Jerome Gambit: Patience

Bullet chess - completing a game in a minute or less - requires a sharp opening - and patience, interestingly enough.

In the following game, Black avoids being blown off of the board in the first few moves of the Jerome Gambit, happily holding onto the advantage that can come from a solid defense.

White, in turn, plays along patiently, convinced that he will get his chance to tactically get the advantage. He does, and he wins a miniature.  

angelcamina - Kostya_N

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

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

The Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 

As long as he defends solidly, Black will keep his advantage of a piece for a pawn, even with an uneasy King.

9.Qc4+ Ke8 10.Bg5 

Best.

angelcamina has also played 10.O-O 

10...d6 0–1 angelcamina-Amo_0, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019 (10...Rf8 11.f4 d6 12.b3 Bd7 13.Ba3 Qe7 14.e5 dxe5 15.Bxe7 exf4 16.Bxf8 Kxf8 1–0 angelcamina - sarina86, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019) 11.f4 (11.Bg5 Qe7 (11...Ne5 12.Qb3 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Qe7 15.f4 gxf4 16.Bxf4 Ng6 17.Bg3 Nh5 18.Nd5 Qd7 19.Rae1 Nxg3 20.Nf6+ Ke7 21.Nxd7 Kxd7 22.hxg3 c6 23.Qf7+ Kd8 24.Qxg6 Kc7 25.Rf7+ Kb8 26.Qxd6# angelcamina - DorianW, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020) 12.f4 Qe6 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Qe3+ 15.Kh1 Na5 16.Qxc7 Kf8 17.Rae1 Qb6 18.Qe7+ Kg8 19.Qe8# angelcamina - e4bout, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019) 11...Nd7 (11...Qe7 12.b3 Na5 13.Qa4+ Nc6 14.Ba3 Bd7 15.Rae1 Nd8 16.Qd4 Ne6 17.Qd2 Rf8 18.e5 Ng4 19.exd6 Qh4 20.h3 Nh6 21.dxc7 Rc8 22.Bxf8 Kxf8 23.f5 Rxc7 24.fxe6+ Ke7 25.exd7+ Qxe1 26.Rxe1+ Kf6 27.d8Q+ Re7 28.Q2d6+ Kg5 29.Q8xe7+ Kh5 30.g4+ Nxg4 31.hxg4+ Kxg4 32.Re4+ Kh3 33.Qh4# angelcamina - majorj10, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021; 11...Be6 12.Qxe6+ Qe7 13.Qb3 Kd7 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Nd4 16.Qa4+ c6 17.Qxd4 Rhf8 18.dxc6+ bxc6 19.b3 d5 20.Bb2 Rae8 21.Bc3 Qe3+ 22.Kh1 Qxd4 23.Bxd4 Re4 24.Be5 Re2 25.c4 dxc4 26.bxc4 Rc2 27.Rfd1+ Ke6 28.Rd6+ Kf5 29.Rxc6 Ke4 30.Re1+ Kd3 31.c5 Rb8 32.Rd6+ Kc4 33.Rd4+ Kb5 34.Bxb8 Ka6 35.Be5 Ka5 36.Rb1 1–0 angelcamina - vryzrtr, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024) 12.b3 Nb6 13.Qe2 Be6 14.Ba3 Kd7 15.Rad1 Qf6 16.e5 Qf7 17.exd6 cxd6 18.Bxd6 Rad8 19.Be5+ Kc8 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.Ne4 Qd7 22.Nd6+ Kb8 23.Nf7+ Kc8 24.Nxd8 Bg4 25.Qe3 Nxe5 26.fxe5 Qxd8 27.Qg5 Qd4+ 0–1 angelcamina - Dome1411, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

10...d6 11.O-O-O Qe7 12.f3 Be6 

13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne5 15.Qb5+ Kf7 16.f4 

Keeping the pressure on.

16...Neg4 

Black misses a chance to keep his advantage with 16...Qd7, e.g. 17.Qxb7 Neg4 18.Rhe1 a5.

17.Rhe1 Qf8 18.h3 Nf2 19.Rd2 

White could keep an edge with 19.Bxf6 Nxd1 20.Qd7+ Kg8 21.Bd4

19...h6 

Dropping a piece. And then things get worse.

