Sometimes I play over the games of the top Jerome Gambit players and shake my head in wonder, admitting I don't know how he does it... So many times Black seems to be better - until he loses. Clearly, the Jerome is not only a study in the psychology of error, it is a school for learning about (successful) chess struggle.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+
The Abrahams Jerome Gambit.
3...Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kf8 5.Qxe5 Qe7 6.d4
It is interesting to note a couple of FICS games with a player with a similar name to White's, which give alternative responses:
6.Qxe7+ Nxe7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O Bg4 9.Nc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 c6 11.d4 Bxd4 12.Re1 Be5 13.Bg5 Bxc3 14.b3 h6 15.Rad1 hxg5 16.Re2 d5 17.Re3 d4 18.e5 Nd7 19.Re4 Nd5 20.Rd3 Nf4 21.Rxf4+ gxf4 22.Kg2 Nxe5 23.h3 Nxd3 24.cxd3 g5 25.Kf1 Kf7 26.Kg1
Rhe8 27.a4 Re2 28.b4 Rd2 29.h4 Re8 30.Kh2 gxh4 31.b5 Rxf2+ 32.Kh3 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rxd3 34.Kxf4 Rh8 35.Kg4 Re3 36.Kf5 cxb5 37.Kf4 bxa4 38.Kf5 a3 39.Kf4 Kg7 40.Kf5 Rf8+ 41.Kg4 Re4+ 42.Kh5 Rf5 checkmate, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006; and
6.d3 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Nd5 Na6 12.Nf4 Qe8 13.h3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 h6 White forfeited on time, Philidori - cjon, FICS, 2006.
6...Qxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3
There are other ways to hold onto the pawn:
8.Bf4 Nd4 9.Kd1 Ne6 10.Bg3 Ne7 11.c3 Ng6 12.Nd2 Ke7 13.Nh3 d5 14.exd5 Nd8 15.b4 Bb6 16.Nf4 Nxf4 17.Bxf4 Rf8 18.Bg5+ Kf7 19.e6+ Kg8 20.Be3 Re8 21.Bxb6 axb6 22.f4 c6 23.c4 b5 24.f5 bxc4 25.Nxc4 cxd5 26.Nb6 Rb8 27.Nxd5 Nc6 28.b5 Nd4 29.Nc7 Re7 30.b6 Nxf5 31.Rf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke1 Nxf1 33.Kxf1 Bxe6 34.Nxe6 Rxe6 35.Rb1 Rc8 White resigned, guire - givemeabreak, FICS, 2014;
8.f4 Nge7 9.Nf3 d6 (9...Ng6 10.Nc3 d6 11.f5 Ngxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 Bd7 14.Bxe5 dxe5 15.O-O-O Bc6 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 Bd6 18.c4 b6 19.a3 a5 20.Rhd1 Kf7 21.g4 Rhd8 22.h4 Rd7 23.g5 Rad8 24.h5 Ke7 25.b3 Bxa3+ 26.Kc2 Rxd5 27.cxd5 Bd6 28.Kc3 Bb4+ 29.Kc4 Bd6 30.Kb5 Ra8 31.Rc1 a4 32.bxa4 Ra5+ 33.Kc6 Rxa4 34.Kb7 Rb4 35.Rf1 Kf7 36.f6 gxf6 37.Rxf6+ Kg7 38.h6+ Kg8 39.Kc8 Rxe4 40.Kd7 Rf4 41.Re6 Rf7+ 42.Kc6 Rd7 43.g6 Re7 44.gxh7+ Kxh7 45.Rf6 Black forfeited on time, ripples - Cihan, FICS, 2009) 10.exd6 cxd6 (10...Bxd6 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.e5 Bb4 13.Bd2 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nd4 15.O-O-O Nxf3 16.Ne4 Bxd2+ 17.Nxd2 Nxd2 18.Rxd2 Kf7 19.Rf1 Rad8 20.f5 Rxd2 21.Kxd2 Rd8+ 22.Ke3 Nd5+ 23.Ke4 Nb4 24.Rf2 Nxa2 25.c3 b5 26.c4 bxc4 27.h4 c5 28.h5 Rd4+ 29.Ke3 Rh4 30.e6+ Ke7 31.b4 cxb3 32.Rb2 c4 33.Kd2 Rxh5 White resigned mfenaux - ikac, FICS, 2008) 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.Ke2 Nd4+ 13.Kf1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nxc2 15.Rb1 Nd4 16.Kg2 Ng6 17.f5 Ne5 18.Rd1 Rd8 19.Na4 h6 20.Nxc5 dxc5 21.Bf4 Nec6 22.Rbc1 Ke7 23.Rxc5 b6 24.Rc4 Rd7 25.Kg3 Rhd8 26.Rdc1 Ne2+ 27.Kg4 Nxc1 28.Rxc1 Black forfeited on time, ripples - zsifkovitspeter, FICS, 2009.
