Jerome Gambit: Assessment

 

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a very active opening that involves the sacrifice of a piece or two. What does the player of the White pieces risk? What does he receive in return?

Those questions have been raised and answered on this blog many times.

A bit of perspective can be found in IM Gary Lane's enjoyable book The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps (2008), where he presents a system to assess the openings he looks at - including the Jerome Gambit.  

At the end of the majority of opening tricks I have added a ratings chart. This is just a fun way of assessing the trick with marks out of ten.

Surprise value. An indication of how surprised an opponent will be to see the trap on the board. A surprise value of 8/10, for example, means that the opponent will be very surprised; while a rating of 5/10 implies that he might have seen it before so it will work occasionally

Risk. The amount of risk involved in playing the opening that contains the trick. A mark of 5/10 indicates it is a solid continuation in any case, but something like 8/10 will mean that a pawn or even a piece has been sacrificed.

Chance of success. The chance of a trick working in the game. This is a difficult one because it depends upon the level of your opponent. Therefore I made a judgement from my tournament experience by watching and coaching other players. 5/10 indicates an average chance, i.e. sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't; wheras a mark of 6/10 would mean that there is an above average chance of it working. A mark of 10/10 means that someone should resign quickly.

Reward. What you should expect to gain if the trick works. A mark of 6/10 roughly indicates a pawn has been won. With 8/10 the reward would be a piece, while with 10/10 it is checkmate.

It is just a bit of fun and certainly not a scientific report... 

How does the Jerome Gambit grade according to IM Lane's system?

Surprise value 10/10

Risk 10/10

Chance of success 2/10

Reward 3/10