Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In

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As a followup to the previous post, I returned to the online English Chess Forum and asked members if they were aware of any early (pre-WWI) Jerome Gambit games.

Early English Jerome Gambit Games?

Postby Rick Kennedy » Mon May 08, 2017 3:57 pm

Many people are familiar with Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1880 (or 1885) that
started 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ - the notorious Jerome Gambit - and 
concluded 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 
10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4# 

I am researching the Jerome, and am interested in discovering what other early (before
WWI) games there might have been played with the opening in England.

I have run across Keeble - Cubitt, Norwich, 1886 (1-0, 17), but that is about it.

Many thanks for whatever enlightenment might prevail.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Tim Harding, author of  Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography, (and other fine books), published by McFarland,  responded quickly.

Re: Early English Jerome Gambit Games?

Postby Tim Harding » Mon May 08, 2017 5:38 pm

That was "Mr M" v Blackburne, first published in the Illustrated London News on 10 May
1884 (probably played at the Divan when Blackburne was convalescing). There is also 
floating around a very similar game Milner-Blackburne supposedly played in Manchester 
(ending 10 h3 Bxh3 11 Qxa8 Qg4 12 g3 Qxg3+ 13 Kh1 Qg2#) but I have no primary source 
for that.

I also found three postal games played by E. B. Lowe ca. 1879-1881 and you possibly
already know Charlick-Mann played by post in Australia in 1881 (1-0, 72).

Tim Harding

Historian and Kibitzer

Author of 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography' and 'Eminent Victorian

Chess Players'

http://www.chessmail.com

Dr. Harding's response adds to information about the Blackburne game,
from the Illustrated London News, giving "Mr. M" as the amateur player
of the White pieces. Other (not primary) sources have named this person
"Milner".

More importantly, the Illustrated London News account of May 10,1884
helps focus the possible date of the game, usually given as 1880 - which I 
had challenged, based upon an article in August 15, 1885 issue of the 
Brooklyn Chess Chronicle. So, 1884 is the corrected date.

Finally, Dr. Harding is being modest in merely mentioning the three postal
games played by E. B. Lowe correspondence games, as a good while back 
he provided them for me. 

The Jerome Gambit Article: Followup

Readers who have kept up with the 8 posts of my "Jerome Gambit Article" probably now know more about the opening than almost anyone else in the world!

Of course, those who checked out the "Afterword" for the list of names of people I thanked, personally, for their help saw only about 100 mentions - by now, the list would be twice as long. Many additional thanks to those who have shared games and analysis!

Finally, I have to touch on the most in/famous of Jerome Gambit games, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, and recall, from an earlier blog post 

...the uncertainties mentioned by Brazilian chess master Hindemburg Melão, Jr. in his article for the online chess site, SuperAjedrez,

...Some sources indicate year of the game as 1868, others indicate 1888, and others indicate 1880. Some sources affirm that it was played in Manchester, others in London. Normally the name of the adversary is not given, having only "NN" or "Amateur", but in at least one source "Millner" is indicated as the name. Also it is not known if it was an individual game or part of a simultaneous display... [T]he game deserves to be cited as one of most beautiful pearls of blindfold Chess...

In the years since my Jerome Gambit article was written - 5 years after Melão's - Blackburne expert Tim Harding has clarified the location and year

That was "Mr M" v Blackburne, first published in the Illustrated London News on 10 May,1884 

Still, who is the amateur named "Millner"? Was the game part of a simultaneous exhibition? Was the game really played "blindfold"? (Blackburne did not mention either of the last two in his notes to the game in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess - I would think he would.)

What to do? Something I couldn't do when Melão first wrote - I posted on his Facebook page, (with the help of Google translation).

15 years ago you wrote an article for SuperAjedrez.com about a Jerome Gambit game by Blackburne. You named "Millner" as his opponent and said it was a "blindfold" game. Do you remember your source? Thank you, very much!

Very quickly I received a response.

