BSJG: An Improvement Is Not Always Enough

White is on familiar ground in the following game, and he seems quite prepared when his opponent improves on earlier defenses White has faced. Alas, for Black, he needed to continue improving, in order to win the game; and there doesn't seem to have been time for that. 

angelcamina - aldiardiansyah
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 

Instead, 6...Ke7 was punished quickly in angelcamina - umutkaraca09, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019, (1-0, 9).

7.Nxg6 hxg6

An improvement over:

7...Nf6 in angelcamina - Skhokho1507, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019, (1-0, 19);

7...Qf6 in angelcamina - felix_paton, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019, (1-0, 12); and

7...Nxc2+ in angelcamina - eloali, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019, (1-0, 30). 

8.Qxh8 Ke7

A mistake, and a losing one. At first, it looks like a mouse slip for 8...Kf7, although White would then be better after 9.Qxd4.

Black had to accept the Rook sacrifice with 8...Nxc2+ followed by 9...Nxa1, but there are times in the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit when that is wise, and there are times when that is not very wise; in a 1-minute game, it can be hard to know which case this is.

Now White collects the Knight a d4, castles, and is a comfortable exchange and 3 pawns up.

9.Qxd4 Ke8 10.O-O Be7 

11.f4

Cold-hearted was 11.Qg7!?, but the text fits into White's plan. 

11...Nf6 12.e5 Ng4 13.f5 b6 

Drops another piece, but nothing works.

14.Qxg4 gxf5 15.Qg6+ Kf8 16.Rxf5+ Bf6 17.Rxf6+ Ke7 18.Rf7+ Ke8 19.Qg8 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Check the Notes

Is Black's defense to the Jerome Gambit in the following game acceptable?

Of course. 

Does it give him practical chances? 

Of course. (Check the notes, and you will find a couple of draws against Bill Wall, and even a very rare win against him.)

Does Black win?

Of course not.

Once again, the defender is able to grasp loss from the jaws of victory - as so often happens in the Jerome Gambit.

Wall, Bill - Guest3172540
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Qe7 

Black has many ways to return a piece. This one activates his Queen.

7.dxc5 Qxc5 8.O-O Nf6

Or 8...d6, as in Wall, Bill - Guest927010, PlayChess.com, 2017: 9.Be3 Qc6 10.f4 Ng4 11.Bd4 Qxe4 12.Re1 Qf5 13.Nc3 N8f6 14.h3 Nh6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Nd5 Be6 17.Nxc7 Qc5+ 18.Kh2 Qxc7 19.Qh5+ Kg7 20.Rxe6 Qf7 21.Qxf7+ Nxf7 22.Rae1 Rac8 23.c3 Rc7 24.Re7 Rxe7 25.Rxe7 Rb8 26.g4 h6 27.h4 a6 28.Kg3 b5 29.a3 Kf8 30.Ra7 Rb6 31.Kf3 d5 32.Ke3 Nd6 33.Kd4 Nc4 34.Kc5 Re6 35.Kxd5 Re2 36.Rxa6 Ne3+ 37.Kc5 Nxg4 38.b4 Re3 39.Kxb5 Rxc3 40.a4 Rf3 41.a5 Rxf4 42.Rc6 Ne5 43.Rc8+ Kg7 44.a6 Rf5 45.a7 Nd7+ 46.Kc6 Ne5+ 47.Kc7 Black resigned

9.Be3 Qe7 

Or

9...Qb5 as in Wall - Guest3992982, PlayChess.com, 2015 (1-0, 23); or in Wall, Bill - Guest11373407, PlayChess.com, 2019: 10.Nc3 Qxb2 11.Bd4 Nc6 12.Rb1 Qa3 13.e5 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Ne8 15.Nd5 c5 16.Qf4+ Ke6 17.Rfd1 Qxa2 18.Qg4+ Kf7 19.Qf5+ Nf6 20.exf6 g6 21.Qf4 Qxc2 22.Qh6 Rg8 23.Re1 drawn; or

9...Qc4 as in Wall, Bill - Guest8692633, PlayChess.com, 2018:
10.Nc3 Nfg4 11.h3 Nxe3 12.fxe3+ Ke8 13.Qh5+ Ng6 14.Nb5 d6 15.b3 Qc6 16.c4 a6 17.Nc3 Be6 18.Qg5 Kd7 19.h4 Rhg8 20.Rad1 Rae8 21.e5 Qc5 22.exd6 Qxg5 23.dxc7+ Kxc7 24.hxg5 Bg4 25.Rd4 Bc8 26.Rf7+ Kb8 27.e4 Ne5 28.Rf4 Nc6 29.Rd6 Nb4 30.Rf7 h6 31.gxh6 gxh6 32.Rxh6 Nd3 33.Rh4 Rg3 34.Rf3 Rxf3 35.gxf3 Rg8+ 36.Kf1 Ne5 37.Rf4 Bh3+ 38.Ke2 Rg2+ 39.Ke3 Rc2 40.Rf8+ Ka7 41.Nd5 Rxa2 42.f4 Nd7 43.Re8 drawn; or