8...d6
A couple more ideas:
8...Nd4 9.Nxd4 Bxd4 10.f4 Ne7 11.c3 Bc5 12.b4 Bb6 13.a4 a5 14.b5 Bc5 15.Nd2 d6 16.Nb3 b6 17.Nxc5 dxc5 18.O-O Kf7 19.c4 Rf8 20.f5 Kg8 21.Bb2 c6 22.e6 cxb5 23.axb5 Bb7 24.Rf4 Rad8 25.Rg4 g6 26.f6 Nc8 27.e7 Rd2 28.exf8=Q+ Kxf8 29.Bc3 Rc2 30.Be5 Rxc4 31.Bc7 Rxe4 32.Rxe4 Bxe4 33.Re1 Bd3 34.Re3 Bxb5 35.Re6 Bc4 36.Rc6 Kf7 37.Bxb6 Nxb6 38.Rxb6 a4 39.Rc6 a3 40.Rxc5 Be6 41.Ra5 Kxf6 42.Rxa3 Black resigned, mfenaux - BobTheBeginner, FICS, 2009; and
8...Nge7 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Ng6 11.Nc3 Ngxe5 12.Nd5 Nc4 13.O-O Nxb2 14.Nd4+ Kg8 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Ne7 checkmate, idiom - lochsa, FICS, 2003.
9.Bf4
9.exd6 Bxd6 10.O-O Bg4 11.Nh4 g5 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 Nge7 14.f6 Nd5 15.Bxg5 Rg8 16.Bh4 Rg4 17.Bg3 Bxg3 18.fxg3 Nxf6 19.Rxf6+ Ke7 20.Rf1 Ne5 21.Nc3 Rd8 22.Rae1 Kd6 23.Ne4+ Kc6 24.Nf6 Rg5 25.h4 Rxg3 26.Rxe5 Rdg8 27.Rf2 Kd6 28.Ref5 Ke6 29.Nh5 R8g4 30.Nf4+ Kxf5 31.Nd3+ Kg6 32.Nf4+ Kg7 33.Nh5+ Kh6 34.Nf6 Black forfeited on time, enzop - Matan, FICS, 2004.
9...Bg4 10.exd6 cxd6
Or: 10...Bxf3 11.gxf3 Bxd6 12.Bxd6+ cxd6 13.Nc3 Ke7 14.Rg1 g6 15.O-O-O Nf6 16.f4 Nh5 17.f5 gxf5 18.exf5 Rhg8 19.Rge1+ Ne5 20.Nd5+ Kd7 21.f4 Nc6 22.Re6 Rae8 23.Rh6 Ne7 24.Nxe7 Rxe7 25.Rxh5 Rf7 26.Kd2 Rg2+ 27.Kc3 Rf2 28.Rd4 Kc6 29.Rh6 Rxf5 30.Rdxd6+ Kc7 31.Rde6 Rc5+ 32.Kd4 Rfxc2 33.Rxh7+ Kb8 34.Rd6 a6 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.Rh5 Ka7 37.Rb4 Rf7 38.Kd3 Rf2 39.Ke3 Rc2 40.h4 Re7+ 41.Kf3 Rh2 42.Rh6 a5 43.Rb5 Kb8 44.h5 Rd7 45.f5 Rh1 46.a4 Rf7 47.Rxa5 Rf1+ 48.Ke4 Re1+ 49.Kd4 Rd1+ 50.Ke5 Rf1 51.f6 Rg1 52.Rh8+ Kc7 53.Ke6 Rd7 54.Rc5+ Kb6 55.Kxd7 Kxc5 56.f7 Rd1+ 57.Kc7 Black resigned, VATICANO - caciuccoboy, FICS, 2014.
