Jerome Gambit: Data Peek

The other day, I was looking over the post "Jerome Gambit Delayed: Who is Fooling Who?" which featured a win by lichess.org player and Jerome Gambit aficionado angelcamina.

Playing the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nxe5+ - which also could arise from the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ - he won in 11 moves, even though he was effectively playing a delayed Jerome, as he first played d2-d3, and then d3-d4.

It was as if he were saying that the Jerome Gambit is so strong, it can even be played a move down.

Actually, it is more likely that angelcamina is an accomplished enough bullet (1 minute, no increment) player that any surprise opening with attacking chances can be an effective bullet weapon in his hands.

Curious, I dove into The Database (see "What is 'The Database'?", although it now contains almost 90,000 games) and came up with some interesting data.

The first example I found of the line in mention: 

akhnaten - fafner, 5 10 blitz, FICS, 1999

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nxe5+ 

Here we are.

6...Nxe5 7.Qh5+? Nxh5 White resigned.

Okay, that did not go so well. (That's blitz for you.)

I did note that angelcamina had a record of 22 - 22 - 2 (scoring 50%) with the line in question.

By comparison, looking at the classical Jerome Gambit line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ etc., angelcamina's record is 490 - 308 - 10  (scoring 61%).

As expected, angelcamina did okay with the delayed line, but not as well as as he did with the classical line.

One move matters.

Looking at The Database as a whole, the delayed line scored 323 - 463 - 17 (41%).

Looking at The Database as a whole, the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ scored 12328 - 9131 - 808 (57%).

The players whose games are in The Database did not do too bad with the delayed line, but they did not do as well as they did with the classical Jerome Gambit line.

Again: one move matters, even in chaotic situations.

Of course, angelcamina out-performed those collective players in both lines.

Jerome Gambit: Again Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

pablosko - ItMyrrh

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

Was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (of his Gambit) correct about this position, that "White still has the attack"? (See previous post)

Apparently not. 

Stockfish 15.1 (40 ply) assesses Black as about 4 1/3 pawns better.

There are 204 games with this position in The Database. White scores 39%.

The larger lichess.org database has 2,343 games with this position. White scores 41 1/2 %.

Not a lot to build an attack upon - although it is important to point out that the player with the White pieces, pablosko, is familiar with the Jerome Gambit, with almost 200 games in The Database.

As I mentioned a dozen years ago in "Something To Watch Out For"

Even here, the danger begins to appear: ...8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ White resigned, Cradle - Foom, FICS, 2008 and Bevs - LordLucika, FICS, 2009.

So, we can anticipate how the current game will go.

8...Qh4+ 9.g3 

Previously pablosko had now faced the strong 9...Nf3+ 10.Kf1 (10.Ke2 Nxd4+ 11.Kd3 Qf6 White resigned, pablosko - carlosx3, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022) 10...Nxd4 11.gxh4 Nxc2 12.Kg2 Nxa1 13.Na3 b5 14.Bd2 Bb7 15.Kf3 Nf6 16.Rxa1 Bxe4+ 17.Kg3 Bc6 18.Rc1 Ne4+ 19.Kf3 Nxd2+ 20.Ke3 Nc4+ 21.Nxc4 bxc4 22.Rxc4 Rhe8+ 23.Kd2 Bb5 24.Rxc7+ Re7 25.Rb7 White resigned, pablosko - carlosx3, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022. 

9...Qxg3+ 

Just as troublesome.

10.hxg3 Nf3+ 11.Kf2 Nxd4 

White has no compensation for being a piece down - unless his opponent's clock is becoming a problem.

He has been in this position before.

