Jerome Gambit: Oh, Never Mind...

                                                        

Today (I was not able to make the last meeting), I was back, again, at the very informal chess club that gathers at a local library every-other-week.

Three games, three wins; all by checkmate.

Two as Black, one as White.

No Jerome Gambit.

Maybe I need to work up a "reversed Jerome Gambit" - wait, I think I read something about that on a blog post, here...*

*(I suppose that I could start with "Worth a Second Look..." Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, featuring a sort-of "reversed Jerome Gambit.")

Jerome Gamit: Maybe Not the Best Choice

Choices.

In the following Jerome Gambit game, the defender can choose to protect his King or to strike back in the center.

He chooses his King - and then doesn't - and has to deal with the consequences.

angelcamina - bullet62

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

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

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Rf8

Black begins to castle-by-hand.

The thematic 7..d5 was for choice. 

8.dxe5 Ne8

He would do better to continue his hand-castling, e.g. 8...Kg8 as in angelcamina - erfin, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020: 9.exf6 Bxf2+ 10.Kxf2 Qxf6+ 11.Qf3 Qd4+ 12.Be3 Rxf3+ 13.gxf3 Qf6 14.Rhg1 d6 15.Bg5 Qd4+ 16.Be3 Qb4 17.Rg3 Qxb2 18.Bd4 Qxc2+ 19.Ne2 Be6 20.Rxg7+ Kf8 21.Rag1 Re8 22.Rxh7 c5 23.Bc3 Qd3 24.Rgg7 b5 25.Rh8+ Bg8 26.Rhxg8 checkmate.

9.Qd5+ Kg6 

White dealt with the other retreat handily, 9...Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.exd6+ cxd6 12.Qg5+ Black resigned, angelcamina - kkkkkuuuuuuuu, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021. 

10.Qxc5 d6 

11.exd6 

Slightly better than 11.Qd4 h6 12.O-O Kh7 13.f4 Be6 14.f5 Bg8 15.e6 Nf6 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nxf6+ Rxf6 18.b3 d5 19.e5 Rxe6 20.fxe6 Bxe6 21.Qd3+ Kh8 22.Bb2 Qd7 23.Rae1 Re8 24.Rf2 c5 25.Ref1 g6 26.Rf8+ Rxf8 27.Rxf8+ Kg7 28.Qf3 Qe7 29.Rf6 Black resigned, angelcamina - MF-S, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019 

11...Nxd6 12.Qe3 Qf6 13.O-O h6 14.e5 Black resigned

The pawn fork will win a piece, and that is enough for Black to turn over his King.

Jerome Gambit: Super Fast

The player DutchLiLi has almost 2,500 games in The Database (scoring 58%), with time controls of 3 minutes and 1 minute.

That's super fast.

DutchLiLi - BACollin

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 

Black can now go into Blackburne's defense with 7...d6, Whistler's defense with 7...Qe7, or come up with a defense of his own.

7...d6 8.Qxh8 

White can take the Rook - if he knows what he is doing.

8...Qh4 

Played by "X" against Lieut. Sorensen in Denmark in 1888. 

9.O-O 

The strongest move is 9.d4, but in a 1-minute game, will it matter?

9...Bh3 

The move certainly has shock value.

Still, it appears in 34 games in The Database, and White scores 74%.

Perhaps Black got his moves mixed up? After 9...Nf6 10.Qd8 then 10...Bh3 and one side or the other can pursue multiple checks of the enemy King.

10.d4 

White's one move for advantage is 10.Qc3.

10...Qg4 

Bullet games! Arggghhh!

Instead, Black wins with the Blackburne-like offer of a Rook, 10...Nf6.

11.Qxh7+ 

White's Queen escapes, rushes to Her King's defense, and wins the game.

11...Kf6 12.Qxh3 Qg5 

A slip, but it hardly matters.

13.dxc5 

Giving the enemy Queen a chance to escape, but, again, it hardly matters.

13...dxc5 14.Bxg5+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: SpeakChess

SpeakChess

There is a very interesting website, SpeakChess ("Build an opening repertoire - and remember it under pressure") that covers, among other openings, the Jerome Gambit.

Special for this site, it is set so that one can "Train as White" or "Train as Black" for the opening, on the given board, as well as being able to "Explore All Variations".

Another section gives the first 12 moves of the Jerome, with explanations for each.

There is also a chart, compiled from online games, that shows "Wins by Rating".

There is a Frequently Asked Questions section, as well.

It is well worth taking a look.