11.Nc3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nd4 13.O-O-O Nxf3 14.Nb5 Nf6 15.Nxd6 Bxd6 16.Bxd6+ Kf7
Here we have a typical Jerome Gambit endgame, with the "Jerome pawns" vs Black's extra piece. "Objectively" the edge is to the second player, although it is his responsibility to show it.
17.Rd3 Ng5 18.f3 Rhd8 19.h4 Ne6 20.Rhd1 Ne8 21.Bg3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Rd8 23.Kd2 Nf6 24.b3 Nh5 25.Bh2 Ke7 26.Ke3 h6 27.Rxd8 Kxd8 28.Be5 Ke7 29.f4 b5
30.f5 Nc5 31.Bd4 Kd6 32.b4 Na6 33.a3 Nb8 34.Bxa7 Nc6 35.Bc5+ Ke5
Black's King successfully blockades the central "Jerome pawns", his b-pawn restrains White's Queenside, and even though he has given up a pawn, he seems to have stymied the first player's momentum.
Except for one move.
36.c4
White's game now becomes dyamic on the Queenside.
36...bxc4 37.b5 Nb8 38.b6 Nf6
This slip allows White to clarify things quickly with the win of a piece.
39.Bd4+ Kd6 40.e5+ Black resigned
Some themes repeat themselves regularly in the Jerome Gambit. White's Queen-check that allows gathering in an errant Knight is one example, as Bill Wall shows in the game below. Suprise followed by disappointment and disspirited play on behalf of the defender is another.
Wall, Bill - Guest7492034
PlayChess.com, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O
We have seen another idea, 4.Bb3 Bc5 5. Bxf7+, in Philidor1792 - bichara22, Online chess, 2013 (1-0, 15).
4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Re8
Instead, 7...Bd6 was recently seen in "A Tale of Two Knights".
7...Re8 is reminiscent of Wall,B - Santiago,D, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 28) I've faced it a few times myself,
8.dxc5 Kg8
This was Black's idea, to return a piece and castle-by-hand.
9.f4 Ng6 10.e5 Ne4
Playing "aggressively" against White's obviously erronious aggression. If chess were only this kind.
11.Qd5+ Kh8 12.Qxe4
12...Qh4 13.g3 Qh3 14.Nc3 Rb8 15.Nb5 b6 16.Nxc7 Bb7 17.Qe2 Rf8
Black does not have enough compensation for his material deficit. His play shows that he is unsettled.
18.Be3 Rbc8 19.Nb5 bxc5 20.Nd6 Rb8 21.Nxb7 Rxb7 22.Bxc5 Re8 23.b4 d6 24.Bxd6 Black resigned
White's "Jerome pawns" will win the day.
Wall,B - Guest6602130
PlayChess.com, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7
A piece is a piece is a piece. Still, Bill has had an opponent decline: 5...Kf8 6.Bb3 Nf6 7.Nxe5 Nxe5 8.d4 Bb4 9.dxe5 Nxe4 10.Qd5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2310139, PlayChess.com, 2014.
6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6
Possibly better was 7...Kf8 8.Qxe5 d6.
8.Qd5+ Ke8
Bill has also seen: 8...Kf8 9.Qxc5+ N8e7 10.f4 d6 11.Qf2 Nc6 12.d4 Qh4 13.g3 Qh3 14.f5 Nge7 15.f6 Nf5 16.exf5 Bxf5 17.fxg7+ Kxg7 18.Nd5 Rhf8 19.Nf4 Rae8+ 20.Be3 Qg4 21.h3 Qg5 22.0-0-0 Nb4 23.Qd2 Qxg3 24.Nh5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Jllib976, Chess.com, 2010.
9.Qxc5 Qe7
Or 9...d6 10.Qa3 N8e7 11.0-0 Nh4 12.d4 Neg6 13.f4 Rf8 14.Be3 Bg4 15.Qb3 Rb8 16.f5 Ne7 17.Bf2 Nexf5 18.exf5 Nxf5 19.Rae1+ Kd7 20.Qe6+ Kc6 21.d5# checkmate, Wall,Bill - Mbgmx, Chess.com, 2010.
