Jerome Gambit: A Slip on Defense

We see this again and again: Make a slip on attack and you lose the attack; make a slip on defense and  you lose the game.

This time we see mbokhari, with 877 games in The Database, deliver the bad news.

mbokhari - ayaz44jamali

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022.

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.c3 Nc6 

This retreat shows up in 147 games in The Database. White scores 60%. This can be compared with the more solid 6...Ne6, which appears in 272 games, with White scoring 51%.

I was shocked by Stockfish 15's 3rd-best suggestion of 6...Nc2?!. A check with The Database shows that it actually has been played 3 times by Fazmeister, about a decade ago on FICS. He won 1 of those games.

7.Qh5+ 

This straight agression is a bit better than 7.Nxc6 e.g. 7...dxc6 8.d4 c5?! 9.d5 (9.Qh5+!?) 9...c6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qe5+ Ne7? (11...Kf7 12.Qxh8 h6 13.Qe5 = ) 12.Qxh8 cxd5 13.Bh6 dxe4 14.Qxf8+ Kd7 15.Qxd8+ Kxd8 16.Bg5 Bf5 17.Nd2 Kd7 18.Bxe7 Kxe7 19.O-O-O Rd8 20.Nc4 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 b6 22.Ne3 h6 23.Nxf5+ gxf5 24.Rd5 h5 25.Rxf5 a6 26.Rxh5 b5 27.Rxc5 b4 28.cxb4 a5 29.bxa5 e3 30.fxe3 Ke6 31.e4 Kf6 32.Rd5 Kg6 33.a6 Kf7 34.a7 Ke6 35.a8=Q Kf7 36.Qb7+ Kg6 37.Qc6+ Kf7 38.Rd7+ Ke8 39.Qc8 checkmate, mbokhari - Manikanth20, lichess.org, 2021. 

7...Ke7  

Blitz. It happens.

