Etude du Jérome Gambit

The YouTube video "Etude du Jérome Gambit" (by Echecs I Massacrealouverture) is a pleasant, French language exploration of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

I could follow some of the presentation (Je suis désolé, Mlle. Lakis, je parle le français comme une vache espagnole) and occasionally referred some of my questions to Google Translate.

While the presenter could not recommend the Jerome Gambit as a main opening for your repertoire, he did think that it might fit as a secondary opening - being very interesting, with many traps for an opponent, even if reserved for quick games or lower rated players.

Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: Great Minds Think Alike

 

I do not know if chessriddler at lichess.org reads this blog, or if it is a case of "great minds thinking alike" - chessriddler and Yury V. Bukayev, that is - but the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game shows an interesting additional pawn offer leading to a strengthening of White's attack; a line explored and published here on the 24th of August, 2020 - 3 years ago, that was 4 days before the first of Jerome gambit games H.Nakamura - D.Kollars was played.

chessriddler - Ay63scachi

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.b4

This was most recently looked at in "Jerome Gambit: Puzzle Pieces (Part 1)", with the significant paragraph 

This move had not received any analysis until Yury V. Bukayev considered it in "Jerome Gambit: Article". It is quite likely that a number of players were influenced by his work, as shown in the games below.

8...Bxb4 9.f4 

Championed by Bukayev.

9...Qf6

Sometimes Black's Queen comes to f6 with positive impact; sometimes she arrives and it is harmful.

This time, the latter.

The move to make was 9...Ke7, as Bukayev noted.

10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Qxe5+ Kxe5 12.Bb2+ Kxe4 

Also 12...Ke6 13.Bxg7 Nf6 14.Bxh8 d6 15.Bxf6 Kxf6 16.c3 Bc5 17.d4 Bb6 18.O-O+ Kg6 19.a4 a5 20.Nd2 Be6 21.Rf3 Re8 22.Raf1 Re7 23.Rf6+ Kg7 24.h4 Bd7 25.h5 h6 26.Rg6+ Kh7 27.Rff6 Bxa4 28.Rxh6+ Kg7 29.Rfg6+ Kf7 30.Rh7+ Ke8 31.Rg8+ Kd7 32.Rxe7+ Kxe7 33.h6 c5 34.h7 cxd4 35.h8=Q dxc3+ 36.Kh2 cxd2 37.Rg7+ Ke6 38.Qh5 d1=Q 39.Qf5 checkmate, chessriddler -dambo78, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023.

 13.Bxg7 Ne7 14.Bxh8 

White is ahead by the exchange. It is no clear that the "development" of Black's King is adequate compensation.

14...d5 15.O-O 

White knows that he is ahead. No immdiate need for adventures, time to safeguard his King.

15...Be6 

A routine move, likewise - threatening the enemy Bishop - but overlooking the threat buried in White's last move. 

16.Nc3+ Bxc3 17.dxc3 

Showing that White has a sense of humor. He could have played 17.Rae1 checkmate, but, instead, he offers a piece. 

17...Rxh8 18.Rae1 checkmate

 

Jerome Gambit: What Just Happened?

 

The YouTube short video"Jerome gambit is by far the best opening" includes a game by SkillerEP and a hilarious video clip starting off

One of the best things about chess is that at the end of the game when your opponent is sitting there like "What just happened?" Like you know you left him more confused... 

Here is the game, with the final position. 

Check out the video.

SkillerEP - Themeka

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Nf6 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 Nxe4 10.Qd5+ Kg6 11.f5+ Kf6 12.O-O Re8 13.d3 Ng5 14.h4 Nf7 15.Nc3 d6 16.Ne4+ Ke7 17.Ng5 Ne5 18.Nxh7 Qd7 19.Bg5 checkmate

The Queen Escapes. The End.

Some lines in the Jerome Gambit feature the offer - and, sometimes, the capture - of Black's Rook at h8, with the hope that White's Queen will then be out of play, and perhaps eventually captured.

The Queen's escape usually means that Black's chances have dissipated.

imc47 - TolikPavlov174

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 

8...Be7 

Including the current one, there are only 2 games in The Database with this move.

