Jerome Gambit: Uncountered

Defenders must counter the Jerome Gambit's attack, or perish.

In the following game, Black does very well - until he doesn't.

A lot can change in a 60-second game.

angelcamina - georges88

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 d6 9.Qb5+ 

For the record, The Database has 105 games with this move, with White scoring 60%; as opposed to 9.Qe3, where it has 1,168 games, with White scoring 67%. Both moves are certainly playable.

9...Qd7 10.Qc4 

An interesting sideline. The Database has 4 games with this move, with White scoring 75%. Three of those games were played by angelcamina, who scored two wins.

10...N8e7 

angelcamina has also faced 10...Nf6, e.g. 11.Nc3 (11.O-O Ne5 12.Qe2 c5 13.f4 Nc6 14.Nc3 Kf7 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Re8 17.Qc4+ Qe6 18.Qxe6+ Rxe6 19.exf6 Rxf6 20.Rxf6+ Kxf6 21.d3 Bf5 22.Be3 Rd8 23.Bxc5 Nd4 24.Bxd4+ Rxd4 25.Rf1 Ke6 26.Re1+ Kd7 27.h3 Rd6 28.Ne4 Rg6 29.Nc5+ Kc6 30.Nb3 Bxh3 31.Kh2 Bxg2 32.Nd4+ Kc7 33.Ne6+ Kb6 34.Nd4 1-0 angelcamina - Senecan, lichess.org, 2023) 11...Qe6 12.Qa4+ Bd7 13.Qb4 b6 14.O-O Rf8 15.f4 a5 16.Qd4 Ne7 17.d3 Nc6 18.Qe3 Kf7 19.b3 Kg8 20.Ba3 Kh8 21.Rae1 Rab8 22.Qh3 b5 23.Bb2 Nb4 24.Re2 Qxh3 25.gxh3 Bxh3 26.Rf3 Bg4 27.Rg3 Bxe2 28.Nxe2 Nxc2 29.e5 Nd7 30.e6 Nf6 31.h4 Rfe8 32.h5 Rxe6 33.h6 g6 34.f5 Rxe2 35.Bxf6+ Kg8 36.Bd4 Re1+ Black won on time, angelcamina - HenryLalu13, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022. 

The text Knight move will allow Black to bring his Rook to f8.

Perhaps he should have tried something more dynamic such as 10...Qg4 or 10...Nh4.

In any event, Black is still better.

For now. Remember: this is a 1-minute game.

11.O-O c6 

Fair enough, but 11...d5 directly would also work.

12.f4 b5 

Aha.

13.Qe2 Bb7 

14.f5 Ne5 15.d4 Nf7 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 

17...Nd8 

Black sees the threatened pawn fork at e6 and moves his Knight away. It was harder to see that 17...Nxf5 would hold, as 18.e6 would be answered by 18...Qd4+ 19.Kh1 N7d6 

18.f6 

Open lines against the King.

18...gxf6 19.exf6 Black resigned

Black will lose a piece, and his King remains stuck in the middle of the board.

Jerome Gambit: Take the Money and Run (Part 3)

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - GuestTYQD

4 12 blitz, FICS, 2023

27...Ke8 

The only way to avoid checkmate (temporarily) was to give up his Queen with 27...Qxd5, but that was hardly attractive.

On the other hand, I was not looking for checkmate, I wanted simplification. I unfairly blame this predelection on my mis-reading of  a chess primer 

My first chess book was Reuben Fine's Chess the Easy Way – available in paperback these days, used, for under $5.00 [more like $10 these days - RK] – and it gave me the idea (rightly or wrongly) that much of chess can be boiled down to: win a pawn, exchange everything else, win the K + P vs K endgame...  

28.Nxc7+ Bxc7 29.Qxc7 Qxc7 30.Bxc7 Kf7 

It is not easy to deduce that this position came from the rock 'em sock 'em Jerome Gambit opening.

It is a win for White, however.

31.Rd3 Bxa2 32.Rf3+ Kg6 33.Rxf8 Rxf8 

34.b3 Rc8 35.Ra1 Bxb3 36.cxb3 Rxc7 37.Rxa7 

At this point, Black forfeited on time

White's Kingside pawns would decide the game in my favor, anyhow.