10.Qxc7 Nf6 11.0-0 Kf7 12.Qc4+ Qe6 13.Qd4 Re8 14.f4 Qb6 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.e5
With three pawns for his sacrificed piece, White is willing to play against Black's structural weaknesses (doubled isolated b-pawns, restrained d-pawn, blocked in Bishop) in stead of an attack on the King.
Black's slip on his next move makes the task easier.
16...Nh5
The safer retreat was 16...Nh7.
17.g4 Nhxf4 18.d4 d6 19.exd6 Bxg4 20.Bxf4 Kg8
White is comfortably up two passed pawns. He does not have to be in a hurry.
21.Bg3 Bh3 22.Rfe1 Rf8 23.Nd5 Rad8 24.Ne7+ Kh7 25.Nxg6 Kxg6
26.Re3 Rf6 27.Be5 Rfxd6
This combination overlooks something.
28.Bxd6 Rxd6 29.Rxh3 Rxd4 30.Rb3 Black resigned
As we have seen in recent posts, the "simple" job for the defender against the Jerome Gambit is to remain steady, play good moves, not panic, pay attention - maintain a "steady as she goes" focus. Wandering from this path, however, can have immediate negative consequences, as the following game demonstrates.
Philidor 1792 - NN
2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.O-O Nf6 6.c3
Another idea for White: 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Qe2 d5 8.exd5 Qxd5 9.Nc3 Qd4 10.Nb5 Qh4 11.Nxc7 Rb8 12.Nf3 Qe4 13.Qxe4 Nxe4 14.d3 Nf6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.fxe3 e4 17.Nd2 exd3 18.cxd3 Ne5 19.d4 Neg4 20.e4 Bd7 21.e5 Rc8 22.Rac1 Ne8 23.Nd5 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Kf7 25.Rf1+ Kg6 26.h3 Nh6 27.Ne7+ Kh5 28.g4+ Kg5 29.Kg2 Nxg4 30.Ne4+ Kh5 31.hxg4+ Bxg4 32.Rh1+ Bh3+ 33.Rxh3+ Kg4 34.Rf3 Black resigned, Philidor 1792 - guest143, Peshka.me 2014.
6...d5
Instead, 6...Nxe4 was seen in Philidor 1792 -guest826, Peshka.me, 2015 (1-0, 29) and Philidor 1792 - guest826, Peshka.me, 2015 (0-1, 33).
6...Re8 was seen in Philidor1792-Chicken_Monster, 1100 KINGS vs Team Russia - Board 12, Chess.com 2014 (1-0, 38).
7.d4 Bb6 8.Nxe5+
A little bit better might have been 8.dxe5.
8...Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nxe4
Black's King is a bit drafty, but otherwise he is doing well.
10.Nd2 Nxd2 11.Qxd2 Re8 12.Qf4+ Kg8
Black has castled-by-hand, and his light-squared Bishop can be developed.
13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 c6 15.b3 Bf5 16.Rad1 Qb6 17.Rd4 Re6 18.f3 Rae8 19.f4 Rg6
White remains calm, as well. If Black has an advantage, let him show it.
20.Rf2 Rf8 21.g3 h5 22.h4 Be6 23.Qd3 Rf5
Black has established blockades at e6 and f5, but it is not clear where he will be going with that.
24.Kh2 Qc7 25.c4 Qf7 26.cxd5 Bxd5
27.Rd2 Rg4 28.Qe2 Qe7 29.b4 a6 30.a4 Rg6 31.b5 Qa3
Black keeps improving the position of his pieces.
32.R2d3 Qc5 33.Rd2 Rg4 34.Qd3 g6 35.bxa6 bxa6 36.Re2 Qb6 37.Qc3
White's patience helps Black envision a reasonable, but flawed idea: to develop his last piece, his King, to e6 to blockade White's passed e-pawn. However, the monarch steps into danger.
