Jerome Gambit: Shadow Gambit

 

As Annie Proulx, and others, have observed “One of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music.”

While it is not so much background as music, we have already answered the question "What does the Jerome Gambit sound like?"

But - does the opening have a poster?

Eye catching!

Actually, this is Shadow Gambit's graphic for a short Jerome Gambit video - one of almost a score of videos covering a variety of chess opening gambits.

His motto is uplifting

In live, as in chess, every move counts. Make your next one legendary.

Check the page, the art work, and the videos out.

 

Jerome Gambit: TheChessWorld

thechessworld

Recently, a small online pamphlet, from TheChessWorld, landed on my e-desk.

You might be familiar with TheChessWorld - its story is given in "Start Here" - as they offer a very large collection of instructional chess videos - a surprising number of which are free.

That's one four letter f-word we do not see frequently enough.

I worked my way through "The Zero-Blunder-Method", subtitled, tantalizingly, "Stop Hanging Pieces & Gain 150 ELO", which contained some basic self-prompts that will seriously cut down on making blunders in my chess games.

Why bother? Well, according to the booklet,

At 1200-1800 [rating], 8 out of 10 games are decided by simple blunders - not brilliant strategy.

Ouch. 

At least they didn't include playing the Jerome Gambit as a "simple blunder".

Anyhow, there is a stunning chart which looks at the "Estimated Loss Rates By Blunder Type" - identifying 4 rating classes, and taking a look at how often, for each of them, games end because of hanging pieces, knight forks, back rank checkmate, discovered attack and hanging pawns.

I haven't seen anything as helpful since Geoff Chandler's "Blunder Table".

Readers should check it all out.

Jerome Gambit: Down A Rabbit Hole

 

Chessfriend Yury V. Bukayev mentioned to me that Grandmaster Simon Williams (GingerGM) has some Jerome Gambit content online.

Given that the grandmaster has many videos and books to his name, looking him up online was a bit like falling down a rabbit hole...

My brief search turned up a relevant ChessBase Videos, as well as the Grandmaster's video, My Favorite Opening Traps.

It also led me back to earlier posts on this blog.

In "Jerome Gambit: Relaxing" I had noted

One of the YouTube.com  "The Master Tricks" videos, "jerome gambit । the jerome gambit । how to play the jerome gambit । The Master Tricks । chess traps" is a pleasant and not too long (11 moves) battle.

The game in the video, unattributed, can also be found in the notes to analysis in Grandmaster Simon Williams' “My Favorite Opening Traps”.

In "Jerome Gambit: Light Relaxing" I elaborated

By the way - speaking of videos - chessfriend Yury V. Bukayev pointed out a ChessBase offering "For free: Get your brand-new 60 minutes video course", featuring Grandmaster Simon Williams' video "My favorite Opening Traps".

The content is enticing:

1. Introduction
2. Traps
3. Stafford Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6
4. Jerome Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5 Nxe5
5. Nakhmanson Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Nc3
6. Englund Gambit - 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Bc5/Nc6
7. Panteldalkis Countergambit - 1.e4 e5 2.f4 f5
8. Fajarowicz Gambit - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4

Alas, the "free" offer expired on Christmas past, although ChessBase still sells the video in its offerings.

And, how often do you see a grandmaster using "My favorite" in relation to the Jerome Gambit?

More extensively, in the "Jerome Gambit: Mind Blowing Checkmate" post, I wrote

I was happy to recently run across the YouTube.com video "Jerome Gambit | Chess opening tips & tricks to WIN FAST!! #shorts" from Chessliker featuring a quick 10-move "mind-blowing checkmate".

The line - actually, a game - was earlier featured in the video "jerome gambit । the jerome gambit । how to play the jerome gambit । The Master Tricks । chess traps" by The Master Tricks as previously mentioned here in "Jerome Gambit: Relaxing".

It has also appeared in Grandmaster Simon Williams' “My Favorite Opening Traps”.

Going back further in time, as noted in "International Master Gary Lane", the game was identified as blackburne - karmmark, Jerome Gambit thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2007. The game was presented in two of IM Lane's ChessCafe.com "Opening Lanes" articles titled "The Good Old Days" and "Chess Made Easy" - the ChessCafe site is no longer functional, but I have linked to the essays via the Wayback Machine.

The blog post "The extraordinary and forgotten Jerome Gambit" (the title is from a quote in John Elburg's online review of the book below) also notes that blackburne - Karmark 2007 appeared in International Master Gary Lane's book The Greatest Chess Tricks and Traps (2008).

Of course, the "blackburne" in question is not Joseph Henry Blackburne of the legendary Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, game, but Pete Banks, early Jerome Gambit enthusiast, some of whose games can be found in "The Pete Banks Annotated Collection" and who presented "Learn Chess with Pete".

When I find more Jerome Gambit content by Grandmaster Simon Williams, I will share it, as well. 

Jerome Gambit: Start of the Third Round

 

The third round of Chess.com's "Italian Game" tournament has started, and I already have two Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games, with the possibility of one more.

Of course, it would also be interesting if any of my three opponents played the Jerome Gambit against me.

We shall see...

Jerome Gambit: Slip Slidin' Away

The following game reminds me of Paul Simon's song, "Slip Slidin' Away", especially the lament the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip slidin’ away...

Somehow, Black's advantage slips away.

Jerome Gambit.

Mbokharie - Zoloto-av

7 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

This was Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's choice in his earlier games, although he eventually changed to 6.Qh5+.