Jerome Gambit: Out-Stranged Update

 

                             

I continue to be troubled by the game perrypawnpusher - NN, "The Italian Game" tournament, Chess.com, 2026 (1-0, 8), which began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 g5.

The move 3...g5 strikes me as one of the strangest ways to avoid (consciously or unconsciously) the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

From the earlier post, "Jerome Gambit: A New/Old Defense", my most recent examination

See "Jerome Gambit: Out-Stranged?" and "Jerome Gambit: Out-Stranged Post Script".

The earliest example of this defense [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 g5] that I have seen is in Smeltzer,P - Elliott,J,  Detroit, 1990 (0-1, 24).

I was shocked to find that there are 63,000 games with this line of play (Black scoring 45.5% overall) at lichess.org. The top player using the defense was rated at 3113.

 A quick check today shows that there are now 65,000 games with this line of play in the lichess.org database - Black still scoring 45.5% - with no change in the rating of the top player using the defense.

Mind you, as compared to 50% for Black, against the Jerome Gambit. With those numbers, why avoid the Jerome?

Jerome Gambit: Decisions to Be Made

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game focuses on the White Rook on a1, and the Black Rook on h8.

There are decisions to be made, and they affect the outcome of the game.

deusmach - Viraaj_011

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

A few comments -

From "Critical Line: 5...Kf8 (1)"

As early as his first Jerome Gambit article (Dubuque Chess Journal April, 1874), Alonzo Jerome considered the possibility that Black might refuse to capture the second piece with 5...Nxe5, and instead play for King safety instead with 5...Kf8.

In a letter to the American Chess Journal, March 1877, Jerome wrote

5...Kf8 leaves White's pawns intact while Black has lost two strong pawns and doubled another. This defense was adopted by G.J. Dougherty of Mineola, NY, a strong amateur, against whom I first played the opening, and I think he will agree that 5...Kf8 is not a good defense. He generally played 6.bc and that was the play of Mr. J. C. Young of Danville, KY, who subsequently abandoned the game. Why, I do not know, as it was not necessarily lost to either of us. It is a question with which Pawn it is best to take.

Oh, and from "The Jerome Gambit Article (Part 6)"

None of the analysts appear to have looked at 5…Ke8, which showed up in Blackstone - Dommeyer, skittles game, USA 1960, continuing: 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Nf4+ Kd8 10.d3 d6 11.Rf1 Qd4+ 12.Be3 Qf6 13.c3 1-0 An improvement for White might be 6.Nxc6, leading to a roughly even game; while Black improves over the text with 8…Nf6, holding the advantage

6.d4 

The earliest example that I have of this position in The Database comes from a serious member of the modern "Jerome Gemeinde"

stretto - BenWB, blitz, FICS2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Nxc6 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qf3 Qxc6 10.Rf1 Qc5+ 11.Be3 Qxc2+ 12.Nd2 Ne7 13.Kg1 Qxb2 14.Qf7+ Kd8 15.Qf8+ Rxf8 16.Rxf8 checkmate

Mainline here 6.Nxc6 Qh4 7.d4 Qxe4+ 8.Be3 Bf8 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qe5+ Qxe5 11.Nxe5 with an edge.

 

6...Nxd4 

Or, from other games with deusmach

6...Nf6 7.dxc5 Nxe5 8.Bg5 Kf7 9.O-O h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Qd5+ Qe6 12.Qd4 c6 13.Nc3 b6 14.Na4 Bb7 15.b3 a6 16.Rae1 b5 17.Re3 bxa4 18.Rh3 Qe7 19.bxa4 Kf6 20.f4 Qe6 21.fxe5+ Ke7 22.Rhf3 Raf8 23.Rxf8 Rxf8 24.Rxf8 Kxf8 25.Qd6+ Qxd6 26.cxd6 Kf7 27.Kf2 Ke6 28.Kf3 Kxe5 29.c4 Kxd6 30.Kf4 g6 31.g4 Kc5 32.h4 d6 33.e5 dxe5+ 34.Kxe5 Kxc4 35.Kf6 Kb4 36.Kxg6 Kxa4 37.Kxh6 Bc8 38.g5 Bf5 39.g6 Be6 40.g7 Bxa2 41.Kh7 c5 42.h5 Bb3 43.h6 Bc4 44.g8=Q Bxg8+ 45.Kxg8 c4 46.h7 c3 47.h8=Q c2 48.Qa1+ Kb3 49.Qc1 a5 50.Qe3+ Black resigned, deusmach - Jagmith_123, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024;