Probably the source was " Ajadrez a la ciega " (by Benito Lopes Esnaola) or " Manuel de chess " (by Idel Becker), in both of which is the match. I don't remember the name of the black player, but I found 2 Milner (with 1 L) from that time: 

http://www.edochess.ca/players/p1627.html 

 http://www.edochess.ca/players/p4055.html

I hope I helped.

Very interesting. Of course, I immediately put in a request, through InterLibrary Loan, for the two books Melão mentioned. They were written many years after the Illustrated London News article, but you never know what research will turn up.

I also checked out the links to the Edo Historical Chess Ratings.

The first, John Joseph Milner [note the single "l"], does not have a lot of information, but, given that one reference is given as  Bignold's Australian Chess Annual, and that the one tournament mentioned is the 6th New Zealand championship at Christchurch in 1893 - unless he is a very well-travelled chess player, he may not have been Blackburne's victim. A search with Google Books provided me with a copy of Volume 1 of the Australian Chess Annual of 1896, and there J.J. Milner is listed as Treasurer of the Canterbury Chess Club, in Christchurch.

The second, J. Milner [again, the single "l"], has even less information, but mentions a drawn game with A.C. Haines, played in the 1899 Lancashire - Yorkshire County Match, at Huddersfield. That's about a couple hundred miles away from Simpson's Divan, in London, much less of a travel for a dedicated pawnpusher. As for the reference given, Forster's book on Amos Burn, I have requested that from ILL as well.

So - more puzzles, more clues. Many thanks to master Hindemburg Melão, Jr., and I will share what more I discover.      

The Best Jerome Gambit Game of the Year (Part 1)

Although the year is only about half-over, the following game has lept to the top of the heap for Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games. It has history, analysis, tactics, strategy, surprises and come-backs - not bad, for a 10-minute game!

Readers are encouraged to dispute my assessment by sending in other great Jerome Gambit games, but at this point I can think of only one game (hint: see "The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me..." Part 1 and Part 2) likely to challenge (and that was only mentioned, not played, in 2014).

Wall, Bill - Guest871838
PlayChess.com, 2014

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

The Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

This defense is attributed to Joseph Henry Blackburne, whose miniature game brought the Jerome Gambit to the attention of chess players all around the world.

That game appeared in the August 15, 1885 issue of the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, which noted that it was "played some months ago in London between Mr. Blackburne and an Amateur." It is likely that the game appeared elsewhere, most likely in a British chess magazine or newspaper chess column, but to date I have not found such an appearance. (Any help, Readers?)

The game received greatest exposure when included in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), although it was given there as played "at Simpson's Divan about 1880." Dr. Tim Harding, currently completing a biography of J.H. Blackburne, notes "It has been estimated that Blackburne may have played as many as 100,000 chess games"; so a small error in recall on behalf of the chess master is not unexpected. Six years ago on this blog, in "Flaws" Part I and Part II, I speculated about this possible "mis-remembering".

In my early years exploring the Jerome Gambit, I collected games from everywhere, including electronic game databases, some of which might best be referred to as "junk bases" because their inclusiveness (i.e. as many games as possible) often accentuated their inexclusiveness (i.e. including errors and bogus games). Two games complicate the story of Blackburne's Defense.

The first game is "Halpern, Jacob C. - Von Scheve, Theodor, England, 1880" which is given as having the exact same moves as Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. However, "Halpern - Von Scheve" has not shown up in any of the print resources (i.e. 19th and early 20th century newspaper chess columns, chess magazines, chess opening tomes) that I have encountered to date (over a decade of research) - and as such has to be considered spurious.

Equally curious is "Amateur - Neuman, Guestav, London, 1880" which follows the Blackburne game exactly, except that it substitutes 10.b3 for 10.c3, robbing the sacrificial ending of some of its logic (i.e. White's Queen can escape and defend). A note to myself from 10 years ago suggested, as well, "I have doubts about the reality of this game, based on a Google translation of a Wikipedia article from German (no English available) which suggests Neumann quit chess before 1880." Without further support from contemporary sources, the game must also be considered bogus.

