Jerome Gambit: Not Quite A Guaranteed Loss

Bill Wall has 2,000 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and related games in The Database.

Facing his Jerome Gambit is not quite a guaranteed loss, but he does score 89% with it.

You have been warned.

Wall, Bill - Kumar

internet, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7. f4 Ng6 8.Qxc5 

Bill has experimented with 8.f5!?+ Kd6 9.fxg6 Kc6? (9...Nf6) 10.Qd5+ Kb6 11.Qb3+ Kc6? (11...Ka6) 12.Nc3 hxg6 13.Qd5+ Kb6 14.Na4+ Ka5 15.b4+ Kxa4 16.Qb3+ Kb5 17.a4+ Kc6 18.Qd5+ Kb6 19.Qxc5+ Ka6 20.Qa5 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest1157782, playchess.com, 2013. 

8...Kf7 

Bill has also faced 

8... Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6 (9...Qe7? 10.Qf5+ Kd6 11.Qd5 checkmate, Wall,B - JQZY, FICS, 2020) (9...Qg4) 10.f5+ Kf7 11.fxg6+ Qxg6 12.O-O+ Nf6 13.e5 d6 14.Qxc7+ Bd7 15.Qxd7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Arty, PlayChess.com, 2014); and 

8...d6 9.f5+ Ke7 10.Qa3 Ne5 11.d4 Nc4 12.Qc3 Nb6 13.Bg5+ Nf6 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Kf7 16.O-O Nfd5 17.e6+ Ke8 18.Qxg7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest3980985, PlayChess.com, 2015. 

9.O-O d6 10.Qc4+ Be6 11.Qe2 Bd7 

Stockfish 15.1 sees White with an edge, but it has to be a small one.

12.Nc3 c6 

This move keeps White's Knight off of the d5 square. An alternative to consider was 12...c5 to discourage a d2-d4.

13.e5 d5 

This move gives White's "Jerome pawns" too much leeway. More in line with the position was 13...Nge7 14.d4.

14.f5 Nxe5 15.Qxe5 Nf6 16.d4 Re8 17.Qg3 Kg8 

Black has returned the sacrificed piece. White is up a pawn.

18.Bg5 Rf8 19.Rae1 Kh8 20.Rf4 Qb6 

The Queen looks for adventure, but should have stayed home to help protect the Kingside. She returns, but the delay is crucial.

21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Re7 Rg8 23.Rxd7 Qxb2 

24.h4 Qxc2 25.Rg4 Qxf5 26.Rgxg7 Qf1+ 27.Kh2 Black resigned

Checkmate is unavoidable.

SMH: ChatGPT Again

I admit that I am fascinated by artificial intelligence. See "Jerome Gambit: AI", "Jerome Gambit: AI Once More", "Jerome Gambit: Has ChatGPT Learned Anything?", and "Jerome Gambit: Chat GPT".

Today I gave Chat GPT a prompt

write a story about a chess player and his blog 

This is what the AI program returned

In the quiet corners of a bustling city, there lived a man named Samuel, a passionate chess player whose life revolved around the sixty-four squares of a chessboard. His love for the game was not confined to the chessboard alone; it extended into the virtual realm through his insightful and captivating blog, "Checkmate Chronicles."

Samuel was not a grandmaster, but he possessed a deep understanding of the game and an undying passion to explore its intricacies. Each morning, he would wake up before the sun, brew a steaming cup of coffee, and set up his chessboard by the window. The gentle rays of dawn bathed his room in a soft, golden glow, creating the perfect ambience for his daily chess battles.

His blog, "Checkmate Chronicles," was his canvas for sharing his thoughts, strategies, and the stories of remarkable chess games from around the world. With a keen eye for detail, he dissected famous games move by move, revealing the underlying brilliance that lay hidden beneath the surface. His readers admired his ability to breathe life into the cold, mathematical world of chess, making it accessible to both beginners and seasoned players.

One day, as Samuel prepared to play his regular morning match against an anonymous opponent from a far-off country, an idea struck him. Why not share his games in real-time on his blog? It would allow his readers to follow his thought process, learn from his strategies, and perhaps even provide insights of their own. It was a thrilling proposition, and Samuel was determined to bring his readers into the heart of the action.

As the game unfolded, Samuel's fingers danced across the keyboard, chronicling his every thought and move. Readers from around the world began to comment and offer suggestions, engaging in an intellectual discourse that transcended borders. His blog became a virtual chess club, a gathering place for enthusiasts and learners alike.

Months turned into years, and "Checkmate Chronicles" blossomed into a thriving online community. Samuel's humble apartment had transformed into a bustling hub of chess enthusiasts who came to watch him play, discuss strategies, and celebrate victories together.

One day, Samuel received an email from an international chess organization. They had been following his blog and were impressed by his dedication to the game and his ability to draw people into the world of chess. They invited him to be a commentator for a major chess tournament, an opportunity he couldn't refuse.

As Samuel sat in the commentator's booth, he couldn't help but reflect on how his life had changed. From the solitude of his small apartment to the grand stage of a world-class chess event, it was a journey inspired by his love for the game and the connections he had forged through "Checkmate Chronicles."

Samuel's story was not just about chess; it was about the power of a shared passion to unite people from all corners of the world. And as he spoke into the microphone, sharing his insights and excitement with a global audience, he knew that, just like in the game of chess, sometimes a single move could change the course of one's life forever.

Truly, fiction is much more interesting than real life. Mine, at least.

Jerome Gambit: Never Say Never

Never say never. It can happen...

Yumari_Warina - minhduc2014st1

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.c3 

A "modern" variation, as opposed to the "classical" line starting with 5.Nxe5+ that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome played.

5...h6 

Transposing into a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit, keeping White's pieces off of g5.

6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 Bd6 

Black's King looks quite safe - but this is a 1-minute bullet game, and anything can happen.

8.Re1 Re8 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.Nh4 

I could never get away with this. Yumari_Warina does.

10...exd4 11.Ng6 checkmate.

Ouch.

I like the cooperation of the Knight and Queen. 

I have seen this before in The Database

thetaxman - shipwrecked FICS 2011

majorminor - springfield FICS 2004

Jerome Gambit: Missing

 

Three years ago (see "Jerome Gambit: Oops, He Did It Again?!" and "Jerome Gambit: Which Tier? Unbreakable?") I wrote

in a light-hearted YouTube video, GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman assessed different chess openings and assigned them to different levels in a tier.

Oh, and GM Nakamura, in assembling an "Intermediate Opening Tier List", bypassed "Legendary", "Solid", "Legit", and "Maybe Not", to place the Jerome Gambit in "Tricks Only" - above "Garbage" because, as he said, "I don't think it loses by force".

Recently the two starred in another, similar, updated video, "The Chess GAMBITS Tier List ft. Hikaru Nakamura", although the Tier List was different:

"Unstoppable", "Very Powerful", "Tons of Tactics", "Easy to Equalize", "One Trick", "Total Trash"

I wish I could tell you that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) stayed at "One Trick", and did not slide back into "Total Trash" - but I can't.

Of the 32 chess openings that they discussed, the Jerome was not one of them. 

As NighthawkGamer200 said in the "Comments", 

         Bro missed Jerome gambit 

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]