Jerome Gambit: Over Quickly

One attraction of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that it can produce an attack that brings the game to a close, quickly. 

The following blitz game is a good example.

Littleplayerparis - r-ex

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

Black declines the second sacrifice. There are 427 games with this move in The Database. White scores 50%.

6.Qh5+ 

White takes advantage of the fact that Black's King has moved back to e8 - an aggresive check pushes forward his attack.

The computers recommend 6.Nxc6, which would be met by 6...Qh4!?, a counter-attack that remains unplayed.

6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 

The alternative, 7...Bxf2+ acknowledges that the Bishop will be lost, and Black gets a pawn for it, following up with 8.Kxf2 Nf6. 

Littleplayerparis has also faced 7...Nf6 directly, 8.Qxc5 hxg6 9.d3 (9.Qg5 Nxe4 10.Qxg6+ Black resigned, Littleplayerparis - Kazeeeem, 3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2021) 9...Qe7 10.Qe3 d5 11.exd5 Qxe3+ 12.Bxe3 Nxd5 13.Nd2 Nxe3 14.fxe3 Nb4 15.Kd1 b6 16.a3 Nd5 17.Ke2 Bb7 18.e4 Nf4+ 19.Kf3 g5 20.g3 Ne6 21.b4 Nd4+ 22.Ke3 Nxc2+ White resigned, Littleplayerparis - Level172, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 

8.Qxh8 Nce7 

Or

8...Qf6 9.Qxg8+ Qf8 10.Qxg6+ Qf7 11.Qxf7+ Kxf7 12.O-O Nd4 13.Na3 d6 14.c3 Bxa3 15.bxa3 Nc2 16.Rb1 Bg4 17.f3 Nxa3 18.Bxa3 Black resigned, Littleplayerparis - FurkanAkyuz0, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; or 

8...Kf8 9.d3 d6 10.Bh6+ Kf7 11.Qg7+ Ke6 12.Qxg6+ Nf6 13.Bg5 Bd4 14.c3 Black resigned, Littleplayerparis - nizzy47, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; or

8...Qh4 9.Qxh4 Nd4 10.Kd1 d6 11.c3 Nb5 12.a4 g5 13.Qh5+ Kd7 14.Qf7+ Kc6 15.axb5+ Kxb5 16.d4 Bb6 17.Qxg8 Bg4+ 18.f3 Bh5 19.Qxg5+ Kc4 20.Qxh5 Re8 21.Qd5+ Kd3 22.Re1 c6 23.Re3 checkmate, Littleplayerparis - RSeverino, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021; or 

8...Kf7 9.Qh7+ Kf8 10.c3 Nf6 11.Qxg6 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 Ne7 Black resigned, Littleplayerparis - Kharteegayanz_7, 3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

However, at this point Black resigned.

This might have been because Black realized there would be a second pin on his Knights, and there was nothing but pain ahead, after 9.d4 Bb6 10.Bg5.

Jerome Gambit: Welcome, Again

 

"Welcome!" was my first blog post, fourteen years ago.

As I approach 3,700 posts, I would again like to express my thanks to all those who have played Jerome (and Jerome-like) Gambits, all those who have shared their games with me, and those who have sent analysis to increase my - and Readers - understanding of this intriguing gambit.

It has been a fun endeavour, pursuing the legacy of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome.

Jerome Gambit: The Ticking Clock Bends Reality

Sometimes time pressure - or even the awareness of time passing quickly - is enough to encourage a player to quickly find a way out of a situation, even at the cost of a half-point. 

The following game, a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3  Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) by long-time contributor angelcamina, playing at lichess.org, is an example that brings a smile to my face.

angelcamina - nishantchess16

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

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.

8.Qxh8 

Leading to complicated play, this move is actually dangerous for White.

8...Qxe4+ 9.Kd1 Qxg2 10.Re1 Qf3+ 

Following the path of Wall - Mathieubuntu, FICS, 2011 and eskimo_king - saimutku, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022.

It is worth reviewing "Jerome Gambit: Pop Quiz" for alternative play.

11.Re2 Qh1+ 12.Re1 Qf3+ 

Black offered a draw here.

13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ draw

Jerome Gambit: An Extra Move Always Helps

In a blitz game between club players, the Jerome Gambit can produce an attack that is pretty effective. 

In the following game, the attacker benefits from a move order that gives him an extra move. Not something to reject.

SensGuy - ad7976

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ng6 

A summary of my own experience with this line can be found in "Jerome Gambit: Good News, Bad News, Good News (Part 1)"

9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qe3 Ke8 

The position is improved from the usual 6...Ng6, defense, i.e. 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 in that White has gotten in an extra move, f2-f4.

12.O-O Nf6 13.d4 Ng4 

The standard temptation to harass the enemy Queen can rebound.

It was more thematic to try 13...d5. 

14.Qf3 h5 15.f5 Nh4 16.Qg3 Rf8 17.h3 

17...Rxf5 

Black gives back material to deal with White's "Jerome pawns", but perhaps he did not need to be so generous: 17...Bxf5 18.exf5 Nxf5 19.Qd3. 

