I enjoy the many ways that defenders cope with the Jerome Gambit. Some solutions are quite creative, and open a window into the minds of their creators.
angelcamina - ShadowKnight314
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+
Many Jerome Gambiteers have faced this home brew, including: annicks, blackburne, chessmanjeff, fehim, Gandybh, mrjoker, perrypawnpusher, Petasluk, shugart, Superpippo, UNPREDICTABLE, Wall and ZahariSokolov.
8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6
Black forced the exchange of Queens, taking the energy out of White's brash attack. However, the price is steep: he surrendered a "won" game for one a pawn down. Nonetheless, it can almost be considered a psychological counter-gambit, as White now has to come up with a whole new, quieter, game plan.
It is often easier to play quickly when you are ahead in material, and this becomes a factor in the game.
10.d3 d6 11.Rf1 Kg7 12.b3 Bg4 13.Bb2 Rhf8 14.Kg3 Bd7 15.Nd2 Kg8
Ooops! The time control is 1 minute, no increment, and this slip is going to make Black's chances shrink further.
16.Rxf6 Rxf6 17.Bxf6 Rf8 18.Bd4 c5 19.Bc3 b5 20.Rf1 Re8
21.Ba5 b4 22.Bc7 Re6 23.Nc4 Bb5 24.Nxd6 a6 25.Nxb5 axb5
26.e5 c4 27.dxc4 bxc4 28.bxc4 Rc6 29.Bd6 Rxc4 30.Rf2 Rc3+ 31.Kf4 Rc4+ 32.Ke3 Black lost on time
In the following bullet game - time control of one minute, no increment - Jerome Gambit veteran angelcamina plays a variation that has a brutal refutation; but his opponent does not reply sharply enough. The game dances on a knife's edge, and then White breaks through. It is fascinating to watch the thinking at an extremely rapid rate.
angelcamina - Marlon_Romano
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7
This is Whistler's Defense, which is relatively less complicated, but more dangerous, than Blackburne's Defense (7...d6). The Rook should not now be taken. That being said, the game remains quite complicated.
8.Qxh8
Wow. angelcamina has been here before, and should know the risks. Maybe he does. Maybe he likes the chaos.
8...Nf6
Black locks in White's Queen. This is a theme that can be found in Blackburne's Defense; it will be followed by developing Black's light-squared Bishop, attacking the White Queen with the remaining Rook.
Perhaps Marlon_Romano is familiar with Blackburne's Defense to the Jerome Gambit, but he seems less familiar with Whistler's Defense, which requires 8...Qxe4+ to start a ferocious attack on White's King. An earlier example is angelcamina - ssez222, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2018 - yes, even against the virulent counter-attack, angelcamina succeeded.
9.O-O
White realizes that he needs to safeguard his King, and this move leads to a relatively even game; but he could have combined defense with offense with the move 9.d3. He immediately shows an awareness of this.
9...b6
Getting ready to uncover the Rook to attack the Queen.
10.e5 Qxe5 11.d4 Bxd4
Opening the c1-h6 diagonal for the Bishop in an attack that rescues the Queen.
12.c3
A temporary slip. White quickly turns back to attack.
12...Bc5
Taking the Bishop out of danger, and preparing to reposition it; but, likewise, a slip. 12...Bb7 was the consistent move.
13.Bh6
Now the game is in balance: 13...Bb7 14.Qg7+ Ke6 15.Nd2 Bf8 16.Qxf8+ Rxf8 17.Rae1 Re8 18.Rxe5+ Kxe5 looks even.
13...Bd6
The checkmate threat is not enough.
14.Qg7+ Ke6 15.f4 Qc5+
White is up the exchange. His attack rolls on.
16.Kh1 Ba6 17.Re1+ Kf5
18.h3 Qf2 19.g4+ Black resigned
In the previous post (see "Jerome Gambit: His Trap Was Part of My Trap") I noted that I had stumbled over another one of my blitz games that I had not yet posted on this blog. (With over 600 of my games in The Database, that seems quite possible.)
Playing over the game, it is hard to figure out why it did not appear: it is not an embarassing loss - or an interesting win, either. Play simply continues until Black errs, wherupon he resigns.
perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
In the main line Jerome Gambit, retreating the Bishop this way can lead to trouble, but, in the Four Knights variation, Black has protected against annoying Queen checks from d5.
