Jerome Gambit: Pieces and Pawns

Often in an attacking game, the pieces take a major part, but sometimes it is in the suppport of the pawns, instead of the other way around.

In the following game, the pawns finish things.

Wall, Bill - Mazloom

sparkchess, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 

White's Queen's retreat is more conventional than that of the game in the previous post.

9...Nf6 10.h3 

Preventing possible mischief on g4.

10...Kf7 

Bill has also seen 10...Be6 11.Nc3 a6 12.f4 Bf7 13.O-O Kd7 14.d4 Re8 15.f5 Ne7 16.e5 Nfd5 17.e6+ Kc8 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Qg3 Bxe6 20.fxe6 Rxe6 21.Qg4 Qe7 22.Bg5 Qe8 23.Rae1 Kd7 24.Rxe6 Qxe6 25.Rf7+ Ne7 26.Rxe7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Dasasary, internet, 2023. 

11.O-O Re8 12.d3 d5 

Black is ahead in material (a piece for two pawns) and development, so he pursues his own attack.

Jerome Gambit players have to be prepared for such blowback.

13.f3 d4 

Instead, Black should be thinking about opening lines. Now, White's e- and f-pawns can become more effective.

14.Qe1 Kg8 15.f4 Qe7 16.Nd2 Qc5 17.Qd1 Bd7 

18.Nb3 Qb6 19.a4 c5 

Reinforcing his pawn on d4.

20.e5 Nd5 21.e6 

White throws dust in his opponent's face.

21...Bc6 

Staying away from a beneficial line, because of the anticipated pawn fork: 21...Bxe6 22.f5 Ne3 23.Bxe3 dxe3 24.fxe6 e2 25.Qxe2 c4+ 26.d4 cxb3 27.c3] and White's pawns are probably not enough compensation.

22.f5 Nge7 23.Qg4

White's Queen joins the fray, threatening f5-f6.

23...Ne3

This strike can be dealt with, and it is not an effective response.

24.Bxe3 dxe3 25.f6 

25...Ng6 26.f7+ Kf8 27.fxe8=Q+Kxe8 

The tables have turned. White is ahead in material and his attack on the enemy King will end things.

28.Rf7 e2 29.a5 Qb4 30.Qxe2 Nf4 31.Qe5 Black resigned

Checkmate of the Black King is inescapable.

Jerome Gambit: Taking His Time

The following game is another example of patient play by Bill Wall, withthe Jerome Gambit - he can afford to move slowly, waiting for his opportunity.

Wall, Bill - Hell

internet, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+

Stockfish 16.1 evaluates this move as almost 1/2 pawn better than the direct capture of the Bishop. 

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 

An interesting alternative "kick" of the Queen was 8...b6 9.Qc3 Qf6 10.Qxc7 Nf4 11.O-O Ne7 12.d4 Ne2+ 13.Kh1 Rf8 14.Be3 Kf7 15.Qc4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - NRKD, internet, 2013. 

9.Qa3

Bill likes to experiment. More main line was 9...Qe3.

9...Qg5 

Reacting aggressively. Black keeps pace for another 15 moves before stumbling. 

Bill has also seen 9...Nf6 in Wall, B - Guest2360621, PlayChess.com, 2013 and 9...Ne5 in Wall,B - Guest558550, PlayChess.com, 2021 (1-0, 20). 

10.Qf3 N8e7 

A little stronger was 10...Nf6, but he wants to bring his Rook over. 

11.O-O Rf8 12.d3 

In turn, attacking the enemy Queen.

12...Qh4 13.Qe2 Bg4 14.f3 Bd7 

Attacker and defender appear to have changed roles.

15.Nc3 Nf4 16.Bxf4 Qxf4 17.d4 Rf6 18.Rad1 Rh6 19.g3 Qf6 

White's defense continues to hold.

Black still has an extra piece for two extra pawns - if only he could castle now. 

