Jerome Gambit: Tournaments Update Update

 

In "Tournaments Update" I reported

My play in the second Chess.com's "Italian opning rapid players" tournment has come to the end.

Although the top-rated player, I will finish fourth (not all the other players' games are completed) with a score of 12 - 4 - 6. 

Tadeasek200 is running away from the field with a score of 19 - 0 - 1, with two games left to complete.

In fact, Tadeasek200 finished in first place in "Italian opning rapid players", scoring 20 - 1 - 1. The one loss was on time. I knicked him for his one draw.

Continuing from "Tournaments Update"

I managed to play 2 Jerome Gambits - wins against BIJAN_H_F and diegorocha82 - and 2 Noa gambits - draws against Tadeasek200 and Serega40.

Updating other tournament news

In the meantime, I have 2 games to complete in the Chess.com "Not only the Italians plays the Italian game" - both against JAMARTINO, which will decide second place.

In Round One of  "Not only the Italians plays the Italian game", Group 15, I played a Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, a Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, and a Noa Gambit.

I did well enough to move on to Round Two, Group 6, where I scored 6 - 0 - 0, managing a Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit and a Noa Gambit; placing me in position to move on to Round Three.

Also, I have scored 2 - 0 - 0 in the third round of the Chess.com

"BISHOP'S OPENING CUP 2025". As I mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Games Update"

My hope is to play a number of Abrahams Jerome Gambits, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+, a line that I have not tried before, but is worth exploring.

So far, no luck in being able to play an Abrahams Jerome. There are 4 games left in the third round of "BISHOP'S OPENING CUP 2025" so I soon shall have some more chances.

Jerome Gambit: Best Gambit Against Beginners Video

It's a short YouTube video, but the title says it all: "Best Gambit Against Beginners! - Jerome Gambit", by FuoriChess.

The creator has a number of videos at @FuoriChess with titles starting "Best...", "Beat...", "Destroy...", and "Most..."

Why not swing by and give it a look?

Jerome Gambit: Target the Enemy King

The Jerome Gambit is designed to remove the enemy King's defenses. The following game illustrates.

angel_camina - ourusboros

1 1 bullet, internet, 2026

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 Bd6 

7...d5!?

8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.f4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3

White has an extra pawn, Black has an extra piece.

10...Nxe4 

This pawn grab, however, loses a piece - but only if White is careful.

11.Qd5+ Kf6 

Or 11...Kf8 12.Qxe4 Qe7 13.Qxe7+ Kxe7 14.O-O d6 15.Bb2 Kf7 16.f5 Rf8 17.c4 Kg8 18.Rae1 Bxf5? 19.Rxf5? Rxf5 20.Re7 Raf8? 21.Rxg7+ Kh8 22.Rxc7+ R5f6 23.Rxb7 Kg8 24.Bxf6 Rxf6 25.Rxa7 d5 26.cxd5 Rd6 27.c4 Rd8 28.Rc7 Kf8 29.a4 Ke8 30.Rxh7 Rd7 31.Rxd7 Kxd7 32.c5 Kc7 33.g4 Kb7 34.h4 Ka6 35.d6 Ka5 36.d7 Kb4 37.d8=Q Ka3 38.c6 Ka2 39.c7 Kb3 40.c8=Q Kb441.a5 Ka4 42.a6 Ka3 43.a7 Ka2 44.a8=Q+ Kb2 45.Qab7+ Ka1 46.Qa5 checkmate, angelcamina - Yotta666, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025) 

12.Qe5+ 

Also 12.Bb2 d6 13.O-O-O Re8 White has an edge.

12...Kg6 

Risky.

Better is 12...Kf7, i.e. 13.Qf5+ (13.Qd5+ Kf6 14.Qe5+ Kf7 15.Qd5+ 1/2 - 1/2, angelcamina - TaxationIsSlavery, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020) 13...Nf6 (13...Qf6 14.Qd5+ Qe6 15.Qh5+ g6 16.Qf3 (16.Qe5 Qxe5 17.fxe5 Nxc3 18.O-O+ Kg7 19.Bb2 Ne4 20.e6+ Kh6 21.Bxh8 dxe6 22.Rae1 Nd2 23.Rf2 Nc4 24.Rf7 Nd6 25.Rxc7 b6 26.Bg7+ Kh5 27.Re5+ g5 28.Bf6 h6 29.h3 Bb7 30.Kh2 Nf5 31.g4+ Kg6 32.gxf5+ Kxf6 33.Rxe6+ Kxf5 34.Rxh6 Be4 35.Rf7+ Black resigned angelcamina - komtex, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025) 16...Ng3+ 17.Kf2 Nxh1+ White resigned, angelcamina - Carlengo, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024) 14.O-O Rf8 15.Ba3 d6 16.Qg5 Kg8 17.Rae1 b6 18.Bb2 Bb7 19.c4 d5 20.c5 bxc5 21.Be5 d4 22.Qh4 h6 23.g4 Qd7 24.g5 Ne4 25.gxh6 gxh6 26.Qg3+ Kh7 27.Qd3 Black resigned, angelcamina - Magic777, 1 1 bullet, lichess.org, 2020) 

13.Qxe4+ Kf7 14.O-O Re8 

Material is even, but King safety is not.

