Jerome Gambit Odds Again

 

Grandmaster Aman Hambleton is familiar with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). He has played it at least a couple dozen times under his handle KNVB.

He has also played it several times, with a blitz time control of 3 1, in online Titled Tuesday events at Chess.com. See "Jerome Gambit: Titled Tuesday".

Here is another.

At +250 rating points (Chess.com rating), you might suspect that the Grandmaster was giving "Jerome Gambit odds" to his opponent, but can you really do that to someone who is rated 2445 and expect to win?

Hambleton, Aman - Jiang, Andrew

3 1 blitz Titled Tuesday,Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

I don't know how familiar Andrew Jiang is with the Jerome Gambit (he does not appear in The Database) but this move is practical: there is no need to explore what might happen after 6...Ke6, and 6...Kf8 might block a Rook that would eventually want to come to the center. So, 6...Ng6 it is.

7.Qd5+ 

Grandmaster Hambleton is familiar with the "nudge", sending the enemy King to the back rank after all.

7...Kf8 

I suppose that 7...Ke8 could be a tiny bit better, as the capture of the Bishop would not come with check, so Black could find another move to play. If he were later to play ...d5, he would have saved a tempo.

8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 Kf7 

Persistent.

11.d3 Re8 12.O-O d5 13.Qg3 Be6 

This move does not appear in The Database, and White quickly shows why.

It is quite possible that Black, with an extra piece and better development, simply felt he had sailed through the rough waters of the turbulent opening, and was now ready to develop regularly. Quite possible in a 3-minute game.

14.f4 dxe4 15.f5 Bxf5 16.Rxf5 exd3 

Black has returned some of the sacrificed material and is probably equal now after White finds the thoughtful 17.Qf2.

17.cxd3 

White may have missed Black's next move, or he may simply have seen it and assessed the resulting position as playable. With an even game, he can grind his opponent in search of the full point.

17...Qd4+ 18.Kh1 

Possible was 18.Kf1, but White plans to put his Queen's Rook on that square.

18...h6 

Preventing the thematic 19.Bg5. He could probably pressurize his opponent, himself, after 18...Qg4 19.Rf1 Qxg3 20.hxg3 Rad8.

Now Grandmaster Hambleton finds a nice shot.

19.Bxh6 gxh6 

Natural. Stockfish 15.1, however, suggests Black had better chances than with the text, with 19...Re5 20.Rf3 Qh4 21.Bf4 Qxg3 22.Bxg3 Rc5, although the Rook would be awkwardly placed and he would be down a pawn.

20.Raf1 

Putting pressure on the Knight, the immediate byproduct of the piece sacrifice.

20...Re6 21.Ne4 Rae8 22.Nxf6 R8e7 

Not 22...Rxf6 23.Rxf6+ costing the Queen.

23.Nd5+ Ke8 24.Nxe7 Nxe7 25.Rf8+ Kd7 26.R8f4 Qxb2 

Being down the exchange is enough to cost the game, but now things fall apart.

27.Rc4 c6 28.Qh3 Qe2 29.Rg1 b5 30.Re4 Black resigned

Ouch!

Jerome Gambit: Think Fast

I was looking over a bullet game between two 2400+ players, a Four Knights Game that added a Jerome Gambit style sacrifice after Black innovated a bit too freely: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Nd4 5.Bxf7+ 

One interesting thing is that the game continued until the 73rd move, which means that the players were using, on the average, 8/10th of a second thinking time each move.

That's fast!

It is no surprise, then, that the game ended this way - by stalemate.

Does the Jerome Gambit Have Anything to Teach?

A friend of mine taught his daughter to open every game of chess with 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2 and 4.O-O. That way, in four moves she would have developed some pieces and safe-guarded her King.

I remember early in my chess play, I would essay 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 and then offer to split the point, as "everyone knows" that the Four Knights Game is a draw.

What, then, of the subject of this blog? Does the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) have anything to teach new players about chess?

Recently I reviewed a number of games by someone relatively new to Caissa's creation, who was also interested in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's contraption. One game, in particular, addressed that question and inspired this blog post.

3l0Zer0 - HambaAllah1203

10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bc4 

Both players focus on getting out their pieces. 

We can leave a discussion of the "fork trick" for another day.

4...Nd4 

An aggressive move, but one that abandons further piece development.

I would prefer to see 4...Bc5, if only because White could then play the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit with 5.Bxf7+!? 

5.Bxf7+ 

Not the "best" move, "objectively" - that would be 5.Nxe5, taking the now-unprotected pawn and threatening mischief on the f7 square - but a fine practical move, given the situation.

The Database has only 7 earlier games with 5.Bxf7+ - all of them wins by White. 

