Jerome Gambit: To ...d5 or Not ...d5

When defending against the Jerome Gambit, a player needs to consider the thematic moves, such as ...Qd8-f6 and ...d7-d5.

While sometimes they don't fit the particular situation - sometimes they do.

angelcamina - krasuman

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The semi-Italian opening.

4.Nc3 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.Bxf7+ 

The semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4 Bxd4 9.Qxd4 Nc6 

10.Qc4+ Kg6 

Alternately, the retreats

10...Ke8 11.f4 d6 12.e5 (12.b3 Kf8 [12...Be6 13.Qe2 Nd4 14.Qd3 c5 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nd5 17.Qb5+ Qd7 18.Qxc5 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Ne2+ 20.Kh1 Nxc3 21.Bb2 Ne2 22.Rae1 Rf8 23.Rxf8+ Kxf8 24.Rxe2 Ke7 25.Ba3+ Ke8 26.Rf2 Qd1+ 27.Rf1 Qxf1 checkmate, angelcamina - Koci98, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025] 13.Ba3 Qe7 14.Rae1 Be6 15.Qb5 Rb8 16.e5 dxe5 17.Bxe7+ Nxe7 18.fxe5 Kf7 19.exf6 gxf6 20.Ne4 Nd5 21.Nxf6 Nxf6 22.Rxf6+ Kxf6 23.Qe5+ Ke7 24.Qxe6+ Kd8 25.Rd1 checkmate,  angelcamina - x2ornot2b, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020) 12...dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd7 14.Qf7 checkmate, angelcamina - PokerJack, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

 Or 10...Kf8 11.f4 Na5 (11...d6 12.b3 Qe7 13.Ba3 Be6 14.Qe2 Bg4 15.Qe3 Be6 16.e5 Ng4 17.Qg3 Nd4 18.exd6 cxd6 19.Rad1 Ne2+ 20.Nxe2 Kg8 21.f5 h5 22.fxe6 Qxe6 23.Rxd6 Qe4 24.Rd7 Kh7 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.cxd3 Rhf8 27.Rxf8 White won on time, angelcamina - Eldomi, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024) 12. Qb4+ c5 13. Qxc5+ d6 14. Qxa5 Qxa5 White resigned, angelcamina - Arath96, lichess.org, 2020

 11.f4 Re8 

Or 11...Na5 12.Qd3 Kh7 13.e5+ Kg8 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Be3 d6 16.Bd4 Bf5 17.Qd2 Qg6 18.Nd5 Kh7 19.Qxa5 Bh3 20.Qd2 c6 21.Ne3 Rhe8 22.Kh1 Kh8 23.gxh3 Re4 24.Rae1 Rae8 25.Ng4 Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27.Qxe1 c5 28.Bc3 Kh7 29.Nf2 Qf5 30.Qe4 Qxe4+ 31.Nxe4 b6 32.Nxd6 b5 33.Ne4 a6 34.b4 c4 35.Nd6 Kg6 36.Nxb5 Kf5 37.Kg2 g5 38.Kf3 gxf4 39.h4 h5 40.h3 a5 41.Nd6+ Black resigned, angelcamina - zepelin27, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021 

Again, althought the text is not "bad", 11...d5 was for choice for the defender 

12.e5 Nh7 

See the note to Black's 11th move: again 12...d5.

This oversight puts checkmate on the horizon.

13.f5+ Kh5 14.g4+ Kh4 15.g5+ Kh5 16.g6 

The "Jerome pawns" are playing their part in the attack.

Sharp-eyed Readers may have found 16.Qe2+ Kh4 17.Rf4+ Kxg5 18.h4#. Remember: in a 1-minute game, with the clock ticking, finding the winning line is enough.

16...Ng5 

The "best" defense, although insufficient, is 16...Qh4 17.Qe2+ Qg4+ 18.Qxg4+ Kxg4 19.gxh7 Nxe5 20.f6. 

17.Ne2 Nxe5 18.Ng3 checkmate

We are used to seeing Black's King dragged from safety into a checkmate on the Queenside. Here, we see the same finale on the Kingside. 

