Jerome Gambit: And Yet... (Part 2)

                                             

Of course, it is possible to "improve" the Jerome "Face Palm Variation", mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: And Yet...(Part 1)".

To quote from "Jerome Gambit: Comfortable in the Calmer Game"

From "Jerome Gambit: The Improved Face Palm Variation?!"

Having taken a look at what I called the "Face Palm Variation" of the Jerome Gambit, I wondered if there was an "improved" variation, where White played an early d2-d4, so that his Knight could safely move to g5 with the support of his dark square Bishop.

I quickly recalled the game Wright -  Hunn, Arkansas,1874, played about a half year after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome published his first analysis of his gambit in the Dubuque Chess Journal. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.Bxf7+.

The line was referred to as The Macbeth Attack on the Italian language website Sacchi64. It has a relationship to the Italian Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4) as explored by Jude Acers and George S. Laven in their book The Italian Gambit and A Guiding Repertoire for White - 1.e4, (although they were not interested in Bxf7+)  as well as to the Lewis Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4) and the Von der Lasa Gambit, (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Bc5).

 But, I am not sure that I want to play the line - at least not yet. 

The Dubuque Chess Journal, November, 1874, referred to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+ as"an unsound variation of Jerome's double opening".

That's good enough for me.

For now, at least.

     

Jerome Gambit: Uh, Maybe Next Time

                                                       

Today, I finally made it, again, to the very informal chess club that meets at a local library every-other-week.

I played three over-the-board games and won them all - none of them a Jerome Gambit, alas, as I had achieved earlier; in part because I had the Black pieces in two of the games.

Still, I was feeling rather Jerome-ish. All of the games ended with a checkmate.

My opponent in each game played some innocuous moves that gave me tempos that I then used in preparing and executing my attacks - something that was reinforced from playing the Jerome. This is likely a theme in some of your own Jerome Gambit games, as well.

I was guided by he maxim Three pieces and an attack; yet was happy to exchange Queens to eliminate a defender or to avoid slowing down my initiative.

True, I may get my (chess) clock cleaned* next time, but for now I feel just fine.

(*The idiom "getting your clock cleaned" means to be thoroughly defeated or beaten, often in a competitive context)

Jerome Gambit: And, Yet... (Part 1)

I thought that this blog had finished off this game's opening variation with posts like this, from "Jerome Gambit: I Tried", summarizing 

"Death of a Variation" was not the first time, but it was a not-so-subtle hint. That was followed by "Public Service Announcement" and "A Mention is Not an Endorsement". You might think that "Re-Inventing the Flat Tire" might do it. 

Even coming up with a specific name for the variation - "Jerome Gambit: The Face Palm Variation" didn't stamp it out.

Why all the fuss? Check out the following game.

deusmach - ggg_540

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+ 

Getting ahead of himself...

Remarkably, The Database has 851 games with this opening. Not so surprisingly, White scores 27%.

Admittedly, the average difference in rating betwen White and Black in this case is 90 points - in Black's favor - but the expectancy for the first player would still be about 40%.

The conclusion is obvious: avoid 5.Ng5+

5...Kf8 

Wait, wait, wait... What about 5...Qxg5?

6.O-O Qxg5 

Well, then...

7.Nc3 a6 8.d4

This is the idea behind 5.Ng5+: attack both the Bishop and the Queen. Had Black captured the Knight on move 5 (see above), he could have responded to 6.d4 with 6...Qxg2, but that Queen move, now, would be quite an error. 

8...exd4 9.Bxg5 Black resigned

Blitz games can be so cruel.

Jerome Gambit: Tactics To The Rescue

1-minute bullet games require an attention to tactics. 

I suppose that if you took only a second of thinking time per move, you could establish a long game where you slowly ground down your opponent - but even then, tactics would likely show up.

In the following Jerome Gambit game, angelcamina makes his moves - and then, when given the opportunity, finishes the game with a tactical shot.  

angel_camina - saqo198627

1 1 bullet, Chess.com, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

(Curious note: The Database shows that the line scores 40%, versus 53% for 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.)

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3

Well, that was quick.

White has only a pawn for his sacrificed piece, but in a bullet game, just about anything can happen.

It helps that angel_camina has already had this position in 16 of his earlier games: familiar territory.

10...d6 11.O-O c6 

Avoiding 11...Nxe4? 12.Qd5+ snaring the Knight.

12.Qe2 Re8 13.e5 Nd5 14.c4 

The "Jerome pawns" at work.

14...Qb6+ 

An intermezzo move. Black's Knight will advance, but it should simply retreat, instead.

15.Kh1 Nc3 

16.Qh5+ Kg8 

A slip.

