Jerome Gambit: Giddyap! (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

I have gotten involved in some weekly, casual, chess play at the local library, and, fortunately, was able to play a Jerome Gambit.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 

According to The Database, in this position this is the choice of all of the human players rated 2200+.

Stockfish, Rybka, Komodo and Fritz, however, prefer 8...Nf6.

9.Nf4+ Kd8 10.d3 Nd4 

The early game Hultgren - Harrow, SVE cup, Campbell, CA, 1960 (and its twin, Blackstone - Dommeyer, skittles, Campbell, CA 1960 ) continued, instead, 10...d6 11.Rf1 Qd4+ 12.Be3 Qf6 13.c3 Black resigned.

Most recently, there was 10...Qd4+ 11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Nd5 Nge7 13.Bg5 Qxa1 14.Bf6 Black resigned, joker0909 - Papi_Chulo111, lichess.org, 2025 

11.Na3 Ne6 

His Knight returns, to pick on my Knight.

12.Rf1 

Simpler, and stronger, is 12.Qf3.

Now Black can simply take the Knight with 12...Nxf4, as my planned Rook pin with 13.Kg1 would fail to 13...Qd4+. Still, 12...Nxf4 13.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 14.Kg1 would have led to an even game and was for choice.

12...b6 

I am not sure what this move is about.

Perhaps my opponent saw the Kingside as stable enough to work on the Queenside, or maybe he was hoping to add a fianchettoed Bishop to the mix.

Possibily he misjudged the possible position after 13.Kg1 Nxf4 14.Bxf4 Qxb2, as then White would have the brutal 15.Bg5+, winning the Queen or checkmating.

In any event, I was happy to castle-by-hand.

13.Kg1 Qd4+ 14.Kh1 Nf6 

If Black is going to have a defense, the Knight has to go to e7. This is his last slip.

15.Nxe6+ dxe6 16.Rxf6 

Trying to be "flashy", but 16.Bg5 Rf8 17.Rxf6 Rxf6 18.Qf7 instead, is just as strong, and a bit humorous. 

16...Qxf6 

Might as well go along with it...

17.Bg5 Qxg5 18.Qxg5+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Giddyap! (Part 1)

 

As I mentioned earlier (see "The Jerome Gambit Rides Again?!"), I have gotten involved in "new, weekly, weekend, casual play at the local library".

Today, I was back again, and this time I was able to play a Jerome Gambit.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

I have played well over 500 Jerome Gambits online, but this was the first time that I played an over-the-board game with a human.

My opponent was already looking at me with wariness.

I told him that back in the '40s, the opening was known as the Ashcan Opening. Someone pointed out that I probably wasn't playing chess in the '40s. I agreed, with a smile: I started playing in the '50s - which is actually the decade when the Ashcan (aka the Headless Chicken) Opening was played. How soon we forget!

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

Played with a face full of suspicion, figuring that he had already "fallen into it".

He probably would not have felt any better if the game had gone, instead, 5...Ke6 6.Qg4+!? Kxe5 7.d4+!? Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+, etc. See Wall, Bill - Guest4105968, PlayChess.com, 2018, (1/2-1/2, 50).

6.Qh5+ 

Ah, yes, How soon we forget.

Correct was 6.Nxc6, as in perrypawnpusher - rodrigojalpa, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 25); and perrypawnpusher - zsilber, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2-1/2, 42).  

After the game, Stockfish 16.1 agreed. Of course, in the earlier games I was getting post-game advice from the Rybka engine. 

As I ruminated over a dozen years ago in "Don't Drive Like My Brother" 

At the time that I played this move, I knew that the "right" choice was 6.Nxc6, since either 6...dxc6 or 6...bxc6 would allow White to play 7.Qh5+ followed by capturing the Bishop; for example, as in perrypawnpusher - rodrigojalpa, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 25) and Wall,B - Qwerty, chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 9). 

Looking at 6.Nxc6 now, I still think that it is best for White, but I wanted to point out two untested responses that might surprise the first player. 

a) 6...Bxf2+ (as long as Black is going to lose this piece, he decides to get a pawn for it) 7.Kxf2 Qf6+ 8.Qf3 Qxc6 (avoiding doubled c-pawns) when White is a bit better. He has to be careful because of the loose pawn on c2 and the King and Queen being on the same file (vulnerable to ...Ne7 and ...Rf8). 