Jerome Gambit: Against the Barbarian

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, SkillerEP fights a barbarian, successfully wielding the opening as a weapon. 

SkillerEP - Barbarian123VA

30 0 classical, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

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

7...d6 

Blackburne's Defense, made famous by the game Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885. See "Flaws (Part I) and Flaws (Part II)".

Another path was 7...d5 8.Qxh8 Qh4 (8...c6 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.Qxg6 dxe4 11.O-O Black resigned, Pauze - BountoulisPaschalis, lichess.org, 2021) 9.O-O Bd7 (9...Bh3 10.d4 Nf6 11.Qxa8 Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 White resigned, MSMDOIPE - Rishigayle, lichess.org, 2021) 10.d4 Nf6 11.Qxa8 Black resigned, neelnikhar - GDC_baonam2009, lichess.org, 2022 

Likely strongest was Whistler's move, 7...Qe7, against which capturing Black's Rook would be too dangerous. 

8.Qxh8 

In this line, if White knows what he is doing, he can take the material and survive.

8...d5 

In many situations. ...d7-d5 is the best idea.

Here, however, 8...Qh4 was the move, with the possible followup 9.d4 Nf6 10.Nd2 Bxd4 11.O-O Qxf2+ 12.Kxh2 Ng4+ 13.Kg1 Bxh8 although Black has only the two Bishops as compensation for the exchange.

9.d4 

Or 9.Qxh7+ Kf6 (9...Kf8 10.Qxg6 dxe4 11.Qxe4 Nf6 12.Qe2 Bg4 13.f3 Bf5 14.d3 Nd5 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Qh4+ 17.g3 Qf6 18.Kd2 Re8 19.Qg2 Be3+ 20.Kd1 Qxc3 21.Rb1 Bxd3 22.Bxe3 Bxc2+ 23.Qxc2 Rd8+ 24.Kc1 Qxe3+ 25.Kb2 Qd4+ 26.Qc3 Qf2+ 27.Ka1 Qxf3 28.Rhf1 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - sarenn, 5 12 blitz, FICS, 2010) 10.e5+ Kf5 11.O-O Kxe5 12.Qxg6 Bf5 13.Re1+ Kd4 14.c3+ Kd3 15.Qxf5+ Black resigned, HadesNoir - Ingerboi, lichess.org, 2020.

9...Bf8 

Or 9...Bb6 10.Qxh7+ Ke6 11.Qxg6+ Ke7 12.Bg5+ Black resigned, Robov - abayode10, lichess.org, 2023 

10.Qxh7+ Bg7 11.e5 Be6 12.Nd2 Black resigned

White is up the exchange and three pawns. He should be able to grind out a win - as Black acknowledges.

Jerome Gambit: Rare Move, Indeed

According to The Database, White has played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ in over 55,500 games.

Black has declined the Bishop in about 1,200 games - about 2% of the time.

In the following, older, game, Black's method is unusual enough - the move makes up 12% of the declined games, or about .3% of the Jerome Gambit games, in general. 

A comparatively rare move, indeed.

Wall, Bill - Guest28776850

internet, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Ke7 

The King would do better at f8.

5.Bxg8 Rxg8 6.d4 Black resigned

I suspect that has to be tied for Bill's shortest Jerome Gambit game.

If the game were to continue, Black would have to meet the threat of 7.Bg5+, to win the Queen. Either 6...h6, 6...g5 or 6...Kf8 would do that, leaving White to capture the Bishop at c5.

Back to Preschool

 

Today, I was back, again, at the very informal chess club that gathers at a local library.

A decade and a half earlier, in the post "A Return to Pre-School" I made the point

I think if the bodacious Blackmar Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxd4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3) can be referred to as a "high school for tactics" then the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can at least be dubbed a "pre-school for tactics".

So, this afternoon, with a BDG* sharpened by my study of the "pre-school" that is the Jerome Gambit, I played sharp, sacrificial attacking chess, culminating in checkmating my opponent.