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 

Black's King is now stuck in the center, like in the Jerome Gambit.

7.Nd5 

White's Knight takes an advanced outpost, but repeats Black's Knight's mis-step.

Next time we will probably see 7.O-O or 7.d3. Why? Because Black is still, technically, better, with a Bishop for two pawns, which means that White benefits from safeguarding her King or preparing for further piece development.

7...d6 

I am sure that my grandson, Cole, would play 7...Nxe4 and say "Look at those four Knights!". 

8.Nxf6+

White stirs in a little surprise by not moving her attacked Knight on e5.

She also relies on a bit of chess wisdom - it is not wise to move the Queen early in the game - to encourage her opponent to play the wrong move.

8...gxf6 

The alternative, capturing with the Queen, 8...Qxf6, is the right idea. 

The text is bad for Black, as 3l0Zer0 immediately shows.

The light squares leading to Black's King are calling to White's Queen, just like in the Jerome Gambit.

9.Qh5+ Ke7 10.Qf7 checkmate

Very nice!

Jerome Gambit: Instead, He Could Have Done Something Boring

The following Jerome Gambit game reaches a point where the defender has a choice of moves, and chooses something active.

As Bill Wall shows, perhaps he should have chosen something largely inactive, instead.

Wall, Bill - Raol

internet, 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 Qe7 9.Qe3 Nf6 

There are 180 examples of games reaching this position in The Database.

Also 9...d5 10.Nc3 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nf6 12.d3 Ne5 13.O-O Nfg4 14.Qe2 Bf5 15.Bg5 Qd7 16.h3 h6 17.Nc5 Qc6 18.hxg4 hxg5 19.Qxe5+ Be6 20.Nxe6 Kd7 21.Qxg7+ Kxe6 22.Rfe1+ Kd5 23.Qe5 checkmate, Wall,B - Guest497592, PlayChess.com, 2012.

10.Nc3 c6 

Or 10...d6 11.O-O Ng4 (11...Be6 12.f4 Ng4 13.Qg3 Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4 15.g3 Nf5 16.exf5 Bxf5 17.Re1+ Kd7 18.d3 Rae8 19.Bd2 c6 20. h3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Hirami,Z, Chess.com, 2011) 12.Qg3 Qe5 13.Nd5 Qxg3 14.fxg3 Kd7 15.Rf7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - CKSP, FICS, 2010; or 

10...Kf7 11.O-O Re8 12.d3 d5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Qxe3 15.fxe3+ Kg8 16.e4 Bg4 17. Be3 a6 18. Rf2 Rad8 19. h3 Bd7 20. Raf1 c6 21.Bb6 Rc8 22.d6 Be6 23.d4 Nf8 24.g4 Bc4 25.Rxf8+ Rxf8 26.Rxf8+ Rxf8 27.d7 Bxa2 28.e5 Kf7 29.d8=Q Rxd8 30.Bxd8 Ke6 31.Kf2 Bb1 32.c3 Ba2 33.Kf3 Kd5 34.Kf4 Ke6 35.Kg5 Kf7 36.h4 Bb1 37.h5 h6+ 38.Kh4 g6 39.hxg6+ Kxg6 40.e6 Ba2 41.e7 Bf7 42.c4 Kf6 43.e8=Q+ Black resigned, Wall,B - CKFM, FICS, 2012. 

11.f4 d5 12.d3 Ng4 

It is often quite tempting to attack the White Queen in the Jerome Gambit. Instead, he could have done something boring like moving his King to the f7 square, right away or after ...dxe4.

13.Qd4 Nh4 14.O-O Bd7 15.Bd2 Kd8 

Perhaps the King will be safer on the Queenside?

As it turns out, no.

16.h3 Nh6 17.g4 Bxg4 18.hxg4 Nxg4 

Black has returned the sacrificed material for some pawns.

White is still better.

19.Rae1 Qd6 

He zigged instead of zagging. Better: 19...Qf6.

20.Qxg7 Qf8 

Now things get messy on both sides of the board.

21.Qxb7 Rc8 22.Nxd5 

The Knight can not be taken, but defense is not possible, anyhow.

22...Rg8 23.Ba5+ 

The point of the Knight offer.

23...Ke8 24.Qxc8+

Black resigned

Black's King is in too much danger.

Jerome Gambit - Mate in 2

Over at YouTube I found the video "Jerome gambit - Mate in 2" with SkillerEP playing his favorite opening. 

It was a fun romp.

SkillerEP - goyong

10 0 blitz, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Ng6 8.Qd5+ 

In the video, SkillerEP said he was going to try something new. I suspect that this move, a "nudge", was it, as it only appears once in his 350 games in The Database - this game.