Jerome Gambit: Take the Money and Run (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - GuestTYQD

4 12 blitz, FICS, 2023

Black is no longer better. In fact, White may be winning.

At this point in the game I was reminded of Hervé Villechaize, playing the character Tatoo in the TV program "Fantasy Island", announcing "De plane! De plane!" at the beginning of each episode.

In my case, I was thinking "The pawn! The pawn!"

18.e5 dxe5 

Instead, after the game Stockfish 16 (which sniffs in disdain at the Jerome) recommended ignoring the threat of the pawn and trying more development like 18...Raf8. It then liked 19.Ne4, intensifying the pressure on the Knight at f6. After 19...Kd8 20.exf6 Kc8 Black would have safeguarded his King, although he would still be about 3 pawns worse.

19.dxe5 Raf8 

He could have played 19...Bxc3 first, to break up White's Queenside pawns.

20.exf6+ gxf6 

21.Bxh4 

Cashing in, but clearly stronger was increasing the pressure with either 21.Ne4 or 21.Rad1.

My strategy of Take the money and run has gotten me in trouble in past games. 

21...Bxh3 

More blitz-focused scary play.

22.Bg3 

This works, and was part of a plan, but 22.Rfe1+, putting the heat on the enemy King, was better.

The capture 22.gxh3 was possible, but needlessly cooperative. 

22...Be6 

White has an extra pawn. During the game, I was happy to have two central open lines for my Rooks to come to, although I would not have guessed that Stockfish 16 would later assess this position as about 4 pawns better for me.

23.Rad1 Qc6 24.Rfe1 Bb6 

This is a slip. It was time to get rid of the White Knight with 24...Bxc3 once and for all. 

25.Nd5+ Ke8 26.Nxf6+ 

I had the win figured out here.

Had I been less lazy - or had this not been a blitz game - I could hav found 26.Qf5, when Black can only stave off checkmate (temporarily) by throwing material: 26...Rh1+ 27.Kxh1 Rh8+ 28.Kg1 Bxf2+ 29.Bxf2 Qd6 30.Rxe6+ Kd8 31.Rxd6+ cxd6 32.Qe6 Rh1+ 33.Kxh1 b5 34.Qxd6+ Kc8 35.Qc7 checkmate

26...Ke7 27.Nd5+ 

Funny.

Instead, 27.Qg5 was the road to checkmate. 

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Take the Money and Run (Part 1)

I admire chess players who can use the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) to whip up a crushing sacrificial attack on the enemy King, leading to checkmate (or the oponent's resignation).

Too often, I face opponents who return material (willingly or otherwise) and leave me to grind out a pawn-up endgame.

I suppose I could give the somewhat boring situtation an exciting name like "Take the Money and Run", although it sometimes feels more like "Hang Onto That Penny For Dear Life".

Take a look.

perrypawnpusher - GuestTYQD

4 12 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

This position appears in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis in the July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal. 

Jerome played 6...Kf8 twice - successfully - in correspondence games against Dan Jaeger in 1880.

I have faced the line 43 times, scoring 74%.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 

White has two pawns to battle against Black's extra piece.

In turn, Black's King is more vulnerable, especially to the prospect of those pawns advancing.

Although 9...Nf6 has been the most popular choice of my opponents, I have also faced 8...Qf6, 8...Qe7, and 8...Be6.

9.d3 h6 10.O-O Bg4 

A creative move, taking advantage of the fact that White's pinned f-pawn can not advance and chase the Bishop away.

11.Be3 

The Database has games with the equally reasonable 11.h6 (to harass the Bishop), 11.Nc3 (development) and 11.Kh1 (to prepare to advance the f-pawn).

11...Bb6 12.Nc3 

Of course, 12.f4 was also possible.

12...h5 

This move is smart - and aggressive. An ideal move for blitz.

It was a surprise to me.

After the game, I learned that 12...h5 was the top choice of Stockfish 15.1 (30 ply), to take advantage of the somewhat awkward position of White's Queen.

