Jerome Gambit: Unfinished Symphony (Part 1)

The following game, my most recent Jerome Gambit from an ongoing Chess.com tournament, was an adventure from start to finish. The adventure was shorter than I expected, however. It is filled out with related games played at a number of different online sites, all from The Database.

perrypawnpusher - Nivaethan2000
Giuoco Piano Thematic Tournament, Chess.com 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4

This is a popular line, but it is the first time that I have played it. I have preferred 7.Qf5+, and am something like 59 - 10 with the move. That's a score of almost 86% - why take the risk of something new? As I mentioned in a previous post, I need to keep learning about the Jerome Gambit.

White's King is going to be insecure for a while, and if he castles, it will be Queenside.

7...Qf6 8.Rf1 g6

This pawn kick is understandable, but Knight moves also have been played.

For example, 8... Ne7 was seen in Wall,B - Asterisk engine, Palm Bay, FL, 2015 (1-0, 39).

Also 8...Nh6 9.Nc3 c6 10.fxe5 Qxe5 11.Qh4 Rf8 12.Rxf8 Bxf8 13.d3 Bb4 14.Bd2 Qf6 15.Qh5 d6 16.Qe8+ Qe7 17.Qh8 g5 18.h4 g4 19.Bxh6 Bxc3+ 20.bxc3 Qxh4+ 21.Ke2 Kd7 22.Rf1 Kc7 23.Rf7+ Kb6 24.Qd4+ Ka6 25.Qa4+ Kb6 26.Be3+ c5 27.Qb3+ Kc6 28.Qd5+ Kb5 29.Rxb7+ Black resigned, tapirus - mrdenetop, Chess.com, 2011.

There was the creative 8...Nd3+ as in MrJoker - Melbourne, Internet Chess Club 2011 (1-0, 29). 

9.Qh3+ Ke7

Again, this is not the only move (although it foreshadows the theme of play along the dark squares).

Examples of games with the novel way of returning the piece, 9...Ng4, are mrjoker - jmt, Internet Chess Club, 2008 (1-0, 29);  Wall,B - Guest3164644, PlayChess.com 2013 (1-0, 20); and Wall,B - Betarsolta, PlayChess.com, 2015 (1-0, 12). 

The imprudent 9...Kf7 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1690223, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 12).

The alternative 9...Kd6 has been met several ways: 

10.fxe5+ Qxe5 11.d3 (11.Nc3!?) Kc6 12.Nc3 d6 13.Qf3 Be6 14.Bf4 Qh5 15.g4 Bxg4 16.Qh1 Bb4 17.e5+ Kb6 18.Qg1+ Ka6 19.Qd4 Bxc3+ 20.bxc3 Nh6 21.Qa4+ Kb6 22.Rb1+ Black disconnected and forfeited, MrJoker - Melbourne, Internet Chess Club, 2011; 

10.Qg3 Nf7 (best is 10...Nd3+) 11.e5+ Nxe5 12.Nc3 Ke6 13.Ne4 Nf3+ 14.Qxf3 Qh4+ 15.g3 Qe7 16.f5+ Kd5 17.Kd1 Qxe4 18.c4+ Ke5 19.Re1 d5 20.Rxe4+ dxe4 21.d4+ Bxd4 22.Qf4+ Kf6 23.fxg6+ Kxg6 24.Qg5+ Kf7 25.Qd5+ Be6 26.Qxd4 Nf6 27.Ke1 Rhf8 28.Qe5 Rac8 29.Bg5 Kg6 30.Bd2 Bf5 31.Qf4 e3 32.Bxe3 Rce8 33.Ke2 Bg4+ 34.Kd3 Rd8+ 35.Kc2 Bf5+ 36.Kb3 Rd3+ 37.Kb4 a5+ 38.Kxa5 b6+ 39.Kb4 c5+ 40.Kb5 Bd7+ 41.Kxb6 Nd5+ 42.cxd5 Rxf4 43.Bxf4 Rxd5 44.Rc1 Be6 45.b3 Kf5 46.Kc6 Kf6 47.Rc2 Rf5 48.Bc1 Bd5+ 49.Kd6 Ba8 50.Bb2+ Kg6 51.Be5 Rf8 52.Rxc5 Rf2 53.a4 Rxh2 54.b4 Ra2 55.a5 Bh1 56.Bc3 Rg2 57.b5 Rxg3 58.b6 Rd3+ 59.Kc7 Re3 60.a6 Re7+ 61.Kd6 Rf7 62.Rc6 Black resigned, Zappa 1.1 - Deep Fritz 8, Blitz:5, 2006.

