Jerome Gambit: Dissecting A Game (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

Guest1040892910 - Guest3992542693

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

White remains ahead in material with the advantage of the exchange and 3 pawns. In a 3-minute game, however, things can change rapidly.

As we saw last post, Black's best move was to capture White's h-pawn. Instead, he decided to go after White's Queen. 

13.Qh6 Ng4 14.Qg5 Qf8 15.Be3 Qf7 16.Nd2 Rf8 

Black continues to attack. The pressure on f2 is impressive. Therefore, best for White would now be 17.Bxc5 dxc5 18.f3, with a safer King.

17.Qf4 

This is a slip that might be clock related.

17...Nf6 

Black, too, overlooks an opportunity, perhaps for the same reason. Instead, 17...Qxf4 18.Bxf4 Rxf4 would leave him with 2 Bishops for a Rook and 3 pawns. Black's continued pressure on f2 would give him an edge. 

18.Nf3 

Help has arrived. White needs to continue to be careful, as Black still has 5 pieces on the attack.

18...Qe7 19.e5 Ng4 20.Bxc5 

This eliminates the enemy dark square Bishop, but overlooks the attack on the Queen. It is tricky, but 20.Ng5+ Kd7 21. Qa4+ Kc8 first, followed by 22.Bxc5 would achieve White's goals.

20...dxc5

Black reflexively recaptures. White recovers.

21.Qc4+ Kd7 22.Qd5+ Kc8 23.Rae1 Nh6 24.e6 

This "Jerome pawn" is trouble.

24...Bxf3 25.gxf3 Qxh4 26.Qd7+ Kb8 

With his Queen on h4, Black has one last chance.

27.e7 Black resigned

There is more to the position than the multiple threats 28.exf8+, 28.e8/Q+ and 28.Qd8+. The pawn advance also opens up the c8-h3 diagonal again. This is important, because any other move would have allowed Black to take advantage of White's hemmed-in King and repeat checks with his Queen, achieving a draw by repetition.

One possible continuation now is 27...Qg5+ 28.Kh2 Qh4+ 29.Kg2 Qg5+ 30.Qg4! Qxg4+ (if 30...Nxg4 31.exf8/Q+ will mate) 31.fxg4 Re8 32.Rh1!? Nf7 33.f4 b6 34.f5 gxf5 35.gxf5 and White's 2 connected, passed "Jerome pawns" will win the game. (Simplest would involve Rh1-h7 followed by f6-f7, forcing the win of the Knight.)

Quite a battle!

Jerome Gambit: Dissecting A Game (Part 1)

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is made for blitz play. It creates an attack that requires some thought to meet properly - and thought often requires time to be effective.

If the game turns into something like roller skating on an ice rink, the player who has a better understanding of the opening is more likely to be successful.

The following 3-minute game is an entertaining and educational example worth dissecting, especially since White took up chess just a few months previously.

Guest1040892910 - Guest3992542693

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ 

White has two main lines of play here - this move, and 6.d4. The Queen check is forcing and can be deadly for a defender who quickly loses his way. The central pawn fork is slower, but provides fewer clues as to how Black should respond, also allowing for mishaps. 

6...g6 

This move is good and can lead to the Blackburne or the Whistler defense; but in either case, Black must be aware that he is offering his Rook at h8, with complicated play.

If the defender is responding to the "irresponsible" Queen check with a simple block and kick himself, he runs the risk of encountering too many surprises.

7.Qxe5 d6 

This is Blackburne's defense, named after the most well-known and notorious early Jerome Gambit game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (0-1, 14).

Instead, 7...Qe7 would be Whistler's defense, named after Lt. G. N. Whistler, secretary of the Lexington, Kentucky Chess Club, who played the defense - successfully - against Alonzo Wheeler Jerome in a correspondence match in 1876. 

8.Qxh8 Bg4 

This is an odd move, and I am not sure what the idea behind it is - although a lot of 3-minute games have moves that are not deeply analyzed. Perhaps Black wants to provoke f2-f3, which would open the a7-g1 diagonal for his dark squared Bishop and keep White from castling?