8...Kf6

9.f5 Bb6 

Save the Bishop!

10.fxg6 hxg6 11.b3 Ne7 12.Bb2+ Black resigned

White has his Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal, similar to the early game Jerome - Shinkman, Iowa, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 42 ).

goyong could try 12...Bd4, but after 13.Bxd4 it would be checkmate.

Nicely done!

(If something about the game is nagging at you, Dear Reader, you may have noticed that 9.Qg5+ would have led to the win of Black's Queen. Remember, though, this was a blitz game. Also, understand that I have 23 games in The Database with the position before White's 9th move - and only four times was the check found. Ouch.) 

Jerome Gambit: Doors

The old saying, When a door closes, another one opens, has relevance to chess, too.

In the following game Bill Wall's opponent quickly puts an end to a piece and all its aggressive plans, in a way that allows another piece to be equally destructive.

Wall, Bill - Akela

internet, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qe7 

Bill has also faced

8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6 (9...Nf3+ 10.Kd1 Qe7 11.Qd5#  Wall,B - Guest1692544, PlayChess.com, 2020) 10.Qh5 g6 11.Qe2 Ke7 12.fxe5 Qxe5 13.c3 Qe6 14.d4 Bb6 15.Bg5+ Ke8 16.O-O h6 17.Qf2 Ne7 18.Bxh6 d5 19.Nd2 dxe4 20.Nxe4 Qxe4 21.Qf7+ Kd7 22.Rae1 Qd5 23.Rxe7+ Kc6 24.Rf6+ Kb5 25.Qxd5+ Ka6 26.Qc4+ Ka5 27.Qb4+ Ka6 28.Qa4 checkmate, Wall,B - Marani,G, Chess.com, 2011; 

8...Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 (10...Qf6 11.Qg3+ Ke7 12.Nc3 c6 13.d4 Bb6 14.Bg5 Black resigned, Wall,B - RRGP, FICS, 2020) 11.d3 (11.Nc3 c6 12.d3 Ke7 13.Bf4 Qe6 14.O-O-O h6 15.d4 Bb4 16.d5 Qg4 17.e5 Bxc3 18.exf6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Gordy, 2023) 11...Kc6 12.c3 Re8 13.b4 Bb6 14.Bf4 Qh5 15.a4 d5 16.Nd2 Bg4 17.Qg3 dxe4 18.d4 e3 19.Nc4 Qf5 20.O-O Nh5 21.Nxe3 Nxg3 22.Nxf5 Nxf5 23.b5+ Kd5 24.a5 Nxd4 25.axb6 Ne2+ 26.Kh1 Nxf4 27.Rxf4 axb6 28.Rb1 Be6 White resigned, Wall,B - Stoker,B, 15 0 rapid, FICS 2010;

8...Bd4 9.fxe5+ Bxe5 10.d4 Bf6 11.e5+ Ke7 12.exf6+ Nxf6 13.O-O d6 14.Qg5 Kf8 15.Nc3 Be6 16.Ne4 Bc4 17.Rf4 h6 18.Qh4 Bf7 19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Bxh6+ Ke8 21.Nxf6+ Ke7 22.Re1+ Be6 23.Rxe6+ Kxe6 24.d5+ Kf7 25.Qh5+ Ke7 26.Qe2+ Kf7 27.Qe6+ Kg6 28.Ng8+ Kh5 29.Qf5+ Kh4 30.g3# Wall,B - ManiacComputer, Cocoa Beach, FL 2012; and 

8...Ng6 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qe3 Nf6 12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Neg4 14.Qf3 Re8 15.h3 Nh6 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Nc3 Kf7 18.O-O-O Ng8 19.g4 a5 20.Nd5 c6 21.Nf4 Bd7 22.e5 dxe5 23.dxe5 Rxe5 24.Qb3+ Kf8 25.Ne6+ Rxe6 26.fxe6 Qg5+ 27.Kb1 Be8 28.Rhf1+ Nf6 29.Qxb7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2020) 

9.Na3 

This move is a novelty, according to The Database.

The Knight dreams of 10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.Nc4+.

The dreams are quicly dashed.

9...Bxa3 10.bxa3 Qf6 

Perhaps with the idea of challenging the enemy Queen, perhaps with the plan of ...Nf3+ winning the exchange.

Better was 10...Nf6, as now the a1-h8 diagonal comes to life.

11.fxe5+ Qxe5 12.Qxe5+ Kxe5 13.Bb2+ Kxe4 14.Bxg7 

Bill now finishes his opponent off.

14...d6 15.O-O Be6 16.Rae1+ Kd5 17.c4+ Kxc4 18.Rxe6 Black resigned

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.