10.b4!? Nf3+ (if 10...Bxb4 11.Qb3; best is 10...Bd4) 11.Qxf3 Qxa1 12.bxc5+ Ke7 13.Qb3 Nf6 14.Bb2 Qxb1+ 15.Ke2 Qxf1+ 16.Kxf1 Rf8 17.Qg3 Ke8 18.f5 Rf7 19.Qe5+ Kf8 20.Qxc7 Ne8 21.Qe5 gxf5 22.exf5 b6 23.Ba3 d6 24.Qh8+ Ke7 25.cxd6+ Kd8 26.g4 Be6 27.Ke1 Bxa2 28.Qa1 Bd5 29.Qd4 Bh1 30.Qc4 Rd7 31.Qg8 a6 32.g5 a5 33.c4 Rg7 34.Qe6 Raa7 35.d7 Raxd7 36.Qxb6+ Kc8 37.f6 Rgf7 38.Qxa5 Nc7 39.Qe5 Bb7 40.d4 Bg2 41.Kf2 Bc6 42.d5 Bxd5 43.cxd5 Rxd5 44.Qf4 Rdd7 45.Bb4 Kb7 46.Qc4 Nd5 47.Qb5+ Kc7 48.Bc5 Kc8 49.Qa6+ Kb8 50.Bd6+ Nc7 51.h3 Rd8 52.Qb5+ Kc8 53.Bxc7 Rxc7 54.Qf5+ Kb7 55.f7 Rcc8 56.Qxh7 Kc6 57.Qe4+ Kd6 58.Qd4+ Kc7 59.Qf4+ Black resigned, Junior 7 - Fritz 7, Utrecht, 2002; 

10.Nc3 (best) Kc6 11.Nd5 d6 12.Qg3 Qe6 13.fxe5 Qxe5 14.Qxe5 dxe5 15.b4 Bd6 16.Bb2 Ne7 17.c4 b6 18.Rc1 Nxd5 19.exd5+ Kd7 20.c5 bxc5 21.bxc5 Be7 22.Bxe5 Rf8 23.c6+ Kd8 24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 25.Rc3 Be7 26.Re3 h5 27.Bxc7+ Kxc7 28.Rxe7+ Kd6 29.Re8 Kxd5 30.Rg8 Bb7 31.Rxg6 Re8+ 32.Kf2 Bxc6 33.Rh6 Re5 34.d4 Rf5+ 35.Ke3 Rg5 36.g3 a5 37.a3 Bb5 38.Rh7 Kc4 39.Rf7 Kb3 40.Kf4 Rd5 41.Ke4 Be8 42.Kxd5 Bxf7+ 43.Ke5 Kxa3 44.d5 a4 45.d6 Be8 46.Kf6 Kb4 47.Ke7 Bb5 48.d7 Bxd7 49.Kxd7 a3 50.Ke6 a2 51.Kf5 a1=Q 52.Kg5 Qe5+ 53.Kh4 White resigned, DrunkenMaster 1.2 - Comet B48, Torneo tematico GaJero00-A, 2009

10.Nc3 

A little bit better might be 10.fxe5 Qxe5 although it did not make a difference in GeniusPawn - jmchess, FICS, 2000 which continued with 11.Nc3, anyway: 11...Nf6 12.d4 Bxd4 13.Bf4 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Qxe4+ 15.Kd1 d6 16.Qh4 Kf7 17.Kc1 Bf5 18.Qf2 Qc4 19.Rb1 Ne4 20.Qe3 Qxf1+ 21.Kb2 Qxg2 22.Bh6 Qxh2 23.Ka1 Qxc2 24.Rc1 Qa4 25.Qd3 Rae8 26.Qd5+ Be6 27.Rf1+ Ke7 28.Bg5+ Kd7 29.Rf7+ Kc8 White resigned.

