Fantastic!

In the last few days I have picked up hundreds of Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and Jerome-ish or Jerome-ized games (e.g. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nd4 Bxf7+) – perhaps as many as a thousand – from games played at the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS).

I am still organizing and reviewing the games, but it is quite possible that they will have an impact on current Jerome Gambit theory, and may even cause me to review and revise some of the information that I posted in the first year of this blog.

How exciting!

I will share what I learn, as I am able.

In the meantime, welcome to the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde, DragonTail, majorminor, JKELSEY, GmCooper, weenar, ItsAllBullCheck and KnightBiker (among others), all playing at FICS.

Jerome Gambit... Jerome Gambit... Jerome Gambit...

Okay, so maybe I do have a bit of a case of "Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf4+) on the brain"...

Even when I'm not playing the Jerome Gambit, I'm thinking about playing the Jerome Gambit. Not that that's always bad.

perrypawnpusher - anon

blitz 5 5, FICS 2009

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6

No Jerome Gambit here. Well, that's okay, I've been learning the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit – I'll try that.

4. O-O Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3

It feels kind of weird. I mean here it is move 6 already, and I still have my King Bishop and King Knight. Can't be helped, I guess...

6...d5 7. Bxd5 Ne7

Whoa! This is so cool!!

Now I get to play Bxf7+ and then I get to play Nxe5+ and then I get to play...

8. Bxf7+ Black resigned

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...............

(I was actually going to play 9.Qxd8. Really. Honest.)

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws

The Kentucky Opening (Part 4)

Finishing up this episode of the Kentucky Opening (see Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), the line 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, which had analysis published in 1874 in the same Dubuque Chess Journal that at nearly the same time was publishing analysis on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Bxf7+), it is likely that Blackburne, in his Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), was relating the similarity of the two openings' White Queen sally to h5 when he applied the name of the former to a game with the latter "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Note - I used to call this the Kentucky opening..."

Thirty years later the line from Danville, Kentucky, took on the name of a Danvers, Massachusetts hospital, out of acknowledgement of one of its top (at that time) players, Dr. E.E. Southard.

We finish with two Kentucky / Danvers Opening games from 1905. The first features a counter-gambit that numerous people since have claimed to have invented. The second is a win by the Good Doctor himself.

McClure,G - Mathewson,F

Boston, 1905

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Qf4 0-0 6.Be2 Bd6 7.Qe3 Re8 8.d3 Be5 9.Nf3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 d5 11.Nd2 d4 12.cxd4 Nxd4 13.Bd1 Be6 14.f3 Nc6 15.0-0 Qd7 16.Nb3 b6 17.Bb2 Qe7 18.Qg5 h6 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Qxf6 gxf6 21.c3 Rad8 22.d4 Kh8 23.d5 Bxd5 24.exd5 Rxd5 25.Bc2 Rg8 26.Rfe1 Na5 27.Nxa5 Rd2 28.g3 Rxc2 29.Nc6 Rxc3 30.Nxa7 Rxf3 31.Re7 f5 32.Rxc7 f4 33.Rxf7 Ra3 34.Nb5 Ra5 35.Nd6 fxg3 36.h3 g2 37.Ne4 Rg6 38.Nf6 Rxf6 39.Rxf6 Rg5 40.Rf7 Kg8 41.Rc7 Rg3 42.Rd1 1-0

Southard,E - Hill,H

Boston, 1905

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Nf3 Nge7 6.d3 Qg6 7.Qxg6 Nxg6 8.h4 h5 9.Nd5 Bb6 10.Be3 Nge7 11.Bxb6 Nxd5 12.exd5 Nb4 13.Bxc7 Nxc2+ 14.Kd2 Nxa1 15.Bxe5 0-0 16.Rxa1 a6 17.Re1 b5 18.Bb3 Re8 19.d6 Bb7 20.Ng5 Rf8 21.Bd4 a5 22.Re7 a4 23.Bxf7+ Rxf7 24.Rxf7 Bd5 25.Rxg7+ Kf8 26.Nh7+ Ke8 27.Nf6+ 1-0

The Kentucky Opening (Part 3)

Readers who have been following the saga of the Kentucky Opening (see Part 1 and Part 2) may have already found themselves protesting: but I never knew that 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 was called the Kentucky Opening!

Likely they are more familiar with references like the one below, from Bill Wall, chess author and investigator of both games short and openings unusual (and, at least on one occasion, someone willing to play the Jerome Gambit!)