20.Nd5 

Unfolding some more with 20.f4 was also possible, but Bill wants to target the enemy King. 

20...Nxd5 21.exd5+ Kf7 22.Rfe1 Re8 

23.Qc4 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Qg5

Giving White his chance.

25.Qxc7 Qf5 26.g4 

This must have come as a shock to Black - White's fragile Kingside strikes.

26...Rg6 27.Kf2 Rxg4 

Black is skeptical.

28.Re6 

The only move to keep the advantage, but it is a stunner.

28...h6 

Best was 28...Kg8, but it falls to 29.Qd8+ Qf8 30.Qxd7 and now 30...Rf4 can be met by 31.Re8. Ouch.

29.Qxd7+ Kg8 30.Re8+ Black resigned

Checkmate is on its way.

Jerome Gambit: What Am I Doing Here?

The following game is a good example of choosing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My opponent played well, but he had some help. From me.

perrypawnpusher - Guluphatep

"Italian Game", Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

5...Kxf7 

I was pretty sure that I had reached this position before.

Checking The Database, I discovered that I had scored 8 - 2 - 2 -- as Black. Uh oh.

I was 1 - 1 as White. 

6.Nxe5+ 

I have faced a number of different lines:

6.Nc3 as in leobrazer - perrypawnpusher, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 48); 

6.d3 as in ecimsa - perrypawnpusher, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 32) ; xulian - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024.  (0-1, 19); cool64chess-perrypawnpusher, Chess.com, 2024 (0-1, 8); cool64chess - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024 (1/2-1/2, 31); sinipete - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com 2024 (1/2-1/2, 104); drewbear - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic ChessWorld.net 2008 (0-1, 22); Capt.Mandrake - perrypawnpusher, JG3 thematic, Chessworld.net, 2008 (0-1, 8); 

Or 6.c3 as in Philidor1792 - perrypawnpusher, internet, 2015 (1-0, 36); 

Or 6.Ng5+ as in 123456789qeeed - perrypawnpusher, Chess.com, 2024 (0-1, 19); 

Or 6.d4 as in yoyokskr - perrypawnpusher, Chess.com, 2024 (0-1, 27);

Or 6.Re1 as in Hvakkimaruru - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024 (0-1, 28). 

6...Nxe5 7.d4 

I am not sure what I am doing playing this line. A peek at The Database shows that White scores 1 - 12 - 1 against 7...d5. Fortunately my opponent was not aware of this.

7...Bxd4 

7...Bd6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - Freddy1201, Play The Italian Game III, Chess.com 2023 (0-1, 23)

7...Nc6 was seen in perrypawnpusher - vityas81, Chess.com, 2023 (1-0, 16).

8.Qxd4 d6 9.f4 Nc6 

10.Qd3 Re8 11.Nc3 Kg8 

Black's King plans to step off of the a2-g8 digonal, where he can be checked.

12.Be3 Kh8 

13.a3 

To keep Black's Knight from coming to b4, but it costs an important tempo.

13...Nxe4 

Well played. Now, if 14.Nxe4 then 14...Bf5.

14.Rae1 Nxc3 15.Qxc3 Bf5 

It is hard to find compensation for White's sacrificed material.

16.h3 Qf6 17.Qb3 b6 18.c3 Na5 19.Qd1 Nc4 

20.Bd4 Qg6 21.Kh2 c5 

White resigned

There is not a lot in 22.g4 cxd4 23.gxf5 Qxf5 24.Qxd4. I could have kept playing, but it would have required an unforced blunder by my opponent to keep him from grinding me down. There were other games to play. 

Jerome Gambit: Wisdom of the Stockfish - Huh??

The previous blog post looked at the different move choices that show up early in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), and their popularity.

It is an interesting, but shorter, (and somewhat depressing) excursion, to see how a computer engine - in this case, Stockfish 16.1 - evaluates things.

The question is: Is it helpful?