20.Bxf6 Kxf6 21.Rxf2 a6 22.Qd7 Qf7 

This time, the idea of offering an exchange of Queens is not enough.

23.Re6+ Kf5 24.Qxf7 checkmate

Italian Game Tournament Starts

 

The 50-player "Italian Game" tournament has started at Chess.com, and I am in Group One with 9 other players.

I am playing three Jerome Gambits and will share each of them as they are completed.

One interesting point is that my rating is in the bottom 10 of the tournament’s 50 players, 8th out of 10 in my group, to start. Not quite the same thing as "giving Jerome Gambit odds," but things should become interesting, quickly.

Stay tuned.

Jerome Gambit: Un-Grandmaster Draw & The Mystery of Chess

Checking the internet, you can find

A grandmaster draw is a chess game where players agree to a draw after making little to no effort to win, usually within the first 20 moves.

I suspect that non-grandmasters can also have a "grandmaster draw", if they want to split the point quickly, for reasons of time, effort, or tournament position. 

The following game is a recent example.

pajeloi_skripach - polvorito

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Nc3 Qg5 8.Qf3+ Qf6 

8...Nf6 was a very reasonable alternative. In either case, Black is clearly better.

9.Qh5 Qg5 10.Qf3+ Qf6 11.Qh5 Qg5 12.Qf3+ Qf6 13.Qh5 Qg5 14.Qf3+ Qf6 15.Qh5 Qg5 Draw

What was that all about? It is clear that Black went along with White's plan, but what was White up to? Did White get cold feet after sacrificing two pieces?

Ah, the mystery of chess - and the Jerome Gambit.

Jerome Gambit: Pembukaan Gambit Paling Nekat!

The Indonesian language YouTube video, "PEMBUKAAN GAMBIT PALING NEKAT ! JEROME GAMBIT ITALIAN GAME", presents a couple of interesting games, one featuring the Sarratt Attack, and one featuring the Jerome Gambit. 

The moves are accompanied by instrumental music, so that the games are understandable by all.

The first game is based upon Shumov, Ilia S - Von Jaenisch, Carl Friedrich, match, Russia,1850:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qb5 Re8 11.O-O Rxe4 12.Qd5+ Re6 13.Bg5 Qe8 14.f4 Kg7 15.f5 Re5 16.f6+ Kh8 17.f7 Kg7 

Here, Shumov - Janisch continued 17...Rxd5 18.fxe8=Q+ Kg7 19.Qf8 checkmate 

18.fxe8=N+ Rxe8 19.Qf7+ Kh8 20.Bf6 checkmate

The second game is a Jerome Gambit based upon Nelson, Lamoni - Sugar, Zoltan, Jamaica, Queens, 2006:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bd6 7.dxe5 Be7 8.O-O d6 9.f4 g6 10.e6+ Kg7 11.f5 Nf6 12.Nc3 c6 13.Bg5 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Qc7 15.fxg6 hxg6 16.Bxf6+ Bxf6 17.Rxf6 Kxf6 18.Qd4+ Kxe6 19.Qxh8 Rb8 20.Rf1 Qe7

Here, Black resigned, although the video continued 21.Qh3+ Kxe5 22.Qg3+ Ke6 23.Qxg6+ Kd7 (23...Ke5 24.Ne2 Bd7 25.Rf5+ Bxf5 [25...Kxe4 26.Nc3+ Kd4 27.Qg4+ Ke3 28.Qf checkmate] 26.Qxf5 checkmate) 24.Rf7 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit Song

Longtime Readers of this blog will remember what the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) sounds like as a musical piece - see the blog post "What Does the Jerome Gambit Sound Like?"

But that was an instrumental presentation.

Chessfriend Yury V. Bukayev has gone one step further...

Dear Rick,

I have invented a new way of how to popularize your blog! Thus, here is a text of a popular song "Japanese Girls" by the music collective "Joy". Below it there is my own text of my analogous song "Oh, Jerome Games!" for the same melody. 

Here is the song by "Joy":  

https://youtu.be/Y0a3T6iN0Wk  .

