White sacrifices two pieces (and eventually regains one) for two pawns in hopes of exposing Black's king and obtaining a mating attack. The line was a brief fad in the late 19th century, but it is almost never seen today.
The opening is named after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1834–1902) of Paxton, Illinois, who had a game with this opening against the problemist William Shinkman published in the Dubuque Chess Journal in 1876.[1]Blackburne wrote of it, "I used to call this the Kentucky opening. For a while after its introduction, it was greatly favoured by certain players, but they soon grew tired of it."[2] Blackburne's name for the opening may have arisen from confusion with 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, which was also published in the Dubuque Chess Journal and dubbed the "Kentucky Opening" there.
In the third edition of the opening treatiseChess Openings, Ancient and Modern (1896), the authors wrote:
The Jerome Gambit is an American invention, and a very risky attack. It is described in the American Supplement to Cook's Synopsis as unsound but not to be trifled with. The first player sacrifices two pieces for two pawns, with the chances arising from the adversary's king being displaced, and drawn into the centre of the board.[3]
Similarly, du Mont wrote that it "is unsound, but has the saving grace of leading to a lively game and is therefore suitable for an occasional friendly game. The defender cannot afford to be careless."[4]
White may regain one of the two sacrificed pieces with 6.d4, but Black retains a decisive material advantage with 6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6.[5] More commonly, White plays 6.Qh5+. In that event, Freeborough and Ranken analyzed two lines. One is 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.Nc3 d6 10.Qf3 Qf7 11.Qe2 Nh6 12.0-0 c6, with large advantage to Black.[5] Freeborough and Ranken also analyze the bold 6.Qh5+ Ke6!? ("follow[ing] out Mr. Steinitz's theory that the King is a strong piece") 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.d4 (or 8.f4 Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5) Bxd4 9.Na3 c6 10.c3 Qf6 11.cxd4 Qxf5 12.exf5 Nf7 13.Bf4+ Ke7, again with a large advantage.[5] Lines to avoid for Black after 6.Qh5+ are 6...Kf6?? 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 and 6...Ke7?? 7.Qxe5+ followed by Qxc5, both regaining both pieces and winning two pawns.[6]
Seirawan and Minev observe that after 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6 or 6...Ng6 7.Qxc5 d6 White has insufficient compensation for the sacrificed piece, but Blackburne likes to attack.[7]
Blackburne remarks, "Not to be outdone in generosity.";[2] however, after 7...Qe7! White cannot safely take the rook, because after 8. Qxh8 Qxe4+ the white queen is effectively trapped, and the black queen will deliver checks and capture material irrespective of where the white king goes after the check.
Having accepted White's sacrifice of two minor pieces, Blackburne responded by returning the knight, then sacrificing both rooks and his queen to deliver checkmate with his three remaining minor pieces.
ReferencesEdit
^Rick Kennedy,The Life of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, blog post, July 27, 2009
^ abJoseph Henry Blackburne, Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess, selected, annotated and arranged by himself[1]
^E. Freeborough and Rev. C. E. Ranken, Chess Openings, Ancient and Modern, Third Edition, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co., London, 1896, p. 85. [2]
^J. du Mont, 200 Miniature Games of Chess, David McKay, 1965, p. 147.
Rick Kennedy. "Jerome Gambit theory and practice".