9...Qd6 as in Wall, Bill - Youi, lichess.org, 2017 (1-0, 24); or

9...Qc6 as in Wall, Bill - NN, lichess.org, 2016 (0-1, 30)


10.Nc3 Re8 

Or 10...Rf8 as in Wall, Bill - Guest457006, PlayChess.com, 2018: 11.f4 Neg4 12.Bd4 d6 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Nxe5 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qxe5 Qxe5 17.Bxe5 c6 18.Rae1 b6 19.Bxf6 Rxf6 20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Re8+ Kf7 22.Rd8 a5 23.Ne4 Ke7 24.Rh8 Ke6 25.Re8+ Kf5 26.Nd6+ Kf4 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.Nxc8 b5 29.Na7 Ke3 30.Nxc6 Black resigned

11.Re1 d6 12.f4 Neg4 13.Bd4 Kg8 

Black has castled-by-hand. If he works on his development, he can make something of his piece-for-a-pawn advantage.

White's job is to disrupt Black's plans.

14.h3 Nh6 15.g4 c5 16.Bf2 Be6 

This is a funny oversight. Often, in the Jerome Gambit, Black has to be careful that when he plays his Bishop to e6, that it doesn't become a victim to a pawn fork. This move allows a fork - of the two Knights.

17.g5 Nf7 

Possibly 17...Nxe4 18.Nxe4 Ne5 was better.

18.gxf6 Qxf6 19.f5 

19...Qg5+

Energetic, and focused on the enemy King, but possibly the start of some "smites" that are too shallowly considered.

20.Kh2 Bc4 21.b3 Qf4+ 

White's answer is sufficient. 

Black's attack on the King is an illusion, as will be seen.

22.Bg3 Qh6 23.bxc4 Ng5 24.h4 Re7 25.Qg4 Nf7 26.Nd5 Ree8 27.Bf4 Black resigned

Black's Queen is in trouble. There is an immediate defense, but, in the long run, White's pressure on the Kingside will prevail, e.g. 27...g5 28.Bxg5 Qg7 29.Qh5 Nxg5 30.hxg5 Re5 (to avoid the Knight fork) 31.Nf6+ Kh8 32.g6.

Jerome Gambit: Occasional Inattention

There are many ways to defeat the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), but relaxing too soon is not among them. In the following game, the defender plays a spirited game, marred only by occasional, deadly, inattention.

Wall, Bill - Guest564723
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ 

The "nudge".

7...Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

10.f3 Be6 

Since White's f-pawn has taken only one step, instead of two, Black's Bishop feels safe coming to this spot.

Bill has seen 10...Kf7 twice: Wall, Bill - Guest3544144, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 35) and Wall, Bill - Guest1105387, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 30).

11.f4

Threatening to advance and fork two pieces, after all.

11...Ng4 12.Qg3 Qh4 13.Qxh4 Nxh4 

White's dangerous Queen has been exchanged. Black still needs to be wary. Instead, he relaxes too soon.

14.O-O Ke7 15.f5 Bc4 16.d3 Ba6 17.Bg5+ 

17...Kd7 18.Bxh4 Ne3 19.Rf2 Ng4 

Does Black really hope for a draw by repetition?

20.Rf3 Rhf8 21.Rg3 Nh6 

22.Rxg7+ Rf7 23.Rg3 d5 24.Nc3 c6 

25.b4 Re8 26.Bg5 Ng8 27.a4 d4 28.Ne2 c5 

Black's pieces do not coordinate. Black is a bit too focused on some pawns, and not on others; hence, this slip. 

29.b5 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: No Automatic Moves, Please

There are many ways to refute the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), but none of them occur by accident. Black has to pay attention, think things through, and avoid making moves automatically, on the presumption that they have to be "good".

Wall, Bill - Guest3174027
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.a4 

Bill likes to experiment. You might think that this move is a novelty, but, according to The Database, it has been played before - by Bill. Will a Bishop go to a3? A Rook? Or is this more of Jerome Gambit "psychology"?

8...Nf6 

Previously 8...h6 was seen: 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nc3 a6 11.f4 Nc6 12.Qd3 Rf8 13.Bd2 Kg8 14.Qc4+ Kh8 15.Rfe1 Bd7 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Ne7 18.Ba5 b6 19.Bd2 c5 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.Rxe7 Qxe7 22.Qxc6 Rac8 23.Qxb6 Rxc2 24.Re1 Qf6 25.Qe3 Qxb2 26.Rd1 Rfc8 27.f5 d5 28.h3 a5 29.Kh1 d4 30.Qd3 R8c4 31.f6 gxf6 32.Qg6 d3 33.Qxh6+ Kg8 34.Qg6+ Kf8 35.Re1 Black resigned, Wall, Bill - Guest7904333, PlayChess.com, 2018

9.Nc3 c5 10.Qd2 Re8 11.O-O Be6 

So far, Black has a piece for a pawn, and his development is better. He must stay away from "automatic" moves, however.