15.Qc4+ 

It was okay to pawn-grab with 15.Qxh7.

angelcamina had also tried 15.Qd5+ Kf8 16.Ba3+ d6 17.Rae1 Qf6 18.Rxe8+ Kxe8 19.Re1+ Kf8 20.g3 Qxc3 21.Qe4 Bh3 22.Qe7+ Kg8 23.Bc1 Qxc2 White resigned, angelcamina - gpettas21, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025 

15...Re6 

Must be the clock.

16.f5 d5 17.fxe6+ Kxe6 18.Qe2+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Surrounded

It can be easy to forget that our favorite chess opening, the Jerome Gambit - for all of its fun and adventure - is a "refuted" line of play that can sometimes surround the first play with all sorts of difficulties.

In the following games, a very experienced and successful Jerome Gambit expert finds this out, as he moves in and out of danger that seems all around him.

angel_camina - nicolagoestosc

1 1 bullet, lichess.org, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 

Not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but enough to maintain an advantage, according to Stockfish 17.1.

9.O-O d6 10.Qc4 Qd7 

If there is an issue with Black's response, it hasn't proven worse than alternatives that angelcamina has faced 

10...Nc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Nc3 Qe7 13.d4 Rf8 14.f5 Nh8 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Bg5 Qxg5 17.Nxc7+ Ke7 18.Nxa8 Rxa8 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Qe3+ 21.Kh1 Qb6 22.f6+ gxf6 23.exf6+ Kd8 24.Qg8+ Kc7 25.Qg3+ Kd8 26.f7 Nxf7 27.Rxf7 Be8 28.Rd1+ Kc8 29.Qg4+ Kb8 30.Rf8 Qd8 31.Rxd8+ Nxd8 32.Rxe8 Kc7 33.Re7+ Kb6 34.Qd7 Nc6 35.Qxb7+ Kc5 36.b4+ Kc4 37.Re4+ Kc3 38.Qxc6+ Kb2 39.Qc4 White won on time,  angelcamina - SIIAMS, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023; 

10...b6 11.f4 a5 12.f5 Ba6 13.Qa4+ Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Kxd7 15.d3 Ne5 16.Nc3 Rad8 17.Bf4 Kc8 18.Bg5 h6 19.Bh4 Rde8 20.Rf2 N7c6 21.Nd5 Nd4 22.c3 Ndc6 23.d4 Nc4 24.b3 Ne3 25.Re1 Nxd5 26.exd5 Rxe1+ 27.Rf1 Rxf1 checkmate, angelcamina - misterbean732, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023; and 

10...Bd7 11.f4 Rf8 12.f5 Ne5 13.Qe2 N7c6 14.d4 Nxd4 15.Qd3 Nxd3 16.cxd3 Ne2+ White resigned, angelcamina - khadija2025, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025; 

11.f4 c6 

Preparing ...d5, which could have been played immediately, but never actually gets played in the game.

12.f5 Ne5 13.Qb3 

White's Queen is doing a lot of work here.

13...Rf8 14.d4 Ng4 15.Qg3 Nf6 16.Qxg7 

Danger? Ha! I laugh at danger.

16...Nxe4 17.Bh6 

Not showing any interest in 17.Nc3 Nxc3 18.bxc3 Rf7 19.Qh8+ Rf8 20.Qg7 Rf7 21.Qh8+ Rf8 etc, draw 

17...Rg8 18.Qxh7 

Hungry, hungry Queen.

18...Nf6 

Awkward.

19.Qxg8+ Nexg8 20.Nc3 Kd8 

Choosing King safety over further material gain.

21.Rae1 

This is a bullet game: attack until it is over, one way or another.

21...Kc7 

22.Bf4 b6 23.d5 c5 24.Nb5+ Kb7 

Has to be the clock; otherwise, 24...Qxb5.

25.Nxd6+ Ka6 

To avoid the repeated checks (and a draw) if the King goes to b8 or c7; up until move 24, Black was winning handily - all things being equal, although in bullet chess they frequently are not.

26.Re3 

After 26.Rf3 b5 27.Ra3+ Kb6 White would have 28.Re6.

26...Bb7 

Defending is more difficult than attacking - especially when the clock is ticking.

27.Ra3+ Black resigned

It is checkmate after 27...Qa4 28.Rxa4 mate.

Jerome Gambit: Comparing Comparisons

 

Just wondering...

Looking at the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5  2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and comparing it to the Abrahams Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+), with the help of The Database, I note, currently, 53,272 games with the former, with White scoring 53%; and 20,477 games with the latter with White scoring 52%. 

About  year ago, in "Jerome Gambit: Comparable" I noted

That compares with 39,663 games in The Database with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, scoring 52%.

The Abrahams Jerome Gambit. It appears in 19,021 games in The Database, with White scoring 51%. 