I used up time thinking things through: Bg5 would be a nice pin (possibily backed up by Nd5), as Black would no longer be able to kick the Bishop with ...h6 and White could reposition his Queen to f4, if need b; f2-f4 would be useful and thematic, but first the enemy's Bishop's pressure along the a7-g1 diagonal has to be dealt with...

So, what did I do? 

13.h3

Yes, move a pawn...

13...h4 14.Qh2 

The Queen would be less awkwardly placed at f4.

14...Be6 

15.d4 Ba5 

At first glance it looked like my opponent would prefer to exchange his dark square Bishop for my Knight, not my own Bishop.

16.Bg5 Qd7 

Breaking the pin.

17.Qf4 Ke7 

Stepping out of one pin and into another. Just like that, White is now better. 

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: In the Comments

Yury V. Bukayev, chessfriend and regular contributor to this blog, pointed out that the YouTube video by Canadian Grandmaster Aman Hambleton on the Evans Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4),  "Use THIS Gambit to Surprise Low Elo Players! | Slowbrah Ep. 10", has a number of viewer comments referencing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

Grandmaster Hambleton has a series of educational videos (the above one is episode #10) on YouTube, and he takes time (i.e. Slowbrah) to effectively explain what is going on in the games he plays, as they unfold. They are well worth a look.

By the way, Grandmaster Hambleton is no stranger to the Jerome Gambit, himself. A couple of relevant blog posts: "Grandmaster Hambleton in Nathan Phillips Square" and the much earlier "Jerome Gambit: All In Good Fun"

Jerome Gambit: Blitz Happens

I want to take a moment to update a comprehensive post from 2 1/2 years ago, "Jerome Gambit: Chess Is An Easy Game, After All".

Chiesadision - FrankyRivers

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Qh5 Nf6 7.Qf7 checkmate

Ouch.

Even though Black was rated only a few points shy of 2400, this was a 3-minute game, and, as we all know, blitz happens...

Jerome Gambit: Should Be Over Quickly, Right?

Wandering the internet, I came upon a video of an interesting Jerome Gambit game. I recorded the moves.

The game was a clear case of crime as punishment.

With a very surprising (for me) move at the end.

PlanB31304 - theNimbus1729

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

The Jerome Gambit. A "refuted" opening.

Black appears to be rated almost 500 points higher.

Should be over quickly, right?

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 

Some humans (and computers) prefer the "nudge" 7.Qd5+ first.

7...d6 8.Qc4+ Kf8

It has to be said: sometimes ...d5 is the right move for Black, sometimes it is not. In this position, it is.

9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3 Ne5 

Never miss an opportunity to threaten the enemy Queen - watchwords of many Jerome Gambit defenders.

11.Qe2 Nfg4 

Past World Champion Steinitz believed that if you have the advantage, you have not only a right to attack, but also a duty to attack, otherwise there is the risk of losing the advantage.

Maybe not quite in this manner, however.

12.d4 Qh4 13.Bf4 

White combines defense with development.

He also could have played 13.h3.

13...g5

All in.

Remember, this was a 3-minute blitz game, and often such naked agression is successful.

Not this time. Black's forces are driven back.

14.Bg3 Qh5 15.f3 Nf6 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Bxe5 Kg7 

Stepping into it.

18.Nd5 Rf8 19.Nxf6 Rxf6 20.Bxf6+ 

20...Kf7 

Looks like a finger slip for 20...Kxf6. 

21.e5 Bf5 22.Qc4+ Be6 

Checkmate now will come.

23.Qxc7+ Kg6 24.Qg7+ Kf5 25.g4+ Qxg4+ 26.fxg4+ Kxg4 27.Qxg5+ Kh3 28.Rf3+ 

At this point in the video, a Black Knight suddenly appeared on the g3 square, blocking the check!

28... place Black Knight at g3

Aha! This was a bughouse game!

From Wikipedia

Bughouse chess... is a popular chess variant played on two chessboards by four players in teams of two. Normal chess rules apply, except that captured pieces on one board are passed on to the teammate on the other board, who then has the option of putting these pieces on their board.

However, White still continued

29.Qxg3 checkmate