But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part II)

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "playable"...

Stop by Chessworld these days and you are likely to see three Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments in progress.

Somebody is still playing this stuff!

(Me, for example. I should take top honors in one tournament with a 16-2 score. That would be 7-2 with the Gambit and the White pieces –but 9-0 with the Black pieces, which should say something, but I'm not sure what.)


In the current issue of the Unorthodox Openings Newsletter (tirelessly and
ably edited by Gary K. Gifford)
I have an article on a recently concluded Jerome Gambit tournament.

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I made reference to Nigel Davies' comments on club play (see "But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part I)") and then described the games:

This wisdom is relevant to the tournament under consideration, where players ranged from the 1200s to the 1800s according to chessworld's rating system, and where knowledge of the “book” lines of the Jerome Gambit ranged from a good bit to not much at all.

We are not going to be looking at masters searching out the ultimate truth of the opening, we are going to see how it is played at club level.

Please remember, too, that we are not looking at the Ruy Lopez, or even the Blackmar Diemer Gambit. We are looking at the duck-billed platypus of the chess opening world.

Some surprises were inevitable, including this one:

Contrary to my initial impressions, White won 63 games in the Jerome Gambit Tournament, lost 90, and drew 3, for a score of 41% – this is unimpressive in comparison with “legitimate” chess openings, but a bit surprising for an opening that GM Keene once wrote “should never be played.”

So: at the right time (and time control), with the right opponent, playing in the right mood – perhaps the Jerome Gambit is a bit playable...