12.b3 

Or 12.b4 Nxc2 13.Na3 Nxa1 14.Bb2 Bg4 15.Bxa1 h5 16.f5 Nf6 17.Ke3 Rae8 18.Kf4 Rxe4+ 19.Kg5 Nh7+ White resigned, pablosko - VOLLLAST, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022; or

12.Na3 Bg4 13.f5 h5 14.c3 Nc6 15.Nb5 Ne5 16.Nxc7 Rc8 17.Nb5 Nd3+ 18.Ke3 Nxc1 19.Raxc1 Ke7 20.Nxa7 Ra8 21.Nb5 Rxa2 22.b4 Nf6 23.Rhe1 h4 24.gxh4 Rxh4 25.Nc7 Rh3+ 26.Kd4 Rd2+ 27.Kc4 Be2+ 28.Kb3 Ba6 29.e5 Nd7 30.b5 Nc5+ 31.Kb4 Rb2+ 32.Ka5 Ra2+ 33.Kb6 Na4+ 34.Ka7 Bxb5 35.Nxb5 Nxc3+ 36.Kxb7 Nxb5 37.f6+ gxf6 38.exf6+ Kxf6 39.Kc6 Nd4+ 40.Kxd6 Ra6+ 41.Kc5 Nb3+ 42.Kb5 Nxc1 43.Kxa6 Nd3 44.Rd1 Ke5 45.Rd2 Kd4 46.Kb7 Rh5 47.Kc6 Kc3 48.Rg2 Rc5+ 49.Kb6 Rh5 50.Kc6 Nf4 51.Rg3+ Kd4 52.Rg4 Ke5 53.Kb5 Rh6 54.Rg5+ Kf6 55.Rg1 Rh3 56.Rf1 Ke5 57.Re1+ Kf5 58.Rf1 Kg4 59.Rg1+ Kf3 60.Rf1+ Ke4 61.Re1+ Kd3 62.Rd1+ Kc2 63.Rg1 Nd3 64.Rg2+ Kc3 65.Rg8 Rh5+ 66.Kc6 Rc5+ 67.Kd6 Rc4 68.Kd5 Rd4+ 69.Kc6 Rf4 70.Rg3 Rc4+ 71.Kd5 Rd4+ 72.Kc6 Kc4 73.Rh3 Nb4+ 74.Kb6 Nd3 75.Rh8 Kc3 76.Rh2 Kc4 77.Rc2+ Kb3 78.Rc8 Rd6+ 79.Kc7 Rd7+ 80.Kxd7 Ne5+ 81.Ke6 Nf7 82.Kxf7 Black resigned,  pablosko - VOLLLAST, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

12...Nxc2 13.Bb2 Nxa1 14.Bxa1 

White now activates his King, but it is not enough.

14...Nf6 15.Ke3 Bg4 16.Nc3 Rae8 17.e5 dxe5 18.fxe5 Rxe5+ 19.Kf4 Rhe8 20.Rh4 g5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Again Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 1)

 

I was planning on presenting a Jerome Gambit game that had a surprise (for me) Queen sacrifice by the defender, but along the way as I gathered background information, I tumbled down a rabbit hole...

Let me start the game, and then add the distractions.

pablosko - ItMyrrh

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 

I was shocked to see that 7.f4 had actually been played here, and against a grandmaster, at that.

analysis diagram

You can find the game in the notes in the post "Jerome Gambit: A Lot to Say" and see how GM Hikaru Nakamura finished things off in 17 moves.

7...d6 

The earliest reference that I have to this position comes from the July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, where Alonzo Wheeler Jerome mentions it as a sideline.

The first game that I have in The Database that reaches this position was published in the Dubuque Chess Journal of March 1876 - Jerome - Shinkman, Iowa, 1876 (1/2-1/2, 42).

8.f4 

This risky move deserves a diagram of its own.

Analysis by S.A. Charles in the October 1881 Brentano's Chess Monthly put forth 8.Nc3 as the best move, here.

Jerome, apparently, did not agree.

In June of 1900 he started a consultation chess game in the pages of the Literary Digest, offering to play the Jerome Gambit against readers. "See A Jerome Discovery" (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ) as well as "A Jerome Discovery (Afterword)" and "Return to the Literary Digest".