18.exf5 Nxf5 19.Qf4 g5 20.Qe4+ Black resigned

More material will be lost.

Jerome Gambit: Picking Up A Part That Doesn't Quite Fit

Ideally, the parts of a chess attack or defense should fit together well. Some games follow a path that seems well illuminated, and choosing moves for either side can be a reasonable task.

Sometimes, though, the play of the game is murky, and it is possible to pick up a spare part for an attack or a defense that doesn't quite fit. Problems can follow. 

The following game is a good example, from both sides of the board.

LucaGrendene - AakashVishwadinu

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

As I posted recently, this is

Whistler's defense, a strong defense that threatens the exchange of Queens and dares White to capture the Rook on h8, promising an attack on his King in return. See "Jerome Gambit: Boogyman (Parts 1, 2 & 3)".

This is in contrast to Blackburne's defense, 7...d6, where the Rook is still on offer, and White's King may still come under fire, but there is also the ever-present risk that White's Queen may become trapped and/or won..

8.Qxh8 

Choosing to face the Boogyman. Safer was 8.Qf4+.

8...Nf6 

What is the problem with 8.Qxh8? Good question.

As a general rule of thumb, facing Blackburne's defense, 7...d6, White has to be careful about Black's Queen dashing to h4 for an attack on the King, while also threatening ...Nf6, trapping White's Queen on the back rank and exposing her, at some point, to the attack of the remaining Rook.

On the other hand, Whistler's defense enjoys the enemy Queen being out of the way, so Black can attack directly with 8...Qxe4+. This is a better plan than going after White's Queen.

In effect, the text move adds a part from the Blackburne defense that doesn't quite fit in the Whistler. The Database shows 26 games with this position, with White scoring 75%.

9.Kf1 

White now plays a move that would fit decently into place against the Whistler defense - if things hadn't suddenly changed after 8...Nf6.

That is because White's Queen is now at great risk.

Instead, rescue oprations could have been started with 9.d3, e.g. 9...b6 10.Bh6 Ke6 11.Qg7 Qxg7 12.Bxg7 Bb7 13.Nc3 c6 14.Ne2 d5 15.Bxf6 Kxf6 16.d4 Be7 17.e5+ Ke6 and Black's two Bishops are not enough comensation for the exchange plus two pawns.

To be fair, it is important to point out that the game was played under a blitz time control, and at least according to The Database niether player had been involved with the Jerome Gambit previously.

9...b6 10.Nc3 Ba6+ 11.d3 Rxh8 White resigned

More Entertaining Jerome Gambit Chess Content

The well-named  Entertaining Chess Content continues to provide YouTube chess videos that are, well, entertaining. 

For a couple of posts outlining some Jerome Gambit efforts, see "Jerome Gambit: Entertaining Chess Content (Part 1)" and "Jerome Gambit: Entertaining Chess Content (Part 2)"

The latest I have viewed is the short video "Jerome Gambit with a Queen Sacrifice". It features a game against the GM Robert Hess bot at Chess.com.

As ever, I do not know how well the various bots actually play like their human counterparts, but this current game is a doozy. It will take only a few minutes to view the game, but if you prefer to play it over based on the printed moves, here we go

NN - Robert-BOT

Chess.com, 2022

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.d3 h5 10.Bg5 Qd7 11.h3 Qb5 12.Nd2 Qxb2 13.O-O Qe5 14.Qh4 Bb6 15.Nf3 Qe6 16.a4 Ba5 17.Rab1 Kg8 18.Rb5 b6 19.e5 Nh7 20.Nd4 Qe8 21.Be7 Bd7 22.e6 Bxb5 23.Nxb5 Rc8 24.Nxa7 Rb8 25.Qc4 Nf8 26.Nc6 Ng6 27.Nxb8 Nxe7 28.Qxc7 d5 29.f4 Bc3 30.f5 Bd4+ 31.Kh2 Rh6 32.Nd7 h4 33.c3 Bf6 34.a5 bxa5 35.Rb1 Be5+ 36.Qxe5 Nc6 37.Qxd5 Qc8 38.Qxc6 Qd8 39.Qd6 Rf6 40.Rb8 Rxf5 41.Rxd8+ Kh7 42.e7 Rf6 43.Nxf6+ Kh6 44.e8=Q gxf6 45.Qxf6+ Kh7 46.Qh5 checkmate

More Jerome-Botez Gambits

 

I am afraid that I was much too optimistic when I posted about "The Jerome-Botez Gambit" - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxg7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qf3+ - yesterday, reporting that there was only one example of this unfortunate sideline in The Database.

A quick trip to the lichess.org website corrected that, as I found 20 game examples (and one more by transposition).

I am not sure which surprises me more, that Black score "only" 83%, or that Black chose to capture the Queen with 6...Nxf3+ only 67% of the time. Perhaps the fact that all but 3 games were played at bullet or ultra-bullet speed could account for instantaneous but erronious responses to 6.Qf3+.

Sometimes the world is a bit too complicated for me.