Monday, October 2, 2023

Jerome Gambit: Over Quickly



Some Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games are fun to play over - quickly.

The following line of play has been examined in "Don't drive like my brother", "Jerome Gambit: Chess Is An Easy Game, After All", and "Jerome Gambit: Update -> Unplayed" but still deserves another look.

Another example of why people love the Jerome Gambit.


Anti-Duhring - rondoll

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

Black does not want to go along with White's plan and play 5...Nxe5.

6.Qh5+ Kf8 

Again, Black avoids the stronger - and expected - 6...g6.

The lichess.org database has 375 games with this position, with White scoring 93%.

Think about that. White's next move is?

 7.Qf7 checkmate




Sunday, October 1, 2023

Overlooked Again



Recently I took another, brief, look at what I have called the Overlook Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nxe5 (see "Jerome Gambit: Wandering [Part 1]) - because it looks like White overlooked the fact that Black's e5 pawn was protected.

In that, the Overlook is similar to the Chicago or Irish Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nxe5 and the Halloween Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 although the presence of the Bishops makes a difference.

I might as well have called the opening the Ooops Variation of the Jerome Gambit - if playing the Jerome Gambit is what White was intending - only he accidentally played his 5th move before his 4th move (Ooops), in the sequence 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+.

The Overlook is not very strong. A check with the lichess.org database shows 247,034 games, with White scoring 39.5%.

Still, it can be played for fun, and even as a surprise weapon (preferrably in games with a fast time control).

I checked The Database and found that Bill Wall has both played and faced the Overlook.


Guest4931371 - Wall, Bill

internet, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nxe5 

4...Nxe5 

Or

4...Nh6 5.Qh5 O-O 6.Nxc6 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 dxc6 8.d3 Bg4 9.Qc5 Qh4+ 10.Kf1 Kh8 11.Bg5 Qh5 12.Be7 Rfe8 13.Qxh5 Bxh5 14.Bg5 Ng8 15.Nd2 b5 16.Bb3 h6 17.Bf4 Re7 18.h3 g5 19.Be3 a5 20.g4 Bg6 21.a4 Kh7 22.h4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2075193, playchess.com2012; or

4...Bxf2+ 5.Kxf2 Nxe5 6.Be2 Qf6+ 7.Kg1 Ne7 8.d4 N5g6 9.Nc3 c6 10.e5 Qh4 11.g3 Qh3 12.Bg4 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2095477, playchess.com, 2012 

5.d4 

Or 5.Bd5 Qg5 6.O-O Qg6 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nf3+ 9.Kh1 Nxd4 White resigned, Ortiz - Wall,B, internet, 2011 

5...Bb4+ 6.c3 Nxc4 7.cxb4 d5 

8.b3 Nb6 9.Qe2 dxe4 10.Qxe4+ Qe7 11.Qxe7+ Nxe7 

12.O-O Nc6 13.Re1+ Be6 14.b5 Nxd4 15.Nc3 Nc2 White resigned

White has had enough.

(By the way, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, the Jerome Gambit itself, scores 49.5% on 63,4802 games at lichess.org)

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Jerome Gambit Delayed: Who Is Fooling Who?

Bobby Fischer said that he did not believe in psychology, he believed in good moves.

That said, good moves often have a psychological impact. 

Given a very limited time to calculate and play moves, the definition of "good" tends to expand. The following game is a good example.


angelcamina - pepe16

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 


The Two Knights defense.

angelcamina likes the Jerome Gambit.

4.d3 

Oh, well.

4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

You didn't think that you were going to get off that easily, did you?

The Database had 46 of angelcamina's games with this position. He scores 50%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 


Here we have a Jerome Gambit position, only Black has used his extra move (White usually plays d2-d4, not d2-d3 & d3-d4) to develop another Knight.

How can White get away with this? He is a veteran at playing bullet games - a time control that often allows such audacity - and he is very familiar with the Jerome Gambit.

7...Nc6 8.dxc5 Nxe4 


His opponent, on the other hand, does not appear to be familiar with the Jerome.

Is this a slip, or a trap?

9.Qd5+ Kf6 10.O-O 

How easy it would be in a 1-minute game to grab the Knight with 10.Qxe4 and immediately regret it after 10...Re8.

Now Black has to rescue his Knight. 

10...Ng5 

Black's best was to walk into a pin along the e-file, himself, with 10...Qe8, when 11.Re1 (echo) Qe5 12.Qxe5+ Nxe5 13.Rxe4 would leave him only a pawn down.

11.Bxg5+ Black resigned


The Queen will be lost.


Friday, September 29, 2023

Jerome Gambit: The Freddy Defense



The YouTube video "Jerome Gambit - Checkmate in 13" by FazbearFreddy (a Five Nights At Freddy's fan) shows a rather wild and scary Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, ending up - in 13 moves - with checkmate.


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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


Now Black can choose to enter the Blackburne defense with 7...d6 or the Whistler defense with 7...Qe7.

7...Qf8 

Instead he chooses what has to be called the Freddy defense, as this is the first time that I have seen this move, and there are no examples in The Database.

Black's Queen sees the danger to her Bishop, and guards it, but she seems unaware of the danger to her Rook, which she loses.

8.Qxh8 Qe7 

Black arrives at a Whistler's defense, a move down. 

This is not an improvement, but there are still tactics available. 

9.Qxh7+ Kf6 

This move costs a Knight, although it is interesting to note that Stockfish 15.1 (at 30 ply) sees the capture as only 7/100th of a pawn better than exchanging Queens.

10.Qxg8 Qxe4+ 

This is what Black was thinking about when he played 8...Qe7.

11.Kd1 

Rewarding Black; was White reflexively protecting his c-pawn? Much safer was 11.Kf1, protecting the g-pawn. 

Still, after the text, White is better. 

11...Bxf2 

Attackers (with either color) take note.

Black anticipates 12.Re1, and prevents it with the text capture.

This is as good, as far as it goes.

However, 11...Qxg2 (or, similarly, 11...Qg4+ 12.f3 Qxg2) is stronger, if only because now 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ etc would draw - a reasonable outcome for Black when he was in a worse position.

The difficulty with 11...Qxg2, however, at least as far as Black is concerned, is that White can simply give up the Rook: 12.c4!? Qxh1+ 13.Kc2 when Black's King is more at risk.

After the text move, the first player finishes things off quickly.

12.Qf8+ Ke6 13.Qxf2 d5 14.Rf1 Bd7 

Ooops.

15.Qf6 checkmate





Thursday, September 28, 2023

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.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

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




 





Tuesday, September 26, 2023

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