Danvers Opening - 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5
by Bill Wall

The opening 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 was probably first named in the early 20th century as Danvers Opening. It is mentioned in the American Chess Bulletin with that name in 1905. The Danvers opening was named after a hospital.

The opening also has names such as the Queen's Attack or Wayward Queen's Attack or Queen's Excursion or the Patzer Opening or the Terrorist Attack. In Indiana, it is Parham's Opening, named after former Indiana State Champion Bernard Parham, who plays 2.Qh5 on almost any Black reply. ECO name is C20.

The attack with the queen is tried mostly by beginners. It is really not very good to bring out the queen early, and many beginners do, hoping for an early mate.

The first game with this opening may be the following:

Adov - Borisov, St Petersburg 1889

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Qb3 [5.Ne2] Nd4 6.Qc3 [6.Qd3] d5 7.Bxd5? [7.exd5] Nxd5 8.exd5 Bf5 9.d3 [9.Na3 Bxa3 10.bxa3 Qxd5] Bb4 0-1

Well, as we've already seen, there have been earlier, if not well-known, examples of the Kentucky / Danvers Opening.

What about Wall's reference to the opening being named after a hospital? The March 1920 issue of the American Chess Bulletin carried a remembrance of "The Late Dr. Elmer E. Southard" – "The famous Harvard varsity [chess] player, who was assistant professor of psychology at Harvard"

Dr. Southard attained distinction in his chosen profession, as a writer of books and assistant editor of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, and will be remembered as the most brilliant player who ever represented Harvard in the annual tournaments with Columbus, Yale and Princeton in New York and who, in the days of two-men teams, played for the Crimson in 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898...

In due course of time Dr. Southard took his place in the front rank of Boston's chess experts, and more than once was nominated substitute on the American teams which played in the Anglo-American cable matches. The Danvers opening (1. P-K4, P-K4; 2.Q-R5, etc.) was originated by him during the period of 1906-9, when he was assistant physician and pathologist in the Danvers State Hospital for the Insane.

The Kentucky Opening (Part 2)

Further looking into Blackburne's quote – "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Note - I used to call this the Kentucky opening..." – (see "The Kentucky Opening (Part 1)") I found another reference in the September 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal.

GAME NO. 513 (Kentucky Opening.)

Contested lately in Danville, Kentucky.

Fields - J. K. Young

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6

In case the adversary takes the pawn, thus left exposed, his defeat is both swift and sure; and if he refuses to take it, he loses a whole move, and transfers the attack to his opponent.

3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.Bc4 0-0 5.d3 Re8 6.Qg3 d5 7.Bh6 Nh5 8.Qf3 g6
The game was already won, and the move was made to tempt the adversary to capture the pawn, thereby permitting a very neat and pretty ending.

9.Bxd5 Qxd5 10.exd5 Bb4+ 11.K moves R mates

Later in the same issue of the Journal, was this news story:

...A lively Chess Column has also just been inaugurated in the Lebanon (Tenn.) Herald. As an exponent of Southern and South-Western Chess doings, its influence will be great. The Lebanon Chess Club is at present conducting several telegraphic games with Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi Clubs, and will soon be heard from, having already won a fine "Kentucky Opening" from Nashville...

The Kentucky Opening (Part 1)

I was doing a little bit more "tidying up" (see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up", "Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up" and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Still More Tidying Up" for earlier efforts) the other day, and I was able to come up with the answer to a question that has been challenging me since the first days of my involvement with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

As I had written in "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up":

In "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!" I mentioned that Blackburne, in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899) referred to the Jerome Gambit as "the Kentucky Opening." I have yet to discover how it is that the British master came up with that name.

The full quote from Blackburne's book is:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Note - I used to call this the Kentucky opening. For a while after its introduction it was greatly favored by certain players, but they soon grew tired of it.

What I recently discovered, taking up the complete page 250 of the May 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, without introduction or explanation, analysis of what was titled "KENTUCKY OPENING". Reformatted and translated from descriptive notation to algebraic notation, and taken out of columnar form, it looked like this:

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Qf6

2...Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Qf6 5.Qb3 Na5 6.Qc3 Nxc4 7.Qxc4 Ne7 8.Nc3 ( 8.Qxc7 Nc6 9.d4 Bd6 g.g.) 8...c6 9.Nf3 g.g. d6

3.Nc3

3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Be6 and the second player has a good game. ( 4...g6 5.Qg5 Bh6 6.Qxf6 Nxf6 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.Be2 Nbd7 good game) ;

3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nf3 d6 5.Nc3 c6 6.d3 g6 7.Qg5 h6 8.Qg3 Be6 good game

3...c6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Nf3 d6 6.d3 g6 7.Qg5 h6 8.Qg3 Be6 9.Bxe6 Qxe6 g.g.