Even allowing for the difficulties of statistics in general, those numbers are remarkably consistent.

Hmmmm.....

Shrug.

(I guess that and a sawbuck will get you a coffee at Starbucks.)

Not Quite Janus

 

Continuing my recent odd fascination with the opening line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d5 (see "Jerome Gambit: Janus" and "Looking Back At Janus") I encountered the early Chess Preceptor: A New Analysis of The Openings of Games (1843) by C. F. De Jaenisch with a similar line of play 

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d5 

 FOURTH OPENING . This is a bad opening for him , and we only introduce it as one of the Counter - gambits which your opponent may essay. You do better to take P with B than with P (3.exd5 Nf6 he may also play 3...Bc5 4.Nc3 Bc5 and then ...c6 with the chance of acquiring one of certain strong lines of attack) 

3.Bxd5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Nge2 c6 6.Bb3 Bg4 7.0-0 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Bh4 9.d3 You keep pawn and have a good game. At move 4, instead of 4.Nc3 you may play 4.Qf3 but you are thereby exposed to more attack 

It was interesting to find that Stockfish 17.1 (40 ply) evaluates 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d5 as about 4/10 of a pawn better for White than than it evaluates 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d5. 

"How to Refute the Jerome Gambit in 21 Moves"

 

I was glad to encounter the video "How to Refute* the Jerome Gambit in 21 Moves" by RequiemChess, whose YouTube page refers to "Chess as Art - Moves, Music, Brilliance".

The video presents the game Alonzo Wheeler Jerome - William Shinkman, Iowa, 1874, as reported in the Dubuque Chess Journal of July, 1874, almost the earliest published Jerome Gambit game  - preceeded by Tonetti - Ruggieri, Rome, 1863 (1-0, 23).

(Giovanni Tonetti is a subject in himself: see "Jerome Gambit: Giovanni Tonetti", "How Strong A Player Was Giovanni Tonetti?", "Who is the 1st inventor of JG in chess – A.Jerome or G.Tonetti?    The new approach (Part 1)" and "JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Part 12)" - but I digress...)

Shinkman was an interesting and appropriate opponent for Jerome (see "William A. Shinkman [Parts I & II]") and the game, above, when published, ended with the note

and Mr. Shinkman announced loss of the Queen or mate in six moves.

Here is the game 

Jerome, Alonzo W - Shinkman, William A

Iowa, 1874

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3 Ke7

A thoughtful retreat. As I mentioned in "(Un)Seen Before (sort of)"

Over the years Jerome faced 11...Ke7 (Amateur, Brownson, Kinnieu, Pane and Shinkman) 

To which I can add, Jerome scored 3 - 1 in those games, with one outcome (Kinnieu) unknown. 

12.Nc3 g5 13.Rf1 c6 14.g3 d5 15.Bd2 Bg4 16.Qg2 Rhf8 17.h3 Nxe4 18.Bf4 gxf4 19.gxf4 Rxf4 20.Nxe4 Rxf1+ 21.Kxf1 0-1

With RequiemChess' video, I should probably, finally, give the end of the game - if it had continued.

The video adds the move 21...Rf8+, not in the original game, and Black now can win White's Queen and checkmate by either

22.Ke1 Bf2+ 23.Qxf2 Rxf2 24.Kxf2 Qf4+ 25.Kg1 Qe3+ 26.Nf2 Be2 27.Re1 Qg3+ 28.Kh1 Qxf2 29.Rxe2+ Qxe2 30.c3 Ke6 31.c4 Ke5 32.b3 Kf4 33.d4 Kf3 34.a3 Qg2 checkmate

or, a move later, with

22.Ke1 Qxb2 23.Qxg4 Qxa1+ 24.Ke2 dxe4 25.Qg5+ Kd6 26.Qg3+ Qe5 27.Qxe5+ Kxe5 28.dxe4 Kxe4 29.Kd2 Bd4 30.a4 Rf2+ 31.Kc1 Bc3 32.Kb1 Kd4 33.Ka2 Kc4 34.a5 Rf1 35.h4 Ra1 checkmate

Not quite six moves.

On the other hand, Black could try 21...Qf4+, when 22.Nf2 (22.Qf2 Bxf2 23.hxg4 dxe4 24.Ke2 Qe3+ 25.Kf1 Bg1 26.Kg2 Qf2+ 27.Kh3 Qh2# might have been more of what Mr. Shinkman was thinking) Bxh3 23.Re1+ Kf7 24.d4 Bxg2+ 25.Kxg2 Rg8+ 26.Kf1 Bxd4 27.Ke2 Qh2 28.Rf1 Rg1 29.Kd3 Rxf1 30.Kxd4 Qxf2+ 31.Kc3 Qe3+ 32.Kb4 Rf4+ 33.c4 Rxc4+ 34.Ka5 Qc5 checkmate finishes

Such complications! It all reminds me of the opinions in "Were they talking about the Jerome Gambit or...?"

*-Recall "But – Is this stuff  playable?? (Part I)" for a very early, skeptical, assessment, 18 years ago.