Finally, it must be noted that it has occasionally been suggested that Blackburne's opponent in his fateful game was a player named "Millner" - although, again, my research has not confirmed this (or even identified the player). Occasionally the date of the game is given as other than 1885 or 1880, and the "amateur" involved has been mistakenly identified by one author as Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, himself. 

[to be continued]

History Clouded

In Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899), the notorious Jerome Gambit game Amateur - Blackburne was given as "played at Simpson's Divan about 1880."

I have questioned the date that Blackburne gave - See "Flaws (Part I)" - as the August 15, 1885 issue of the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle (J.B. and E.M. Munoz, editors) presented the game as having been "played some months ago" which would suggest that it was played during 1885, but not likely in July or August of that year.

It now looks like I will have to back off from my correction, and add even more uncertainty to the date of the game.

Tim Harding's Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography (2015) - which, as I have noted, does not give Amateur - Blackburne - shows that the British master left for Australia in December 1884, and spent the first half of 1885 "Down Under". A return home was short-lived, as there was an important tournament to participate in

Blackburne and son apparently disembarked at Plymouth on 4 July. As the ship was only docked at Gravesend on the fifth, they must have come up to London by express train. Every day counted, the first round in Hamsburg being on 12 July. After less than a week in England, Blackburne was off on his travels again. 

The Hamburg tournament ended July 27, wherupon Blackburne went to Hereford for the Counties Chess Association Masters tournament, which started August 3.

The events of 1885, therefore, do not appear consistent with the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle admittedly casual dating.

It is possible to extend Munoz and Munoz's "some months" further back in time and look for Amateur - Blackburne in 1884, although there are difficulties in this, too. Harding notes

Blackburne's mid-career health breakdown began before Christmas 1883 when he was forced to cancel all his engagements.

In an age "long before antibiotics or even aspirin and other effective medicines", Blackburne was quite ill.

In late April or early May [1884] he resumed playing at the [Simpson's] Divan; some casual games are preserved from that period...

However, his participation in Simpson's handicap tournament in the spring was affected by his "unfortunate illness" and it is worth noting

[T]he Morning Post, 30 June 1884, said that Blackburne's illness had "left him in a weak state of health, and has prevented him for several months from pursuing his avocation."

Although he travelled to Glasgow the last week in July 1884, it does not appear that his full health returned before his trip to Australia.

Unless I guess "late April or early May" 1884 (above), then "about 1880" (from Blackburne's book) will be as "precise" as I will be able to date Amateur - Blackburne, until another chess column, magazine, or book reference surfaces; especially if we recall the uncertainties mentioned by Brazilian chess master Hindemburg Melão, Jr. in his article for the online chess site, SuperAjedrez,

...Some sources indicate year of the game as 1868, others indicate 1888, and others indicate 1880. Some sources affirm that it was played in Manchester, others in London. Normally the name of the adversary is not given, having only "NN" or "Amateur", but in at least one source "Millner" is indicated as the name. Also it is not known if it was an individual game or part of a simultaneous display... [T]he game deserves to be cited as one of most beautiful pearls of blindfold Chess...

Jerome Gambit: Puzzles and Mysteries (Part 5)

Before I began this blog, much of my investigation into the Jerome Gambit appeared online in the "Puzzles and Mysteries" section of Edward Winter's The Chess History Information and Research Center. Although it highlighted my mis-steps almost as often as my true discoveries, it provided valuable exposure to my quest, and put me in touch with a number of helpful sources, for which I remain expecially thankful to Mr. Winter.

With the help of the online Wayback Machine, I was able to bring much of this information forward. It adds to my earlier series of posts containing my longer Jerome Gambit article.

I don't know whether you are just looking for the origins of this gambit, but here's some more modern information.

It is mentioned in a footnote as being "unsound" in Gerald Abrahams' book The Chess Mind, originally published in 1951. I can't find my copy, or I'd be more specific.