Black also has the untried counter-attackingb) 6...Qh4, (which I mentioned about 3 years ago in this blog) may be better than the capture of the Knight at c6, as well. White's best response is 7.d4, and after 7...Qxe4+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Kxe2 Bb6 material is even, i.e. 10.Nb4 Bxd4.

I think that White may have a tiny edge after 11.Nd5, and he may have better chances with his Kingside pawn majority as opposed to Black's Queenside pawn majority; but, in reality, Black's two Bishops probably balance all that out.

6...Kf8

In light of my two 6th move recommendations for Black, I have to say that this was the move that got Black into hot water, not 5...Ke8.

After the recommended 6...g6, White has the thematic 7.Nxg6, but, again, things are far from rosy for him – unless he is faced with 7...hxg6, when White plays 8.Qxh8 with advantage, as in Petasluk - Trasimene, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 18).

Black takes a step forward by interjecting 7...Nf6, so that after 6...g6 7.Nxg6 Nf6 8.Qxc5 he can then grab the Knight at g6 with 8...hxg6. White has three pawns for his sacrificed piece, but Fritz 8 is pretty stubborn about giving Black a slight edge.

The biggest challenge to White's 7th move Knight sac at g6, however, is 7...Bxf2+ – followed, in due course, by ...Nf6 and then the capture of the White Knight, e.g. 8.Kxf2 Nf6 (much better than the 8...Qf6+ of  Hultgren,R - Harrow, Campbell, CA 1960 and Blackstone - Dommeyer, skittles game, California, USA 1960 [1-0, 13] ) 9.Qh4 Rg8. White's Knight cannot retreat and will be lost (10.Nf4 Nxe4+). 

It may be that White should refrain from sacrificing his Knight, and meet 6...g6 with 7.Nxc6 (anyhow), although after 7...gxh5 8.Nxd8 Kxd8 he has to hope that he can gather in one (or both) of the h-pawns in order to reach equality.

Which is a long way of saying that while 6.Nxc6 leads to "only" an even game, that's still  a better outcome than can be expected after 6.Qh5+.

6...g6 

A long time ago, a couple of opponents folded easily

6...Kf8 7.Qf7 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - platel, blitz, FICS, 2011; and 

6...Ke7 7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Nxc6+ Kf6 10.Qf5 checkmate, Kennedy - WeakDelphi (computer), 2 12 blitz, 2008. 

7.Nxg6 Bxf2+ 

Wow! If only I had read my own blog (see above, "The biggest challenge..."), then this wouldn't have come as a surprise...

I have faced 7...Qf6, in perrypawnpusher - schachix, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 10) and perrypawnpusher - m2mkiss, Giuoco Piano Game, Chess.com, 2023 (1-0, 18).

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Dubious

 ?!

Chess.com has a small educational piece on "Beat The Jerome Gambit", as part of their Ten Dubious Gambits And How to Refute Them series.

It is worth checking out, to see what your opponents might be learning about the Jerome.

Jerome Gambit: Accept The Sacrifice

When White offers material in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) it can be tempting for Black to decide not to "play along" and go into accepted lines.

This psychological ploy on the defender's part is countered by the fact that declined lines are not as strong or as successful as accepted lines.

QangaliTakugakkit - caba454

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Ke7 

From a human vantage point, Black hopes to derail White's plans, by declining the Bishop.

From a computer vantage point, Black has turned down the chance for advantage, to arrive at a worse game.

From the vantage point of The Database, accepting the Bishop leads to White scoring 52%, while the text leads to White scoring 67%. (Against 4...Kf8, White scores 61%)

5.Ng5 

White complicates the play. Instead, he could have exchanged or retreated the Bishop.

5...h6 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 7.Nf3 d6 

The position does not look much like a Jerome. Black is better developed. White has an extra pawn.

8.Nc3 Bg4 9.O-O 

White should have first played 9.h3, as becomes immediately apparent.

9...Nd4 10.Nd5+ Ke8 

The pin on the Knight at f3 is a problem for White.