After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Jerome wrote

A majority of those who sent Black's 6th move played 6...Bxd4. The reason given for this move is that as Black must lose a piece he had better get a P for it. This is not good reasoning, as White's continuation demonstrates: 6... Bxd4; 7.Qxd4 d6; 8.f4, and White still has the attack.

Was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome correct in his assessment?

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Sudden Excitement

                               

Moving on to the second round of the online "Play The Italian Game III" tournament at Chess.com (see "Jerome Gambit: Moving On"), I am already playing 2 Jerome Gambit games, and by the time you read this I may be playing a 3rd.

Add this to a friendly challenge game (outside of the tournament), that adds up to a lot of sudden excitement.

You can be sure that I will share the games when they are completed: win, lose, or draw; good, bad, or ugly.

Jerome Gambit: Mind-Blowing Game

For an absolutely mind-blowing Jerome Gambit game, check out the YouTube video "Stockfish 16 plays the Jerome vs Magnus Carlsen (Age 29) | THE NEW UNBEATABLE GAMBIT" by Chess Games @educationalchessgames.

I will probably post the game, once I make sense out of it, but in the meantime, the game - and, afterwards, the analysis - is both entertaining and educational.

Jerome Gambit: Recently Covered

The following game touches on topics we have recently covered in this blog - coincidentally, as it took place 7 months ago. 

silva69 - Batuhankzk

15 10 standard, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nxe5 

I have called this the Overlook gambit

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+.

4...Nxe5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 

Black transposes to the Jerome Gambit. The alternative, 5...Nxf7, preserving the right to castle, was stronger.

6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qf8 

The Freddy defense, not to be recommended in serious play, but the same can be said about the Jerome Gambit - for a GM-GM (!) level game and for a classic (!) time control.

8.Qxh8 Bb6 9.Qxh7+ Ke8 10.Qxg6+ Kd8 11.d3 

White rightly concludes that the risk to his f2 square is less consequent than his chances to play Bg5.

11...Qc5 

It is a bit fatalistic to bypass 11...Qxf2+ 12.Kd1 Ne7, even if it does not lead to anything promising.

12.Bg5+ Ne7 

It is either this or give up his Queen.

13.Qg8 checkmate

Oh, well, tomorrow's going to be another day...

Jerome Gambit: Ouch

Part of the enjoyment of playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is delivering a painful move that ends the game.

The following game is a good example.

Neffets23 - Evgeny2306

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ 

Giving the enemy King a "nudge". See " 'A Push for "a Nudge' ".

Why? To drive the monarch to the back rank, to interfere with the development of his Rook. And - to give him a chance for a mis-step.

7...Kf6

Black is still better, but this carries more risk than 7...Kf8 or 7...Ke8.

8.f4

Giving the defender something to think about: Why didn't White just grab the Bishop?

As Yury V. Bukayev points out, the move is a trap which provokes 8...Be7?? 9.Qf5#, 8...Qe7?? 9.Qf5#, 8...N8e7?! 9.e5+ Kf5 10.g4+! (10.Qf7+!? Kg4 11.h3+!? or 11.Qb3 with attack) ...Kxg4 11.Qg2+ with a very strong attack.

8...d6  

Black protects the Bishop. 

It is interesting that Stockfish 15.1 (at 37 ply) suggests as it's top move that Black ignore that piece and instead take care of his other developed piece, 8...N6e7, even at the cost of 9.Qxc5.

Other moves that still give Black the edge are 8...Qf8 (although 9.Qf5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ still drops a piece) and 8...Bf2+ (likewise).

9.Qg5+ 

Ouch.

Black resigned

Was that too soon? Four months later we saw: DrunkenNickMKunz - RRR_777, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022: 9...Kf7 10.Qxd8 Nxf4 11.Rf1 Nf6 12.Qxh8? Nxg2+ 13.Kd1 Bg4+ 14.Rf3 Bxf3 checkmate

Again, Ouch.