Jerome Gambit: Nightmare

I dream of smashing, crashing attacks flowing from the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

The opening, however, can be undone by mis-spent tempos, as in the following game, turning it into a bit of a nightmare. 

Buchmann, Hans Pete - Wunder, Stefan

Remote Random-225 email, 2026

Here is the position after 17....Nxe4 

That was enough for White, who resigned.

Black has five pieces developed, versus two for White. 

Black's King is safe, White's King is exposed.

Three possible lines:

18.dxe4 Bg3+ 19.Qxg3 Qd1 checkmate

18.hxg4 Bg3+ 19.Qxg3 Nxg3 20.Rxf8+ Rxf8 21.Nd2 Qe6+ 22.Ne4 Qxg4 23.Nxg3 Qxg3+ 24.Kd2 Qe5 25.d4 Qxd4 26.Ke2 Rf2+ 27.Ke1 Rxg2 28.Be3 Qxe3+ 29.Kf1 Qg1 checkmate

18.Qxg4 Bg6+ 19.Ke2 Rxf1 20.Qxe7 Re1+ 21.Kf3 Rf8+ 22.Qf5 Rxf5+ 23.Kg3 Nd6 24.Nc3 Bf2 25.Bf4 h5+ 26.Kf3 Rxa1 27.Kxf2 Rxf4+ 28.Ke2 Rg1 Black is ahead 2 Rooks for a pawn

Jerome Gambit: Cure Worse Than the Illness

Sometimes, in finding a way to avoid an attack, the defender finds himself in even more of a problem.

In that case, the "cure" can be worse than the "illness".

Wall, Bill - Anonymous

internet, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bb4 

                               

Well, isn't that an interesting way to avoid the Jerome Gambit.

I have not faced this defense.

Bill has faced it - and played it.

4.a3 

Kicking the Bishop.

Also:

4.c3 Ba5 (4...Bd6 5.d4 Nf6 6.dxe5 Bxe5 7.Nxe5 Nxe5 8.Bd3 d5 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Bc2 $2 Qxg2 11.Rf1 Nf3+ 12.Ke2 Bg4 13.Kd3 Ne5+ 14.Kd2 Rd8+ White resigned, Nobby - Wall,B, internet, 2012) 5.b4 (5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.b4 Bb6 7.b5 Na5 8.Nxe5+ Kf8 9.d3 Nf6 10.O-O d6 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.Nbd2 a6 13.a4 axb5 14.axb5 Qd7 15.c4 Kf7 16.e5 dxe5 17.Nxe5+ Kf8 18.Nxd7+ Bxd7 19.Bb2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest651355, internet, 2017) 5...Bb6 6.b5 Na5 7.Nxe5 Nxc4 8.Nxc4 Qh4 (8...Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 Qf6+ 10.Qf3 Qxf3+ 11.gxf3 d6 12.Rg1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Michael4, internet, 1996) 9.O-O Qxe4 10.Re1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Not2gr8, internet, 1996; 

4.O-O Nf6 5.c3 Bd6 6.d4 O-O 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.Nxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bd6 10.e5 Bc5+ 11.Kh1 Ne4 12.Qe2 d5 13.Bd3 Bf5 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Qxe3 c6 16.Na3 f6 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.exf6 Qxf6 19.Rae1 Rae8 20.Qg3 Re6 21.Nb1 Bxb1 22.Rxb1 Re2 23.Qf3 Rfe8 24.Qg4 Qd6 25.h4 a5 26.Qg3 R8e4 27.Qg5 Rc2 28.Rbe1 Rxb2 29.Rxe4 dxe4 30.f5 Qf6 31.Qf4 h6 32.Re1 Qxc3 33.Qxe4 Qf6 34.Qe6+ Qxe6 35.Rxe6 $2 Rxa2 36.Re7 b5 37.Rc7 b4 38.Rxc6 b3 39.Rb6 a4 40.g4 b2 41.g5 Ra1+ 42.Kh2 b1=Q White resigned, Guest556949 - Wall,B, internet, 2013; and  

4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nd5 Bc5 6.O-O O-O 7.d3 h6 8.c3 d6 9.b4 Bb6 10.a4 a6 11.Re1 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Be6 13.a5 Ba7 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Qb3 Qe7 16.h3 Qf6 17.Ra2 Qg6 18.Nh2 Rae8 19.Ng4 h5 20.Ne3 Qf7 21.f3 g5 22.Kh2 Qf4+ 23.Kh1 Qf6 24.b5 axb5 25.Qxb5 Rb8 26.Bd2 Bxe3 27.Bxe3 g4 28.a6 gxf3 29.a7 Ra8 30.Qxb7 Rxa7 31.Bxa7 Nxa7 32.Qxa7 fxg2+ 33.Rxg2+ Kh8 34.Qxc7 Rg8 35.Rxg8+ Kxg8 36.Rg1+ Kh8 37.Qxd6 Qf3+ 38.Kh2 Qf2+ 39.Rg2 Qf4+ 40.Kg1 Qe3+ 41.Rf2 Qe1+ 42.Kg2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest3899120, internet, 2015; 