6...Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.dxc5 Qe7 9.O-O Qxc5 10.Nc3 Qxh5 11.Be3 Nf6 12.Rae1 Ng4 13.h3 Nxe3 14.fxe3 Nh4 15.e5 Qg6 16.Rf4 Qxg2 checkmate, deusmach - baraaakabawy12, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024;

6...Nxe5 7.dxe5 Bb6 8.Be3 Qe7 9.Bxb6 axb6 10.O-O Qxe5 11.Nc3 Qe7 12.Re1 d6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Qh5+ Qf7 15.Rxe5+ Kf8 16.Re8+ Kxe8 17.Re1+ Kf8 18.Qb5 Qxa2 19.Qe8 checkmate, deusmach - kurchik1, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024; and

6...Bxd4 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.Bg5+ Kd6 9.Bxd8 Black resigned, deusmach - Rexa1011, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 

7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 

A decision point: Does Black give up the Rook with 8...hxg6? Does Black capture the pawn on c3, forking White's King and Rook?

After 8...hxg6 9.Qxh8 Kf7 10.Qh7+ Kf8 11.Bh6+ Nxh6 12.Qxh6+ Kf7 White has two pawns and a Rook against two Bishops, which Stockfish 17.1 (30 ply) sees as an advantage of about a pawn.

After 8...Nxc2+ 9.Kd1 Nf6 (9...Nxa1 allows checkmate in 6, starting with 10.Ne5+) 10.Qxc5 hxg6 11.Qxc2 and White is better.

8...Nf6 9.Qxc5 hxg6 

Inserting 9...Ne6 befor capturing the Knight is the way to go, keeping White's advantage from growing. 

10.Qxd4 

White is clearly better, material wise and King safety wise.

10...Qe7 11.O-O Qxe4 

A slip.

The condemned army has its last meal.

12.Qxf6 Qxc2 13.Re1+ Qe4 14.Rxe4 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: 64 SQUARES (Part 2)

Here is the game that was shown, via video, at the 64 SQUARES site, mentioned in the previous post.

CheckmateChas - Gusta182

YouTube, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 

A Scotch - Jerome hybrid.

I noted in "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).

5...exd4 6.Ng5+ 

As in Wright -  Hunn, Arkansas,1874, although I mentioned in "Brilliant But Not Sound" 

DCJ: "SK5 à la Jerome is better than SS5." [The Dubuque Chess Journal here uses descriptive notation with "S" for "Springer" instead of "N" or "Kt" for "Knight."]

In any event, The Database has almost 1,500 (!) games with this line, with White scoring 38%.

6...Ke7 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.O-O Re8 9.c3 dxc3 10.Qxc3 

Capturing with the Knight seems more relevant.

10...d5

Fascinating - a thematic strike in the center. Moving the pawn one step, 10...d6, though, is the move.

11.exd5

It is not clear what the time control was for this game - the video shows both players with over 8 minutes on the clock when the game starts, but neither player's clock counts down. Or, did that reflect their time left at the end of the game?

Clearly, grabbing the Bishop with 11.Qxc5+ is for choice, when the game becomes a battle over Black's isolated d-pawn: 11.Qxc5+ Qd6 12.Qxd6+ cxd6 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Rd1 Nf6 15.Nc3 h6 16.Nge4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Rd8 with an edge to White

11...Qxd5 

Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into, Jerome.*

 

12.Re1+ Be6

This does not work. Black would do well to continue castling-by-hand with 12...Kf8. 

13.Nxh7 

White sees how this leads to pressure on the enemy King, and the continuation of the game supports him, but accuracy is found in 13.Nxe6 Kf7 14.Nxc7 Rxe1+ 15.Qxe1 Qd6 with an even game.

I suspect the clock is bothering both players.

13...Nxh7 14.Qxg7+ 

Black now has a choice of escape squares, and only one helps him. 

14...Kd6 

Instead, 14...Kd8 15.Qxh7 Rg8 16.Qe4 Qxe4 17.Rxe4 Bd5 18.Nc3 Bxe4 19.Nxe4 Bd4 presents a constant headache for White, even after he gets the Queens off of the board and surrenders an exchange.

Now, however, Black is in dire straits.  

15.Bf4+ Ne5 16.Bxe5+ Kc6 

Capturing the Bishop, giving up the Queen, is equally sad.

17.Qxc7+ Kb5 18.Nc3+ Kc4 19.Nxd5 

Black resigned

White has a checkmate in 4 moves,

*-From Oliver Hardy, in the Laurel and Hardy movies of the 1930s: "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into, Stanley."