Jerome Gambit: He Should Have Stuck with Boring

The following short Jerome Gambit game illustrates the idea that a proper defense - and there are many - can (and, maybe, should) be boring and also correct. 

Stepping outside of "boring" can be very dangerous against Bill Wall.

Wall, Bill - Twister

SparkChess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Nd3+ 

Black needs to surrender a piece, and this is how he does it. 

More "boring", but better for him, was 7...Be7 - the Bishop retreats after forcing a pawn, not a Knight, to c3.

8.Qxd3 Be7 9.Qf3+ 

Earlier, Bill had played 9.O-O Nf6 10.e5 in Wall,B - Anonymous, lichess.org 2020 (1-0, 23)

9... Ke8 10.O-O 

10...d5 

Or the less energetic 10...d6 as in Wall,B - Ripao, lichess.org 2017 (1-0, 18).

11.Nd2 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nf6 13.Re1 

Black has the typical Jerome piece-for-two-pawns advantage, and if he could only castle now, he would be well off.

Since he can not castle, he looks to harass White's Queen - a mistaken idea that immediately gets tactically refuted.

13...Bg4 14.Nxf6+ gxf6 15.Qxg4 

15...Qd6 16.Bf4 Qc6 17.Qg7 Black resigned

White's Queen and Rook cause mayhem: there is a checkmate in 6.

Jerome Gambit: Just In Time

                                                          

Just in time, chessriddler contributes a game that fills in a gap in current Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) practice and theory.

chessriddler - mouathalsebaie

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6  

This move was addressed recently in the post "You Can Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later" covering Wall, Bill - Docteur, SparkChess, 2025 (1-0, 11).

6.Qg4+ 

Sharp, but sacrificing another piece is best.

6...Kxe5 7.d4+ Nxd4

Not the correct capture. Better was 7...Bxd4, as seen in Wall, Bill - Docteur, SparkChess, 2025.

Chessriddler punishes the text move quickly.

8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 Nxc2+

It is possible that Black counted on this fork to claw back some material.

11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Qf5+ 

Simpler was 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Qxc5+ snagging the Bishop. But, remember, this is a 3-minute game, and a win is a win is a win.

12...Nf6 13.Bxf6 d6 14.Qg5 gxf6 15.Qh5+ Ke7 

Black has two Bishops for a Rook, but his cornered Knight could be at risk.

16.Nc3 Bxf2 

Tempting, but another factor in play is the risky position of Black's King, as White demonstrates.

17.Nd5+ Kd8 18.Qf7 

White has a forced checkmate in 15 - if Black's defense is the best.

18...Bd7 

Providing more resistance, but still leading to an eventual checkmate, is provided by 18...Bg4+.

19.Qxf6+ Ke8 20.Qe7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Reader Contribution?

 

Yesterday's post was a small attempt to address April 1 - April Fool's Day.

A clue was the "reader's" name, Avril Furst.

The position was actually from the game Jerome - Amateur, offhand game, Illinois, 1876.

By the way, the game could not have ended with 20...e5 21.fxe5 e.p. checkmate, as the game had started as a Jerome Gambit, thus, the first moves 1.e4 e5. The e5 pawn disappeared with 5.Nxe5+.  

Jerome Gambit: Reader Contribution

 

Reader Avril Furst sends the following position from a recent Jerome Gambit game, showing a brutal checkmate of Black's King.

Not only is the monarch captured while far afield, it is necessary to note that the Black d-pawn blocks the Bishop which blocks the Rook...

By the way, the finishing moves were 20...e5 21.fxe5 e.p. checkmate. 

Jerome Gambit: Counter-Attack Countered by Attack

In the following game, Bill Wall, as White, takes his time with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), absorbing the blows that Black delivers - until it is time to counter-attack.

His opponent then falters, and the game ends quickly.

Wall, Bill - Noob

SparkChess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

6...Qh4

Black rightly attacks. This move goes back (at least) to Sorensen - X, Denmark, 1888 (1-0, 27).

7.O-O Ng4 8.h3 Bd6 9.e5 

9...Nxe5 

Another interesting sacrificial try, instead, was 9...N8f6 10.exd6 cxd6 11.hxg4 Nxg4 12.Qf3+ Ke8 13.Re1+ Kd8 14.Bf4 Rf8 15.Bg5+ Qxg5 16.Qxf8+ Kc7 17.Nc3 Qh4 18.Nb5+ Kb6 19.Qxd6+ Kxb5 20.a4+ Ka5 21.b4 checkmate, Wall,B - Rmmh, lichess.org, 2017.

Alternately, 9...Bxe5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 12.f4 Ng6 13.Nc3 d6 14.Be3 Ke7 15.Rae1 Kd8 16.Nb5 Nf6 17.Qc4 Ne8 18.Bf2 Qf6 19.Bd4 Qh4 20.Rxe8+ Kxe8 21.Nxc7+ Kf8 22.f5 Ne5 23.f6 gxf6 24.Qd5 Kg7 25.Qxd6 Rg8 26.Rxf6 Qxf6 27.Bxe5 was Sorensen,S - X, Denmark 1888. 

