Jerome Gambit: Titled Tuesday

Chess.com runs two 11-round Swiss tournaments every Tuesday for titled players - "Titled Tuesday Blitz". The time control is 3 1. The prize fund for each tournament is $2,500.

Canadian Grandmaster Aman Hambleton has played the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) at least three times in these tournaments.

Hambleton, Aman - Dejmek, Mark W.

3 1 blitz, Chess.com, "Titled Tuesday", 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.Nc3 Qe7 10.d3 Bb4 11.Bd2 Be6 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 d5 14.O-O-O c5 15.f4 d4 16.Bd2 Bf7 17.f5 a5 18.Rde1 b5 19.e5 Nh5 20.Qf3 Rc8 21.e6 Be8 22.g4 c4 23.Bxa5 Kg8 24.gxh5 c3 25.Rhg1 cxb2+ 26.Kxb2 Qc5 27.Re2 b4 28.Bxb4 Qb5 29.h6 g6 30.f6 Bc6 31.f7 checkmate

Hambleton, Aman - Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia

3 1 blitz, Chess.com, "Titled Tuesday", 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Kf7 11.O-O Re8 12.d3 Kg8 13.Qg3 Be6 14.f4 Bf7 15.f5 Ne5 16.Bg5 Kh8 17.Rae1 c5 18.Qh4 Qe7 19.Re3 Bg8 20.Ne2 h6 21.Rg3 Bh7 22.Bc1 Qf7 23.Nf4 d5 24.Ne6 Rg8 25.Nxg7 Rxg7 26.Rxg7 Qxg7 27.Bxh6 Qf7 28.Bf4 Re8 29.Bg5 Ned7 30.Re1 dxe4 31.dxe4 Nxe4 32.Bf4 Nef6 33.Rxe8+ Qxe8 34.Bg5 Qe5 35.Qf2 Qxf5 36.Qh4 Qe5 37.h3 Qd4+ White resigned

Hambleton, Aman - Aliakbarov, Anar Samir Oglu

3 1 blitz, Chess.com, "Titled Tuesday", 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.Nc3 d6 10.d3 Kg8 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 c5 13.O-O-O h6 14.f4 Kh7 15.h3 Re8 16.Qf3 d5 17.e5 Ng8 18.Nxd5 Qf7 19.Nc3 Rb8 20.Kb1 b5 21.Rhf1 b4 22.Ne4 Bb7 23.Qe3 Bxe4 24.dxe4 Rbd8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.f5 Rd4 27.e6 Qb7 28.Re1 Nf6 29.e5 Re4 30.Qf2 Ne8 31.g4 Qd5 32.b3 Qxe5 33.Rxe4 Qxe4 34.Qxc5 Nf6 35.a3 bxa3 36.Qxa3 Qh1+ 37.Kb2 Qxh3 38.Qxa7 Qxg4 39.Qc5 Qe4 40.b4 h5 41.b5 h4 42.Qc6 Qxc6 43.bxc6 Ne8 44.Kc3 h3 45.f6 gxf6 46.c7 Nxc7 White resigned

Jerome Gambit: Checking With Bing

I checked with the new Bing.com (enhanced with AI) the other day, and this is what it had on the Jerome Gambit 

The Jerome Gambit is a chess opening that was invented in America. It is a very risky attack that involves sacrificing two pieces for two pawns, with the chances arising from the adversary’s king being displaced and drawn into the center of the board (en.wikipedia.org, thechesswebsite.com).

The opening is named after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, who played it against William Shinkman in 1876, gaining popularity among players when it was published in the Dubuque Chess Journal. It used to be called the “Kentucky opening” and was changed to the Jerome Gambit in 1896 when it was featured in a treatise called “Chess openings, Ancient and Modern” (chess.com).

