Jerome Gambit: Worse vs Best (Part 1)

As a serious fan of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I like to think about what would happen if the best chess players ever faced the opening - or, even more improbably, if the "best" ever played against the "worst".

Of course, I am realistic about the objective value of the Jerome Gambit, and am comfortable referring to it as "the worst." I have even written a cautionary 2-part article about the opening for Chess Life for Kids, about a decade ago (see " 'The Worst Chess Opening Ever'  - Warning or Menace??").

One of my first blog posts on this site was an introduction to the bashing that the British powerhouse Joseph Henry Blackburne gave the Jerome Gambit (see "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!") - even if we eventually had to show that the Blackburne Defense probably leads to a draw...

Over the years, there have been various "sightings".

There was the gathering in "No Way A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit" Parts 1, 2, & 3" which has a reference to "A GM plays the Jerome Gambit??" 

I went chasing after a game supposedly played by Alekhine ("The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me..." Parts 1 & 2) only to lead to disappointment (see "Much Ado About... Nothing").

Then there was the columnist, writing in 1914, that suggested that Steinitz had lost to the Jerome Gambit the first time he had faced it. No game example was given, however, nor any specifics, like location and year played. You can read about it in an aptly titled post "Jerome Gambit: Balderdash".

Likewise, there is a 1906 newspaper chess column talking about Emanuel Lasker defeating a Jerome Gambit in a simultaneous exhibition - and, while no game is given, the name of the player (and others who challenged Lasker), the location, and the date can be assessed, making the claim a bit more authentic.

I have done a bit more researching lately. I have also been reflecting on the question: What is the Jerome Gambit? The answer to the latter may help inform the former.

[to be continued]