mbokhari has also seen 7...g6 in several games 

8.Nxg6 Nf6 (8...hxg6 9.Qxh8 Qg5 (9...Nf6 10.d3 d6 11.Bg5 Qd7 Black resigned, mbokhari - AlisheR7292, lichess.org,  2021; 9...Nge7 10.d4 d6 11.Bg5 b6 12.Bh6 Ba6 13.Qxf8+ Kd7 14.Qxd8+ Rxd8 15.Nd2 Kc8 16.Be3 Kb8 17.c4 Nb4 18.O-O Nc2 19.Rac1 Nxe3 20.fxe3 c5 21.d5 g5 22. Rf7 Ng6 23.g3 Rf8 24.Rxf8+ Nxf8 25.Rf1 Ng6 26.b3 b5 27.Rf6 Ne5 28.Rxd6 Bb7 29.cxb5 g4 30.a4 Nf3+ 31.Nxf3 gxf3 32.Kf2 Kc7 33.Rf6 a5 34.Kxf3 Kd7 35.h4 Bc8 36.g4 Ke7 37.Rc6 Bd7 38.Rxc5 Kf6 39.Kf4 Kg6 40.e5 Kh6 41.e6 Be8 42.d6 Bg6 43.d7 Bc2 44.d8=Q Bxb3 45.h5 Black resigned, mbokhari - Atuobi_89, lichess.org, 2020; 9... Qe7 10.Qxg8 Qxe4+ 11.Kd1 Qxg2 12.Re1+ Ne7 13.d3 Qf3+ 14.Kc2 Qxf2+ 15.Bd2 d6 16.Qxg6+ Qf7 17.Qxf7+ Kxf7 18.c4 d5 19.Nc3 dxc4 20.dxc4 Bf5+ 21.Kc1 a6 22.b3 b5 23.Rf1 bxc4 24.bxc4 Rb8 25.Nd5 Nxd5 26.cxd5 Kf6 27.Bc3+ Kg5 28.Rh1 Be4 29.Rg1+ Kh4 30.Bf6+ Kh3 31.Be5 Bh6+ 32.Kd1 Bf3+ 33.Kc2 Be3 34.Rg3+ Kh4 35.Rxf3 Bg5 36.Bxc7 Rc8 37.d6 Kg4 38.Rc3 Bf6 39.Rc4+ Kf5 40.Rf1+ Ke6 41.d7 Kxd7 42.Rxf6 Rxc7 43.Rf7+ Black resigned, mbokhari - Mosa123zakhor, lichess.org, 2020) 10.O-O Nce7 11.d4 Qf6 12.Qxf6 Nxf6 13.e5 Nh7 14.Be3 d6 15.exd6 cxd6 16.Nd2 Bd7 17.Ne4 Nc6 18.a4 Kd8 19.Ng5 Kc7 20.Nxh7 Black resigned, mbokhari - Dr_OmarDawod, lichess.org, 2022) 9.Qh4 Rg8 10.Nxf8 Rxf8 (10...Qe7!?) 11.d3 Ne5 (11...Qe7?! 12.Bg5 Qf7 13.O-O d6 14.Nd2 Ne5 15.d4? Ng6 16.Qg3 Nh5 17.Qe3 Nhf4 18.Bxf4 Qxf4 19.Qxf4 Nxf4 20.Rfe1 Bd7 21.a4 Ke7 22.e5 d5 23.c4 c6 24.cxd5 cxd5 25.Nf3 Rg8 26.g3 Nd3 27.Re2 Bg4 28.Kg2 Raf8 29.Re3 Bxf3+ 30.Rxf3 Rxf3 31.Kxf3 Nxb2? (31...Rc8) 32.Rb1 Rf8+ 33.Kg2 Nd3 34.Rxb7+ Ke6 35.f4 a5 36.Rxh7 Rb8? (36...Nxf4+ 37.gxf4 Rxf4 = ) 37.Rh6+ Kf5 38.Kf3 Ne1+ 39.Ke2 Rb1? (39...Nc2) 40.Rf6+? (40.e6) 40...Ke4 41.e6 Nf3 42.e7 Rb2+ 43.Kf1 Rb1+? (43...Nxh2+) 44.Ke2 Rb2+ 45.Kd1? (45.Kf1) 45...Rd2+? (45...Kd3 46.Rc6 Rf2 47.Kc1 Re2 48.Rc7 Nxh2) 46.Kc1 Kd3 47.e8=Q Rc2+ 48.Kb1 Nd2+ 49.Ka1 Nb3+ 50.Kb1 Nd2+ 51.Ka1 Nb3+ 52.Kb1 Nd2+ Drawn, mbokhari - Ibrahim71, lichess.org, 2022) 12.O-O Nxd3?! 13.Bg5 Nxb2? (13...Qe7) 14.e5 h6 15.Bxf6 Rxf6 16.Qxf6 Qxf6 17.exf6 Kf7 18.Nd2 d6 19.Ne4 Bf5 20.f3 d5 21.g4?! (21.Rab1) 21...dxe4 22.gxf5 exf3? (22...e3) 23.Rxf3 Kxf6 24.Rb1 Nc4 25.Rxb7 c6 26.Rh7 Rg8+ 27.Kf2 Ne5 28.Rxh6+ Kg7 29.Rg3+ Kf7 30.Rxg8 Kxg8 31.Re6 Ng4+ 32.Kg3 Nxh2 Black resigned, mbokhari - Haykonarek123, lichess.org, 2022

8.Qf7+ Kd6 9.Nc4+ Kc5 10.Qd5 checkmate

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined

Sometimes a chess game will unfold simply. The defender misses a threat, the attacker uneashes it, the game is over.

SorryYouLose - snob

3 0 blitz, FICS, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

4...Ke7 

The BSJG declined.

Blitz games can go like this.

White is content to simplify.

5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Bxg8 Rxg8 7.d3 

Black's King is displaced. 

White can develop a stronger center with f2-f4. He also has a basic threat.

7...d6

Earlier, SorryYouLose had an opponent who also missed the threat: 7...c6 8.Bg5+ Black resigned, SorryYouLose - PlatinumKnight, blitz, FICS, 2017. 

However, one earlier opponent did not miss the threat: 7...h6 8.Na3 d6 9.Bf4 Be6 10.Qd2 c5 11.Nb5 Kd7 12.e5 g5 13.Bg3 Qb6 14.Nxd6 Qxb2 15.O-O Bxd6 16.Rfb1 Qa3 17.exd6 b6 18.f4 g4 19.f5 Bxf5 20.Qxh6 Rae8 21.Rb3 Qa6 22.a4 Be6 23.a5 Bxb3 24.Qh7+ Kc6 25.Qc7+ Kd5 26.Qf7+ Kc6 27.Qxb3 Qb5 28.Qf7 Black forfeited on time, SorryYouLose - pugachevsky, blitz, FICS, 2020. 

