A Blast From the Past

 

Although I have been exploring the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) for over two decades, it is not the only unorthodox opening that I have researched.

There are, of course, the twin lines 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 c5 / 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 d5, which Riley Sheffield and I covered in our book The Marshall Gambit in the French and Sicilian Defenses in 1988.

I also examined 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3/Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Qd5 in a trio of articles in the "Unorthodox Openings Newsletter" (#4, #5, and #12) in 2001 and 2005. It is fun to be able to quote from "Recent Play in the Frere Variation of the French (Part 1)"

The variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2/c3 de 4.Nxe4 Qd5 has been given several names. It has been referred to as the Becker Variation, although nobody I’ve contacted, including Eric Schiller, has been able to explain why. I have called it the Frere Variation, after the American Walter Frere, who analyzed, played, and referred to it as his in the 1920s. Certainly a case can be made for calling it the Katalymov Variation, after Boris Katalymov, who played the defense against Keres in Moscow in 1965 – perhaps the best-known example of the line – and against Shinkevich in 2001and Filchenkov in 2002. Andy Soltis, in his Grandmaster Secrets: Openings refers to the line more neutrally as the “Neo-Rubinstein,” acknowledging that the first three moves of the opening are often attributed to Akiba Rubinstein. 

I have since seen the opening referred to as the Maric Variation, in light of Yugoslavia's Honorary Grandmaster Rudolf Maric's games (I have found 4 of them). 

It is pleasant to see Brazil's FIDE Master Justo Reinaldo Chemin playing the defense - as recently as 3 games this year.

By the way, all 39 issues of the "Unorthodox Openings Newsletter" are available from Editor-in-Chief Lev Zilbermintz at the UON website. They make for fascinating reading.

Oh, and of course the UON also includes articles that I wrote on the Jerome Gambit, which replaced my interest in the Neo-Rubinstein variation.

Jerome Gambit: Promoting to A Queen May Not Be Enough...

I recently ran across the following video on YouTube.com, featuring a Jerome Gambit game, by transposition from the Two Knights.

Chess Game Analysis: Jack Silver 01 - Turino Arifin : 0-1 (By ChessFriends.com)

Silver, Jack - Arifin, Turino

19 0, chessfriends.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qd1 d5 10.Nc3 d4 11.Ne2 Nxe4 12.f4 Bg4 13.c3 d3 14.Qb3+ Be6 15.Qxb7 dxe2 16.Qxc6 exf1=Q+ 17.Kxf1 Qd1 checkmate

 

JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 16)

 

JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 16)

(by Yury V. Bukayev)

In the Part 7 of this my analytical research on the standard system of the Jerome gambit (JG) it was fixed that after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7! (the Whistler defence) 8.Qd5+!? Ke8 9.d4?! Black gets a won game after 9…Bb4+! 10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 [11.Qc4 N Qxe4+] 11…Bd6! N 12.Qxe7+ Bxe7.

My new invented winning way for Black is 10…c6!? N.

Let’s consider my new invented ways for Black after 8…Kg7 9.d4?! and after 8…Kf8 9.d4?!.

The analogy method works very well here:

I)8…Kg7 9.d4?! Bb4+! 10.c3 Nf6 [10…c6 N, and Black wins also], and Black wins after both 11.Qe5 Bd6! N 12.Qxe7+ Bxe7 and 11.Qc4 N Qxe4+,

II)8…Kf8 9.d4?! [9.0-0 Nf6! (it’s my else one new strong defence, but we’ll not consider it here); 9.b4! is good here that is enough similar to 8…Kg7 9.b4 – Part 15 and my further commented won games of 2023 as White against A.Karpov, A.Petrov] 9…Bb4+! N, and Black wins also:

A)10.c3 Nf6 [10…c6!, and Black wins much easier]

A1)11.Qc4 Qxe4+,

A2)11.Bh6+! Ke8 12.Qe5?! [12.Qc4 Qxe4+ 13.Kd2 (13.Kd1!?) 13…Be7; 12.Qb5, and White gets some practical chance in all these cases] 12…Bd6 or 12…Qxe5 13.dxe5 Ng4,

A3)11.Qe5 Bd6!,

B)10.Kd1?! [Other moves can’t help too.] 10…Nf6 11.Bh6+ Ke8 12.Qb3!? Nxe4.

Jerome Gambit: All About the h5 Square

The following game has some interesting pawn play, some historical precedents, and a focus on the h5 square.

reBulution - tarikyanik

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6

Defenders have also tried 7...Bxd4, 7...Bb6, 7...Bb4 and 7...Be7.

There are 114 games with this position in The Database. White scores 51%.