11.Ne3 

The move appears sensible, given the limits of a 3-minute game, but better was 11.c3 Nxf3+ 12.gxf3 Bh5 13.d4 Rf8 and Black is still for choice. 

11...Nxf3+ 12.gxf3 Bh3 13.Ng2 Qg5 White resigned

It is checkmate next move.

Jerome Gambit: Whatever Happened To...? (Part 2)

 

A couple of posts ago (see"Jerome Gambit: Whatever Happened To...?") I queried

I was wondering the other day whatever happed to a couple of nefarious chess opening variations, the OMG Variation and the Face Palm Variation.

Those were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Ng5 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+.

I then presented a couple of online blitz miniatures played by strong players (I did not give their names), and suggested an amount of "fun" must have been involved.

Chessfriend Yury V. Bukayev followed up with an email with his own possible explanatory hypothesis

Yes, this game [the second] (like another one) is strange. I can build some hypotheses about it. In fact, the Jerome gambit chess player (White) made two strange chess moves - 5.Ng5+ and 7.Nxh7+. His opponent made strange chess King moves. So my task here is to explain the play of both opponents. My first hypothesis is that both players wanted to play not ordinary chess, but "dying King's light pieces against dying King" new chess variant (?). In this case, White's moves - 4.Bxf7+, 5.Ng5+, 7.Nxh7+ - were made with a goal to lose pieces. So, it maybe, both players were glad as a result of this rapid checkmate after capturing of all King's light pieces: each of opponents thought, it maybe, that he isn't a loser here. In fact, I don't know rules of this possible new chess variant.

This sounds a bit like "losing chess" or "antichess" - interested Readers can check out the Lichess Antichess World Championship page at Perpetual Check.  

 

Jerome Gambit: Comparable

Two openings - the Jerome Gambit and the Abrahams Jerome Gambit - are similar in some ways, and different in others.

In the following game, lichess.org player feritTurkey demonstrates the benefits of an opening line that he has played at least 373 times.

feritTurkey - makoppo

2 1 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+

The Abrahams Jerome Gambit. It appears in 19,021 games in The Database, with White scoring 51%. 

That compares with 39,663 games in The Database with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, scoring 52%.

3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ g6 

With 2 minutes of thinking time for the game, this would seem a resonable move - especially if the defender were familiar with the Jerome Gambit - but here the only move to maintain Black's full advantage is 4...Kf8. 

5.Qxe5 Qf6

Again, the proper move is 5...Bxf2+, i.e. 6.Kxf2 Nf6 7.Qf4 Rf8 8.e5 Kg7 9.Nf3 equal game.

6.Qxc5

White has a 2 pawn advantage, but Stockfish 16.1 evaluates his advantage as almost twice that.

6...d6

This doesn't help. Instead, he should put his Knight or his Queen on c6 and try to hold on, rooting for the clock. 

7.Qxc7+ Nd7 8.Nf3 Ne7 9.O-O Nc6 

Locking in White's Queen

10.d4 Kg7 

A little better is 10...Nxd4 11.Qc4+ Ne6 12.Nc3 Nb6 13.Qb4 Rd8. 

11.Bg5 Qe6 

Instead, 11...Qf8 leads to being more confined, i.e. 12.d5 Nce5 13.Nd4 Kg8 14.Ne6 Qf7 15.Nd2. 

12.d5 Qxe4 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.Qxd6 Qxc2

Now White has a mate in four

15.Qe7+ Kg8 16.Bh6 Qxb2 17.Nbd2 Nf6 18.Qg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Whatever Happened To...? (Part 1)

I was wondering the other day whatever happed to a couple of nefarious chess opening variations, the OMG Variation and the Face Palm Variation.

It turns out that in the past few years, they have been hanging out with some high class players.

Consider the following two blitz games. (Names have been redacted.) 

Sure, the higher-rated player wins in each case, but what in the world is an almost 2700-rated player doing playing such a trashy opening, or even moreso an almost 2800-rated player?

Perhaps a large amount of fun was involved.

Might I suggest the main line of the Jerome Gambit? 

The OMG variation:

WhiteElo 2680 - BlackElo 2921 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Ng5 Qxg5 5.d4 Qxg2 White resigned

The Face Palm Variation

WhiteElo2772 - BlackElo 2298 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021 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