It is still played occasionally in serious chess - if not at a very high level! I won a game with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7 ch Kxf7 5. Nxe5 Nxe5 6. Qh5ch Ng6 7. Qxc5 d6 8. Qc3 etc This was played in the Birmingham (England) League Division 4 on 5th September 2000.

Peter Banks, 21.05.03

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Abrahams' The Chess Mind refers to the line 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ as the once popular Jerome Gambit.

I have never seen that line before, having come to the Jerome as a variant of the Giuoco Piano - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.  I wonder if others are familiar with it?

It is not mentioned in Gary Lane's Winning with the Bishop's Opening (1993), and although Tim Harding mentions some main lines in his remarkable Bishop's Opening (1973), as well as "other rare of absurd moves," he does not touch on 3.Bxf7+.

Rick Kennedy, 04.06.03

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Elliott Fletcher, in his enjoyable Gambits Accepted (1954), covers the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and follows in Abraham's (The Chess Mind, 1951) footsteps when he writes "Some authors have called the opening with the moves 1.P-K4, P-K4; 2.B-B4, B-B4; 3.BxPch, by the name Jerome."

Other than Abrahams - who may simply have been a victim of a typesetting error (see earlier entry) - has anyone else beside Fletcher mentioned this line in the Bishop's Opening, or attributed it to Jerome?

Rick Kennedy, 02.10.03

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Probably the best-known example of the Jerome Gambit is Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1880
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3 Bxe4# 0-1. This is how the game appeared in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess(1899). To the best of my knowledge, the game was not published earlier than that.

The first player in the game has also sometimes been referred to as "NN" or "Anonymous" or "Stranger." Occasionally (e.g. www.superajedrez.com; or, with the wrong year, at www.chesslab.com ) the player has been given as "Millner," although I have not been able to find out why. At least once the player was erroneously referred to as "Jerome" - by Eric Schiller, Unorthodox Chess Openings (1988, 2002) .

Poring through some chess databases, I recently found that same game has been attributed to Halpern,J - Von Scheve,T, England, 1880.

In addition, a very similar game, varying only at White's move 10, was Amateur - Neumann Guestav R L, London ENG, 1880:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.b3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+ 14.gxh3
Bxe4# 0-1

This raises a few questions (apart from the accuracy of computer databases, of course):
Did Blackburne's game pre-date Halpern - Von Scheve and Amateur - Neumann?
If not, whose game came first?
If so, were the latter games similar by coincidence, by imitation of Blackburne (and, if so, how did Von Scheve and Neumann come to know the line?), or by a common (with Blackburne) previous source?

Any information readers might have on "Halpern,J  Von Scheve,T, England, 1880" and "Amateur - Neumann Gustav R L, London ENG, 1880" would be enlightening and greatly appreciated!

Rick Kennedy, 02.03.04

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I've always trusted The Black Death's memory when he reported in Mr. Blackburne's Games At Chess (1899) that the Amateur - Blackburne game which crushed the Jerome Gambit occurred "about 1880."

Recently, though, I found the game reported in the August 15, 1885 issue of the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, with the note "played some months ago in London."

Well, you play thousands of games in your life - match, tournament, casual, blindfold, simultaneous - and you're allowed to mis-remember a few!

Rick Kennedy, 30.04.04

As you  can see, some Jerome Gambit mysteries remain!

Jerome Gambit History Tidbits

A few of my recent Jerome Gambit discoveries...

Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884
Stumbling over the infamous Jerome Gambit game Amateur - Blackburne, London in the Australian Town and Country Journal (Saturday, March 21, 1885, page 31) I found another comment that supported 1884 as the year of the game (as if there needed to be more than Dr. Tim Harding's words from the English Chess Forum, which I presented in "Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In")

We reprint from the Adelaide Observer...The following affair occurred to the great blindfold player a few months ago in London... 

But the best part was the columnist's comment on the stunning move 4.Bxf7+: "So early in the morning!"