8.dxe5
Back in 2011 - 2013, Philidor1792 experimented with the extravagant 8.f4!? in blitz play, scoring 7 - 2 - 1.
8...Bxe5 9.Bg5
Often the Bishop goes to g5 in the Jerome Gambit, to put pressure on the enemy Knight, possibly in conjunction with Nc3-d5. Previously, I had played 9.f4 in perrypawnpusher - joseluizlopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55), and, just recently, I had played 9.Ne2 in perrypawnpusher - AndrewLLL, Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020 (1-0, 18).
8...h6 10.Bh4 Qe7
11.Nd5 Qd6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.O-O c6 14.Nxf6 Qxf6 15.c3 d5
16.exd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5+ Kg6 18.Rad1 Be6 19.Qe4+ Bf5
White has 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but they are on either side of the board, and whatever passers they promise to produce are a long way into the future - if ever.
20.Qe3 h5 21.Qg3+ Bg4
A strange slip - given that the time control was 14 minutes, no increment, and he had 9 minutes left on the clock - as it allows his Bishop and Queen to be pinned to his King. I chose the Queen
22.Rd6 Black resigned
The following game again brings up a topic of concern
I have previously mentioned FIDE Master Dennis Monokroussos' thoughtful website, The Chess Mind, and his down-to-earth query, Is there even a single trap for Black to fall into in the Jerome Gambit?
My response has been
With due respect to Dennis, at the club level the entire Jerome Gambit can be considered a "trap" - especially if we consider psychological aspects. Black must pay attention, even as he treasures his advantages, or they will evaporate.
My recently-completed game against AndrewLLL, in the third round of the "Italian Game Battlefield" tournament at Chess.com, is an example of the defender setting a nefarious trap, only to discover that his trap was part of my trap...
perrypawnpusher - andrewLLL
Italian Game Battlefield, Chess.com, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. The Database does not contain any games by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome with this line. I have played the line 60 times, scoring 74%.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
8.dxe5 Bxe5
There is definitely something strange about this opening line of play - at least as far as I am concerned.
I recently posted a game where I now played 9.f4 - perrypawnpusher - joseluizlopez, blitz, FICS, 2012 (0-1, 55) - that I had somehow overlooked posting 8 years ago.
In preparing for this post, I noticed that I had also not posted perrypawnpusher - lixuanxuan, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 22), where I explored 9.Bg5. I will fix that oversight soon. (The Database has 12 games with the move with White scoring 42%)
9.Ne2
After the suffering at the hands of joseluizlopez (see "Jerome Gambit: Another Historical 'Oversight' "), I made a note to try something that would keep my pawn structure intact. Little did I realize how odd the pawns would become.
9...c6 10.f4 Bc7 11.e5 Nd5 12.O-O Re8
Black begins to castle-by-hand and is better, having a piece for a pawn.
White focuses on Blacks backward d-pawn, that blocks the light-squared Bishop, which, in turn, hems in the Rook. It is not enough compensation, but it is something to work on.
13.c4 Ne7 14.c5 b6 15.b4 a5
My pawns are trying to gang up on the enemy d-pawn. If I only had an extra move, I could put my Bishop on b2, and then play a2-a3, with the ability to keep my pawn chain intact. Of course, I can't play 16.a3 directly, as it would fall to the simple 16...axb4. I decided to develop my Bishop and hope for the best.
16.Bb2 axb4 17.Qd4
The attacking battery along the a1-h8 diagonal has potential. It will take a little cooperation to become dangerous, but it's not chopped liver.
In the meantime, the Queen threatens to capture the pawn at b4.
She also threatens to blunder, which Black notices quickly.
17...bxc5
Guarding the pawn at b5, and offering the one at c5, instead. Of course, 18.Qxc5? would now be punished by 18...Bb6, pinning and winning the Queen.
Black had stronger defensive ideas available - after the game, Komodo 10 recommended the consistent 17...Kg8, completing castling and maintaining the advantage - but I suspect that the "Negative halo effect" took hold of AndrewLLL at this point, and he figured, "If this guy is dumb enough to play the Jerome Gambit, he's probably dumb enough to hang his Queen". So he set his trap.
