Italian Game: Jerome Gambit - Puzzles

 

I have a Google Alert set for "Jerome Gambit" Recently this was returned

Italian Game: Jerome Gambit - Puzzles • lichess.org Puzzles • lichess.org Lichess tactic trainer: Find the best move for white.. Played by  784 players Check it out.

Jerome Gambit: Final Pins

It can be fun - and educational - to see how a couple of strong players interpret the Jerome Gambit, especially at blitz speed.

The following game is a good example.

Chess_Coach_UA - Avorton

3 0 blitz, internet

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

First seen in Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's analysis in the July, 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.Nc3 Be6 10.d3 Bd4 

An interesting, almost never-seen idea. 

Black could also try 10...Kf7 with the idea (after moving his Rook) of castling-by-hand.

11.Bd2 Kf7 12.O-O 

White has placed his Bishop so as to avoid breaking up his Queenside pawns, should Black play ...Bxc3. Then, it was time to castle the King to safety.

Stockfish 16.1, which I often find does not seem to "understand" the Jerome Gambit, had this suggestion, instead: 12.Ne2!?, offering the b-pawn.

Would a player rated 2300+ grab the pawn, especially when offered by a player rated 2400+?

Stockfish continues, after  12...Bxb2 13.Rb1 Ba3 (13...Nxe4 14.dxe4 Bf6 is interesting, but probably even) 14.d4 Nxe4 15.Qxa3 Re8 16.Qf3+ Kg8 (16...Nf6 17.O-O Bxa2 18.Ra1 Bc4 19.Rfe1 Kg8 and Black has an edge) 17.Qxe4 Bc4 18.Qf3 Rxe2+ 19.Kd1 b5 20.Re1 Rxe1+ 21.Bxe1 when Black is a bit better, because of the difference in King safety.

Should Black's Bishop decline the pawn with 12...Bb6 the computer continues its fantasy with 13.O-O-O Re8 14.h4 h5 15.Bc3 Kg8 16.Nf4 Qe7 17.Kb1 Qf7 18.a3 c6 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Nxh5 Qh6 21.Nf4 Bf7 22.f3 Be3 23.Ne2 Qe6 24.b3 a5 25.f4 a4 26.Qxe3 axb3 27.c4 Rxa3 and Black is better.

Messy, messy, messy. Chess_Coach_UA says no, thank you and simply castles.

 12...Rf8 13.Kh1 Kg814.f4 Nh5 15.Qf3 

15...Nxf4 

He should have resisted temptation with 15...Qh4. It looks like Black was drawn into this line because of the possible pins, and the alignment of his Rook with White's Queen.

16.Bxf4 Be5 17.Qe3 

17...Rxf4 

I think Black may have misjudged the pins in the upcoming play.

Stronger was 17...Qf6 18.Qg1 Bxf4 19.g3 (taking advantage of another pin) Qh6 20. Rxf4 Rxf4 21. gxf4 Qxf4 22. Rf1 Qe5, with a small edge to Black.

18.Rxf4 Qg5 

Another pin, as planned, but a miscalculation, perhaps due to time. With 18...Bxf4 19.Qxf4 Qd7 20. Rf1 White would be a bit better, but he would have work to do to score the full point.

19.Rf8+ Black resigned

White will win the Black Queen.

Jerome Gambit: Staggering (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

13.Qg3 

Planning f2-f4, but this move was short-sighted, as Black immediately demonstrates.

Better was 13.Rae1, bringing a Rook to a central file and lining up with the enemy Queen.

13...Nh5 14.Qf3 Qf7 15.Qe2 Nf4 16.Qd2 Rf8 

Things look grim for the gambiteer, but at least Black's Rook is buried at h8. Of course, he could always find ...h7-h5.

At this point I looked at the Jerome Gambit and complained, "Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into."

17.Bxf4 Qxf4 18.Qxf4 Rxf4 19.Nd5 Rf7 20.Nxb6 axb6 

Even though it wasn't very Jerome-ish, going into the endgame like this didn't seem any worse than staying in the middlegame. 

I suppose that Bill Wall could make something out of this position, but with only a Queenside pawn majority and a Kingside pawn majority as "compensation" for a Bishop, I was stuck.

21.f4 

After the game, the computer recommended the uninspiring 21.a4 or 21.c4 or 21.b3. It probably couldn't make much out of my position, either.

21...h5 22.Rf3 Kh7 23.f5 g6 24.Raf1 Rhf8 25.fxg6+ Kxg6 26. Rxf7 Rxf7 27.Rxf7 Kxf7 

How does that song go? "...fool, trying hard to recreate what had yet to be created..."