Emanuel Lasker, columnist
The Evening Post: New York  from Wednesday, November 30, 1910, (page 11) had Emanuel Lasker's "CHESS AND CHESS PLAYERS" column, including the following news

...At the rooms of the Rice Chess Club in the Cafe Boulevard, the team representing the Temple Chess Club of the Baptist Temple of Brooklyn encountered the team Stuyvesant High School, and, although handicapped by the absence of two players, causing forfeiture on two boards, the Brooklyn players carried off the victory by the score of 3 points to 2... The Temple Chess Club players had the white pieces on the odd-numbered boards. The Jerome gambit, king's bishop opening, and French defence were adopted at the last three boards...

Although the copy of the paper is at times difficult to make out, it appears that Board 3 was a match between E. E. Brodhead of the Temple C.C. and Gadiowitz of Stuyvesant H.S., with Brodhead's Jerome Gambit carrying the day. I have not yet discovered the game.

It should be recalled that Lasker, responding to a letter to “Our Question Box” in the March 1906 issue of Lasker’s Chess Magazine had already said his peace about the opening 

No; the Jerome gambit is not named after St. Jerome. His penances, if he did any, were in atonement of rather minor transgressions compared with the gambit.

Emanuel Lasker, Simultaneous Exhibition 
The Observer (Adelaide) of Saturday, December 29, 1906 (page 49) has in its CHESS column, under CHESS NOTES, the following

Simultaneous Chess. - Lasker, playing at Pittsburg, Pa., lately, out of 28 games won 24, drew 2, and lost 2, a fine score of 25-3. The openings adopted were varied - Sicilian Defence 3, Centre Gambit 5, Petroff 1, Evans 4, Four Knights 2, Vienna 1, Jerome 1, King's Knight 1, King's Gambit 5, French 2, Allgaier 2 and only 1 Ruy Lopez.

It would seem that the source of Observer column was the October 18, 1906 (page 9) Pittsburgh Press article titled "DR. LASKER PLAYED 26 GAMES OF CHESS AT ONCE.  He Succeeded in Winning 22 of Them and Drawing 2." It is unclear why the two news reports differ in the number of games reported being played and won; and the Pittsburgh Press names 27 club members who were seated against Lasker, so apparently at least one board was covered by two players.

The Jerome Gambit (neither a win nor a draw for White) was played by E. H. Miller. (This is likely Emlen Hare Miller, who, a decade later, had a win [opening unknown] against Frank J. Marshall in a simultaneous exhibition.)

Of note

Before the contest began Lasker made an address on "The Game of Chess and the Game of Life," which was highly appreciated by his listeners.

How I would love to discover how Lasker defended against the Jerome Gambit!
  
Beware, chess students, the dreaded Jerome Gambit
The Telegraph (Brisbane) of Saturday, December 14, 1929, (page 13) had a "CHESS" column that gave the Jerome Gambit a greater sense of scariness than I had realized it had ever projected   

Chess students are early taught to watch out for the dreaded Jerome Gambit, an attack however that owes its success mainly to the inexperience of the attacked. Unsound it undoubtedly is, but white obtains a ferocious offensive requiring on the part of black the very greatest care. An ounce of practice, we are told, is worth a ton of theory, so the following game in the case isoffered. It is a win by the famous Blackburne with the black; of course it is not given to us all to be Blackburne...

Jerome Gambit: Exciting

It is always fun to see someone excited about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). The following article introduced the classic game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884. (The authors apparently use the date from Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess, "about 1880". This has been corrected by Dr. Timothy Harding - see "Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In") The moves have been changed from descriptive to algebraic notation.

Philadelphia Inquirer, February 19, 1978

Chess

by Leroy Dubeck and J. A. Livingston

Did you ever see the Jerome Gambit? If not, prepare to see it now!

It was developed in America in the latter part of the 19th century and can be properly called the sacrifice variation of the Giuoco Piano. For a long time, it was used with some success, until 1880, when Joseph Blackburne, long the British champion, overwhelmed a British amateur with a series of sparkling sacrifices. The game ends with white having a Q, two Rs, a B and N against two Bs and a N, yet being mated.