(I use a computer to evaluate my play in a game, post mortem, looking for my errors. I am far more likely to choose opening lines based on popularity - see the previous post.)

For the following, Stockfish's assessments are based on looks that are 30 ply deep.  

Be warned: the computer sees White's chances in the Jerome Gambit as being rated from bad to worse.

Starting with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ the computer has no interest in any response by Black other than 4...Kxf7, which it evaluates as -2.67 for White. It evaluates 4...Kf8 as +2.11 for White, and 4...Ke7 as +2.54 for White. (Not surprisingly, the strongest response, as we have seen, is the most popular among players.)

How should White respond after 4...Kxf7?

The computer prefers 5.Nxe5+, which it assesses as -2.87 for White, as this is better than 5.O-O (-3.18), 5.d4 (-3.39) 5.Nc3 (-3.40) an 5.c3 (-3.54) - but not by a lot. (Again, Stockfish's top choice is the move that is also the most popular. It is interesting, though, that the second highest-rated move is neither the second most popular nor the second most successful; perhaps 5.O-O needs to be explored further.)

As might be expected, 5...Nxe5 (-3.02 for White) is Black's strongest response to White's capture by the Knight - and there is only one rival move, 5...Kf8 (-1.56). Other moves are evaluated as good for White: 5...Ke8 (+.55), 5...Ke6 (+.98), 5...Kf6 (+1.59) and 5...Ke7 (+2.83).

White does best to follow the Knight capture with 6.Qh5+ (-3.01 for White), as the computer considers it the least worse move, followed by 6.d4 (-3.35), 6.O-O (-3.91), and 6.c3 (-6.75).

In turn, Black's best response to the Queen check, 6...Ke6, is evaluated as three pawns better for him (-3.00), with 6...Kf8, at -2.71 not too far behind, followed by 6...g6 (-2.24)...

And so it goes.

I hope that is enough computer "wisdom" for Readers.

Until artificial intelligence can inject surprise and being intimidated and casual dismissal and just-for-fun (and a host of other reactions), computers like Stockfish will only evaluate part of the Jerome Gambit.

Jerome Gambit: Wisdom of The Database

 

Sometimes I choose a line of play in the Jerome Gambit simply because I like it. 

Sometimes I choose a line that is evaluated by the computer as best.

Sometimes I choose a line because it is the most popular.

Let’s see what The Database has to say.

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

Accepting the Bishop makes the most sense for Black, and The Database concurs. 

There are 38,714 games with 4…Kxf7, with White scoring 52%.

This compares favorably (for the defender) with 4...Kf8, which is seen in 795 games where White scores 82%; and with 4...Ke7 which appears in 103 games, when White scores 87%.

After 4...Kxf7, then, how does White follow up?

The clear choice of players represented in The Database is 5.Nxe5+, with 27,290 games, with White scoring 58%.

The second most popular move is 5.d4, with 2,789 games, scoring 38%.

The second highest scoring line is 5.Qe2, with 155 games, scoring 49%; followed by 5.c3, with 2,345 games, scoring 46%.

Interestingly, concerning what White should prepare for, and what he should expect, after 5.Nxe5+, he is most likely to encounter 5...Nxe5, with 25,929 games, scoring 58%. Only against 5...Kf8, seen in 798 games, does White score worse than that - 53%.

Minor responses are 5...Ke6, found in 143 games, with White scoring 62%; 5...Ke8 in 394 games, with White scoring 70%; 5...Ke7 in 31 games, with White scoring 71%; and 5...Kf6, 7 games, with White scoring 71%.

After 5...Nxe5, White's most popular and best response is 6.Qh5+, seen in 21,533 games, scoring 57%; followed by 6.d4, in 4,313 games, scoring 55%. Only 6.f4, seen in 14 games, comes close to these two in scoring, at 50%.

Black's most popular response to the Queen check is 6...Ng6, appearing in 10,024 games, with White scoring 56%. Black does a bit better with 6...Ke6, appearing in 4,765, with White scoring 55%; and better yet with 6...Kf8, seen in 3,383 games, with White scoring 47%.