The question is, can Black respond to 10.Nc3 by making the White capture of the Knight on e5 more difficult, if not impossible? The answer, as we shall see, is both yes and no

[to be continued]

ГАМБИТ ЖЕРОМА

I just reviewed a nice Russian language Jerome Gambit article with a balanced, not mocking, assessment of the opening (and a kind link to this blog, as well). It has several games that can be played over on the site, including ones by historical figures Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, Andres Clemente Vazquez, Henry Charlick and S.A. Sorensen; as well as modern regular visitors to this blog, Bill Wall and Philidor 1792.

Of interest, the site mentions analysis by A. Zherom, a reference I am not familiar with. (For Jerome Gambit analysis from Opening Traps by GM Ferzbery [Boris Vainstein] see this earlier blog post.)

Tournaments Update

The first round of the RedHotPawn Jerome Gambit thematic tournament is nearing completion - there is one game left, deep in a one-sided endgame - and it looks like SeinfeldFan91 (18 points) will advance from Group 1; procyk and rigidwithfear (each 12 points) will advance from Group 2; kristjan (15 points) will advance from Group 3; and junnujannu (15 points) will advance from Group 4. Good chess to all of you!

In the Chess.com Giuoco Piano thematic tournament, I am (temporarily) in first place, with 12 points out of 16 games. With one game (with the Black pieces) yet to start, I am currently playing a Jerome Gambit - and my record with the Jerome so far is an odd 3 wins, 3 wins on time, and 2 losses. 

The Jerome Gambit: "Somewhat Problematic For Black"

I recently enjoyed watching the short YouTube video by chessthisout on "italian game for black less popular lines" which covers 7 less popular lines in the Giuoco Piano ("for players of ratings up to 1600 in FICS") - including the Jerome Gambit (unnamed in the video), "which can be somewhat problematic for Black if he doesn't play it properly".

The two main Jerome lines covered are 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 and 5.d4, but not 5.Nxe5+, which means the move might come as quite a surprise for the unprepared defender. For that matter, 5...Bxd4 is the recommended response to 5.d4; the more challenging 5...Qh4 is not mentioned, which means the move might come as quite a surprise for the unprepared attacker.

I was shocked to see that chessthisout covered the alternative 4.Nxe5, and I told myself that certainly there wouldn't be any game examples of that move in The Database. I was wrong, there are 22 games - almost all of them transposing to the main line Jerome Gambit after 4...Nxe5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7?! (better is 5...Nxf7). Whew!

Jerome Gambit - Lost and Found

Last year, when John Watson and Eric Schiller's Taming Wild Chess Openings came out (New In Chess, 2015), I expressed disappointment on this blog that the Jerome Gambit did not appear to the authors to fit their sorting of A) Good B) Bad and C) Ugly chess openings and defenses. (Especially the "Bad" and the "Ugly".)

I am a bit behind in reading Dennis Monokroussos' "The Chess Mind" blog, and I just discovered - in Dennis' past review of Taming Wild Chess Openings, that the Jerome Gambit actually does appear.

My mistake. I had looked in the book's "Contents" without success. I had checked out the "Index of Moves and Variation Names" without discovering either the Italian Game, the Giuoco Piano - or the Jerome Gambit. Ditto the "Opening Index".

Ah, but Dennis pointed out - the Jerome is covered in the "Evans Gambit: Lasker Defense (C52)" chapter!

