Jerome Gambit: Happiness and Sadness

 

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and its relatives can produce very pretty games - and very ugly ones.

It can produce a lot of happiness - and a lot of sadness.

Take the following position, from the aforementioned game Habitus - amaudsylvain, lightning game, FICS, 1999 (0-1, 38), which started out as a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+).

White has an overwhelming position; in fact, he has a mate-in-one, and it is his move.

Alas, before he could play 39.Qg6#, his flag fell, and White lost on time.

Sic transit gloria eius mundi

Jerome Gambit: Just When Things Started to Become Interesting... (Part 1)

The clock intervenes, again...

perrypawnpusher - Borislav007

Giuoco Fun, Chess.com, 2024

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.Qe3 Nf6 

We have reached a standard Jerome Gambit position. In The Database are 906 games with this position. White score 64%.

10.O-O Qe7 11.d3 

Usually, I have played 11.Nc3 as in  perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 31); perrypawnpusher - mikelars, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 50); perrypawnpusher - Unimat, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 25); perrypawnpusher - Solaar, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 33); perrypawnpusher - parlance, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22); perrypawnpusher - chingching, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2 - 1/2, 36); perrypawnpusher - tuffnut, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 62); and perrypawnpusher - johnde, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 55).

11...d5 

Or 11...Be6 as in perrypawnpusher - Edvardinho, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 57). 

12.f3 

White won on time

The earliest example of White's pawn "triangle" in a Jerome Gambit game that I can find is Lowe - Parker, corr, 1879 (1-0, 37). 

The earliest example of the pawn "triangle" in a Jerome Gambit game being properly challenged by ...d5 is Habitus - amaudsylvain, lightning game, FICS, 1999 (0-1, 38)

Jerome Gambit: Pins Galore

Recently, I ran across a short, entertaining, YouTube video, highlighting a Jerome Gambit game, Jerome Pioneer vs Angered Toddler.

SkillerEP - Estergidio

Chess.com iPhone, 2024

SkillerEP has 366 games in The Database.

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

From the video:

The Jerome Gambit gets sheer decimation power because who's studying two pieces getting sacked in the opening? No, its more like "I'll handle that when it happens." The problem is they handle it like a toddler, like you're clearly winning because you just played a bad opening and they just didn't know how to face it and they just anger themselves by playing on, right?

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

The best defensive choice, according to The Database. In 3,128 games, Black scores 52%.

Less successful for Black are 6...Ng6 (9,137 games, scoring 44%); 6...Ke6 (4,357 games, scoring 37%); and 6...g6 (2,768 games, scoring 29%).

By comparison, Stockfish 15.1, at 40 ply, sees 6...Ke6 as best for Black (a bit more than 3 pawns advantage), followed by 6...Kf8 (about 2 3/4 pawns advantage), 6...g6 (about 2 1/4 pawns advantage) and 6...Ng6 (a bit more than 1 3/4 pawns advantage).

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf5+ 

If White is not going to exchange Queens, does it matter which square he checks on? If so, why?

Stockfish 15.1, at 37 ply, sees 8.Qf4+ as about 1 1/2 pawns better than the text - likely because of the possible impact of ...d5 by Black, uncovering an attack on the White Queen.

The Database concurs: in 498 games, White scored 51% with 8.Qf4+; while in 121 games, White scored 35% with 8.Qf5+.

Does that mean that White, who played 8.Qf5+ in this game, is going to lose? No, of course not, but it could mean that the next time White reaches this position he might choose 8.Qf4+.

8...Ke8 9.O-O Nf6 

10.e5 

Black used his 8th move to prevent this pawn advance from happening while his Knight was pinned to his King.

That tempo, however, allowed White to castle, freeing his pawn from its pin to its King.

10...Nd5 

Safer might have been 10...Ng8, but retreating did not feel right. 

11.c4 

Kicking the Knight. 

At first glance, it did not appear that 11.d4 was playable, but after 11...Bxd4 White has the move 12.Qe4, attacking both enemy pieces. After 12...Qxe5 13.Qxe5+ Bxe5 White wins his piece back with 14.Re1 and, if necessary, 15.f4. 

11...Rf8 12.Qxh7 Nf4 13.d4 

Offering the d-pawn.