In any event, White is up the exchange and 3 pawns. The Database has a dozen games with this move, with White scoring 11 - 0 - 1. 

9.Qxh7+ Kf6 10.O-O Bh5 

This is an interesting idea: Black protects his g-pawn and hems in White's Queen. A major theme in the Blackburne defense is trapping the Queen and then either attacking it with the Rook at a8 or sacrificing that Rook, too, for a checkmating attack. Her Majesty is not yet in danger - but we are only 10 moves into the game.

11.d3 

I think that chess instructor National Master Dan Heisman has recommended that when you have won material, it isn't necessary - or prudent - to go hunting for more. Rather, it is worth taking the time, first, to make sure that your King is safe and your position solid.

That is why it is not a terrible thing that White bypassed 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Qh8+ Ke6 13.Qxd4.

11...Ke6 12.h4 

This move, in turn, is a puzzler. At first glance, it looks like a mouse slip for an intended 12.h3, another "safety" move.

The problem is that Black now has 12...Qxh4, and the game would suddenly be wildly even. That requires a bit of explanation, but the play is so Blackburne-ish, it is worth it. 

First, if White wants to help his Queen escape, he can answer 12...Qxh4 with 13.Qh8. He is not prepared for 13...Nf6!? 14.Qxa8 Kd7 when his best defense to Black's threat of his Knight coming to g4, with checkmate intended, is 15.Qf8 Ng4 16.Qf4 g5 17.Qf5+ when White can achieve a draw with repetition of position after 17...Kc6 18.Qd5+ or 17...Ke8 18.Qc8+. If Black's King moves to either d8 or e7, he would lose his Queen to 18.Bg5+.

Instead, White can rush his Knight to the Kingside after 12...Qxh4 13.Nd2 Rf8 14.Nf3 but 14...Rxf3!? is very strong for Black, and White would have to again look to find a draw in the repetition of positions after 15.Qxg8+, e.g. 15...Ke7 16.Be3 Rxe3!? (or 16...Rh3) 17.Qg7+, etc.

Perhaps White's best chance after 12...Qxh4 would be 13.d4 Bxd4 14.Qxc7 Be2!? 15.Qxb7 Nf6!?, although 16.Qxa8 would allow Black to force a draw after 16...Bxf1, and 16.Qd3+ d5 17.Qh3+ Qxh3 18.gxh3 Nxe4 is likely to devolve into a draw as well.

To be fair, that is a lot of analysis to expect from a 3-minute game.

12...Nf6 

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Who Benefits?

The Jerome Gambit (.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is often a surprise for Black. Sometimes he does not defend correctly.

Occasionally Black has a surprise for White, as well. 

The question concerning these surprises is, who benefits?

Observe the following game.

valiera - TigerBeast27

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

The Counter Jerome Gambit, a bit of psychology. Black figures that if White's sacrifice of a Bishop is good, then Black should be able to also sacrifice a Bishop, with benefit.

The strategy also brings about the exchange of Queens, so White's smash and crash attack is dismantled - at the cost of a pawn.

It is also possible that White is unfamiliar with the Counter, and his handling of the game can suffer.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

A pawn is a pawn is a pawn. In club games, however - especially blitz - that is not always a lot.

10.Rf1 Kg7 11.Kg1 Nxe4 12.Re1 d5 13.d3 Nf6 14.b3 Re8 

White is slightly better here, but Black wants to make him uneasy on his first rank. The first player needs to realize, as I warned a few posts ago, "Routine Play Is Not Enough".

15.Bb2 

This turns the game over to Black.

15...Rxe1+ 16.Kf2 Re8 17.Nd2 Kf7 18.Nf3 h6 

Only the clock can save White now. Instead, it dooms him.

19.Ne5+ Kg7 

Black misses 19...Rxe5 20.Bxe5 Ng4+ 21.Ke2 Nxe5, but it does not matter. 

20.Re1 Bf5 21.Rg1 

I suspect that White's piece shuffling is a sign of impending flag fall.