12.Rd1 d5

This move winds up dropping a piece, leaving White a pawn up.

13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Qxd5 16.Rxd5 Nc4 

White is a pawn up. He does not risk losing, but he still needs to be careful, in order to find the win. 

17.h3 Re1+ 18.Kh2 b6 19.b3 Ne5 20.Bb2 Re8 

A slip, but there was little hope in 20...Rxa1, 21.Bxa2 Nc6 22.Rd7+ Ne7 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Rxe7+ when White would simply be up a couple of pawns in the endgame.

21.Rxe1 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Another Zombie Attack

Here is the latest game from Cliff Hardy - a 1-minute, no increment, bullet game that has 60 moves. That's an average of 1 second per move, and Cliff not only won the game, he (of course) won it with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

The commentary is Cliff's. I have added a few diagrams. Have fun!

Hi Rick!

I'm sorry to be so shameless to inflict this 1 0 game on you but the Zombie Attack I got with my pawns in the game was so heart warming ☺. I'm so shameless I even stole the term "Zombie Attack" from your blog! 😉

Cliff Hardy (2212) - NN (2164)
1 0 bullet, Lichess, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 

9.Qe3 d6 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.0-0 Kf7 12.f4 Rf8 

13.f5 Ne5 14.d4 Nc6 15.Qd3 Kg8 16.Bg5 Qf7 17.Rae1

17...Qh5 18.Bxf6 Rxf6 19.Nd5 Rf7 20.c4 Qg5 21.g3 Qd8 22.g4? =

The zombies are moving! But moving a different zombie with 22.e5! would have yielded White a winning position.

22...Ne7 23.Nf4 Bd7 24.h4 Nc6 25.g5 Rf8 26.a3 Qe8 27.b4 a6

28.Qc3 Qf7 29.a4 

 The zombies have lined up right across the board and are walking (or maybe even dancing?) together down the board like that in the "Thriller" film clip.

29...b5 30.axb5 axb5 31.c5 Na7 32.d5 dxc5 33.bxc5 c6 34.d6 Rae8

35.Qd4 Qc4 36.Qxc4+ bxc4 37.Rf2??

The zombies shouldn't have stopped walking. After 37.e5!? Bxf5 38.e6!, White's zombies on d6 and e6 would have made up for bishop deficit, and led to a slight advantage for White.

37...Nb5??

Crushing for black would have been to take the free pawn with 37...Rxf5!

38.Rc2 Bxf5 39.Rxc4 Be6 40.Nxe6 Rxe6 41.e5 Rd8 42.Rce4 Na7 43.Kf2 Nc8 44.Kf3 Nxd6??

OK, with this Black hangs the knight. Now the standard of the game really goes down the tubes, as we both made a mad rush for the time limit.

45.Kg4?? Nxe4 46.Rxe4 Rxe5?? 47.Rf4?? Rd4?? 48.h5?? Rxc5?? 49.Rxd4

Lol, finally! 😃

49...Rc4?? 50.Rxc4 h6 51.Rxc6 Kf7 52.Rc7+ Ke6 53.gxh6 gxh6 54.Rh7 Kf6 55.Rxh6+ Kg7 56.Rg6+ Kh8 57.Kg5 Kh7 58.Rc6 Kh8 59.Kg6 Kg8 60.Rc8 checkmate

I only checkmated with 0.28 seconds left on the clock so it was a bit chaotic for the last quarter of the game! 😃

Bye,

Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3wmW3RZBok 

Jerome Gambit: Slowly Surrendering the Advantage

Part of the fun of playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) comes when the opponent collapses in his defense, and White can finish him off with a series of aggressive blows.

Sometimes, however, Black slowly surrenders the advantage that he has gained from accepting the sacrifices. Like the tide coming in, his risk grows and grows - until his game is under water.

The following game is a good example.

Wall, Bill - Alfred
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6 

"Reasonable," but not best.

7.dxe5 Nh6 

Again, reasonable, but not best. On the other hand, Bill has faced 7...Qh4 a half dozen times, and dispatched it just as many.

8.Nc3

Bill may have passed on playing 8.Qh5+!? (a novelty, according to The Database) because after 8...Kg8 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.f4 White's "Jerome pawns" would be advancing without the support of a Rook on f1, as Black's Bishop prevents White from castling. A move later, he decides on the move, any way.

8...Re8 9.Qh5+ Kg8 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.f4 d6 

Black still has an edge, but he has to be careful.

12.Nd5 dxe5 

This is one way of reacting to the threat of Nf6+, winning the exchange. Strongest, however, was 12...Kh8.

13.O-O-O

Safeguarding his King, and cooking up all sorts of mischief.

13...exf4 

Missing the threat.

14.Nxb6 Qe7 

15.Nxa8 c6 16.Rd6 Black resigned

Black gains nothing, now, from 16...Qxd6 17.Qxe8+, and when White's Knight escapes from the corner the defender will simply be down a Rook.