13...Bxd4 14.Bxf4 Rxf4 15.Nc3 c6 

16.Rad1 Bxe5 17.Rfe1 d6 

The danger to Black along the e-file could now be shown by 18.c5!?

18.g3 Rf8 19.f4 Bf5 20.Qh5+ g6 21.Qf3 

White's pressure along the e-file, with Black's Queen and King on it, keeps the position balanced - but I suspect that most club players would prefer White here.

21...Qh7 

Getting out of one pin (on the Queen), but leaving another (on the Bishop). White's pressure brings results.

The better 21...Be6 could again be met by 22.c5!? keeping the balance.

22.fxe5 dxe5 23.Rxe5+ Kf7 24.Rd7+ Kg8 25.Rxh7 Kxh7 26.Re7+ Kg8 

With a Queen and a pawn for a Rook, White has the game under control.

27.Qe3 Rad8 28.Qh6 Rf7 29.Rxf7 Kxf7 30.Qc1 

Safety first.

30...Bg4 31.Kf2 Rd3 32.Qf4+ Bf5 33.g4 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Assumed, Not Easily Seen

The following game reached a position which should have been drawn, but it would have required a long string of Queen checks, the end of which had to be assumed, as it could not be easily seen.

In the end, lucky me, I escaped with the full point.

perrypawnpusher - kertt1

Giuoco Fun, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke7 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

Similar was 9...Be6 10.O-O Nf6 in perrypawnpusher - frogonatwig, 3 d/move, Piano Piano tournament, Chess.com 2020 (1-0, 30). 

10.Nc3 Kf7 11.O-O Rf8 12.d4 Kg8 

Black has castled-by-hand and has a piece for White's two extra pawns. Those "Jerome pawns" have to start stirring up trouble.

13.f4 Ng4 

I have not done the math (the number of examples approaches 3,000), but I suspect that when Black plays ...Ng4 to attack the Queen on e3, or ...Nb5 to attack the Queen on d3, more often than not, the first player benefits, because of the lost time involved.

Such is the case, here, even with the followup threat.

14.Qf3 Qh4 15.h3 Nh6 

16.f5 

Possibly premature, as my opponent demonstrates.

16...Nxf5 17.exf5 Rxf5 18.Qd3 

Having returned the piece for two pawns, Black can now stir up some trouble by exchanging rooks with 18...Rxf1+ followed by 19...Bxh3!?

18...Nf4 

Allowing me to overtake my opponent in development.

19.Bxf4 Rxf4 20.Rxf4 Qxf4 21.Rf1 Qg5 

22.Qc4+ 

A useful check, as White can now grab a couple of pawns: 22...d5 23.Qxd5+ Qxd5 24.Nxd5 Bd7 25.Nxc7, as Black can not capture White' c-pawn with and x-ray attack, 25...Rc8 26.Nd5 Rxc2 because of 27.Ne7+ Kh8 28.Rf8 checkmate.

22...Be6 

Careless.

23.Qxe6+ Kh8 24.Qf7 h6 

25.Re1 

It was okay to grab the c-pawn, but the text move is fine.

25...Qd2 26.Re8+ Rxe8 27. Qxe8+ Kh7 28.Qe4+ Kh8 

29. Nd5 c6 30.Ne3 d5 31.Qe8+Kh7 32.Nf5 Qg5 

33.Ne7 

Threatening checkmate, but allowing Black a chance to draw by checking White's King, forever... The move to make, instead, was 33.Qe5.

33...Qe3+ 34.Kf1 Qe6 

Overly concerned by my threat. 

Instead, 34...Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qf4+ 36.Ke2 Qe4+ 37.Kc1 Qxd4+ 38.Ke2 Qc4+ 39.Ke3 Qe4+, etc., etc. draw

35.Qf8 h5 36.Qf5+ Qxf5+ 37.Nxf5 

The rest of the game unfolded as expected: Knight wins pawns to create a passd pawn; passed pawn promotes; Queen checkmates.

Unfortunately for my opponent, one of my usual blunders did not show up.