[The Dubuque Chess Journal, April 1874 introduced and labeled the line "Jerome's Double Opening". The Nordisk Tidende, May 1877, which was translated and reprinted in The Chess Player's Chronicle, August 1877, has the first reference I have found to "Jerome Gambit". Chess Openings Ancient and Modern, first edition, in 1889, covered the "Jerome Gambit", as did it's third edition in 1896. Joseph Henry Blackburne, in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess in 1899 referred to the Jerome Gambit as "the Kentucky Opening." - Rick]

The Jerome Gambit can be used to pry the king out of safety and turn a relatively quiet Giuoco Piano (literally meaning “quiet game”) into a crazy king hunt, with many tricks, traps, and tactics. It works best in bullet, where you can surprise your opponent, winning precious time and putting them under stress, making it more likely for them to blunder (chess.com). Here is an example game featuring the Jerome Gambit:

 

Lc0_1 - N.N

1 0 bullet, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ 10.Kd1 Qf6 11.e5+ Nxe5 12.fxe5+ Qxe5 13.Qf8+ Kc6 14.Qf3+ d5 15.Re1 Qd4 16.h3 Bxh3 17.c3 Qf2 18.Qxf2 Bxf2 19.Rh1 Bg2 20.Rh2 Bf3+ 21.Kc2 Bxg3 22.Rf2 Be4+ 23.d3 Bxd3+ 24.Kxd3 Bxf2 25.Be3 Bxe3 26.Kxe3 Re8+ 27.Kd4 Re1 28.b4 Nf6 29.a4 Rhe8 30.b5+ Kd6 31.c4 R8e4+ 32.Kd3 Rxc4 33.Nd2 Rxa1 34.Nxc4+ dxc4+ 35.Kxc4 Rxa4+ 36.Kb3 Rh4 37.b6 axb6 38.Kc2 Rh3 39.Kd2 Ke5 40.Ke2 Kf4 41.Kf2 Rh2+ 42.Kg1 Kg3 43.Kf1 Ra2 44.Ke1 Kf3 45.Kd1 Ke3 46.Kc1 Kd3 47.Kb1 Rh2 48.Ka1 Kc3 49.Kb1 Rg2 50.Ka1 Kb3 51.Kb1 Rg1 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Automatic

Playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) injects enough chaos into a chess game that certain things become especially dangerous. An "automatic" move can suddenly have a lot of risk - and in a bullet game where there is not a lot of time to analyze deeply, things can end quickly.

ChadGPT5 - bsbgabriel

1 0 bullet, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Qf6 

Generally the Knight goes to f6, but Black plans to station it on e7. The Database has 32 games with the Queen at f6. White scores 70%.

10.O-O 

White's plan is to safeguard his King, line up his Rook on the same file as Black's Queen and King, and prepare for f2-f4.

10...N8e7 11.f4 c5 

With a lot of time on the clock, White might now build his position slowly: d2-d3, Nc3, Bd2, Rf2 and Raf1.

With only a minute on the clock, there is a psychological push to move quickly.

12.e5 dxe5 

What would be more natural than the automatic exchange of pawns? Why would anyone even consider the alternative 12...Qf7 ? 

13.fxe5 

Oh. I see it now. The Queen. The King. The Rook.

Bullet chess.

13...Qxf1+ 14.Kxf1 Ke8 15.Nc3 Rf8+ 16.Kg1 White won on time

Jerome Gambit: 5 Brilliant Moves for White

 

I found the following interesting exploration of the Jerome Gambit online...

Go to chess

r/chess•2 yr. ago

by 

Tomodovodoo

I scammed the chess.com algorithm and created a game with 5 brilliant moves for white.

So around 3 hours ago, I decided to learn Jerome Gambit Theory to play it against my friends and or my dad. I found some theory, but it wasn't all that extensive for the extremely dubious lines.

That's where my genius idea came in to find traps in the Jerome I'll never be able to use anyway. How? Using low depth Lc0 (pure positional, depth 4) and Stockfish (degraded because max depth 13).

For reference, the line which was played had a evaluation at 1 point of ~-7. But stockfish found a ridiculous perpetual. Ofc, I'm thinking at this point i should see if chess.com thinks it's brilliant as well.

Turns out, chess.com didn't think a rook sac was brilliant enough. But I've noticed in the past that it'll give random brilliant moves if the material is very imbalanced and you just keep checking.

