Jerome Gambit: Deliver Checkmate

The ultimate solution to a chess game is checkmate.

You can win a bullet game on time.

You can win it by grinding your opponent down.

You can deliver checkmate.

angelcamina - Max_BorD

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 

Black attacks the e-pawn while offering an exchange of Queens, to blunt White's idea of attack. angelcamina has faced this in 49 games, scoring 66%.

9.Qc4 Nf6 10.Nc3 Qf7 

An interesting idea in a 1-minute game: White can exchange Queens, or have Her Magesty go pawn-hunting while behind in development.

11.Qxc7 

White picks up the gauntlet.

11...Nf4 

This must be time pressure - Black is rated in the mid-1800s.

According to Stockfish 16.1, he had 11...Qe7 12.f3 Kf7 13.b3 d5 14.Qxe7+ Nxe7 15.d3 Rd8 16.Bb2 Nc6 17.0–0–0 Be6 with an even game. 

12.O-O 

Responding to the threat, and momentarily overlooking a stronger resource.

12...g6 

Likewise, focusing on King safety instead of Knight safety.

13.Qxf4 

White is now up three pawns. Can he convert quickly?

13...Kg7 14.d4 Nh5 15.Qh6+ Kf6 

Stepping into the danger zone.

16.e5+ Ke6 17.d5+ Kf5 18.Qg5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Gemini's Turn

                                                         

I have been fascinated by Artificial Intelligence and the Jerome Gambit:  see 

"JeromeGambit: AI" 

"Jerome Gambit: AI Once More"  

"Jerome Gambit: Has ChatGPT Learned Anything" 

"SMH: ChatGPT Again" 

"ChatGPT Strikes Again!"

Today, I checked with Google's Gemini: 

Q: Tell me about the chess opening the Jerome Gambit

A: The Jerome Gambit is one of the most aggressive, unsound, and purely psychological openings in chess. It is a "hope chess" opening where White sacrifices two minor pieces (a Bishop and a Knight) just to drag the Black King into the open and hunt for a checkmate.

The Moves

The Jerome Gambit arises from the Giuoco Piano (Italian Game).

1.e4 e5

2.Nf3 Nc6

3.Bc4 Bc5

4. Bxf7+? (The starting shot)

I think Gemini has the right - almost human - perspective. 

Jerome Gambit: In the End, the "Jerome Pawns" (Part 2)

                                                 

[continued from the prevous post]

perrypawnpusher - benjicappy

Chess.com, 2025

20.g4 

As H. L. Mencken is sometimes misquoted as saying

for every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, obvious, and wrong

Here, my plan was to kick the Knight - and then? Not quite sure.

(Don't try this at home, as they used to say on TV.)

20...g6 

Challenging White's advance is a good idea, but an even better idea might be to stifle it, with 20...g5, as capturing the pawn en passant with 21.fxg6 would allow opening the dangerous h-file with 21...hxg6.

Now, for a moment, the center takes priority, if only to inject a bit of chaos for both sides. Muddle, muddle

21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Qd8 23.Re6 

I know that the advanced Rook is annoying, but there was still time for the defender to find ...g6-g7.

23...Rxe6 24.dxe6 

Now, Black has one more chance to advance his g-pawn, 24...g5. In turn, White should not exchange pieces with 25.exf7 gxh5, but, rather, retreat the Bishop with 25.Bf2, with an edge.

24...Nh6 

The Knight had to go somewhere - if it were going anywhere at all.

25.g5 

Now, White is clearly better.

 25...Nxf5 26.gxf6 Kb8 27.Re1 Nxd4 

At this point I realized that my board at home was set up wrong. Fortunately, I caught it in time.

Now, advancing either advanced pawn leads to a win. 

28.f7 Qf8 29.Bf6  Black resigned

The "Jerome pawns" rescued my game.

Jerome Gambit: In the End, the "Jerome Pawns" (Part 1)

White's extra pawns in the following Jerome Gambit game ultimately help decide the game.

Much of the following analysis, this post and next, is post mortem.

perrypawnpusher - benjicappy

Chess.com, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 b6 

An interesting idea.

More mainstream is 9...Nf6 10.O-O d5 with advantage to Black.

10.O-O Bb7

Or 10...Nf6 11.f4 Qe7 12.d3 Bb7 as in perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 22) and perrypawnpusher - alvarzr, blitz, FICS, 2013 (0-1, 59). 

11.Nc3 

Or 11.d4 Nf6 12.Nc3 as in perrypawnpusher - ponomargoal, Giuoco Fun, Chess.com 2024 (0-1, 40). 

11...Nf6 12.d3 Qe7 13.f4 Kd7 

Black has a piece for two pawns, and leads in development. Still, Stockfish 16.1 assesses the second player's position is about 2/3 of a pawn better. 

14.Qh3+ Kd8 15.f5 

Possibly premature.

15...Ne5 16.Bg5 Kd7 17.d4 Nf7 18.Bh4 Rae8 19.Rfe1 Kc8 

benjicappy is well-placed to resist any aggression I might conjure, but it still must be tried.  

That said, it might better begin with a2-a4, with a focus on the enemy King. 