It is significant to note that the format and presentation of the Kentucky Opening analysis was very similar to that on page 38 of the January 1875 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, where analysis of "Queen's Gambit in Jerome's Double Opening" had been given. (The latter was part three of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's introduction of his gambit, the first two having seen print in the April 1874 and July 1874 issues of the Journal.)

The reference to "Queen's Gambit" was odd, having nothing to do with 1.d4 d5 2.c4, or even the sacrifice of a Queen – it referred to the sally of the Queen at move 5 of the Jerome Gambit, i.e. 5.Qh5.

In fact, the Queen move in the Jerome Gambit, and the Queen move in the Kentucky Opening are an outstanding – but similar – feature in each opening, something which likely caught Blackburne's eye.

Eyes Wide Open

Remember that line from Spiderman? With great power comes great responsibility. Right?


When it comes to playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), however, the story is different: With great foolishness comes even greater risks.

Or, as I put it in "Rx: Jerome Gambit":

WARNING: The Jerome Gambit is quite disreputable and has quite a few refutations. Its use should be restricted to "fun" games or as a manner of offering "odds" to weaker opponents. The author is not responsible for any disasters that might come from using the Jerome Gambit (although he remains interested in learning about and staring at the wreckage).


So today I'm at FICS (Free Internet Chess Server) playing some light-hearted 3 0 blitz chess with the Black pieces, listening to the B-52s, and as "Eyes Wide Open" starts to play, the following game unfolds...


sammakkon - perrypawnpusher
blitz 3 0, FICS, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+


Wow. For three moves we had a Ponziani, and at move four we had a Giuoco Piano – but now at move five we've got a Jerome Gambit, Modern variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.c3 Nf6.

Gutsy. The guy's rated 300 points below me. Maybe he's never heard of perrypawnpusher or the Jerome Gambit.
I hope he went into it all with his eyes wide open.

Crazy planet, no alignment
Rise above
Hit the jet stream
Rocky road, got my assignment
Rise above, ride my dreams...

5... Kxf7 6.Qb3+ d5
7.Ng5+

...I don't wanna clash
I don't want to rehash the past...

7.d3 Bb6 8.Nbd2 Rf8 9.h3 Kg8 10.c4 dxc4 11.Qxc4+ Kh8 12.Nb3 Be6 13.Qxe6 Qxd3 14.Nxe5 Qxe4+ 15.Be3 Qxe5 16.Qxe5 Nxe5 17.0-0 Bxe3 18.fxe3 Nc4 19.Rfc1 Nxe3 20.Rxc7 Rab8 21.Re1 Ned5 22.Rc5 Rfc8 23.Ra5 a6 24.Re5 Nb4 25.Nd4 Nc6 26.Nf5 Nxe5 27.Rxe5 Re8 28.Rc5 Rbc8 29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Nd6 Rc7 31.Kh2 Kg8 32.Kg3 Kf8 33.Kf3 Ke7 34.Nf5+ Ke6 35.Nd4+ Ke5 36.Ke3 Nd5+ 37.Kd3 Nb4+ 38.Ke3 Nxa2 39.Nf3+ Kf6 White resigned, Kevin the fruitbat - perrypawnpusher, JG3 thematic, chessworld, 2008

7...Kg8 8.exd5 Qxd5
9.0-0 Qxb3 10.axb3 h6 11.Nf3 Bg4

I'm tossing out moves, racing Cindy, Fred, Kate and Keith to the end. (Advantage: me – I think the song is 5:30; I have only 3 minutes for my game.)

12.Ne1 Kh7

Ok, so my King's living on the periphery. Sharper was 12...Be2, winning the exchange.

13.Nd3 Bb6 14.Nb4 Nxb4 15.cxb4 Rad8

16.Nc3 Rhe8 17.Nb5 a6 18.Nc3 e4 White lost on time.

Ah, the Jerome Gambit:
It's so bad,
So bad it's... good.