So I made with the help of the engines a few more checks. That somehow gave the game 4 brilliant moves.

I was not satisfied.

So I made the decision to play the game on, checking if black could block with the queen and still draw the game. After a bit of analysis, it turned out that black did still have a draw.

At this point it was just about creating a situation where 1 player needs to make a single sacrifice to keep the game drawn. And Lc0 is perfect at creating these situations, since if Lc0 thinks it's winning, and stockfish thinks it's a draw, it'll most likely require a move that's hard to find at low depth (brilliant moves)

And low and behold, around 20 moves later, I saw an opportunity arise. Make a move for white that looks to be losing, black makes the best move, and the only drawn move for white is to sac a bishop.

Around 15 moves later, I can end the game in a theoretical draw and put it in chess.com's analysis. Low and behold, 5 brilliant moves by 1 player in 1 match.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/758702903673356328/823712773811863552/5_Brilliant_moves_in_Jerome_Gambit.jpg

If you want to see the pgn and chess.com's analysis, check here: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/3WjoJuqjA6 

Engines begin playing after 7.f4.

 

Stockfish 12 NNUE (1 sec) - Lc0 (1 sec)

Testing Jerome Gambit, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+? Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.f4? Nf6 8.Qxe5 d6 9.Qg5 h6 10.Qh4 Qe8 11.e5 dxe5 12.f5 Bxf5 13.Rf1 Bxc2?! 14.Qc4 Qg6?! 15.Qxc5+ Kg8?! 16.Qc4+ Kh7? 17.Rxf6!! gxf6 18.Qxc7+ Kg8 19.Qc4+! Kg7 20.Qc7+! Kf8 21.Qc5+! Ke8 22.Qb5+! Kd8 23.Qd5+! Kc8 24.Qe6+! Kb8 25.Qd6+! Kc8 26.Qe6+! Kd8 27.Qd5+! Ke8 28.Qb5+! Kf8 29.Qc5+!  Kf7 30.Qc4+! Ke7 31.Qc5+! Ke6 32.Qc4+! Kd6 33.Qb4+! Kd5 34.Qb5+ Ke6 35.Qc4+ Ke7 36.Qc5+ Ke8 37.Qb5+ Kf7 38.Qc4+ Kg7 39.Qc7+ Qf7 40.Qxc2 Qh5 41.Qc7+ Kg6 42.Qxb7 Qxh2 43.Nc3 Qg1+ 44.Ke2 Rhg8 45.d3 Rab8 46.Qe4+ Kf7 47.g3 Qh2+ 48.Kd1 Rxg3 49.Ne2 Rg2 50.b3 Qh1+ 51.Kd2 Qf1 52.Qh7+ Ke8 53.Qe7+ Kxe7 54.Ba3+ Ke6 55.Rxf1 h5 56.Rh1 Rh8 57.Ke3 h4 58.Rh3 f5 59.d4 f4+ 60.Kf3 Rxe2 61.Kxe2 e4 62.Bc5 Rh7 63.b4 Kf5 64.d5 Kg4 65.Rh1 h3 66.d6 h2 67.b5 Kg3 68.Be3 f3+ 69.Kf1 Rh5 70.d7 Rd5 71.Bf2+ Kh3 72.Bg1 Rxd7 73.Rxh2+ Kg3 74.Ke1 e3 75.Rc2 Rd3 76.Bh2+ Kg4 77.Bg1 Kf4 78.Rc7 f2+ 79.Bxf2 exf2+ 80.Kxf2 Rd2+ 81.Ke1 Rxa2 1/2-1/2

 

Jerome Gambit: Chess Titans Again

The other day I had a few minutes available, so, as I have done before in similar circumstances, I played a quick game against the chess program Chess Titans - an opponent that can be, in turn, surprisingly strong and surprisingly weak, both without warning.

perrypawnpusher - Chess Titans

level 3, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 

A few years ago the program tried the odd 8...g6. The game continued 9.Qxe5+ Kc6 10.Qxh8 Qf8 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Qxd4 h6 13.Qd5+ Kb6 14.Be3+ c5 15.b4 Qxf4 16.Qxc5+ Ka6 17.Qa5 checkmate,  perrypawnpusher - Chess Titans, casual game, 2018 

9.g3 Nf3+ 

I have noted

Here we have the "Nibs" defense or variation. It dates back to at least 1899 and is not the kind of thing that a player usually just stumbles into...