8.Bg5+ Black resigned

And that's that.

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Doubter

The theme of the following game can be described as an exchange between Defender and Attacker:

"Surprise!"

"Surprise and another Surprise!"

Those who adopt Jerome-like play against the Blackburne Shilling Gambit should take heed. Those who defend should be aware of 6th move alternatives.

slametsugiarto - chesscleff842

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

Black has a surprise for his opponent: no Giuoco Piano today!

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

White has prepared his own surprise. (And another)

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Qg5 

Black plays the aggressive Queen move that is the key to the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

Here, it does not work. He should have tried the wild 6...Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Ke6 (taking a pawn is too risky).

7.cxd4 Qxg2 

Black wishes to sow chaos, to end the game quickly.

He accomplishes part of this.

Some time ago, in perrypawnpusher - TheProducer, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 66), I answered with 8.Qg4, but subsequent games - for example,  jfhumphrey - jordibc, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 11) and Wall, Bill - Guest3846778, PlayChess.com, 2016 (1-0, 12) - show a quicker finish, as does the current one.

There is coverage of the line in "BSJG: Remembering".

8.Qb3+ Ke7 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc4+Kc6 11.Qd5 checkmate

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: Accept or Refuse?

I know that it has been said that the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it, but at least at the club level declining a sacrifice is popular amongst defenders who throw out the challenge If you want me to take the material, then I won't.

KnightBiker - snob

5 0 blitz, FICS, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined.

Surprisingly, The Database has 829 games with Black declining the Bishop this way. Not surprisingly, White scores 70%.

The player as Black in this game, snob, has 160 games with the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit in The Database, so he is no newbie. Of those games, 52 involve 4...Ke7, where he has scored 33% (slightly above the average for the move).

5.Bc4 

White has a pawn advantage, and his King is much safer than Black's.

Interestingly, in 15 of snob's games in The Database his opponent played 5.Bxg8 - a very reasonable choice - yet snob scored 47%. That is the Jerome Gambit world for you - at blitz speed, with club players.

5...d6 6.d3 h6 

Black does not want an enemy piece to arrive at g5, but this move weakens light squares.

7.Nh4 Nf6 

An oversight that occurs in blitz play. Perhaps Black had been expecting and was focused upon 7.Nxd4.

8.Ng6+ Kd7 9.Nxh8 Kc6 

White has grabbed a Rook and expects not to have to pay his Knight for the honor.

Black's King heads toward greater danger.

10.Ng6 Be7 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 

12.c3 

White could have simply castled, but his choice of this move - with both a threat to the Knight and the opening of an attacking line for the Queen - shows that the attack will continue.

12...Ne6 13.Qa4+ Kb6 14.Qb5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Huh?

Sometimes, the result of a game is a puzzlement.

SorryYouLose - Pinckman

7 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. 

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.f4 

Supporting the advanced Knight, at the risk of allowing ...Qh4+.

The main line was seen in Wall - Ferny, PlayChess.com, 2018: 6.c3 d6 7.cxd4 dxe5 8.Qb3+ = Kf6 (8...Ke7) 9.dxe5+ Kxe5 10.Nc3 Nf6 (10...Be6) 11.d4+ Qxd4 (11...Kd6) 12.f4+ Kd6 13.Nb5+ Black resigned 

6...h5 

Interesting. Black, in turn, prevents a check by White's Queen. The Database shows that the line has scored 50% - 17 wins, 17 losses. 

Stockfish 15 recommends, instead 6...Qh4+ 7.g3 Qh3 8.Nf3 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 d5 with advantage to Black. 

7.c3 Nc6 8.Qb3+ d5

9.Ng6 

White goes for tactics. More solid would be 9.O-O.

9...Rh6 10.Nxf8+ White resigned 

White's resignation is a puzzlement.

It is not hard to imagine the game continuing 10...Kf7 11.Qxd5+ Qxd5 12.exd5 Nd8 13.Ne6 Nxe6 14.dxe6+ Rxe6+ 15.Kf2 Nf6 when White would be 2 pawns ahead - although Stockfish 15 (35 ply) rates the position about equal.

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: Lightning Fast

Longtime readers of this blog are familiar with angelcamina, who plays online at lichess.org. His specialty is lightning chess, and he has a taste for the Jerome Gambit and its relatives - in the case of the following game, the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

angelcamina - Vpkl

1 0 bullet, lichess,org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

Black would love to see 4.Nxe5, when 4...Qg5!? would be tricky.

4. Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit. 

Black was not ready for this change of plans.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ Ke7 

Black was not happy about the idea 6...g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8, but that was his better choice.

Now checkmate comes.

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ Kc5 9.Qd5+  Kb4 10.c3+ Ka4 11.Qa5 checkmate

Wow! That was over so fast, I barely had time to insert diagrams.

BSJGD: Embrace the Chaos

Following up on the previous post, "BSJG: It's Complicated" here is another Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined - declined, I suppose, because the defender wanted a less complicated game than his opponent had planned for. However, things do not turn out that way.

NN - NN

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 

Declined.

Recently discussed in the game Raynier29 - Floppy-Bischer, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 9), the line leads to an advantage for White that Stockfish 14.1 assesses as more than a Rook. 

5.Nxe5 Kd6 

The difference between "brave" and "foolish" differs according to the time control. Black decides to throw caution to the wind. 

The more sedate 5...d6 was more likely to help him survive.

6.Bxg8 Kxe5 7.c3 Qg5 

Pieces are hanging as Black plays the thematic move in the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

As it turns out, this is not a safe place for the Queen.

8.cxd4+ Kxd4 9.Qa4+ 

Rather than worry about his Bishop on g8, White looks toward checkmating the advanced enemy King.

9...Ke5 

10.Qb5+ 

This will do.

White overlooks the thematic move 10.f4+, which will show up in the notes again, as well as 10.d4+. Both moves are designed to win the Black Queen.

10...c5 11.O-O 

Preparing 12.f4+, a move which could actually be played right away: 11.f4+ Kd6 (11...Qxf4 12.d4+) 12.fxg5.  

11...Rxg8 

Reminder, this is a 3 minute blitz game, where the rule often is If you can't quickly think of anything else, grab material.

12.Qc4 

Sneaking around the c-pawn and attacking the enemy Rook. White is still winning. (Of course, 12.f4+ and 12.d4+ were also playable.) 

12...Rh8 13.Nc3 

Solid.

(13.f4+ and 13.d4+, also come to mind.) 

13...d6 14.d4+ Black resigned

(Yes, the fork 14.f4+ was also still on, and some Readers will no doubt see that the strongest - but, from a practical point of view, unnecessary - move was 14.Qf7, threatening a checkmate in 6 moves)

BSJGD: It's Complicated

The following Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined game becomes so complicated that I eventually turn the comments over to Stockfish 14.1.

Basically -

Black declines the gambit so White immediately gets a better game

Black starts an attack against White's King which should not work

White is better up until the point where Black crushes White

Typical Jerome-ish game, right?

moimoibubu - Tolcho0812

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined.

Recently discussed in the game Raynier29 - Floppy-Bischer, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 9), the line leads to an advantage for White that Stockfish 14.1 assesses as more than a Rook. 

Instead, Black should take the Bishop.

5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Bb3 

White retracts his offer of a Bishop. He is a pawn ahead, and Black's King is poorly placed - in the center, blocking the action of his Bishop and Queen.

6...d5 7.Bxd5 Nf6 8.Qf3 

Reinforcing the Bishop, and developing the Queen to a square where it could help with the attack on the enemy King.

Still, retreating the busy Bishop with 8.Bc4 was probably better. Then 8...Nxe4 would be met by 9.Qe2.

8...Bg4 9.Qb3 

This looks natural, and pairing the Queen and Bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal is an idea that shows up in a number of openings, for example the Evans Gambit. However, a closer look reveals that White has already achieved most of what that battery hopes to do, anyhow - capturing the f-pawn and displacing the enemy King.

Stockfish 14.1 thinks the Queen should stay on the Kingside with 9.Qg3. 

9...c6 

Feeling the pressure on the Queenside. Still, he should snap off the Bishop with 9...Nxd5.

10.Bc4

This is fine, although the computer suggests that White could go in for complications with 10.Qxb7+ Bd7 11.Bxc6 Rc8 12.Bxd7 Qxd7 13.Qb3 Nxe4 14.O-O Nc5 15.Qf3 d3 16.Nc3 Kd8 17.cxd3 Be7 18.d4 Rf8 19. Qe2 Ne6 20. d3 Nxd4 21. Qe4 Re8 22. Qxh7 Bf6 23. Be3 Nc2 24. Rab1 Nxe3 25. fxe3 Rxe3 

analysis diagram

Not the kind of thing that everyone wants to persue in a blitz game.

