All or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit

Questions have already come up regarding the announcement (see "Jerome Gambit Book") of my plan to write a book on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), tentatively titled All Or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit, and sub-titled Losing, Drawing, and Even Winning with the World's Most Notorious Chess Opening.

Q. What lines of play will be covered?

A. Starting with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, both the Declined (4...Kf8, 4...Ke7) and Accepted (4...Kxf7) Jerome Gambit will be considered. Further, in the Accepted lines both Classical (5.Nxe5+) and Modern (5th moves other than 5.Nxe5+) will be explored.

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ will be examined, both for it's "Jerome-ish" nature and the fact that it can arise from the Jerome Gambit proper (i.e. after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nc3 Nf6).

This holds true for the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/various Bc5 5.Bxf7+) and the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) as well.

There will be coverage of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+, because of its relatedness, despite the fact that there is no proof that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome played the BSJG, or that Joseph Henry Blackburne played the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

There will be at least a little coverage, for historical reasons, of the Evans Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5/Ba5 6.Bxf7+, and some coverage of the unnamed 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ for completeness sake.

At this point, the many games featuring an early Bxf7+ for White, outside of the Jerome Gambit lines, will not be covered.

Q. How much History will there be?

A. The life of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, the gambit's creator, will be presented, including his career as a soldier in the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War, and not neglecting his civilian life as inventor and hemp farmer.

The History will not be so in depth, however, as to include minutia, such as the fact that Jennie Jerome, Wheeler's widow, remarried again shortly after his death, only to have her second husband die, as well; whereupon she married a third time, only to have this husband throw himself down a cistern; the accompanying suicide note was recovered and is available.