There is a significant amount of information on "His Nibs" in the blog posts "Entering the Maze (Parts 1, 2 & 3)". It is well worth checking out.

A couple of years ago I was surprised by 9...c6 10.Qxe5 checkmate, Rick - Chess Titans, beginner level, 2021.  

10.Kf1 

About the same as the text is 10.Kd1. I am 7-0 with the move, versus 14 - 3 with the text, but I have always been more comfortable with 10.Kf1. The game continued 10...Ne7 11. e5+ Kc6 12. Qe4+ d5 13. exd6+ Kxd6 14. gxh4 Bg4 15. Qd3+ Nd5 16. Qxd5+ Kxd5 17.Nc3+ Kd6 18. h3 Bf5 19. d3 Rae8 20. Bd2 Nxh4 21. Na4 Bf2 22. b3 Nf3 23. Rf1 Bd4 24. c3 Nxd2 25. Kxd2 Be3+ 26. Kc2 Bxh3 27. Rf3 Bf5 28. Nb2 Kc6 29. Nc4 Bc5 30.Na5+ Kb6 31. Nc4+ Kb5 32. a4+ Kc6 33. Na5+ Kb6 34. Nc4+ Ka6 35. b4 Re2+? 36.Kd1 Bxb4 37. cxb4 b5 38. axb5+ Kxb5 39. Kxe2 Bg4 40. Rxa7 Bxf3+ 41. Kxf3 Rc8 42. Ra1 Kxb4 43. Rg1 Rd8 44. Ke3 Kc3 45. Ne5 Rc8 46. Rxg7 h6 47. Rh7 Rb8 48.Rxc7+ Kb3 49. Rh7 Rb6 50. f5 Rf6 51. Rf7 Ra6 52. Rh7 Ra5 53. d4 Ra6 54. Ng6 Ra5 55. Ke4 Ka3 56. Rxh6 Ra6 57. Ke5 Kb4 58. f6 Ra7 59. Ne7 Kc4 60. d5 Ra5 61. f7 Ra8 62. Rc6+ Kb3 63. Rc8 Rxc8 64. Nxc8 Ka2 65. f8=Q Kb1 66. Qf2 Ka1 67. Nb6 Kb1 68. Nc4 Kc1 69. Qd2+ Kb1 70. Qb2 checkmate, perrypawpusher - Chess Titans, level 5, 2022.

10...Nxh2+ 11.Kg2 Qe7 

Or

11...Qf6 12.e5+ Qxe5 13.Qxe5+ Kc6 14.Qxg7 Bd6 15.Qxh8 b5 16.Rxh2 Bb7 17.Qd4 Rc8 18.Nc3 Rf8 19.Qd5+? Kb6 20.Rxh7 Bxd5+ 21.Nxd5+ Kc5 22.Rh5 Kd4 23.d3 Kc5 24.Nxc7+ Kb6 25.Nd5+ Ka6 26.a4 Re8 27.axb5+ Kb7 28.Kf3 Rc8 29.c3 Bc5 30.d4 Bd6 31.Ra6 Bc7 32.Nxc7 Rxc7 33.Rc5 d6 34.Rxc7+ Kxc7 35.Rxa7+ Kb6 36.Rg7 Nh6 37.c4 Nf5 38.Rg6 Nxd4+ 39.Ke4 Kc5 40.Be3 Kxc4 41.Bxd4 Kxb5 42.Rxd6 Kb4 43.f5 Kb5 44.f6 Ka4 45.Rb6 Ka5 46.f7 Ka4 47.f8=Q Ka5 48.Qa3 checkmate, Kennedy - Chess Titans, casual game, 2022; and  

