The Worst Chess Opening Ever

I just submitted an article on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) titled "The Worst Chess Opening Ever" to Chess Life for Kids, which runs my regular "Arabian Knights" stories.

If the editor doesn't die laughing, I'll let you know if he accepts it for publication.

graphic by Jeff Bucchino, the Wizard of Draws

Always Learning

I find that when I play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), there is always something to learn. Some of the lessons are about the opening and some of them are about chess, itself. 

perrypawnpusher - Feestt
blitz, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+

I'm still not yet comfortable with the "modern" Jerome Gambit, with its alternatives to 5.Nxe5.

6...Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6

Also playable was the sensible 8...Qe7.

9.Qe3 Nf6 10.0-0 Kf7

Black prepares to swing his Rook into action. I figured that I needed to get my "Jerome pawns" moving as quickly as possible.

11.f4 Ng4

Black acts to take advantage of the "misplaced" Queen who has made over 1/3 of White's moves, but this notion is faulty. He would have done better to stay the course with 11...Re8 with advantage. 

12.Qg3

This is such a natural place for the Queen in this variation that I didn't examine the position deeply. After the game, Rybka suggested 12.Qb3+, with the idea that after 12...Ke8 White can annoy the Knights with 13.h3 Nf6 14.f5 Ne5 15.d4 Nc6 16.Be3 b6 – the point being that 16...Nxe4 could be met by 17.d5 Ng3 18.dxc6 Nxf1 19.Bd4 bxc6 20.Bxg7 and an even game.  

I had dismissed 12.Qb3+ too early, expecting that it would be well-met by 12...Be6, but Rybka showed that this was a shallow fear: White then has the return 13.Qg3, threatening the fork at f5, and after 13...Qh4 14.Qxh4 Nxh4 White has an even game after 15.f5 Bd7 16.Rf4 Nxf5 17.h3 Nf6 18.exf5.

Lesson: It's not good enough to play a bad opening, you have to play a bad opening well.

12...Re8

Back to "business as usual", although here Rybka prefers 12...c5 as a preventative move against a future d2-d4 attack on a Knight at e5. Deep thinking.

13.f5 N6e5 14.d4 Nc6

Giving back a piece, with plans to blow up White's center. Black's King can slip back to g8, castling-by-hand, if things get too hot.

The "know-it-all" Rybka suggests that this is better accomplished by 14...Nf6 15.dxe5 dxe5.

White now has the advantage.

15.Qxg4 Nxd4 16.Na3

Protecting the c-pawn. Good for you if you realized that the move was not necessary: with 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.Nc3  White builds his attack, as the pawn means little (if 17...Nxc2, then 18.Rad1).

If Black does not capture the c-pawn, but tucks his King in with 17...Kg8, then White can return his Queen with 18.Qd1 and still have an advantage, as f5-f6 is a move that is coming.

16...d5

The King needed to duck back to g8, instead.

17.Qh5+ Kg8

 Here I looked at 18.Bg5 Qd7 19.f6, but abandoned it because of the reply 19...g6. Too bad! If I had looked one move further – Where can the Queen go? –  I would have seen that 20.Qd1 threatens both the Black Knight at d4 and the move f6-f7+, forking the King and Rook.  

My response actually gives my opponent the advantage again.

18.exd5 Qxd5

Feestt falls for the one trick in the position. Perhaps he was pleased to finish off my center and figured that he could work out the pawn-down situation later, perhaps in a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame. 

However, if he had played 18...Bxf5, instead of the capture at d5, he would have been able to take advantage of the looseness in White's position with something like: 19.c4 c6 20.Bg5 Qb6 and Black is even, or maybe even a bit better.

19.Qxe8 checkmate

A Discouraging Word

Oh, give me a home

Where the buffalo roam

Where the deer and the antelope play'

Where seldom is heard

A discouraging word,

And the sky is not cloudy all day.