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Complication After Refusal

In the following game, when Black refuses the sacrificed Bishop, White complicates things - and then safeguards the refused piece.

True, he then exchanges the prelate, but it is not often that a Jerome Gambit leads to a material advantage after a half dozen moves.

Reiepula - ensaladadefrutas

2 2 bullet, lichess.org, 2023

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

4...Kf8 

Black wants no part of the sacrifice.

Has he seen it before? The Database has 120,000 games, and has only 1 other game where ensaladadefrutas faced the Jerome Gambit - and it was played after this one. 

By the way, The Database has 1,111 games where Black plays 4...Kf8. White scores 61%. 

5.Nxe5 

Instead of withdrawing the Bishop to b3 or c4 or d5 - or exchanging it off, with 5.Bxg8 - Black first complicates the position.

The Database has 298 games with this move. White scores 56%. 

5...Nxe5 6.Bxg8 

Just for the record, had White chosen 6.d4, then 6...Kxf7 would reach a position regularly in the Jerome Gambit - with White to move, instead of Black.

6...Ng6 

I don't know what to make of this move.

Reieula has also seen:

6...Rxg8 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qf6 9.0–0 Nf3+ White resigned, Reiepula - Realstealth, lichess.org, 2022; 

6...Rxg8 7.d4 Bb6 8.dxe5 Qh4 9.0–0 Ke7 10.Nc3 c6 11.b3 Rf8 12.Ba3+ c5 13.Qd6+ Ke8 14.Nd5 Bd8 15.Bxc5 Rf7 16.Rad1 b6 17.Ba3 Bb7 18.Nc7+ Bxc7 19.Qxc7 Bxe4 20.Qc4 d5 21.Qc6+ Kd8 22.Qxa8+ Kd7 23.Rxd5+ Ke6 24.Qc6+ Kf5 25.Rd4 Qg5 26.Rxe4 Black resigned, Reiepula - Niiiiik08, lichess.org, 2023; 

6...Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 Qf6+ 8.Ke2 Rxg8 9.Rf1 d6 10.Rxf6+ gxf6 11.Qf1 Bg4+ 12.Ke1 Ke7 13.d4 Nc6 14.Be3 Rae8 15.Nc3 a6 16.Nd5+ Kf7 17.Qxf6 checkmate, Reiepula - Robertjudo, lichess.org, 2024; and

6...Kxg8 7.d4 Bb4+ 8.c3 Ba5 9.dxe5 Qh4 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.Qxa5 Qxe4+ 12.Be3 b6 13.Qa3+ c5 14.0–0 Bb7 15.Bxc5+ Ke8 16.f3 Qe2 17.Bf2 h5 18.e6 h4 19.exd7+ Kd8 20.Bxh4+ Rxh4 21.Qf8+ Kc7 22.Qxg7 Rxh2 23.Qg3+ Kxd7 24.Qxh2 Qe3+ 25.Kh1 Qe2 26.Na3 Qxb2 27.Rad1+ Kc6 28.Qh6+ Kc5 29.Qg5+ Kc6 30.Qd5+ Kc7 31.Nb5+ Kb8 32.Qd6+ Kc8 33.Rb1 Qe2 34.Rfe1 Qf2 35.Re8 checkmate, Reiepula - hombrepopa, lichess.org, 2024; 

7.Bb3 

Of course.

7...Qf6 8.O-O d6 

White has an advantage in King safety and material (plus 2 pawns) and is clearly better.

9.Nc3 Ne5 

I remain fascinated by the number of defenders who put their Knight on e5, as if saying "Go ahead, hit me".

10.d4 Ng4 

Quite possibly the clock affected this move, due to the 3-minute time control.

11.dxc5 Qh4 

Hope springs eternal.

12.h3 Ne5 13.Qd2 Ke7 

To bring his Rook into play.

For shock value, if White were running short of time, too, the second player might have tried 13...Bxh3 14.gxh3 Nf3+ although after 15.Kg2 Nxd2 16.Bxd2 he still would be worse. 

14.Qg5+  Black resigned

Exchanging Queens now would leave White ahead by a piece and a couple of pawns.

Jerome Gambit: Wandering Knight

In the following game, Black's wandering Knight undermines his defense and fuels White's attack.

Reiepula - Houssem43

2 1 bullet, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 d6 8.Qe3 Ne5 

The Knight provokes the pawns.

This may not be the best plan for Black, as The Database gives a record of 2 - 6. He might try 8...Nf6 instead.

9.d4 Nc4 10.Qb3 Be6 

Protecting the Knight, threatening the Queen, and... overlooking something. 

11.d5 

Cutting off the support to the Knight.

Black's best response is to thoughtfully return material and exchange the problematic piece: 11...Bxd5 12.exd5 Qe7+ 13.Be3 Nxe3 14.fxe3 when White only has an edge.

11...Nb6 12.dxe6+ Ke7 13.Bg5+ Black resigned

Tournament: Not only the Italians

 

I have joined the "Not only the Italians plays the Italian game" tournament at Chess.com.

As the second-highest rated player in my group of 5 I have some high hopes to be one of the two to advance. There are 15 groups, in all.

I have managed to play a Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, a Noa Gambit, and a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit (see previous post).

Win, lose, or draw, the games will all wind up on this blog.