Safest/strongest for Black was 9...Be7.

10.dxe5 Bxe5 11.Qd5+ Kf6 

Not 11...Kf8 as in Wall,B - Mecnieri, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1-0, 23)

12.Qf3+ 

Bill has also played 12.Re1, e.g. 12...d6 13.Re4 (13.Rxe5 dxe5 14.Qd8+ Ne7 15.Qxh8 Qe4 (15...Qh5 16.Nc3 (16.Qf8+ Ke6 17.Nc3 c6 18.Ne4 b6 19.Bg5 Kd5 20.Qd8+ Kxe4 21.Qd3 checkmate,Wall,B - NN, Miami, Florida 2019) 16...b6 17.Ne4+ Kf7 18.Ng5+ Qxg5 19.Bxg5 Bb7 20.Qxh7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Itboss, lichess.org, 2016; 15...Bxh3 16.Qxa8 Bc8 17.Qxa7 Nc6 18.Qe3 Nd4 19.Bd2 Nxc2 20.Qc5 Nxa1 21.Qf8+ Kg6 22.Qe8+ Kf5 23.Qxc8+ Ke4 24.f3+ Kd3 25.Qf5+ Ke2 26.Qxe5+ Kd1 27.Qe3 Kc2 28.Na3+ Kxb2 29.Bc1+ Kxa2 30.Qd2+ Kb3 31.Qb2+ Ka4 32.Qb5 checkmate, Wall,B - Sami, PlayChess.com, 2019) 16.Qf8+ Ke6 17.Bg5 Qb4 18.Qxg7 Bd7 19.Qf6+ Kd5 20.Nc3+ Kc4 21.b3+ Kxc3 22.Qxe5+ Qd4 23.Bd2+ Kxd2 24.Qxd4+ Kxc2 25.Rd1 Black resigned,  Wall,Bill - Anonymous, lichess.org, 2016) 13...Qh5 14.f4 Ne7 15.fxe5+ dxe5 16.Qd3 Bf5 17.Nc3 Rad8 18.Qf1 Rhf8 19.g4 Qg6 20.Kh2 Ke6 21.gxf5+ Rxf5 22.Qc4+ Nd5 23.Rg4 Qf7 24.Ne4 h6 25.Bd2 Ke7 26.Rag1 g5 27.Qc5+ Ke8 28.Qxa7 Nf4 29.Qxb7 Ne2 30.Qb5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest3836682, PlayChess.com 2018 

12...Ke7 

The game is even, but hardly comfortable for Black.

13.Re1 d6 14.Nc3 c6 

Protecting the d5 square, but the right move was 14...Be6.

15.Ne4 Nf6 16.Bg5

Trapping the Black Queen.

Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: You Can Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later

In the 1970s and 1980s, the FRAM company ran television commercials for their automobile oil filter, warning "You can pay me now or pay me later," suggesting that purchasing their product would be a better choice than risking a serious engine failure later.

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Bill Wall offers his opponent the choice of an early loss, or an alternative, later loss. This time, the choice is "early".

Wall, Bill - Docteur

SparkChess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Or 5...Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Ke6 as in Wall,B - Docteur, internet, 2024 (1-0, 15)

6.Qg4+ Kxe5 

Or 6...Ke7 7.Qxg7+ Ke8 8.Qf7 checkmate, Wall,B-Guest13762608, PlayChess.com, 2019 

7.d4+ Bxd4 

Not 7...Kxd4 8.Be3+ Kc4 9.Qe2+ Kb4 10.Bd2+ Ka4 11.b3 checkmate, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.

8.Bf4+ Kxe4 

The text leads to checkmate, while the alternative gives up the queen (although Black has 3 pieces for it), i.e. 8...Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 as in Wall,B - Guest4105968, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1/2 - 1/2, 50). 

9.c4 Ne5 10.Nd2+ Kd3 11.Qf5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Jiwooko piano

 A Dogpile.com search on "4.Bxf7+" turned up a Korean language page on the Jiwooko piano, which had a very knowledgeable description of the Jerome Gambit (translation by Google Translate)

This is a romantic line that attacks by dragging out the king while throwing two minor pieces . After sacrificing the bishop to drag out the king, Nxe5+ throws the knight, and then Qh5+ attacks both the knight on e5 and the king dragged out to f7. It is a tricky position using the queen, and if the opponent does not respond well, the game can be led in your favor . However, since it starts by throwing two minor pieces that are not even pawns, and it is not a gambit with a complicated line or difficult to respond to like the King's Gambit , it can be seen as closer to an entertainment opening.[1] White can recover one minor piece by forking with 6.d4 , but this tends to result in losing only one minor piece (since he lost two pieces before winning one), so 6. Qh5+ is often played. However, there is an easy and powerful line that intuitively makes it difficult to attack the king in exchange for giving up a knight with 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d6, so it is not difficult to deal with. Hikaru [Nakamura] has shown this a few times during his Tricks Only speed runs.

[1] Similarly, the Double Muzio Gambit, which gives two minor pieces, can be a bit tricky to attack as the Rook and the queenside bishop also participate in the attack, but this line is incomparably easy to deal with as it attacks with only the queen.