Then, I defended against the Grob opening (1.g4) and weasled my way through the game, grabbing pawns, until my opponent, totally unimpressed with my opening play (sound like some reactions to the Jerome Gambit?) hung a Rook... Not that he was intimidated or anything by my play - he made me play out my King + Queen vs his King endgame, just to see if I would slip into a stalemate.  

I didn't slip.

But I didn't get a Jerome Gambit today, either.

*- Checking my files, I note two Blackmar Diemer Gambits that I played 34  years ago, well before my interest in the Jerome Gambit. I lost both games.

 

Jerome Gambit: It'z PDV

If you were going to choose one game to illustrate the Jerome Gambit, which one would it be?

Of course, the Number 1 game filling that role appears to be
Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885.

However It'z PDV's "#Guiccio piano: Jerome gambit" video shows something different.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

This position is as old as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1-0, 28).

7.Qd5+ 

A gentle "nudge".

7...Kf6 

Instead, life is safer on the 8th rank.

8.d4 

Not the best move, but the double threat is irresistable. (I have reached this position in 5 games - Rick)

Black sees one of them.

8...Bb6 9.Bg5 checkmate

By the way, 9.Qg5+, which will win the Queen, is superficially attractive; but after 9...Kf7 10.Qxd8 White's Queen will be trapped and soon won. You will have to take my word for it, as there are no such games in The Database.

A Reversed Reversed Jerome Gambit?!

                                   

I really was going to give the Busch-Gass Gambit a rest, but I ran into a video by Chess Pro @ChessPro912 (see "Jerome Gambit: Chess Pro" for an earlier mention on this blog, concerning the video "Jerome's Gambit Magic: Make Your Opponents Disappear") tantalizingly titled "Discover the POWER of Busch-Gass Gambit!".

It featured a game that got me scratching my head, so I took a deeper look.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 

So far, as advertised: the Busch-Gass Gambit.

3.Bc4 Nf6 

As National Master Graif recommended, as I reported, in "Reversed Jerome Gambit (Part 3)"

4.d4 

Transposing to a Petroff Defense or Center Game. The position was seen as early as Puller, Arthur Giles - Horne, Benjamin Worthy, British Chess Association Congress, Cambridge, 1860 (1-0, 44)

4...exd4 5.c3 

Sharper was 5.e5.

5...Nxe4 6.Bxf7+ 

Stockfish 16.1 sees this move as about 1/2 pawn riskier for White than the Jerome Gambit.

Does White's Bishop sacrifice turn the game into a kind of reversed, reversed Jerome gambit?

6...Kxf7 7.Ne5+ Kg8 8.cxd4 

White does not have much for his sacrificed piece.

8...Qh4 

I suppose that Black hopes that this aggressive move ends the game quickly - and it does, but not in the expected manner.

9.O-O 

White is temporarily cowed, but this does not last long.

9...Bxd4

For the moment, both  players overlook the possibility of checkmate.

Necessary was the defensive withdrawal, 9...Qf6, for an even game.

10.Qb3+ 

Back on track.

10...d5 11.Qxd5+ Be6 12.Qxe6+ Kf8 13.Qf7 checkmate

Reversed Jerome Gambit (Part 3)

                                                             

[continued from the previous post]

Another look at the Busch-Gass Gambit (a sort of reversed Jerome Gambit): FIDE Master William Graif (The Gambit Man) has a lot of great educational videos: 

"Busch-Gass Gambit: The GREATEST Gambit Ever?!"

"The Busch-Gass Gambit Is UNDECLINABLE!" 

"Busch-Gass Gambit Repertoire"

"Destroying Busch-Gass Gambit Deniers: FULL REPERTOIRE"

"Stockfish LOSES ITS MIND versus my Busch-Gass Gambit"

"I BEAT MITTENS WITH THE BUSCH-GASS GAMBIT (unassisted, no cheating)"

"SPICY and NEW: Busch-Gass Gambit Lines with f5!?"

(I wondered, maybe, someday, FIDE Master Graif will make a Jerome Gambit video? Indeed, he already did!)