8.Bg5 

Philidor 1792 explored 8.f4 in 8 games in 2011 and 2013. See "Where Do Ideas Come From (Part 3)?", "Where Do Ideas Come From (Part 4)?", and "My Three Pawns"

The text move is relatively rare (9 games in The Database). The earliest is Philidor 1792 - NN, 2011, which continued 8.Bg5 Re8 9.f4 Nc6 10.e5 Bf8 11.O-O d6 12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.d5 fxg5 15.dxc6 Be7 16.Nd5 Be6 17.cxb7 Rb8 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.fxg5 Rxb7 20.Rae1 Qd7 21.g6 h6 22.Rf7 Bxf7 23.gxf7+ Qxf7 24.Rxe8+ Kg7 25.Qg4+ Kh7 26.Qe4+ Qg6 27.Rh8+ Black resigned

8...h6 9.dxe5

Also possible was 9.Bxf6.

9...Bxe5 10.f4 

White complicates, a viable strategy in a 5-minute game.

Stronger, however, was 10...Bxf6.

10...hxg5 11.fxe5 Nh7 

To prevent an uncomfortable Queen check from h5, 11...Nh5 was essential.

12.Qd5+ 

Thinking quickly, this is the check White wants, if only because he would otherwise have to figure out how to deal with the (actually stronger) line 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qh6 Nf6. After 14.Qxg5 White would be better.

12...Kf8 

With the clock ticking, it might be hard to feel good about 12...Kg6 13.0-0-0 d6, but that was the path to take to hold onto any advantage.

13.Rf1+ Ke8 14.Qf7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Hunker Down

 

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game has an interesting theme: After the initial sacrifices, White regains material - and then hunkers down as Black counter-attacks.

The extra pawns (and, in the end, exchange) provide sufficient protection for White.

chessriddler - TiaanSprinkaan1

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 

This unusual line shows up 26 times in The Database, and has occasionally been mentioned on this blog.

As I noted in the game ZahariSokolov - mmamaju

standard, FICS, 2015 (0-1, 44) - See"Jerome Gambit: Chaos Rules")

Here we have the "Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation", otherwise known as "An Odd Line in an Odd Line". It is more of a psychological ploy than a solid defense...

It is a rare line... but it is worth knowing the best response, if only, like in the current game, you want to finish quickly.

6.Qh5 Nf6 

The best response, 6...Bxf2+, given in "An Odd Line in an Odd Line", has yet to be played

It is rare that counter-sacrificing the Bishop at f2 is a good move for the second player (see "Jerome Gambit Strikes in Denmark!"), but here it was his best choice: 6...Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 Qf8+ 8.Nf3 Nf6 with advantage to White, according to Rybka.

7.Nxc6+ 

Yury V. Bukayev smartly notes

Probably, chessriddler has seen 7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4# in time, but he has solved to continue the fight intentionally for unknown reason.

7...bxc6 8.Qxc5+ Ke8 

White is better. It is time to consolidate.

9.O-O Qe7 10.Qe3 Rb8 11.Nc3 Rf8 

Black's efforts make the game interesting, but White has sufficient resources to deal with them.

12.b3 Ba6 13.Re1 Ng4 14.Qg3 Qf7 15.f3 Nh6 16.d3 Qf6 17.Bb2

17...Qg6 18.Qxg6+ hxg6 19.Ne2 Rb5 

A slip.

20.Bxg7 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Don't Blink

Bullet games always carry the risk of mistake. 

The following game shows Black well on his way to victory - until he blinks. Suddenly, White is better. Is there time enough for the defender to recover?

angelcamina - Mxhosa

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Nf6 

9.Nc3 d6 10.Qb5+ c6 11.Qe2 

White has arranged for his Queen to retreat to e2, instead of the more usual e3.

11...Rf8 12.O-O Kf7 13.Qc4+ Be6 14.Qb4 Qc7 15.f4 

Black has done well with his defense and is clearly better.

His response to White's threat of a pawn fork should be to move either his Bishop on e6 or his Knight on g6.

Alas, this is a 1-minute game, and Black moves a third piece, instead.

15...Nd7 16.f5 Black resigned

Black has the option of 16...Kg8, when 17.fxg6 hxg6 would give White only an edge. Perhaps with a different time control, Black might have played on. 

Jerome Gambit: White Can Be Okay With Calm

The Jerome Gambit often leads to wild, complicated play. 

There are also times when White can grasp the opportunity to play a quiet, simple, advantageous game.

username12374 - Bogdan_43

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 

Black blocks the dangerous a1-h8 diagonal. The move is not a good choice, however.

He could have offered the Rook on h8 with either Blackburne's defense, 7...d6 or Whistler's defense, 7...Qe7.

8.Qxc5 Qe7 

Exchanging Queens is ill advised, now, after the loss of the Bishop at c5. 

9.Qxe7+ Kxe7 10.Nc3 d6 11.O-O Black resigned

The position is calm, and White is simply two pawns better.