As mentioned in "Pulling A Rabbit Out Of A Hat", 8...Bf8 was a good alternative (although White's result is 3 - 5). Then 9.Qf4+ (9.Qg3 d6 10.d4 Ne7 11.d5 Bg7 12.c4 Qd7 13.Nc3; 9.Qxh8 Bg7 and White scored only 2 - 4) 9...Kg7 10.b3 Nf6 11.Bb2 d6 /+

Also 8...Nf6 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 (10...Qe8 11.Nc3 c6 12.d3 Be6 13.f4 Ke7 14.f5 gxf5 15.exf5 Kd7 16.Qxe6+ Qxe6 17.fxe6+ Kxe6 18.Bd2 Kd7 19.Rxf6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - wadada, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009) 11.Qf4+ Kg7 12.d4 Rf8 13.Qg3 g5 14.Nc3 c5 15.f4 cxd4 16.Ne2 Ne3 17.Bxe3 dxe3 18.Qxe3 gxf4 19.Nxf4 Qg5 20.Nd5 Qxe3+ 21.Nxe3 Be6 22.Nf5+ Bxf5 23.exf5 Rae8 24.Rae1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Rxf5 26.Re7+ Kf6 27.Rxb7 Rc5 28.Rxa7 Rxc2 29.Rb7 Rc1+ 30.Kf2 Ke5 31.Rb3 Rc2+ 32.Kf3 d5 33.Re3+ Kf5 34.Re2 Rc4 35.g3 h5 36.b3 Rc5 37.Ke3 Rc3+ 38.Kd4 Rf3 39.Kxd5 Kg4 40.b4 h4 41.gxh4 Kxh4 42.b5 Rd3+ 43.Kc4 Rd7 44.b6 Rb7 45.Kc5 Rxb6 46.Kxb6 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2008 

9.Qxh8 d6 

Black needed to play 9...Bf6.

There was also 9...Nf6 10.Qxd8 Bxd8 11.Nc3 d6 12.d3 Be6 13.Bxh6 Ng4 14.Bf4 h4 15.h3 Nf6 16.g3 Nh5 17.Be3 Bf6 18.g4 Ng7 19.f4 Rh8 20.Kg2 Bh4 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Bd7 23.Bf2 Bc6+ 24.Ne4 d5 25.Ng3 Bg5 26.Rae1 Bd2 27.Re2 Bg5 28.Bd4 Rh7 29.Bxg7 Kxg7 30.Nh5+ Kf7 31.Kg3 Bd7 32.Rfe1 Kg8 33.h4 Bd8 34.d4 c6 35.Re8+ Bxe8 36.Rxe8+ Kf7 37.Rxd8 b5 38.Rd7+ Kg8 39.Rxh7 Kxh7 40.g5 b4 41.Kf4 a5 42.Nf6+ Kg7 43.h5 Kf7 44.h6 Ke7 45.h7 Kf7 46.h8=Q a4 47.Qe8+ Kg7 48.Nh5+ Kh7 49.Qg6+ Kh8 50.Qg7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - PravinMamania, 14 0 blitz, FICS, 2010.

10.Qh7+ 

White's Queen escapes, and Black does not have enough compensation for his loss of the exchange and two pawns.

10...Kf8 11.Qxg6 Bg5 12.Nc3 Bg4 13.f4 Ne7 

A final slip: White's capture will come with discovered check, so the attack on his Queen is irrelevant.

14.fxg5+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Mastering the Chaos

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be dangerous for both sides, especially if White decides - after sacrificing a couple of pieces - to grab some material himself.

Entering unbalanced positions can test a club player's skills, whether attacking or defending.

The following game is a good example.  

imc47 - Kaff69er

5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

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

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Qe7 

This is Whistler's defense, strong in practice and offering White an opportunity to go terribly wrong.

That said, there are many Jerome Gambit games where the player enters the "wrong" line and emerges victorious.

It is a matter of mastering the chaos.

8.Qxh8 

According to Komodo 14.1, this Rook capture is winning against

every move except the one Black chooses, which leaves White, himself, ironically, down the equivalent of a Rook.

Was White gambling on his ability to make it through the complications? If so, he is not alone.

In 264 games in The Database, White scores a surprising 49%. The lichess.org database has 6,887 games with 7.Qxh8, with White also scoring 49%. 

The alternative, 8.Qxe7+, shows up in 19 games in The Database, with White scoring a formidable 61%. However, the lichess.org database, with 354 games, shows a more modest 46%. 

8...Qxe4+ 

This is Black's counter.

9.Kd1 

White has won the exchange for a pawn, and from a strictly material point of view he is doing okay.

However, from a King safety point of view, he has exchanged places with Black - his own King is now under deadly attack.

9...d6

Opening the diagonal for his light square Bishop that plans to join the fray with ...Bg4+.

However, the text move gives White chances. The immediate 9...Qxg2 was necessary, with unfortunate threats, and White can only try 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.Re1 when 11...d5 will cost him material or allow checkmate.  