28.Kf2 Kf6 29.c3 c5 30.d4 cxd4 31.cxd4 Bc6 32.Kf3 Kg5 

33.b3 h4 34.g4 b5 35.b4 Bd7 36.h3 Be6 37.d5 Bf7 38.Ke3 Be8 39.Kf3 Bd7 40.a3 b6 41.Ke3 Be8 42.Kf3 Bg6 43.Ke3 Be8 44.Kf3 Bd7 

My opponent could afford to be patient, as he had the game in the bag. 

There was no reason for me to drag out the game.

45.e5 dxe5 46.d6 Kf6 47.Ke4 Ke6 White resigned

Looks like I have a lock on 8th place in my group.

Jerome Gambit: Staggering (Part 1)

As I stagger to the finish line in the Italian Game tournament at Chess.com, I can count no wins and no draws with the Jerome Gambit, against 5 losses. 

Rather discouraging - Or time to improve my game. 

I will stick with the latter.

Perhaps, next time, I will pick on someone my own size - or rating. As I wrote in an earlier post

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.

It looks like I will finish 8th in my group.

perrypawnpusher - mathgk

3 d/move, Italian game tournament, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

Introduced by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in his article in the July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, titled "Jerome's Double Opening: Third Variation".

The move 6...Kf8 has a lot of numbers attached to it

According to The Database, this is a popular move (3,600 games), and more successful for Black than White (Black scores 53%).

Personally, I have faced 6...Kf8 in 64 games, scoring 70% with White. That is an impressive number.

Also impressive is that playing an opponent  200 point higher than me, my chances are rated at about 25%. 

Finally, it must be added that Stockfish 16.1 (33 ply) evaluates Black as 2 1/2 pawns better. 

7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Again, this move has Jerome's stamp on it, as he played it in several correspondence games, against David Jaeger, in 1880.

I have also faced 7...d6 8.Qg3 Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - frencheng, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 17). 

8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.Nc3 

This is a good move, although it still leaves White about 2 3/4 pawn down.

I have also played 9.d3 in  perrypawnpusher - jonathankochems, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 39) and perrypawnpusher - frencheng, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2 - 1/2, 31), 

9...d6 

I have faced 9...c6 10.d3 d6 in perrypawnpusher - graintrader69, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 45). 

10.O-O Kg8 

Prudently castling-by-hand. 

A different idea was 10...Bd4 as in perrypawnpusher - ERICOLSON, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 33). 

11.d3 Bd7 12.Be3 Bb6 

White has clawed back the equivalent of 3/4 of a pawn, but the question is Now what? What do I have?

I am reminded of the lament: If I had some ham, I'd cook some ham and eggs - if I had some eggs.

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Sudden Changes, Like the Weather

Move-by-move, sometimes, the Jerome Gambit looks like a win one way, then the other. In the following game, Black is winning - until he isn't. Finally, he is checkmated.

angelcamina - i_mark20120818

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025

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.Qc4 Nf6 10.Nc3 d6 11.O-O 

11...Be6 12.Qb4 

Instead, Stockfish 16.1 (30 ply) prefers by 1/4 pawn 12.Qb5+ but angelcamina has had some reverses with that move

12...c6 (12...Bd7 13.Qxb7 Rd8 14.f4 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Be6 16.Qa3 Rhe8 17.f5 Bc4 18.d3 Nxe4 19.fxg6+ Kxg6 20.Nxe4 d5 21.Qxe7 Rxe7 22.Ng3 Ba6 23.Bd2 c5 24.Rae1 c4 25.Rxe7 cxd3 26.cxd3 Bxd3 27.Rff7 Rc8 28.Rxg7+ Kf6 29.Bg5 checkmate, angelcamina - ThePr0FesS0R, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 13.Qa4 (13.Qe2 Rd8 14.b3 Kf7 15.f4 Bc8 16.Ba3 Rhe8 17.Rae1 c5 18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Nxe5 20.Ne4 Kg8 21.Nxf6+ gxf6 22.d3 Ng6 23.Qf2 Qf7 24.Bxc5 f5 25.d4 b6 26.Ba3 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Bb7 28.c4 Be4 29.d5 Kg7 White resigned, angelcamina - nhv2000, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022; 13.Qa5 Kf7 14.f4 Bc4 15.d3 Ba6 16.f5 Ne5 17.Bf4 Rhf8 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.h3 Kg8 20.g4 Nd7 21.Kg2 Qc5 22.Qxc5 Nxc5 23.Rad1 Rad8 24.b4 Nd7 25.a3 b6 26.Ne2 Nf6 27.Kg3 h6 28.h4 Rfe8 29.g5 Nh5+ 30.Kg4 Nf4 31.Nxf4 exf4 32.Rxf4 hxg5 33.hxg5 Kf7 34.Rh1 Rh8 35.Rhf1 Bc8 36.Kg3 Rhe8 37.f6 g6 38.R1f3 Re5 39.c3 Rxg5+ White resigned, angelcamina - DennisMadrigal, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 13... Kf7 14. f4 Bd7 (14... b5 15. Qa5 Bc4 16. d3 Be6 17. f5 Ne5 18. fxe6+ Qxe6 19. Bg5 Rhf8 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qc7+ Qe7 22. Qxe7+ Kxe7 23. Rf5 Rf7 24. Raf1 Raf8 25. h3 Ng6 26. g4 Nh4 27. Kh2 Nxf5 28. exf5 h6 29. Ne4 d5 30. Nc5 Kd6 31. Ne6 Re8 32.Re1 Rfe7 33. d4 a5 34. Kg3 Rg8 35. Re3 h5 36. Rc3 hxg4 37. hxg4 Rh8 White resigned, angelcamina - Chessfists, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 15. e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nxe5 17. d4 Ng6 18. Bg5 Rhf8 19. Rae1 Qd8 20. Qb3+ Be6 21. Qxe6 checkmate, angelcamina - sdewqa, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 