After 16...Kf8 17.Qxh7, Black's Knight and Queen seem misplaced, while White has his Rook on the f-file, facing the enemy King; as well as the threat to challenge the a3-f8 diagonal with his Bishop.

17.Qxe8 checkmate

Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: Chess Indigestion

 

In the following game, Black creates his own problems by ingesting too many pawns.

yankaramparmkatan - KIGO67

classical, lichess.org, 2026

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4. Bxf7+ 

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Black does best, now, to think about retreating his King from his exposed position.

Instead, the King gobbles some pawns - much to his dismay, he discovers.

6.f4 

White supports his advanced Knight.

Trickier, but more main line, is 6.c3, e.g. 6...Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Ke6. 

6...Nf6 

The next day yankaramparmkatan faced the stronger 6...Qh4+, i.e. 7.g3 Qh3 8.c3 d6 9.cxd4 dxe5 10.dxe5 (10.d3!?) 10...Qg2 11.Qb3+ Ke7 12.Qb4+ Kf7 13.Qc4+ Be6 14.Qxc7+ Ke8 15.Rf1 Rc8 16.Qxc8+ Bxc8 17.Nc3 Bb4 18.d3 Qxh2 19.Rf3 Bg4 20.Re3 Qg1+ 21.Kd2 Qd1 checkmate, yankaramparmkatan - bcsy1, classical, lichess.org, 2026 

7.c3 Nc6 8.O-O Nxe5 

Unwise, unsafe. 

9.fxe5 Kxe5 

Black's King is dining too far from home.

10.d4+ Ke6 11.e5 Ne4 

Now the Knight goes wandering... The defense after 11...Be7 12.exf6 Bxf6 is grim, but still his best. 

12.Qg4+ 

Forking the King and the Knight.

As you might expect, 12.d5+ leads to checkmate.

12...Kd5 

This also leads to mate. 

After 12...Ke7 13.Qxe4 White would dominate the board. 

13.c4+ Kxd4 14.Rd1+ Kxe5 

Just one more bite...

If you have the time, you can confirm the following line: 14...Kc5 15.Be3+ Kb4 16.Rd5 c5 17.Qxe4 Ka5 18.b4+ Ka6 19.Rxc5 d5 20.exd6 Bxd6 21.Ra5+ Qxa5 22.b5+ Qxb5 23.cxb5+ Ka5 24.Nc3 Bb4 25.Qc2 Bxc3 26.Qxc3+ Kxb5 27.Rb1+ Ka4 28.Qb4 checkmate 

15.Qf4+ Ke6 16.Qxe4+ Kf7 17.Rf1+ Kg8 

The alternative was to give up the Queen with 17...Qf6.

18.Qd5 checkmate

Confuzzled

 

My main chess tools used in preparing this blog are an ancient version of Chessbase - #9 - and Stockfish (currently 17.1) running in the Fritz 10 environment.

If it works, why fix it?

One option Chessbase offers is to prepare an Opening Report, based upon a reference database.

I just ran a Report on 16,200 games in The Database that start 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+.

Quite oddly, after Black captures with 4...Kxf7, the Report recommends 5.Rg1 for White.

I wasn't expecting that.

It turns out that The Database has exactly one game with that move - a 2015 game played at FICS, where White was checkmated in 35 moves.

I think I will give the move a pass.

Jerome Gambit: Black is Winning, Until He Isn't

I have seen it happen (The Database says tens of thousands of times) in the Jerome Gambit: White has a blistering attack, although "objectively" the defender is better; but, then, slowly - or suddenly - Black surrenders his advantage.

mouathalsebaie - yasireljeque01

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2026

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Qf6 8.Rf1 

White gives up castling Kingside, to add more pressure on the enemy King.

The Database has 375 games with this position; White scores 60%; Stockfish 17.1 is skeptical, to the tune of about 2 1/2 pawns.

8...g6 9.Qh3+ Ke7 10.fxe5 

10...Qg5 

A puzzling move, turning over the advantage to White.

Instead, he had the logical 10...Qxe5.

11.Nc3 

His Bishop is now protected, so he can play d2-d4.

11...c6 12.d4 Qh5 

13.Qxh5 gxh5 14.dxc5

White is up 2 pawns, with better development.

14...b6 15.Bg5+ Ke8 16.O-O-O 

Stockfish 17.1 (32 ply) evaluates White as about a Rook's worth of material better.

Black's central pawn shield now crumbles, surrendering to the "Jerome pawns".

16...h6 17.Bh4 bxc5 18.e6 d5 19.exd5 Ne7 20.d6 

Black resigned