18.e6+
Black resigned
I had not worked out the attack completely, but it is clear that Black must now play 18...Kxe6, when, after 19.f5+ Nxf5 20.Qe4+ Kd6 21.Rad1+, the end would be near. After 21...Nd4, the exchange sacrifice is easy to find (the time limit for this game was 3 days per move), and, with 22.Rxd4+ cxd4 23.Qxd4+ Ke6 Black's King will not be long for the world.
If you are going to play bullet chess, you have to be prepared for just about anything. The story of the following game is that Black was not prepared - for the Jerome Gambit.
angelcamina - ShadowKnight314
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 h6 5.O-O Bc5 6.Bxf7+
The Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Bxd4 9.Qxd4
9...Qe7 10.f4 c5
Sometimes this pawn "kick" works, sometimes it doesn't. It is best to work it out beforehand, as there is not a lot of time to figure it out as the play develops in bullet.
11.Qxe5 Qxe5 12.fxe5 Black resigned
Black will be down a piece, with no compensation.
angelcamina, playing online at lichess.org, likes to play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and other Jerome variants in bullet games with a time control of one minute, no increment. (Kind of like heavyweight boxers, wearing roller skates, on ice.) He beats his opponents when he has the advantage, and he beats them when they have the advantage. Both ways, quickly.
angelcamina - regullele
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
4.Bxf7+
The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Qh5
I have already pointed out
White's strongest move here is 6.c3, but any Queen move has to be scary for Black, and takes up thinking time to figure out how to deal with it.
6...Qf6
A little bit stronger was 6...Nf6, as in angelcamina - rabirabi, lichess.org, 2019 (1-0, 13) and angelcamina - shahramkhoshseffat, lichess.org, 2019 (1-0, 13).
7.Ng4
A small improvement over 7.Qe8+ in angelcamina -Skhokho1507, lichess.org, 2019 (1-0, 12).
7...Nxc2+
This fork is always tempting when it appears in the BSJG, but it would have been wiser to settle things down with 7...Qg6 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Qxd4 Qxg4 10.O-O Kd8, with Black for choice.
8.Kd1 Qg6 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Ne5 Qe6
11.Qxe6+
The Queens probably have to be exchanged, but 11.Kxc2 Qxd5 12.exd5 was the way to do it, with a roughly balanced game. With the text, White sheds his advantage - which only means he has to work a little bit harder.
11...Kxe6 12.Kxc2 Kxe5 13.d3 d5 14.f4+ Kd4
Inexplicably headed for trouble. angelcamina obliges.
15.Re1 Be6 16.Be3 checkmate
?!?
Now that you have what you want, do you really want what you have?
The above question appears twice in the first six moves of the following game. The game turns on the answer to each of the questions.
Wall, Bill - Guest1573554
PlayChess.com, 2020.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5
"The Italian Game", perhaps Black muses. "I wish I had a few more defenders to play against it."
4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5
"Wow! An extra Knight and an extra Bishop!" celebrates Black.
"I would like to get a return on my investment," thinks White. "As in my earlier games."
6.Qh5+ Kf6
"This will do," smiles White.
7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+
Black resigned here in Wall,B - Guest2892618, PlayChess.com, 2015.
8...Kf8
Or 8...Kf7 as in Wall,B - Guest1468523, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 14).
9.Qxc5+ d6
Bill has also seen 9...Ne7, as in Wall,B - SMNN, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 27).
White has regained his two sacrificed pieces, and remains two pawns up. There is still more work to do, but this is a decent start.
In the meantime, too, Black has to figure out what he is going to do.
10.Qb5 Nf6
Or 10...c6 as in Wall,B - Guest733407, PlayChess.com 2014 (1-0, 21).
11.O-O
White could have protected his e-pawn - e.g. 11.d3 as in Wall,B - KSPF, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 23) - but he would happily respond to 11...Nxe4 now with 12.Re1.
11...h5
Black considers activating his Rook, to attack White's King. He is not finished fighting - but what to do?. Perhaps White's Queen is misplaced?
12.d3 Ng4 13.Nc3 c6 14.Qb3 Qe7
Where to put the Queen? Can the Bishop move without giving up a pawn? Must the King Rook stay at home? Things to figure out.
15.f4 h4 16.h3 Nf6 17.f5 Black resigned
I think Black decided that his game was just too uncomfortable, and that there were better opportunites, elsewhere.