4...Be7 

Or 4...Bc5 5.b4 Bb6 6.O-O d6 7.h3 Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Bb2 Nxe4 10.Rxe4 d5 11.Bxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Qd6 13.b5 Nd4 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 15.a4 Bf5 16.Ba3 Qg6 17.Rh4 Bxc2 18.Qg4 Rfd8 19.Qxg6 Bxg6 20.Re1 f6 21.Ne4 a6 22.Bb4 axb5 23.axb5 Ra4 24.Bc3 f5 25.Bxd4 Rdxd4 26.Nc3 Rxh4 27.Nxa4 Rxa4 28.Rxe5 Ra1+ 29.Kh2 c6 30.b6 Rb1 White resigned, Cesarian - Wall,B, internet, 2002

5.d4 

An odd Scotch opening.

5...d5 

The more reserved 5...d6 was called for, instead. 

6.exd5 Nxd4 7.Nxe5 Bc5 

Black might have tried 7...Nf5, intending ...Nd6, but 8.Bb5+ Kf8 9.O-O would have kept White's advantage. 

8.O-O Qh4 

Remember the old adage Three pieces and an attack - it doesn't apply here.

9.Re1 Bh3 

Optimism.

10.Ng6+ Black resigned

Black will lose his Queen, and also a minor piece.

Jerome Gambit: Running the Maze

Facing (or playing) the Jerome Gambit - or similar sacrificial attacks - at bullet speed, is a lot like running a maze.

Something angelcamina does well, again and again.

angel_camina - Dr-HatimBT

1 1 bullet, Chess.com, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bb4 

I am not sure what Black is getting at with this move. If 4.c3 Ba4 5.d4 exd4 6.0-0 Bb6 7.cxd4 d6 8.Nc3 Nf6 White is better.

4.Bxf7+ 

Jerome-izing the game. angelcamina has over 1,700 games in The Database.

The Database has only one other game with this position, a bullet game where Black was better the whole game - but lost on time.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

The text move is good, although 6...Ng6 is better. 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Ne7 

Black kicks the enemy Queen. He could have explored exchanging it with 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6, a familiar Jerome Gambit motif. 

9.Qxe5+ Kc6 

10.c3 Bd6 11.Qd4 

Where else to go? Maybe 11.Qh5. 

11...b6 12.e5 Bc5 13.Qe4+ 

13...Kb5 

The clock is ticking. Possibly Black missed the best move, 13...d5, because of concern about the possibility 14.exd6+ Nd5 15.c4, attacking the pinned piece. If so, the riposte 15...Re8 is sufficient. 

After the text, White can grab a Rook - and also endanger the enemy King.

14.Qxa8 Ka5 

If you run in a maze, there is a chance that you will run into a wall. 

Black's King looks at risk. Black is down material. White can choose how to proceed.

15.b4+ Bxb4 16.cxb4+ Kxb4 17.Qe4+ Ka5 18.Nc3 Ka6 19.O-O Bb7 

Unfortunate. It happens in bullet chess.

20.Qa4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Danil Li

My "Google Alerts" found a 2026 chess video by young Danil Li (one his many videos) that proclaimed The Jerome Gambit is one of the wildest openings in chess  

Agreed.

In the following bullet game, Danil finishes his opponent quickly:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 

This position is at least as old as Tonetti - Ruggieri, Rome, 1863 (1-0, 23)

8.f4 

Alonzo Wheeler Jerome started 10 of his games this way.

8...g6 

Kicking the White Queen. 

If I were to say that I won from this position in games lasting 17 and 38 moves, and drew one game in 59 - I would also have to point out that in this game Danil concludes his contest quicker.

9.Qxe5+ Kc6 10.Qd5+ Kb6 11.d4 

11...Bb4+ 12.c3 Ba5 

A slip. The Bishop needed to go to f8.

13.b4 Qf6 14.Qxa5+ Kc6 15.Qc5 checkmate

Well done!

If You Are Going to Cross the Stream...

If you are going to cross the stream, it helps to know where the rocks are.

In the following game, angel_camina walks steadily, while his opponent eventually loses his footing and falls into the drink.

angel_camina - p0hanghang

1 1 bullet, Chess.com, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ 

Quoting from an earlier post, "Not Regarded to Be A Very Good Move (Part 1)"

The Bishop sacrifice goes by different names.

It has been referred to as the Noa Gambit. Charles Thomsas Blanshard, in his Examples of Chess Master-Play (1894) said of 5.Bxf7+ "The text move, a hobby of Dr. Noa, develops Black's game." See Noa,J - Makovetz,G, DSB-07 Kongress, Dresden, 1892 (0-1, 27).