George Koltanowski and Milton Finklestein present the game in their stimulating, and refreshing book "Checkmate!" (370 pages). The book deals systematically with mating attacks - how they develop from characteristic positions. The publisher is Doubleday and the price is $9.95...

Amateur   Blackburne

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

This characterizes this gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6!

Blackburne's innovation; prior to this, black resorted to 6...Ke6 to protect his KN.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 

And now white is far ahead in material with a R and 2 Ps for a B.

8...Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 

Bottling the white Q.

10.c3 

Intending to play d4, but Blackburne doesn't grant him the time.

10...Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 

Not 12.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 13.Kh1 Qf1 mate

12...Bf5 13.Qxa8 

Where else could the Q go?

13...Qxh3+!! 14.gxh3 Bxe4 mate

Blackburne's game is stunning, and is likely the best known Jerome Gambit among chess players, but it is a bit of an exaggeration to call 6...g6 "Blackburne's innovation". The move appeared earlier in Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 20); Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd match, Mexico, 1876 (1-0, 39); Jerome - Whistler, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15); and Jerome - Jaeger, correspondence, 1879 (0-1, 45).

The Jerome Gambit Article (Part 8)

Here continues the Jerome Gambit article that I wrote for Kaissiber, a decade ago.

Alonzo Wheeler Jerome

            Alonzo Wheeler Jerome was born March 8, 1834 at Four Mile Point, New York. Little is known about his life, and nothing of his early years.

At the age of almost 30, with the United States fighting its Civil War, Jerome was drafted into the Union army in September of 1863, where he served as quartermaster until he was transferred, in April 1865, as quartermaster sergeant, to the 26^th infantry regiment of the United States Colored Troops, under the command of Colonel William B. Guernsey, on Long Island, New York.

The 26^th USCT served under the Department of the South (Union Army) in South Carolina and was very active on Johns and James Island, Honey Hill, Beaufort, and a number of other locations. While it is not know when Jerome took up playing chess, it is known that shortly after arriving at their first camp, the soldiers of the 26^th immediately went about building both a chapel and a school; the latter, as many of the soldiers expressed an interest in learning to read and write. Might there have been time for the royal game, as well?

Jerome was mustered out of the army as a 2^nd Lieutenant in August 1865, at Hilton Head, North Carolina. He returned to Mineola, New York, where he worked in a factory that manufactured agricultural machinery. It was here that Jerome first played his gambit, he said, against G.J. Dougherty.

He moved to Paxton, Illinois in 1868, where he took up the position of manager of a hemp and flax company.

On March 6, 1873, Jerome married 21-year old Jane “Jennie” A. Ostrom, of Paxton. Like Jerome, Jenny had been born in New York.

The Jeromes had one child, a boy, born 1874, who apparently died young, as he appears in one census at age 6, but not in future censuses.

Jerome’s public life as a chess player apparently began when a game of his, a King’s Gambit, appeared in the March 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal. The next issue carried the “New Chess Opening” article. The July issue carried the first Jerome Gambit game that he played against William Shinkman.

            In 1875, Jerome and Brownson met and played their games, later printed in the Journal. In one game Brownson offered the McDonnell Double Opening – 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc4 3.b4 Bxb4 4.f4. It is not surprising that he was intrigued by the Jerome Gambit.

            Two 1876 games by Jerome were published by the Dubuque Chess Journal, one, a Jerome Gambit, against Shinkman, and the other, a postal odds game (Queen for Queen’s Rook) against the child chess prodigy (later, chess problemist) Frank Norton.

            When the Dubuque Chess Journal stopped publication in 1876, it was replaced by the American Chess Journal, and Jerome continued his campaign on behalf of “Jerome’s Double Opening” in its pages for two more years.

            News about Jerome then grows scarce. J.W. Miller occasionally mentioned him in his chess column of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette and by S.A. Charles referred to him in his Jerome Gambit writings.