11...Qd8 12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Qxc5+ d6 14.Qg5+ Ke8 15.Qxd8+ Kxd8 16.Rxh2 Be6 17.Nc3 g6 18.d4 h5 19.d5 Bf7 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5 c6 22.d6 Bd5+ 23.Nxd5 cxd5 24.Be3 Kc8 25.Rd1 a5 26.Rxd5 Nh6 27.Bxh6 Rxh6 28.Kf3 a4 29.Re2 h4 30.gxh4 Rxh4 31.e6 Rh3+ 32.Kg4 Rh4+ 33.Kxh4 a3 34.d7+ Kc7 35.e7 Rh8+ 36.Kg4 Rh4+ 37.Kxh4 g5+ 38.Kxg5 b6 39.d8=Q+ Kb7 40.e8=Q axb2 41.Re7+ Ka6 42.Qa4 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - Chess Titans, level 5, casual game, 2019.

12.Qd5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: I Needed A Different Plan

In the following game Black introduces a new defensive scheme against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

My game, in response, feels a bit like water running down the drain.

As T.S. Elliot wrote in his poem, "The Hollow Men" 

This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.

 

perrypawnpusher - GuestGCSC

5 5 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Be6 9.d3 Ke8 

This is a clever - and new - idea.

10.Qxg7 Qf6 11.Qxf6 Nxf6 

Black has given up a pawn to exchange Queens. Stockfish 15 still rates Black about a pawn and a half better, and in light of his lead in development the computer suggests White play the solid and unexciting 12.f3.

12.O-O h6 13.Nc3 a6 

Black is in no hurry.

14.Be3 Bxe3 15.fxe3 Ke7 16.Rf2 Ng4 17.Rf3 Ne5 18.Rf4 c6 19.Raf1 Rhf8 

White has 3 pawns for Black's Bishop. Is it enough?

There is nothing in my play the rest of the game that suggests that it is.

I needed a different plan.

20.b3 Ng6 21.Rxf8 Rxf8 22.h3 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 b5 24.d4 Bf7 

White's pawn structure is probably okay if it stays where it is and gets defended.

25.Kf2 Nf8 26.Ne2 Nh7 27.c3 

After the game Stockfish 15.1 chuckled and now evaluated Black a more than a piece better.

27...Ng5 28.Ng3 Bg6 29.c4 Nxe4+ 30. Nxe4 Bxe4 31.cxb5 cxb5 

32.a3 h5 33.b4 Ke6 34.g4 h4 

Black dominates. His King can invade the Queenside while his Bishop controls White's pawns. The rest of the moves in the game were unnecessary.

35.Ke2 Kd5 36.g5 Kc4 37.g6 Bxg6 38.Kf3 Kb3 39.Kg4 Kxa3 40.Kxh4 Kxb4 41.Kg5 Bc2 42.h4 Kc4 43.h5 Kd3 44.h6 Kxe3 45.d5 Kd4 46.Kf6 Kxd5 47.Kg7 b4 48.h7 Bxh7 49.Kxh7 b3 

White resigned

Jerome Gambit: Any Old Defense Will Do

One of the fun things about playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), especially in blitz, is that the attack appears so sketchy that just about any old defense will do. Sometimes, that is about as much thought as defenders put into their game: There, that shoud do it.

This can lead to dire consequences.

The earlier post "Jerome Gambit: A Few Tactical Ideas in Your Pocket" looked at the Knight fork available to White in situations where Black's King is on f7 and his Bishop is on e6.

The following Knight fork is even deadlier.

Al_Cologne - Siberia70

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Qf6 

Protecting the Rook - at the cost of allowing White to regain his second sacrificed piece and remain 2 pawns better. This move can be found in 229 games in The Database, with White scoring 74%.

8.Qxc5 c6 

Now the discussion will center around the d6 square.

9.e5 Qf5 10.O-O Ne7 11.d4 

And now White's wandering Bishop will grab attention.

11...Rf8 12.Bh6 Re8 13.Nd2 g5 14.Nf3 g4 15.Qc4+ Qe6 

This unfortunate placement of Black's King and Queen (found surprisingly often in The Database) now ends the game.

16.Ng5+ Black resigned