10.Re1

To chase away the enemy Queen, to no avail.

Instead, 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.f3 would have been sufficient defense.

Now the text move gives Black chances, again.

10...Bg4+ 11.f3 Bxf3+ 12.gxf3 Qxf3+ 13.Re2 Re8 

14.Qxh7+ Kf8 15.Nc3 

Ends the game quickly.

Instead, 15.c3 Rxe2 would leave material even, but White's undeveloped Queenside would eventually lead to a loss. Stockfish 15.1 sees Black as 4 1/2 pawns better.

15...Qf1+ 16.Re1 Qxe1 checkmate

Make the Best Move! (Part 2)

 

Make the Best Move! (Part 2)

(by Yury V. Bukayev)

Every chess beginner should learn strong combinations before learning to make risky attempts to use psychological blows sometimes. Here is my second and a very short lesson on the first moves of such combinations - the best first moves - where each such move is a King's Bishop sacrifice (or a pseudosacrifice).

In this part I should give both easy and enough difficult tasks already. They are here.

Task 1.
(McDonnell A. - La Bourdonnais L., London, 1834, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1001157 :

Find the best move.

Solution: 9.Bxf7+!

Note: Compare this game, please, with the game (2016) between the top GM Vachier - Lagrave M. and the top GM Nakamura H. (https://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/2021/11/jerome-gambit-origins-part-1.html )! Unfortunately, in 2021 both Rick Kennedy and I didn't know about this game of 1834, where a very strong Jerome-ish blow was made in a "World Championship Match" (roughly) game between two strongest players of that time - it's, probably, a record for very strong Jerome-ish opening blows ever.



Task 2.
( Petrosian T. - Korchnoi V., Curacao, 1962, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1081437 )

Find the best move.

Solution: 15.Bxf7+!

Note: It was a game of the Candidates tournament, and this tournament point was very important for the top GM Tigran V. Petrosian who won this tournament and then won the World Championship Match.



Task 3.
( Petrosian T. - Korchnoi V., Curacao, 1962, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1081437 )

Find the best move.

Solution: 12.Bxf7+!

Note: This move wasn't found by White during the game.



Task 4.
( de Castellvi F. - Vinyoles N., Valencia, 1475, https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1259987 )

Find the best move.


Solution: 6.Bxf7+!

Note: This move wasn't found by White during the game. It's the first known quasi-modern chess game! Consequently, 5...Bg4? in it is the first known serious mistake in quasi-modern chess! That's why the first Jerome-ish very strong opening blow in history could be made as a result of this first mistake. I'm congratulating all lovers of Bxf7+ with this fact!


Contact the author: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru .

Slips in the Polerio / Abrahams Jerome Gambit

Slips happen.

Forewarned is forearmed.

onderch01 - Schizophrenics

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ 

Mentioned by Polerio in the 16th century (see "Jerome Gambit: Early Sources") and Abrahams in the 20th century (see " 'Tis A Puzzlement..." and "The Abrahams Jerome Gambit [Parts I & II]"), this relative / ancestor of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has shown up in interesting places (see Yury V. Bukayev's "Jerome Gambit: Morphy vs the Mefistopheles" for his take on the Polerio Knightless Jerome Gambit) and can feature play both similar to and different from the Jerome.

For some perspective, I visited the online lichess.org site, which has 599,481 games with this line, with White scoring 53%.

3...Kxf7 

It does not make much sense to decline the Bishop - except, perhaps, for psychological reasons - as 3...Kf8 (or 3...Ke7) 4.Bb3 is clearly better for White.

The lichess.org database shows only 4% of the Polerio / Abrahams gambits being declined.

4.Qh5+ g6 

This move is playable, although, again, similar to the Jerome, 4...Kf8 is strong; and 4...Kf6 can transpose to the Jerome proper after 5.Qf5+ Kd6 6.Nf3 Nc6.

5.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

This is how Black maintains equality after bypassing 4...Kf8.

6.Kxf2 Nf6 

Now, things get a bit strange. True, this is a blitz game, but it is a 5-minute blitz game.

7.Nf3 Nc6 

Both players overlook the possibility of 7...Ng4+, forking the King and Queen.

8.Qc3

The Queen is still not out of danger. As with the previous move, she should have gone to f4.

8... Nxe4+ 9.Ke3 Nxc3 10.Nxc3 Re8+ 

Black is ahead a Queen for a Knight.

White does not have adequate compensation.

11.Kf2 Qf6 12.Rf1 Kg7 13.Kg1 d6 14.d3 Bg4 15.Nd1 Bxf3 White resigns