            In 1884, of course, Jerome was healthy enough to travel to the Cincinnati Mercantile Library and play a few games with his gambit against Miller.

In 1899, citing diabetes and heart problems, Jerome applied for a disability pension. By that time he and Jennie were living in Springfield, Illinois, where he was working as a guide in the state capital building. 

Alonzo Wheeler Jerome died from the complications of a gastric ulcer March 22, 1902 in Springfield, Illinois. He was survived by his wife.

Unanswered Questions

 1) Arguably the most influential Jerome Gambit article was the one by Sorensen, May 1877, in Nordisk Skaktidende – it was translated into English and reprinted in the Chess Player’s Chronicle August, 1877, and in the September & October 1877 issue of the American Chess Journal; and it was translated into Italian and appeared in the December, 1887, Nuova Rivista Degli Scacchi. In what other magazines, in what other languages did it appear?

2) The first player in the Blackburne game has been referred to as "NN" or "Anonymous" or "Stranger." Occasionally (e.g. www.superajedrez.com; or, with the wrong year, at www.chesslab.com ) the player has been given as "Millner." Was it Millner? Who was Millner? Documentation would be helpful.

3) Charlick of Australia was familiar with the Jerome Gambit. The Adelaide Observer (5/28/1881) published a Jerome Gambit correspondence game of his, as well as a game with (AO, 5/12/1877) Charlick’s own “Evans-Jerome Gambit” 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.Bxf7+. Are there other Jerome or Jerome-ish examples from this openings explorer to be found?

4) Abrahams in The Chess Mind (1951) refers to “the once popular Jerome Gambit” – 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+. Fletcher’s Gambits Accepted A Survey of Opening Sacrifices (1954) notes “Some authors have called the opening with the moves 1.P-K4, P-K4; 2.B-B4, B-B4; 3.BxPch, by the name Jerome.” Is this a typographical error, or does the Jerome, of the Giuoco Piano have an evil twin brother in the Bishop’s Opening?       5) Half-way between the creativity of Charlick (of 1.d4 e5!? notoriety) and the possible misnomer of Abrahams and Fletcher lie two other Jerome Gambit “variants.”

The Dubuque Chess Journal, November, 1874 carried the game Wright – Hunn, USA, 1874, which began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 -– “brilliant but not sound” according to Brownson -– ed 5.Bxf7+. The DCJ said that this was “an unsound variation of Jerome’s double opening” and suggested that after 5…Kxf7, the move 6.Ne5+ “a la Jerome” would have improved upon the game continuation of 6.Ng5+. The Italian Gambit (2004) by Jude Acers and George Laven, the current reference on 4.d4 in the Giuoco Piano, covers 4.d4 ed 5.c3 dc 6.Bxf7+, but does not mention Wright’s rash 5.Bf7+.

James Mason, in the August 1895 British Chess Magazine, gave a game “played recently by correspondence between Brandfort and Bloemfontein, South Africa” which went 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qe2 d6. Mason suggested the move 4…Nf6, because “there would be plenty of time to play the Pawn -– perhaps two squares instead of one. For, as the Cape Times remarks, if White adopts the ‘Jerome Gambit’ 5.Bxf7+ Black replies 5…Kxf7 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4 with advantage.” This assessment was confirmed in Albin – Schlechter, Vienna 1914 (0-1,31).

The odd 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 sometimes received the “Jerome treatment” (without the title) 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ (e.g. Sidran – Vong, Compuserve e-mail 1992, [1-0, 8]) when 4.Nxe5 would have been adequate.

These lines are interesting; but they did not show up in the work of Jerome, Sorensen, Charles, etc. Are there other Jerome gambit off-shoots out there?