37...Kg6 38.Nd6 b6 39.Nc8 Kf5 40.Nxa7 c5 41.dxc5 bxc5 42.Ke2 Ke4 43.Nc6 g5 44.a4 Kf4 45.a5 Kg3 46.Kf1 Kf4 47.a6 Ke3 48.Ke1 d4 49.a7 d3 50.cxd3 Kxd3 51.a8=Q Kc2 52.Qa3 c4 53.Nd4+ Kb1 54.Kd2 c3+ 55.bxc3 g4 56.Nc2 gxh3 57.Qa1 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Experience Helps

Entering into complications in the following game, I was confident, because I had weathered just this type of storm a number of times beforehand.

perrypawnpusher - xulian

Jerome Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nf3+ 

This is an exciting variation, going back to the imaginary telephone game between "R.F." and "Nibs" in the June 1899 issue of the American Chess Magazine. In 26 games against it, I have scored 88%. This contrasts, though, with the overall statistics from The Database: 215 games, White scores 58%.

10.Kf1 

I have played this reply in 19 games, going 16 - 3, while playing the alternative, 10.Kd1, 7 times (7 - 0). For the record, Stockfish 16.1 sees less than 1/4 pawn difference between the two moves.

10...Nxh2+ 

The best move, 10...Qh6, was successfully played by Temmo against me in our game in the third Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at ChessWorld.net in 2008 (0-1, 43).

11.Kg2 

11...Ne7 

This move, developing with an attack on the enemy Queen, is not as good as it looks, because of a Zwischenzug. Best was 11...Qg4. Against that, I managed to slip away and win in perrypawnpusher - JTIV, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 32).

12.Qe5+ 

Escaping the attack, with check.

12...Kc6 13.gxh4 Ng4 14.Qc3 Kb6 

Black has two pieces for a Queen and a pawn. Equally troublesome, his King is uneasily placed.

15.d4 Bd6 16.e5 Nd5 17.Qb3+ Kc6 

Oddly enough, I had an earlier game that finished 17...Bb4 18.Qxd5 d6 19.c3 c6 20.Qf3 Black lost on time, perrypawnpusher - constipatedguru, blitz, FICS, 2017.

18.Nc3 Nxc3 19.Qxc3+ Kb6 20.exd6 cxd6 21.a4 

Thinking about checkmate.

21...a6 22.a5+ Ka7 23.d5 

The pawn blocks a pawn which blocks a pawn which blocks the Bishop that keeps the Rook from coming into play...

23...b5 24.Qxg7 

White could exchange his Queen for a Rook and a Knight with 24.Qxg4 Rag8 25.Qxg8, but why?

24...Bb7 25.Qd4+ Kb8 26.Qxh8+ Kc7 27.Qc3+ Kb8 

Sometimes I get sloppy when I think I have a "won" game, so perhaps my opponent wanted to test that.

28.Rd1 Nf6 29.Qxf6 Ka7 30.Be3+ Kb8 31.Qd8+ Bc8 32.Rd3 Ra7 33.Bxa7+ Kxa7 34.Qxc8 h5 

One last hope: stalemate?

35.Rc3 b4 36.Rc7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Database (update)

 I frequently refer to "The Database" in posts on this blog.

First mention was in "My Jerome Gambit Database" back in June of 2008

I have over 950 Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games in my database, allowing for transpositions.

Currently, The Database contains over 95,000 games, focused upon the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+), the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/4.Nc3/4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+)  and the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+).

The core of The Database is drawn from the FICS Games Database, with all relevant games - win, loss or draw - gathered from 1999 to the present.

The idea is to make The Database similar to online club play, making statistics drawn from it to be largely representative of club play. It might be helpful to know, for example, that while a computer might evaluate a particular line as being better for Black, White has been successful in playing it, nonetheless.

In the past few years I have added a large number of games from the lichess.org website, as well as games submitted by readers of this blog (mostly wins), so the representedness of The Database is a bit skewed, but it remains a good resource to mine for Jerome Gambit play. 

Jerome Gambit: chessriddler's Study

The online player chessriddler, with over 200 games in The Database, is someone who we have recently seen in blog posts "Jerome Gambit: Battle Royal", "Jerome Gambit: Hunker Down", and "Jerome Gambit: Great Minds Think Alike". 

He has assembled a 14 chapter study of the Jerome Gambit - including some Jerome ideas for Black - at lichess.org.

The games are well worth playing over.