 11 of the World Chess Championship Match 2023: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2548557  ):  

 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7  

In my recent analytical publication (https://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/2023/07/lei-tingjie-has-beaten-ju-wenjun-in.html) on Game 5 (and partially on Game 3) I have written about opponents’ moves 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”. Thus, Ms. Ju has used my advice on 4…Be7 today. 

 

5.Nc3 d6 6.a4 0-0 7.Bg5 Be6 

Black has a very good alternative: 7…h6! AN 8.Bh4 [8.h4? hxg5 9.hxg5 Ng4!, and Black has a large advantage; 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Nd5 g6 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.h3 Be6 or 11…Kg7, and Black stands slightly better in both cases; 8.Be3 Be6 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.c3 Nbxd5 12.Bxd5 Nxd5 13.Qb3 Nxe3 14.fxe3 Rb8!?, and Black has a large advantage] 8…Nh7!? 9.Bg3 [9.Bxe7 Qxe7 =] 9…Bg4! 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bh2 Ng5 12.g4 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Nd4, and after 14…Bg6 Black has a good position.  

It is very interesting that after 9…Re8 10.0-0!? (10.h3) 10…Bg4 11.h3 Bh5?! White plays 12.Nxe5!!, and after the natural move 12…Bxd1? White gets a very large advantage after 13.Nxf7!: if 13…Qb8 (Black gets an enormous material advantage) 14.Ne5+! Kh8 15.Ng6#, and it is much more complicated than the Legal’s Mate – one of topics of this famous blog. 

 

8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Nd5 Bxd5 

The move 8.Bxf6 isn’t the best one, although it is impossible for White to get an advantage here. After 9…Bxd5 the game’s position is almost even. Black has a very good alternative: 9…g6! AN (with the idea 10…Bg7!) 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 (here Black plans to capture White’s Bishop) 11.Bxe6 Qxe6! with the following …f7-f5!, and Black stands better.  

 

And let me finish this research. I recommend the Women’s World Champion Ms. Ju to choose more strong and more aggressive opening system in the 12th classical game of the Match, its result depends on its early opening stage enough strongly. Thus, I recommend her to play 1.e4, 1.c4 or 1.d4 instead of 1.Nf3. 

 

 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.]  

 

International Chess Day