It has also been called the Monck Gambit. In Pollock Memories: A Collection of Chess Games, Problems, &c., &c., Including His Matches with Eugene Delmar, Jackson Showalter, and G.H.D. Gossip (1899), William Henry Krause Pollock gave a crushing 19-move miniature ending in checkmate as "[A] very fine example, known in Dublin years ago as the 'Monck Gambit' ." 

More recently, Rev. Tim Sawyer, of Blackmar Diemer Gambit fame, applied the very apt name "Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit".

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Neg5+ 

According to The Database, angelcamina has a win with 7.Nc3 and one with 7.Ng3.

He is 12 - 0 with 7.Neg5+.

Playing bullet chess against angelcamina is slippery business.

7...Kg8 8.d4 h6 9.Nh3 Bxh3 10.gxh3 e4 

So far, Black can be happy with his game - but, with his clock? I wonder.

11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 c6 13.Rg1 Kh7 14.Qg4 Rg8 

The threat is not to g7, but to g6, as White quickly shows. The loss of time is critical.

15.Qg6+ Kh8 16.Bxh6 Qe7 17.Bg5 Qxe5 

When short on time, grab material.

Not this time.

18.Qh5 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Anti-Bill Wall Gambit, Return to Discussion (Part 2)

                                                        

A few years ago, chessfriend Dan Middlemiss sent me some Anti-Bill Wall Gambit games featuring the unusual line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 Bf2+ [Updates are in Blue]

At the time, his collection raised the number of Anti-Bill Wall Gambit games in The Database to 30. [Currently there are 73.]

Dan pointed out that after 8.Kxf2 Nc6 Black seems to do well. In fact, Black won 6 of 9 games. [Currently Black has won 9 out of 18 games]

Quoting further from the earlier post

That got me thinking.

The solution for White is hidden in a couple of those losses: 9.d4.

It is clear that the d-pawn can not be taken, e.g. 9.d4 Nxd4  10.Qd5+ followed by 11.Qxd4; although 9.d4 Nxd4 10.Rd1 is interesting as well. None of this has shown up in practice [currently there are still none]

Black can focus on ejecting White's queen. So 9.d4 Nf6 [still no games], although 10.d5+ Ke7 11.Qf3 can lead to a goofy rook sacrifice, 11...Nb4 12.e5 Nfxd5 13.c4 Nc2 14.cxd5 Nxa1 15.f5 and the menacing pawns + the queen give White a clear advantage.

So maybe 9.d4 g6 is the better idea to deal with White's Queen [still no games]. Still, weirdness abounds: 10.d5+ Kf7 11.Qf3 Nce7 12.Rf1 d6 13.Kg1.

The two games I have with 9.d4 were answered 9...d5  (reasonable) and 9...Ke7 (likewise). [Nothing has changed]

Stockfish 15 recommends meeting 9...d5 with 15: 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.exd5+ Kd6 12.Qg5 Ne7 13.Re1 b6 14.Bd2 Nfxd5 15.Qe5+  Kc6 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Qe4 Ba6 18.c4 Bxc4 19.Rac1 Kb7 20.Rxc4 and White is a bit better.

Likewise, the computer recommends meeting 9...Ke7 with 10.d5 Nb4 11.Qd1 Kf7 12.a3 Na6 13.Rf1 d6 14.Kg1, again with a small plus for White. 

Jerome Gambit: The Anti-Bill Wall Gambit, Return to Discussion (Part 1)

Some lines of play in the Jeorme Gambit get me thinking, and researching, and looking up blog posts.

sub_nishanth - dzikasarna

3  blitz, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Bf2+ 

The Anti-Bill Wall Gambit, also seen in "Jerome Gambit: A Cautionary Tale" and "Jerome Gambit: Another Reason".

8.Kxf2 

The Database does not have any games where White declines the Bishop.

8...Nf7 

8...g6 was seen in Wall,B - Buster, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 11); 

8...Ng6 was seen in Wall,B - Equa, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 14);  Wall,B - Kumar, SparkChess, 2024 (1-0, 22); and Wall,B - Kumar, SparkChess, 2024 (1-0, 12)  

9.Re1 Nf6 

10.Qh3+ Ke7 11.e5 Nd5 12.f5 d6 13.e6

The "Jerome pawns" are making a problem for the defender.

The question is, what should Black do now?

Stockfish 17.1 (35 ply) suggests 13...Ng5 14.Qg3 h6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Qf8 17.Kg1 c6 when it evaluates White's position as almost 1 1/2 pawns better. If White tries the logical 18.h4, though, Black can sacrifice his Knight, and with 18...Nxe6 19.fxe6 Qf6 20.d4 Rf8 21.Be3 Bxe6 the position is a material-even mess.

13....Nh6 

Avoiding complications - and time may have been a factor, here - but settling for a worse position. 

14.d4 Rf8 15.Bg5+ 

15...Ke8 

Definitely looks like time trouble.

16.Bxd8 Kxd8 17.c4 Nf4 18.e7+ Black resigned

The loss of material will be too large.