After Black's Knight blocks at g6, White can capture the bishop directly, 7.Qxc5, as seen in 4,971 games, scoring 50%, or toss in the "nudge" 7.Qd5+ first - seen in 4,930 games, with White scoring 62%.

After the Queen captures the Bishop, Black's overwhelming choice has been 7...d6, where White scores only 51%.

However, he has two stronger, little-played responses, in 7...Nf4, appearing in 10 games, with White scoring 50%; and 7...d5, appearing in  22 games, with White scoring 41%.

Finally, after the White Queen is kicked by Black's d-pawn, it can move to a number of different squares. Most popular has been 8.Qe3, seen in 916 games, scoring 49%. Best scoring has been 8.Qb4, appearing in 639 games, scoring 56%.

Jerome Gambit: Impatience

Impatience.

Some people would like to be granted the gift of patience - right now!

I suppose that the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) could be considered an "impatient" chess opening, as White starts his sacrificial attack quite soon, without the usual build-up beforehand.

There are more "impatient" opening lines in the Jerome family.

Four years ago, in the blog post "Unasked Questions" I looked at the Two Knights line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+ and commented 

This line doesn't have a name, as far as I know, but it might as well be "the impatient Jerome Gambit". The earliest game that I have with it in The Database is from 2001, but it has to be much older than that. My research is lacking here.

Subsequently (see "Jerome Gambit: Facing Up to 4.Bxf7+ in the Two Knights [Part 2]"), thanks to Dr. Timothy Harding's UltraCorr 3A (2010) collection of correspondence chess games, I uncovered Draper, Dr - Child, AW., Belfast - Dublin team correspondence match-2 1891-2, an earlier game with that "impatient" line.

I have also mentioned in "Accelerated Instant Victory" 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Bxf7+, which prompted the comment

White does not wait for a Black Bishop to appear at c5, he sacrifices anyhow. Although the opening does not appear to have a name, it looks like an Accelerated Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

Coming out of the Bishop's Opening (see "One More Thought") there is 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+

Would I dare to call it a sort of "accelerated impatient Jerome Gambit"? I hope not.

Going further, earlier this year, in "Jerome Gambit: Target f7", I covered a previous question on Reddit

Does the "gambit" 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 (any) 3.Bxf7 have a name?

Well, in "Abrahams Jerome Gambit Games" I did mention the esoteric

[1.e4 e5 2.Bc4] 2...h6 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Ke6 5.Qf5+ Kd6 6.d4 Qf6? 7.dxe5+ Qxe5 8.Bf4 Black resigned, Shakhmamedov - NN, Mail.ru, 2021. 

And in "The King of Bxf7+" (16 years ago) I noted

2...h6 3.Bxf7+ viejoasquerosos-Armil1980, redhotpawn.com, 2006

Probably my favorite line comes from one of my own games, in "Accelerated Jerome Gambit Declined"

perrypawnpusher - NN

blitz, FICS, 2013

1.e4 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit, Finding Its Place in the World

It is always good, despite my enthusiasm for the Jerome Gambit, to occasionally seek out objective evaluations. What, exactly, is its place in the world?

As one example, Michael Busse, in his German language Der Schach-Booster (Humbold, 2024) has a chart presenting an "Overview of Gambits".

He lists as "real openings": Queen's Gambit, Benko Gambit, Evans Gambit, Marshall Gambit (in Spanish game).

He gives as "playable": Albin Counter Gambit, Budapest Gambit, Cochrane Gambit, Falkbeer Counter Gambit, Morra Gambit

He suggests as a "surprise weapon": King's Gambit, Portugese Gambit, Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Blumenfeld Gambit, Nordic Gambit

He identifies as "untrustworthy": Englund Gambit, Halloween Gambit, Jerome Gambit, Stafford Gambit

Well, at least the Jerome is among fun company.