With all of the cautions about statistics and sampling bias, I can add that The Database has 4,946 games with 6.d4, with White scoring 54%. It has 36,659 games with 6.Qh5+, with White scoring 56%.

6...Bb4+ 

Black's strongest response is 6...Qh4, but that line is best prepared beforehand. Zoloto-av has something similar, but slightly different, in mind.

7.c3 Qh4 

Useful, and complicated. Black looks like his pieces are going to over-run White's  position.

8.Qb3+ 

In an earlier game, mbokhari grabbed the Bishop on b4, and came to regret it: 8.cxb4 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Qd3+ 10.Qxd3 Nxd3 11.Nc3 d6 12.Be3 Nxb4 13.Rc1 Nf6 14.a3 Nd3 15.Rd1 Nxb2 16.Rd2 Nc4 17.Re2 Nxa3 18.f3 Nc4 19.Bg5 h6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Nd5 Re8 22.Rxe8 Kxe8 23.Nxc7+ Kd7 24.Nxa8 b6 25.Kf2 Bb7 26.Ra1 Na5 27.Rc1 Bxa8 28.Rc7+ Kxc7 White resigned, mbokhari - Serhat_Yeni, lichess.org, 2020

Stockfish 16.1 (30 ply) recommends "castling into it" with 8.0-0, but that is without the knowledge of Karpov, Anatoly (father)  -- Bukayev, Yury , 15 0 rapid, as given in the post "Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Part 10)"

8...Ke7 

This is not a case of "just about any move will win". I suspect that time pressure pushed Black to overlook

8...Ke8 9.O-O (9...Nf3+!? 10.gxf3 Bd6 11.e5 Be7) Ng4 10.h3 Be7 11.hxg4 h5 or

8...d5 9.O-O Nf3+!? 10.gxf3 Bd6 11.e5 Be7 12.Qxd5+ Be6 13.Qe4 c6

Both keep Black's advantage.

9.Qxb4+ d6 

Given enough time on the clock, he would probably have found the cute 9...c5, which does not save him, but offers material to find time to save his Knight: 10.Qxc5+ d6 11.Qc7+ Nd7.

10.dxe5 

10...Qxe4+? 11.Qxe4 Black resigned

Ah, the Club...

                                                           

I made it to the chess club at the library, today.

If that first picture represents me, an old chess player, then the second picture has to represent the progress of my two games today.

Two wins. Had to grind them out...

In my first game, my opponent threw his pawns forward. I countered by throwing my pieces forward. The middlegame was quite a sight. And a bit long.

However, pieces checkmate easier than pawns do, and so I eventually delivered checkmate.

My second game I began, hopefully, with 1.e4, looking for a Jerome Gambit. My opponent countered with 1...d5, looking for a Scandinavian Defense. Ha! I played 2.d4, hoping he would capture my e-pawn, so that I could play 3.f3, looking for a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. But, no, he played 2.f5!? which might be the Walcott Defense, named after George Walcott, who played it against Harlow Bussey Daly in their game in the New York State Chess Association tournament in 1910.

Okay, Readers, you probably are not familiar with Walcott, but certainly you have already decided that my game should have gone 1.e4 d5 2.d4 f5 3.exd5, answering 3...Nf6 with 4.Bb5+; or 3...Qxd5 with 4.Nc3.

Instead, I played what I learned after the game was Stockfish 16.1's second choice of moves, 3.e5. Let the grind begin.

I can only say "Wait 'Til Next Year!" - I mean, next game.

Jerome Gambit: Testing Instincts

If you know the Jerome Gambit well, it can be an ideal weapon for blitz play. 

Given enough time, defenders can work out, over-the-board, a way to handle the Jerome. However, time devoted to that opening analysis is not available later on in the game - in the middlegame and the endgame.

Of course, it is possible to avoid a time forfeit - by limiting how deeply you analyze.

In sum, one virtue of the Jerome Gambit is that: In solving the defense, Black can run into time issues; in guarding his clock, he limits how deeply he can analyze.

Consider the following game with "a dynamic opening that tests [Jerome Gambit players'] instincts to exploit their opponent's mistakes - Alexx"..

The ?'s and !s have been supplied by Alexx. I have added diagrams and made a few comments in blue - Rick

AlexanderAlexx - dluthra82

3 2 blitz, Chess.com, 2026

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

Well, ?? is how the authorities evaluate the move - Rick

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6?!

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.d3 Kf7 11.f4 Re8 12.O-O Kg8 

13.Qg3 Nh5 14.Qf2 Rf8?! 15.f5 d5? 

16.Nc3! 

16.Qe2 is an interesting alternative, keeping the game even - Rick 

16...d4? 17.Nd5! c6 18.Nb4?! a5 19.g4?! 

19...axb4?? 

Black is now up a couple of pieces for a couple of pawns, but White is calling the tune on the Kingside.- Rick

20.gxh5! Ne5 

Stockfish 16.1 suggests 20...Bxf5 21.hxg6 Bxg6 22.Qxf8+ Qxf8 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 24.Bg5 c5 when White's hopes for his protected, passed pawn, can only support a draw. - Rick

21.Qg3 Kh8??

Black had 21...Qf6 with a small disadvantage in material, but time is flying - Rick

22.Qxe5! Re8 23.Qg3 Rf8 24.h6 g6? 

25.Bg5! Qd7?! 

Ushers in checkmating lines - Rick

26.fxg6 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 White won on time

White also has a checkmate in 6 - Rick

Very nicely done! - Rick