21...Rf8 22.Ra1 Kh7 23.Rb1 Rae8 24.Rc1 c6 25.Rd1 Re6 26.Re1 Rfe8 27.Rd1 R6e7 28.Nf7 Rxf7 Black won on time

The result, it can be argued, of Black's 7th move.

Jerome Gambit: Know It Better Than Your Opponent

Remember the old joke?

Two guys are walking through the jungle when they come upon a hungry, carnivorous beast. One of the guys opens his briefcase, takes out some running shoes, and begins to put them on.

"Don't be ridiculous. You won't be able to run faster than that beast," said the first guy.

"I don't have to," said the second guy. "I only have to run faster than you."

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a bit like that: you don't have to know it completely to play it successfully, you just have to know it better than your opponent.

The following blitz game is a good example.

kgbbruh - Bohemianidol

10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

Black needs to be aware that this move involves the offer of a Rook.

7.Qxe5 d6 

Blackburne's defense. It leads to complicated play. White's Queen can take the Rook and escape, but with best play the game will be drawn.

8.Qxh8 Qg5 

Black has attacking ideas for his Queen, similar to those in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5.)

He would do well to remember the Face Palm variation of the Jerome Gambit, as well.

9.O-O h5 

Protecting the h-pawn from the enemy Queen.

10.d4 Bb6 

Saving the Bishop, but...

11.Bxg5 Black resigned

Ouch.

Jerome Gambit: Hot Rod Tune Up

In my notes to the game perrypawnpusher - PasayDefence 3d/move, Piano Piano, Chess.com, 2021, I made some comments that drew supportive corrections from Yury V. Bukayev. I wrote

9.O-O 

This is something new for me. Previously I had played 9.d3 or 9.Nc3.

I am not sure why I chose the text move. I suspect that I thought that I would get something after 9...Nxe4 10.Qf4+, but there really was not anything for White in that line.  

This did not seem right to Yury. 

I disagree that after 10.Qf4+ there really was nothing for White. Thus, after 10...Nf6 (the only move) White can play 11.b4!? with enough strong attack. At first White should make two important moves after 11...Bb6: Bc1-b2 and Nb1-c3 here. But White also can play 11.d4!? Bb6 12.Re1 Kf7 13.Re3 Re8!? 14.Bd2!? with enough strong attack too...

There is else one good way for White to start the attack after 10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.b4!? Bb6: it is 12.a4!? a5 13.b5! with the idea 14.Ra3!... 

And the combination of Bc1-b2 with a2-a4, Ra1-a3 is possible too, of course. There are two variations of the same plan.

Yury actually shows more insight and historical understanding about this line than I did. A visit to The Database turned up a couple of relevant games.

First, there is this 11.b4!? game

Torres, Chris - Zhang, Lunxi, lesson, Cupertino, 2009: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.O-O Nxe4 10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.b4 Bb6 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.Nc3 Bc6 14.b5 Bd7 15.Ne4 Kf7 16.Rae1 Bxb5 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Ng5+ Kg6 19.Ne6 Qd7 20.Qg3+ Kh6 21.Qh3+ Kg6 22.Qg4+ Kh6 23.Qf5 Qf7 24.Re4 Bd7 25.Rh4+ Qh5 26.Rxh5 checkmate

I have not yet found a game in this line featuring the suggested Rook lift, Ra1-a3-e3, but the idea deserves a try.

Then, there is this 11.d4!? game

30second-guy - GMHikaruOnTwitch, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5  6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Nf6 9.O-O Nxe4 10.Qf4+ Nf6 11.d4 Bb6 12.Nc3 Qe7 13.Bd2 Qf7 14.Rae1 Bd7 15.Qh4 h6 16.f4 Bf5 17.g4 Bxd4+ 18.Kg2 Nxg4 19.Re2 Nf6 20.Rfe1 Qg6+ 21.Kh1 Bg4 22.Qg5 hxg5 23.Re8+ White resigned

White might have been more successful if he had moved a Rook to the e-file earlier, as suggested. In all fairness, he also might have been more successful if he had not been playing against a grandmaster.

 

Jerome Gambit: Routine Play Is Not Enough

Some chess positions seem to call for "ordinary" or routine moves, and it is very tempting to just make a move, rather than dig for something more striking.