     – from the poem "Oh give me a Home" by Dr. Brewster M. Higley; later set to music as "The Western Home" by Clarence and Eugene Harlan, and Dan Kelley; known better today as the song "Home on the Range"

From Secrets of Practical Chess, by Grandmaster John Nunn:

When looking through "dubious opening" analysis, look out for the following:

1) "nothing moves" by the opponent (i.e. the one facing the dubious opening), which only waste time

2) Lines in which the opponent pretends he is in the nineteenth century, co-operatively brabs all the material on offer, and allows a brilliant finish

3) Lines which are given without any assessment

4) Secret code words

5) "Winning With" authors display great ingenuity in finding resources for "their" side, but often overlook even quite simple tactical defenses for the "other" side.

6) Do not trust lines that are not based on practical examples. The more examples there are, and the higher the standard of the players, the more trust you can place in the line.

I feel comfortable with Dr. Nunn's wisdom, as from the earliest days of this blog I have been straight-forward – on a good day the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) aspires to be known as a "junk opening," but likely still over-reaches!

"But – Is this stuff playable??" is a question that has been addressed a number of times. I have tried to be fair in my analysis of chances for both sides.

Still, I like the opening, it's fun to play in fun games, and it is an enjoyable way to give "odds".

If I ever face Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a simultaneous exhibition, I'll surely use a more appropriate opening.

Hah! Who am I kidding?? I'd never pass up the chance to see what the number one rated chessplayer in the world would play against the Jerome!

Jerome Gambit Odds

I've mentioned a number of times how the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be played as a way of giving odds to a weaker player.

White's plan should be to strike quickly, before his opponent gets his bearings.

perrypawnpusher  - Dogyou
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qe8

This move was new to me. It has some of the characteristics of the more usual 8...Qf6, although it doesn't immediately threaten the exchange of Queens.

Sharpest was 8...Qh4+, entering the malestrom of the Nibs Defense. 

9.fxe5+

More precise might be 9.d3, as Rybka suggests that the top two responses are 9...Kc6 and 9...Nxd3, not necessarily a club player's choices. (Rybka's third choice is 9...Nh6, which is what I would go with.)

9...Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6

I've had this position six times before (6-0) and played 11.d3 each time. For some reason, in this game I varied here.

11.Nc3 a6

Again, one of the interesting (and advantageous) things about the Jerome Gambit is how often a defensive move by the Black King is the best choice, despite the adage about not moving a piece too many times.

Here, Dogyou prevents Nc3-b5+, but three of the top four moves that Rybka likes are King moves, the best being 11...Kc6, maintaining a clear advantage for Black.

12.d3

Better here was 12.d4, throwing White's pieces against the enemy Queen and King, e.g. 12...Qxd4 13.Bf4+ Kc6 14.Rd1 Qc4 15.e5+, and Black has only a small advantage. 

There is something about this kind of set-up that makes my opponents prone to an optical illusion. I don't understand it and i can't explain it. There is a blatant threat – is it that hard to see?

12...c6 13.Bf4

This is the sixth time I've gotten away with this, but the trick is as old as Vazquez - Giraudy, Mexico, 1876 (remove White's Queen Rook) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.d4 Bxd4 9.c3 Bb6 10.f4 Qf6 11.fxe5+ Qxe5 12.Bf4 Qxf4 13.Qxf4+ Ke7 14.Rf1 Nh6 15.Qe5+ Kd8 16.Qxg7 Re8 17.Qg5+ Re7 18.Rf8 checkmate

13...Bd4 14.0-0-0

Not bad, but the simple 14.Bxe5+ followed by 15.d4 was stronger.

14...Bxc3

Black's game goes to pieces.

15.bxc3 g5 16.Bxe5+ Kxe5

17.Qf5+ Kd6 18.Qxf6+ Kc7 19.Qxh8 b5 20.Qe5+ Kb6 21.Qd6 Black resigned

Notes Longer than the Game

Here's another game, a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), that was over before it was actually over. Maybe my opponent had heard scary things about the opening. Maybe he just thought he could do better with the White pieces. (He could: he beat me the next game.)

perrypawnpusher  - Langan
blitz 8 0, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+

6...Ke6

A strong move. Perhaps Langan is familiar with the Jerome?