6) Traxler, concerning his gambit in the Two Knights Defense, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 wrote in Golden Prague on October 11, 1892 (quoted by Lubomir Kavalek in The Washington Post, April 14, 2003)

 An original combination that is better than it looks. A small

mistake by white can give black a decisive attack. It is not easy to

find the best defense against it in a practical game and it is probably

theoretically correct. It somewhat resembles the Blackmar-Jerome

gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+?! Kxf7 5.Nxe5?!.

What connection did Blackmar, of Blackmar-Diemer Gambit fame, have with the Jerome Gambit?

            7) Although Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1834 - 1904) was the "inventor," of the Jerome Gambit, it was extensively analyzed and popularized by S. A. Charles. There are scant clues today as to who Mr. Charles was. Jeremy Gaige's classic book on chess players, for example, lists the name "S. A. Charles," but not a date of birth or death; and Gaige's entry indicates only that Mr. Charles seemed to have been on the chess scene from 1890 to 1910. In the early 1870s he worked for the Covington and Cincinnati Bridge Company, residing in Covington, Kentucky, although a September, 1881 chess column in the New Orleans Times-Democrat referred to Mr. Charles as "formerly of this city." Mr. Charles was identified in a January, 1881 chess column in the Pittsburgh Telegraph as being the President of the Cincinnati Chess Club. Does anyone know more?

8) Finally, was Jerome’s inspiration for his opening the sacrificial attack in the well-known game Hamppe - Meitner, Vienna, 1872:  1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.Ke3 Qf4+ 6.Kd3 d5 7.Kc3 Qxe4 8.Kb3 Na6 9.a3 Qxa410.Kxa4 Nc5+ 11.Kb4 a5+ 12.Kxc5 Ne7 13.Bb5+ Kd8 14.Bc6 b6+ 15.Kb5 Nxc6 16.Kxc6 Bb7+ 17.Kb5 Ba6+ 18.Kc6 Bb7+ draw

Afterword

Many people helped me gather the information in this article, and I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each of them: Deanna Austin, Kent Ball, Pete Banks, Martin Bennedik, Eric Bentzen, John Blackstone, Harold Bohn, Neil Brennen, Paul Broekhuyse, Stefan Bucker, J. Gayle Camarda, Franklin Campbell, Geoff Chandler, Adailton Chiaradia, Sarah Cohen, Kristina Daily, Todor Dimitrov, Paul Dunn, Bob Durrett, Wayne Everard, Steve Farmer, Steve Frymer, Sam Fore, Richard Forster, Ken Fraser, Gary Gifford, Michael Goeller, A.B. Hailey, Tim Harding, Keith Hayward, Dan Heisman, Adam Henderson, John Hilbert, Owin Hindle, James F. Holwell, Colin James III, Thomas Johansson, Fyhn Karsten, Ara L. Kaye, Paul Keiser, Libby Ford Kennedy, Rick Kinkaid, Tom Klem, Michael Kramer, Robert Kruszynski, Rosemary Kurtz, Gary Lane, Heather Lang, George Laven, Jeff Martin and the staff of the John G. White Collection at the Cleveland Public Library, Missi Matt, Tim McGrew, Hindemburg Melao, Anna Maria Mihalega, Louis Morin, Mark Morss, Robert Murnan and the staff at the Cleveland Research Center, Clyde Nakamura, Christopher Nelson, Anne Newman, Russ Newman, Reg Nonni, William Paulsen, James Pratt, Tyrin Price, Tom Purser, Marianne Reynolds, Magnus Rosenstielke, Tim Sawyer, Eric Schiller, Daaim Shabazz, Jeremy Spinrad, Peter Stockhausen, Susan Strahan, Jason Stratman, David Surratt, Joseph Tanti, Pat Tavenner, Attila Turzo, Cindy Ulrich, Olimpiu Urcan, Bill Vallicella, Lissa Waite, Andrew Walker, Art Wang, Bill Wall, Brian Wall, Ken Whyld, Jaap van der Kooij, Jeroen van Dorp, Ed Yetman, Bradley Zang, Lev Zilbermints

Please note that in almost all cases concerning source quotes, I have changed descriptive notation to algebraic notation.

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