10...b5 11.Bd3 Ke8 

12.O-O 

This reasonable move turns out to be quite risky.

12...Be7 

Stockfish 14.1 recomments, instead, 12...Nd7 13.Bxb5 (huh?) cxb5 14.h3 Bh5 15.d3 a6 16.Qd5 Bf7 17.Qxd4 (White has 4 pawns for his sacrificed piece) Rc8 18.Qe3 Rxc2 19.Nd2 Bc5 20.d4 Bb6 21.e5 Bg6 22.Ne4 Nxe5 23.Nc5 Bxc5 24.Qxe5+ Be7 25.Re1 Kf7 26.Qe6+ Kf8 27.Qxa6 Qd7 and assesses Black as slightly better. Messy.

13.h3 h5 

Black plans to "develop" his Rook at h8 by sacrificing the Bishop. The computer is skeptical, but in human vs human blitz play, the idea has its benefits.

14.e5 

How long do you think it took for White to decide not to capture the piece?

14...Nd5 15.Bg6+ Kd7 16.hxg4 

White judges that the capture is safe now, and "objectively" it is - but the storm clouds gathering over his Kingside are more concerning when you tae into account his undeveloped pieces.

16...hxg4 17.Bf5+ 

Instead, Stockfish recommends 17.g3 Rh3 18.Be4 Qh8 19.a4 b4 20.Nc3 (did not see that coming) dxc3 21.Qc4 Rf8 22.dxc3 Rf3 (White's Bishop protects h1) 23.Bxf3 gxf3 24.Qg4+ Kc7 25.Qxf3 (Black's exchange sacrifice does not look so good now) g5 26.Bd2 bxc3 27.Bxc3 g4 28.Qg2 Bc5 29.Rae1 Kb7 30.Bd2 Qh7 White has buttoned up his King's position and is better. 

17...Kc7 18.Bxg4 Rh4 

19.Bh3 

As will quickly be seen, the Bishop belonged on f3. With an eventual g2-g3, it would protect h1.

19...Qh8 20.Qg3

How else to defend? 

The computer offers the pathetic 20.Na3 (development of a sort) Nf4 21.Nxb5 (sad, but necessary to activate the Queen) cxb5 22.Qxb5 only to be met by 22...Rxh3 23.gxh3 Nxh3+ when 24.Kg2 Nf4+ 25.Kf3 Qh3+ 26.Ke4 (26.Kxf4 Rf8+ leads to mate) Ne6 leads to a position where lack of King safety is the issue, despite White's advantage in material.

analysis diagram

20...Nf4 

The attack will finish the game.

21.e6 Bd6 22.Re1 Nxh3+ 23.Qxh3 Rxh3 24.gxh3 Qxh3 25.d3 Rh8 White resigned

Checkmate is forced.

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit Declined

I think it was Steinitz who said that the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it. Certainly the strongest "refutations" of the Jerome Gambit are in the accepted lines. 

The same can be said of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

Raynier29 - Floppy-Bischer

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Ke7 

I was surprised to find that The Database has over 800 games with this move. White scores 70%, which is pretty significant given that the average rating of White vs Black is almost even (12 points difference).

Posted some time ago

I have met this move before (see "Jedi Mind Tricks", "Jedi Mind Tricks / Rematch", "Sith Still and Don't Move", "Never Mind" and "Platinum Mind Tricks". ), and whatever advantages it has are slight and purely psychological.

Like with the Jerome Gambit Declined, White can now go for complications with 5.Nxe5, withdraw his Bishop with 5.Bc4 or 5.Bb3, or he can settle for a solid game with a clear advantage by exchanging the piece off.

5.Bxg8 Nxf3+ 

This temporarily saves the e-pawn, i.e. 5...Rxg8 6.Nxe5 Qe8 7.d3 Kd8 8.Nc4.

Capturing the Bishop was seen in "Just Look Ahead and Move"

6.Qxf3 Rxg8 

7.d4 d6 

This kind of thing happens in blitz games. Black had to move his King, or play 7...h6. After either move White can play 8.dxe5, with two extra pawns and a safer King (after 0-0).

8.Bg5+ Kd7 9.Bxd8 Black resigned