Gary Lane. (PDF). chesscafe.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Gary Lane. (PDF). chesscafe.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
October 19, 2023
jerome, gambit, unsound, chess, opening, which, offshoot, giuoco, piano, characterized, moves, abcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghmoves1, bxf7, kxf7, nxe5, nxe5ecoc50named, afteralonzo, wheeler, jeromeparentgiuoco, piano, bxf7, kxf7, nxe5, nxe5white, sacrifices, . The Jerome Gambit is an unsound chess opening which is an offshoot of the Giuoco Piano It is characterized by the moves Jerome Gambitabcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghMoves1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Bxf7 Kxf7 5 Nxe5 Nxe5ECOC50Named afterAlonzo Wheeler JeromeParentGiuoco Piano 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Bxf7 Kxf7 5 Nxe5 Nxe5White sacrifices two pieces and eventually regains one for two pawns in hopes of exposing Black s king and obtaining a mating attack The line was a brief fad in the late 19th century but it is almost never seen today Contents 1 Discussion 2 Illustrative games 3 References 4 External linksThis article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves Discussion EditThe opening is named after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome 1834 1902 of Paxton Illinois who had a game with this opening against the problemist William Shinkman published in the Dubuque Chess Journal in 1876 1 Blackburne wrote of it I used to call this the Kentucky opening For a while after its introduction it was greatly favoured by certain players but they soon grew tired of it 2 Blackburne s name for the opening may have arisen from confusion with 1 e4 e5 2 Qh5 which was also published in the Dubuque Chess Journal and dubbed the Kentucky Opening there In the third edition of the opening treatise Chess Openings Ancient and Modern 1896 the authors wrote The Jerome Gambit is an American invention and a very risky attack It is described in the American Supplement to Cook s Synopsis as unsound but not to be trifled with The first player sacrifices two pieces for two pawns with the chances arising from the adversary s king being displaced and drawn into the centre of the board 3 Similarly du Mont wrote that it is unsound but has the saving grace of leading to a lively game and is therefore suitable for an occasional friendly game The defender cannot afford to be careless 4 White may regain one of the two sacrificed pieces with 6 d4 but Black retains a decisive material advantage with 6 Bxd4 7 Qxd4 Qf6 5 More commonly White plays 6 Qh5 In that event Freeborough and Ranken analyzed two lines One is 6 Kf8 7 Qxe5 Qe7 8 Qf5 Ke8 9 Nc3 d6 10 Qf3 Qf7 11 Qe2 Nh6 12 0 0 c6 with large advantage to Black 5 Freeborough and Ranken also analyze the bold 6 Qh5 Ke6 follow ing out Mr Steinitz s theory that the King is a strong piece 7 Qf5 Kd6 8 d4 or 8 f4 Qf6 9 fxe5 Qxe5 Bxd4 9 Na3 c6 10 c3 Qf6 11 cxd4 Qxf5 12 exf5 Nf7 13 Bf4 Ke7 again with a large advantage 5 Lines to avoid for Black after 6 Qh5 are 6 Kf6 7 Qf5 Ke7 8 Qxe5 Kf7 9 Qxc5 and 6 Ke7 7 Qxe5 followed by Qxc5 both regaining both pieces and winning two pawns 6 Illustrative games EditN N vs Blackburneabcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghPosition after 12 Kh1 N N versus Blackburne London 1884 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Bxf7 Kxf7 5 Nxe5 Nxe5 6 Qh5 g6 Seirawan and Minev observe that after 6 Kf8 7 Qxe5 d6 or 6 Ng6 7 Qxc5 d6 White has insufficient compensation for the sacrificed piece but Blackburne likes to attack 7 7 Qxe5 d6 Blackburne remarks Not to be outdone in generosity 2 however after 7 Qe7 White cannot safely take the rook because after 8 Qxh8 Qxe4 the white queen is effectively trapped and the black queen will deliver checks and capture material irrespective of where the white king goes after the check 8 Qxh8 Qh4 9 0 0 Nf6 10 c3 Better is 10 Qd8 which wins 7 10 Ng4 11 h3 Bxf2 12 Kh1 see diagram Bf5 13 Qxa8 Qxh3 14 gxh3 Bxe4 0 1 8 Having accepted White s sacrifice of two minor pieces Blackburne responded by returning the knight then sacrificing both rooks and his queen to deliver checkmate with his three remaining minor pieces References Edit Rick Kennedy The Life of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome blog post July 27 2009 a b Joseph Henry Blackburne Mr Blackburne s Games at Chess selected annotated and arranged by himself 1 E Freeborough and Rev C E Ranken Chess Openings Ancient and Modern Third Edition Kegan Paul Trench Trubner and Co London 1896 p 85 2 J du Mont 200 Miniature Games of Chess David McKay 1965 p 147 a b c Freeborough and Ranken p 86 Larry Evans Chess Catechism 1970 ISBN 0 671 20491 2 a b Yasser Seirawan and Nikolay Minev Take My Rooks International Chess Enterprises 1991 p 66 ISBN 1 879479 01 X N N Blackburne England 1880External links EditRick Kennedy Jerome Gambit theory and practice Gary Lane Opening Lanes 158 A Game of Shadows PDF chesscafe com Archived from the original on June 12 2012 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Gary Lane Opening Lanes 159 Trash or Treasure PDF chesscafe com Archived from the original on May 10 2012 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jerome Gambit amp oldid 1147113617, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