Also 12.Qa4+ c6 13.d3 Rf8 14.f4 Nd7 15.f5 Nc5 16.Qb4 Bd7 17.fxg6 hxg6 18.Be3 Rxf1+ 19.Rxf1 b6 20.Bxc5 dxc5 21.Qb3 Be6 22.Qa3 Qd6 23.Qa6 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 Qd7 25.a4 Ke7 26.a5 Rf8 27.Rxf8 Kxf8 28.axb6 axb6 29.Qxb6 Kg8 30.Qb8+ Kh7 31.Qg3 Qf7 32.Qf3 Qe7 33.Qg3 c4 34.d4 Bf7 35.Qh3+ Kg8 36.Qc8+ Be8 37.Qh3 Qb4 Black won on time, angelcamina - alwaysdreamer, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

12...Rb8 

Or 12...b6 13. d4 Kf7 14. f4 Nh4 15. e5 dxe5 16. Qxe7+ Kxe7 17. fxe5 Nd5 18. Nxd5+ Bxd5 19. b3 Nxg2 20. c4 Nh4 21. cxd5 Rhf8 22. Ba3+ c5 23. dxc6+ Ke6 24. Rxf8 Rxf8 25. Bxf8 Nf3+ 26. Kg2 Nxd4 27. c7 Kd7 28. Rc1 Kc8 29. Bd6 Ne6 30. Rf1 Kb7 31. Rf7 Nxc7 32.Rxc7+ Ka6 33. Rxg7 b5 34. Rxh7 Ka5 35. Rxa7+ Black resigned, angelcamina - pekasmed, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023. 

Black might have tried 12...c5. 

13.d3 Kd7 14.f4 Ne8 

A slip, costing a piece. Remember, this is a 1-minute game. Better 14...Bf7. 

15.f5 Bxf5 16.exf5 Ne5 17.Bf4 Nc6 18.Qa4 a6 19.Rae1 Qf6 20.Qb3 

White has more material, better development and a safer King.

20...g6 

Instead, 20...Nd4.  

21.fxg6 hxg6 22.Be5 Qh4 23.Bxh8 Qxh8 24.Qe6+ Kd8 25.Rf7 Qg8 26.Qd7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Complications Matter

I suspect that one of the main reasons many players gravitate toward the Jerome Gambit is the complicated game that may arise and cause troubles for the opponent - especially in blitz.

The following is a brief example.

Pablo_sko - BolesTal

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

White is ready for 5...Nxe5. Is he ready for this? This is a reasonable question for a 3-minute game - will the surprise factor balance out that the text is weaker than the alternative?

6.Nxc6 bxc6 

Checking with The Database, Black scores 20% with 6...bxc6.

His chances improve to 29%  with 6...dxc6.

They increase further, to 56% after the best move, 6...Qh4 - mostly because in those games, White's responses are not the best. The computer still gives White the edge.

7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Qf6 9.e5 d6 

A slip.

10.Qxc6+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Played Too Quickly

 

The following game reminds me of the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote, and a cliff... If they were playing blitz.

Pablo_sko - BetterCallBatu

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 d5 

The move ...d5 is almost the Swiss Army Knife of Jerome Gambit defenses.

The Database shows White winning 9 games with this position, versus 6 games by Black, but this is misleading. Stockfish 16.1, at 44 ply, rates Black as 2 1/2 pawns better.

7.dxc5 

Take the Bishop or take the Kight? Surprisingly, Stockfish 16.1 at 44 ply, prefers taking the Knight, 7.dxe5. 

7...dxe4 

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

The players are moving quickly with only 3 minutes apiece on the clock. Alas, this move was played too quickly.

8.Qxd8 Black resigned

(For the record, both players were rated above 1900.)