4.Bxf7+? Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ is the Jerome Gambit, which, however, is refuted by 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ (6.d4 Qh4! 7.0-0 Nf6 8.dxc5 Qxe4) 6...Kf8, or here 6...g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7, winning.

Regular readers are no doubt familiar with the "pie-in-the-face" (6...Qh4), Jerome (6...Kf8) and Whistler (7...Qe7) defenses.

My apologies to John and Eric, and my thanks to Dennis.

Jerome Gambit Pawns: Inaction, In Action

In the Jerome Gambit, White's "extra" pawns can be part of the attack, or part of a fortress of protection. In the following game, they take both roles, as part of the first player's success.

Queenpunisher - parviz1340
12 8, lichess.org, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3  Bc5 4.Bc4 h6 5.Bxf7+

Transposing to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 

The same position would be reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7.

6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qh5 Nf6 10.Qf3 Bg4 

Black has the right idea: his team of minor pieces should harass the White Queen, even if his own King is not yet castled-by-hand. Perhaps Queenpunisher's Queen should have been harassed by 10...Nh4!? instead.

11.Qg3

The text is a little bit better than 11.Qe3 Re8 12.d3 d5 13.f3 d4 14.Qf2 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 dxc3 16.bxc3 c6 17.O-O Kg8 18.Be3 Qd6 19.Rab1 b6 20.Bd4 Qd7 21.Bxf6 Rf8 22.Qg3 gxf6 23.Qxg6+ Qg7 24.Qf5 Qg5 25.Qe6+ Kh8 26.Qxc6 Rac8 27.Qd6 Rcd8 28.Qf4 Qxf4 29.Rxf4 Rg8 Black resigned, MIG - leshiy, FICS, 2001.

11...Re8 12.d3

Or 12.f3 Bd7 13.d4 Nh5 14.Qf2 Kg8 15.Be3 b6 16.f4 Rf8 17.f5 Ne7 18.g4 Nf6 19.g5 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Bc6 21.f6 Ng6 22.Qf5 Qe8 23.d5 Bd7 24.Qf3 hxg5 25.Bxg5 Qe5 26.O-O-O Qe8 27.Rde1 Ne5 28.Qg3 Qg6 29.fxg7 Kxg7 30.Rhg1 Qf5 31.Bh6+ Black resigned, youjoin - molesto, GameKnot.com, 2007. 

12...Qd7 13.f3 Be6 14.O-O Nh5 15.Qf2 Kg8

For now the "Jerome pawns" provide a shield for White, but that will soon change!

16.Ne2 Rf8 17.b3 Rf7 18.f4 Bg4 

This second visit to g4 is ill-advised and will cost a piece. Better 18...Raf8. 

19.f5 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Ne5 21Qxh5 Raf8 22.Bb2 Qc6

White now has attacking prospects.

23.Rf2 Kh7 24.Raf1 Qb6 25.Kh1 Nd7 26.Qg6+

He also could have tried the consistent 26.g4. 

26...Kh8 27.Qxh6+ Kg8 28.Qg5 Ne5 29.Rf4

White attacks successfully. He also could have tried the thematic 29.f6. 


29...c5 30.Rh4 Rf6 31.Bxe5 dxe5 32.Rg4 Rg6 33.Qxg6 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: All's Well That Ends Well

Here are three recent games from the online site lichess.org, where a lot of exciting chess is played.

They all were played with quick time controls.

They all brought a smile to my lips.

First, White is a piece down, but his "Jerome pawns" assist his Knight in delivering checkmate.

Dragan58 - ericksene, lichess.org, 2016

Next, it is White who has the material advantage - a couple more pieces, and an extra pawn - but it doesn't matter, as he ran out of time. Ouch.

isergant - manamanah, lichess.org, 2016

Finally, Black has been better in the following game for a long time (since move 4?) but he relaxed a moment too soon. It is White to move - and it is stalemate.

belih - victor, lichess.org, 2016