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+

The best move at this point, although 8...Qf6 is also fine.

9.g3 Qf6

For the suprising and suprisingly good 9...Nf3+, see "Tied Up, or How Much is A Queen Worth?" and "Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter II".

10.fxe5+ Qxe5 Black resigns

A bit of a surprise, as Black has the significant advantage of a piece for a pawn. Unlike yesterday's game, time was not an issue. No word from my opponent, just a challenge for another game.

I've reached this position before, and the game went: 11.Qxe5+ Kxe5 12.b4 Bf8 13.0-0 Nf6 14.Bb2+ Ke6 15.b5 a6 16.a4 axb5 17.axb5 Rxa1 18.Bxa1 b6 19.e5 Nd5 20.c4 Nb4 21.d4 c6 22.Bc3 g5 23.Rf6+ Ke7 24.Bxb4+ Ke8 25.Rxf8+ Rxf8 26.Bxf8 Kxf8 27.Nc3 Kf7 28.Kf2 Ke6 29.Ke3 Kf5 30.Ne4 d5 31.exd6 Bd7 32.bxc6 Bxc6 33.d5 Bd7 34.g4+ Kg6 35.h3 h6 36.c5 bxc5 37.Nxc5 Bb5 38.d7 Bxd7 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Kevin the fruitbat, JG3 thematic, Chessworld, 2008

On Break

"Kennedy Kid" Jon is home today, starting his Christmas break from teaching at The Haitian Project's Louverture Cleary School, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(This is Jon, dressed for a Halloween party as "Route National 3", the road LCS staff and students have been cleaning.)

A Game Shorter Than the Notes

My opponent in the following game was only rated 50 points above me, but I think he quickly went from thinking "this is a silly opening, any response will do" to "maybe I can't spot this guy two pawns, maybe we should start over." So, three cheers for the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit!

Oh, I had Black in our second game, and lost. Figures.

perrypawnpusher  - FanumFortunae
blitz, 2 12 FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+

7...Kf6

Probably a spur-of-the-moment choice. A guy sacs two pawns and then comes out with his Queen against me?

Best was 7...Ke6, although 7...Kf8, 7...Ng6 and 7...g6 are playable.

8.Qf5+ Black resigned

Well, yeah, there's that...

A couple of years ago, an opponent of mine pushed the game a bit further, with a similar result: 8...Ke7 9.Qxe5+ Kf7 10.Qd5+ Kf6 11.e5+ Kg6 12.Qxc5 d6 13.exd6 Qxd6 14.Qxd6+ cxd6 15.Nc3 Bf5 16.d3 Rc8 17.Be3 a6 18.Bd4 Nf6 19.Rae1 Rhe8 20.f3 Kh7 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Kf2 Kg6 24.Re1 Rc8 25.Re7 Rb8 26.Ne4 Bxe4 27.fxe4 b5 28.Rd7 Rb6 29.c3 b4 30.c4 b3 31.a3 f5 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - bergeruw, blitz FICS, 2007

This changes everything...

I've unpacked and filtered the FICS games from 1999 through 2004 so far, and I have been amazed how many people have played the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and its relatives so many times!

The New Year's Day Jerome PGN file, for example, already has over fifty-one hundred games in it, and may reach ten thousand before I am done.

This also means that I will be updating my information here (over a year-and-a-half of daily posts, so far) as many moves that I had thought were new have turned out to have been played earlier. Apparent "TNs" (and "TLs") have precedents.

Many more unsung members of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde have turned up, as well.

There are exciting battles to share – and enough strangeness to amaze and amuse.

For example, there is a short game played over and over by a host of different characters across the years: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nge7 4.Ng5 f6 5.Bf7 checkmate.

It's not Jerome-ish, but it might be worth remembering in a quick game against 3...Nge7.

Also, the proper move after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 is 4.Bxf7+, not 4.Nxe5

Of course, after 4...Nxe5 5.Bxf7+ Black has 5...Nxf7, remaining a safe two pieces ahead.