                Japanese Girls ("Joy")

Japanese girls living in a land

So far and lovely

Japanese girls they have set my soul on fire

Japanese girls they're always in my mind

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You are my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You are my Japanese girl

I love you so

Japanese girls lovely as a dream

It's like a vision

Japanese girls make me feel so good

Just like in heaven

Japanese girls they're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You are my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You're my Japanese girl

I love you so

Japanese girls they're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Japanese girls make me wonder

You're my Japanese girl

I need you so

Japanese girls make me feel good

You are my Japanese girl

I love you so

(The source of this text:  https://www.az-lyrics.ru/lyrics/joy/japanese-girls )  

And here is my own song:

                                 Oh, Jerome Games!

(Copyright (c) Yury V. Bukayev 2024)

Oh, Jerome games living in chess land

So bright and lovely

Oh, Jerome games! They have set my soul on fire

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my mind

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Oh, Jerome games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

Oh, Jerome games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll love you so

Oh, Jerome games lovely as a dream

It's like a vision

Oh, Jerome games make me feel so good

Just like in heaven

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Oh, Jerome games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

Oh, Jerome games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll love you so

Oh, Jerome games! They're always in my heart

And carry on, carry on, carry on

Oh, Jerome games make me wonder

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll need you so

Oh, Jerome games make me feel good

Oh, let's play Jerome gambit game - 

I'll love you so

 

Dear readers, feel free, please, to contact the author: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru !

 

The OMG Variation

 

After the previous blog post, "Repeated Face Palm", where again I took a look at the dubious 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5?!, I had the most bizarre thought: What if White played Ng5 a move earlier?

Like 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Ng5?

Nobody would do that, would they?

I would have to name that the "OMG Variation".

Much to my surprise, a quick look at my files presented me with 360 game examples - with White scoring 25%.

I suspect that only part of that was due to the fact that the average rating of White was about 100 points below that of Black, in which case White's general expectancy would be 36%.

Checking the lichess.org website, I was flabbergasted: there were 1,442,385 OMG Variation games (!), with White scoring 36% - as the Elo differences would predict. 

Two players opening with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Ng5 were rated over 2900.

I think I am trying to scare myself back to the Jerome Gambit...

Repeated Face Palm

 

Almost 4 1/2 years ago, and not for the first time, it was necessary to post a(nother) warning

I need to spend a moment or two on a Jerome Gambit variation that has been bothering me for almost 20 years. (See "Another Way to Sacrifice the Knight" and "PSA 2.0" for a couple of rants.) A disreputable line in a disreputable opening, it keeps showing up in games. I would like to call it the Face Palm Variation.

The variation is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+

 Even in the topsy-turvey world of the Jerome Gambit, it still is a bit outrageous.

On the other hand, it offers only one piece, while the Jerome offers two, so maybe...

No, Stockfish 16.1 (30 ply) evaluates the Face Palm position as about a Rook better for Black, which is twice as bad as it evaluates the Jerome Gambit.

So - Why the fuss? I am not recommending the line.

Going through The Database today, I stumbled upon the following game:

pajeloi_skripach - N-Word-Abuser, 3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2019: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+ Qxg5 6.d4 exd4 0-1

Take a closer look. White is willing to sacrifice his Knight, because, after the enemy Queen captures it, he can play 6.d4 and simultaneously attack the Queen and an enemy Bishop.

This is faulty reasoning, though, as Black can avoid cooperating by playing 6...exd4 - dropping his Queen - and, instead, cause plenty of mayhem after 6...Qxg2.

(So, how did Black win the game after offering his Queen? On time, of course.)

Checking The Database, there are 748 games with 5.Ng5+, with White scoring 26% - up 3% from the earlier Face Palm post of 24%.

Checking lichess.org, there are 32,891 games with 5.Ng5+, with White scoring 31%!?

There is no way that 5.Ng5+ is getting stronger over time, is there?

Probably not, but it is fun to see that a few years ago a player rated 2770 at the online lichess.org site played a 3 0 blitz game with 5.Ng5+ (against a player rated "only" 2298), and checkmated his opponent in 10 moves:1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+ Kf8 6.Qh5 g6 7.Nxh7+ Kf7 8.Ng5+ Kf6 9.Qxh8+ Kxg5 10.d4+ Kg4 11.f3 checkmate

Shakespeare's Hamlet was right when he said, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horation, than are dreamt of in our philosphy."