The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has a lot of "annoying" about it. It is annoying for the defender to have to deal with a "new" 4th move. It is annoying for him to have to figure out a defense to the annoying attack. It is particularly annoying to lose to the Jerome Gambit.
So, I was a bit disappointed in the ending of the following game, as White had a final chance to be extra annoying: Black had abandoned his extra piece because he was sure that his "faster" passed pawn would win for him. Yet, the resulting position became drawn. ramoasis - Irzo blitz, FICS, 2013
After fifty-eight moves, Black is up a Queen for a pawn, but the special nature of the advanced f-pawn makes a draw possible. For Black to win, his King needs to be inside the area delineated by the red line. 59.Kf8 Kg4 60.Kg7
White threatens to Queen his pawn, while keeping his King on the same side as Black's and covering the critical g6 square. 60...Qd4+ 61.Kg8 Qd5 62.Kg7 Qd7
Now White can take advantage of the stalemate theme with 63.Kh8, as 63...Qxf7 would cement the draw. Other tries for Black allow White to Queen his pawn, or continue to resist in a similar manner. 63.Kg8 Qe6
This was a blitz game, and both players slipped.
Black could have taken advantage of White's inaccuracy by advancing his King and forcing mate, 63...Kg5 64.Kh8 Qe7 65.Kg7 Kh5 66.Kg8 Kg6 67.f8=N!?+ Kg5 68.Kh8 Kh6 69.Ng6 Qg7 checkmate. 64.Kg7
Now we are back to drawable territory. 64...Qe7 65.Kg8 Qe6 66.Kg7 Qe7 67.Kg8 Qg5+
Black avoids the draw by threefold repetition and tries something different. 68.Kf8
Instead 68.Kh8! would allow the draw. 68...Kf5 69.Ke8
Black's King is now inside the critical area, and can get to a square where he can help with checkmate. 69...Qg6 70.Ke7 Qg7 71.Ke8 Qg6 72.Ke7 Qe6+ 73.Kf8 Kf6 74.Kg8 Qxf7+ 75.Kh8 Qg7 checkmate
So - White had a possible draw, but missed it. That's annoying!
(Assistance in this column was provided by Houdini 3 and Fundamental Chess Endings by Müller and Lamprecht.)
Black can be his own worst enemy when he does not take the Jerome Gambit seriously: one bad move (or idea) and White can do him in. The following game shows how to finish off one such "oops". zuzveshtok - deadmanwalk blitz, FICS, 2013 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 White hesitates before committing to the Jerome Gambit... 4...Na5 ...And is immediately rewarded. 5.Bxf7+
As with the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Na5 in the Semi-Italian Opening, which we last saw in"Final Nail in the Coffin", Black dreams of exchanging off White's "Italian Bishop" with 5.Bb3?! Nxb3, but gets a rude, Jerome Gambit-ish shock. Although the line is not frequently seen (only 15 games in The Database, White scores 77%), those who play the Jerome Gambit should remember how to deal with it. Black's defense crumbles quickly. 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 A bit less painful was 8...hxg6 9.Qxh8. 9.Qe5+ Kf7 10.Nxh8+ Kg7 Black resigned
(April 2014 was the 4th highest visited month in the history of this blog - exactly tied with December 2013. Many, many thanks to readers - and please feel free to continue to visit. - Rick)
In a final Jerome Gambit-inspired blitz game, we see Philidor 1792 taking on the Philidor Defense. White starts out by gathering material, and then starts to work with his "Jerome pawns", undeterred by a Queen exchange. When White needs an "extra" piece, he simply enlists his King. As ever, there is a whole lot of battle in the game, and quick decisions to make as the clock ticks down. Philidor 1792 - guest24 3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2014 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.Bxf7+
Here we have another collection of blitz games by Philidor 1792, fuelled by ideas from the Jerome Gambit, but launched in some Two Knights Defenses... Beware the attack! And - if you successfully defend - ask not for whom the time clock ticks, it ticks for thee!
Years ago I regularly played chess against a co-worker, and he constantly complained that he was winning the whole time - "All of the way up to the point that I checkmated you," I would reply. Philidor 1792's play here reminds me of those fun days.
The Semi-Italian opening. 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Instead, 5.0-0, hoping for 5...Bc5, so that White can play 6.Bxf7+, would be the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. In the game, White stops waiting and makes his sacrifice. It is a that was favored by Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member yorgos about 5 years ago. 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nc6
An earlier game was over before Black knew what was going on: 7...Ng6 8.e5 Nh7 9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Qd5 checkmate, You - Stranger, blitz, Chess-Samara.ru 2014. 8.e5 Ne8 9.0-0 Kg8 10.f4 d6 11.Be3 Bf5 12.g4 Bh7 13.Qe2 dxe5 14.Qc4+ Qd5 15.Qxd5 checkmate
Here are a selection of games by Philidor 1792, referenced in yesterday's post. He brings a bit of Jerome Gambit magic, a bit of Halloween Gambit sparkle, and lays on a bit of the 3-minute game crunch. It doesn't always work, but it's always entertaining. Philidor 1792 - guest1223 3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru, 2014 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7
Well, it looks like Black is interested in the Hungarian Defense, not the Jerome Gambit - but he is in for some excitement, anyhow. 4.c3 Or the even calmer 4.O-O Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Nc6 8.e5 Ne8 9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Nc3 d6 11.Qd5+ Kf8 12.f4 Bf5 13.Rf2 Nb4 14.Qb3 c5 15.d5 a5 16.Be3 c4 17.Qxc4 Nxc2 18.Rxc2 Bxc2 19.Rf1 Rc8 20.Qd4 h5 21.Rf2 Bf5 22.Ne4 h4 23.g3 hxg3 24.hxg3 Rh3 25.Kg2 Qc7 26.Rd2 Rh6 27.Nf2 Qc4 28.Qxc4 Rxc4 29.g4 Bb1 30.a3 Rc2 31.Rxc2 Bxc2White resigned, Philidor 1792 - guest267, 3 0 blitz, www.bereg.ru 2014. 4...Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Ng6
We have been looking at the creative ideas of Philidor 1792, and, like the animated character Buzz Lightyear says, they go "To infinity - and beyond!" Of course, in this case, they start with the Jerome Gambit - and go beyond. Here are some of the ideas that Philidor 1792 sent in an email, along with his large collection of games. Since I wrote to you last time, I've played many Jerome games and found some fun ideas. First of all, I explored the Modern Jerome Gambit and realized that here, in contrast to Double Jerome Gambit, one doesn't need to wait when opponent develop his bishop to c5 square (because the Qh5+ idea isn't involved), so why not to play Bxf7+ in response to Be7 or Nf6, without waiting Bc5 move? As you wrote in your blog some people belive that "it is bad investment to sacrifice the second piece with 5.Nxe5" and prefer to "focus on development". (If there is any soundness to be found in the Jerome, then I believe it involves replacing 5. Nxe5+ with a different move. - Gary K. Gifford). Why do we need a black bishop on c5 then? So I tried to play Bxf7+ after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 as a response to any black move. After that I saw that in the arising positions the main idea of the Halloween Gambit is applicable. For example after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6 7.e5 the black knight doesn't have any secure square (the g4 ana h5 squares are controled by the white queen and after Nd5 or Ne4, Qf3+ with a fork may follow.) I had a lot of fun playing this kind of Jerome gambit. There are a lot of games in attachment. Hope you like them!