Yet, I've run into a number of games where Black has played the very cooperative 5...Kxf7 – transposing back to regular Jerome Gambit lines.

Strange.

Again:

GOH  - netwell
blitz FICS, 2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.c3 Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Kxd4 8.b3 Nf6 9.Bb2+ Kxe4 10.Qf3 checkmate

Ouch!

Jerome Gambit on YouTube!?

I recently ran across a YouTube video (above). It turns out that the game is Ghandybh  - ishahir, Chess.com, 2009: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Nc6 9.e5+ Ke7 10.Qg5+ Ke6 11.Qxg7 Nge7 12.Qf6+ Kd5 13.Nc3+ Kc4 14.Qf7+ d5 15.exd6+ Kd4 16.Nb5+ Ke4 17.d3 checkmate.

Very, very cool.

When your opponent takes his time...

...it's OK for you to take time, too.

When your opponent falls behind on the clock, especially in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), it is tempting to blitz out moves, to keep the pressure on.

Strong moves, not necessarily fast ones, provide the most challenge, though – and this can mean some thinking time for the Gambiteer as well.

perrypawnpusher - calexander
blitz 5 12, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

Oh, dear. Another one of those refutations...

On the other hand, my opponent had been taking quite a bit of time over his last few moves. This was good.

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Nf7

This move was new to me, and has been rarely played.

The strongest defense/counter-attack begins with 8...Qh4+.

9.Qd5+

After a little thought, I decided to take the Bishop, an understandable idea but not best.

Had I taken more time, I would have found 9.Qxf7, which is an interesting move. A pawn fork at e5 will follow if Black develops his Queen or Knight at f6. If Black plays for King safety with 9...c6, then Rybka suggests that 10.Qxg7 Nf6 11.Qxf6+ Qxf6 12.e5+ is possible, with an edge to White.

analysis diagram




9...Ke7 10.Qxc5+ Ke8

The only other example I have of this line continued 10...d6 11.Qd4 Nf6 12.Nc3 Re8 13.d3 Kf8 14.0-0 c5 15.Qf2 b6 16.Bd2 Bb7 17.Rae1 d5 18.e5 Nd7 19.e6 Re7 20.exf7 Rxf7 21.Re6 Nf6 22.Rfe1 d4 23.Ne4 Nxe4 24.dxe4 Bc8 25.Re5 Qd6 26.Rd5 Qh6 27.Qg3 Bb7 28.f5 Bxd5 29.Bxh6 gxh6 30.exd5 Rf6 31.Re6 Rxf5 32.Rxh6 Rf7 33.Qd6+ Kg8 34.Qe6 Raf8 35.Rf6 Kg7 36.Rxf7+ Rxf7 37.d6 Kf8 38.d7 Re7 39.Qf6+ Rf7 40.Qxf7+ Kxf7 41.d8Q Ke6 Black resigned, Superpippo - Sulu, FICS, 2002

11.0-0 b6 12.Qe3 d6 13.Nc3 Nf6

14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Nd5

Black has an even position. If only he could castle, he'd have the better game. In the meantime, his time shortage was getting serious. 

16.Qf3

A cheap tactical trick: 16.Qg6 was better.

16...Qe7

Black could defend easily and economically with 16...Be6, for example 17.d4 Nxc3 18.Qc6+ Ke7 19.Qxc3 c6 looks okay for him. But that time shortage was hurting calexander and helping me.

17.Qxd5 Rb8 18.d4 Be6

19.Qb5+ Kd8 20.Nd5

More tactics.

I am also happy to exchange pieces and eventually cash in my "Jerome pawns".

Swapping pieces doesn't take much time, so my opponent went along with me.

20...Bxd5 21.Qxd5+ Qd7 22.Qxd7+ Kxd7 23.Rxf7+

Ooops.

23...Ke8 24.Rxc7 Rf8 25.Rxg7 Black lost on time

Of course, down a piece and four pawns, his eventual demise was only a matter of time, anyhow.