37...Kf7 38.Rxd5 cxd5 39.e6+ Ke8
"Best" for Black was to give up his Queen with 39...Qxe6 but after 40.Rxe6 Kxe6 41.Qc6+ Kf7 42.Qxa6 it is clear that White's passed a-pawn will rule the day.
40.e7 Black resigned
Recently I stopped by a local chess club for the first time in about 25 years.
I had a lot of fun, but lost all of my games, which made me feel like the weakest player in the group. This was particularly troubling given that half of the people there were elementary school students!
(I remember many years ago visiting the local university chess club, going 0-13 one evening, playing a different chess opening each game; my opponents could never figure that one out...)
Worst of all, I was not given the opportunity to play the Jerome Gambit. Wait 'til next week!
Black plays reasonable chess in the following game, as does White - who slowly moves the game toward equality. Then, suddenly, the second player deliberately hangs a piece, and White's attack on the enemy King crashes through. Can Readers uncover an explanation (other than "chess blindness") for Black's 17th move?
Wall, Bill - Guest7132040
PlayChess.com, 2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.O-O
Or 8.Qd5+ followed by 9.O-O as in Wall,B - Guest344942, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 20).
8...Be6
8...Nf6 was seen in a number of previous games, for example: Jerome,A - Shinkman,W, Iowa, 1876, (1/2 - 1/2, 42); perrypawnpusher - JoseSoza, Chess.com, 2012 (0-1, 34); Wall,B - Guest903719, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 47); and Wall,B - Guest1561957, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 25).
9.f4 Nc6 10.Qc3 Nf6 11.f5 Bd7 12.Qb3+ Kf8 13.Re1 Nd4 14.Qd3 c5
15.Bf4 Bb5 16.Qd1 Qb6 17.c3 Ba4
White can just take the Bishop. What am I missing? (If Black is planning 18...Qxb2 it would be well met by the obvious 19.Nd2.)
18.Qxa4 Nc6 19.Bxd6+ Kf7 20.Qc4+ Black resigned
The Blackburne Defense to the Jerome Gambit leads to a tense and complicated game for both sides. As Joseph Henry Blackburne demonstrated early in the life of the Jerome, Black can generate a wild counter-attack by returning one sacrificed piece and offering a Rook as well. On the other hand, analysis since has shown that White can draw, and practical play shows he can often do better - in games in The Database White scores 68%.
Philidor 1792 - NN
2015
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qd5+
White decides to steer clear of the dangers of 8.Qxh8 and grab another pawn. He hopes to show his three extra pawns will outweigh his opponent's extra piece. Philidor1792 has had significant success with the pawns vs the piece in the Jerome Gambit.
8...Be6
Seen previously was 8...Kg7 in RevvedUp - Fritz 8, 2 12, 2006 (0-1, 19).
9.Qxb7
Or 9.Qd3 Nf6 10.O-O Qe7 11.b3 Ng4 12.Bb2 Ne5 13.Qf3+ Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Bh3 15.Bxh8 Qg5+ 16.Kh1 Qg2 checkmate, hattta - VictoriaBot, FICS, 2012.
9...Rb8
An anternate idea was 9...Rc8 seen in stampyshortlegs - Sir Osis of the Liver, JG Tourney4, ChessWorld, 2009 (1-0, 39).
10.Qa6 Qh4
At first glance it looks like Black is the one playing a gambit, with the subsequent lead in development of pieces. However, if White can consolidate his position behind his pawns, he can eventually put them on the march and look for balance.
As the game goes, Black uses his pieces to keep pressuring his opponent, and the point is his.
11.Qe2 Bg4 12.Qf1 Nf6 13.d3 d5 14.Nc3 Rhe8 15.h3 Bd7 16.g3 Qh5 17.f3 Bd4 18.Nd1 Kg7 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.Nxe3 dxe4 21.fxe4 Qa5+ 22. Kd1 Qc5
So far White's pawn cover has held up, but his oppponent's pressure is relentless and his lead in development is crushing.
23.Qf2 Nxe4 24.dxe4 Rxe4 25.Re1 Rxb2 26.Re2 Bxh3 27.Ng2 Qd6+ 28.Kc1 Rbb4 29.Nf4 Bg4 30.Rxe4 Qd1 checkmate.