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, both I and my opponent have a tendency to play routine moves, and the game is significantly shorter, because of that.

perrypawnpusher - F0nix

3d/move, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Whistler's defense. In our earlier game, when I had the Black pieces, I played the same defense against F0nix. See "Jerome Gambit: Don't Take The Rook".

8.Qf4+

I have also tried 8.Qd5+, in perrypawnpusher - moush54, 3 days/move, Chess.com 2021(1-0, 23).

8...Nf6

Instead, I faced 8...Kg7 in perrypawnpusher - tmarkst, 6 10 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 43). 

 I faced the more frequently played 8...Qf6 in perrypawnpusher - Yaku, 5 5 blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 26); perrypawnpusher - alvarzr, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 49);  perrypawnpusher-Tacotopia, 1 day/move, Chess.com, 2020 (1/2-1/2, 61); and perrypawnpusher - MeisterBob, blitz, 1 day/move, Chess.com, 2021 (1-0, 32).

9.e5 

The position is trickier than it looks at first glance. Probably best for Black at this point is 9...Re8, when 10.d4 Bxd4 11.Qxd4 Qxe5+ 12.Qxe5 Rxe5+ 13.Be3 Ng4 gives Black (who has given back a piece for a couple of pawns) an edge.

9...Kg7 10.Qxf6+ Qxf6 11.exf6+ Kxf6 

Black has executed a strategy similar to that of the Counter Jerome Defense, in that the Queens are off the board and White's attack has disappeared - all at the cost of a pawn.

12.O-O b6 

Black wants both of his Bishops on diagonals pointed at White's King. In addition, there is a tactical measure that White immediately overlooks.

13.c3 

Too routine, planning to kick the Bishop at c5, but not paying attention to Black's last move. 

13...Bb7 

As expected, but he also had 13...Ba6!?, followed by 14.d3 Bxd3 15.Rd1 Bc2 16.Rxd7 Rad8 17.Rxd8 Rxd8 with plenty of compensation for his pawn. 

14.d4 c5 

Missing my response

16.Be5+ Kf7 Black resigned

White will win the exchange.

Jerome Gambit: Hot Rod Lincoln (Part 2)

 

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - PasayDefence

3d/move, Piano Piano, Chess.com, 2021

At this point I figured my chances lay with the "Jerome pawns".

17.h3 Nf6 18.Qd3

After the game, Stockfish 14 preferred mixing it up, eventually devolving to a Rook and pawns vs Rook and pawns endgame with 18.Rab1 Qa3 19.f5 d5 20.e5 Nh5 21.Qe3 Bxf5 22.g4 Bxc2 23.Rbc1 Nf4 24.Rxc2 Ne6 25.Rf5 b5 26.Nxd5 Qxe3 27.Nxe3 Nxd4 28.Rxf8+ Rxf8 29.Rc5 Rf3 30.Nf5 Nxf5 31.gxf5 Rxf5 32.Rxc6 Rxe5 33.Ra6 Re7. Whew! But, all very logical and better for Black.

Later on, I consulted it again, and found the alternative line 18.Rab1 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 20.Nf2 Qxf4 21.Qxf4 Rxf4. This is not nearly as deep as the line above, but Black is two pawns up and White's "Jerome pawns" have been decimated.

For the umpteenth time, I was happy that I had not been playing against a computer.

18...Qb6 19.g4 Bd7 

20.f5 Rad8 21.Ne2 Rde8 22.Ng3 a6 

I think my opponent was comfortable with his position, and was ready to answer 23.Rab1 with 23...Qa7.

23.Rae1 Bc8 24.g5 Nd7 25.Kg2 

I wanted to play e4e5, but I first needed to move my King so that the d-pawn was not pinned by Black's Queen.

25...c5 26.c3 cxd4 27.cxd4 Qa5 

 I was making slow progress with my pawns on the Kingside.

28.Rf2 

Uh, wrong Rook? Blundering. (Not my most embarassing oversight, but in the top 2 or 3.)

28...Qxe1 

White resigned