Jerome Gambit: First Steps (Part 1)

With so many new Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) players these days, I thought it might be a good idea to outline some basics of Jerome-style play.

Of course, it is always a good idea to look at the latest blog posts, check out the links in the recent games, and browse through past posts - or use the "Search This Blog" function to find specific items of interest.

It can be helpful to get a bit of grounding in the play, as well.

So, the three things a Jerome or Jerome-style Gambit will usually have are

- the sacrifice of White's light-squared Bishop at f7

- an active White Queen, often venturing to h5 to check the enemy King

- some enemy material that can either be grabbed by White, or which will cause Black's King danger, if he decides to protect it

If one or two of those three are missing, the line of play is likely more Jerome-style or Jerome-ish than the full Jerome Gambit. It can still be a lot of fun - providing that you do not take the game too seriously - but the risks will escalate.

For example, if in the Petroff Defense, the game continues 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+, the sacrifice at f7 can upset the defender, drag him out of his preparation, and give White some kind of psychological compensation; but recovering material will be difficult beyond 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+, and if Black finds the unintuitive 5...Kg8, his King will actually be safe from attack - as long as he avoids catastrophies like 6.0-0 d6 7.Qe2 dxe5 8.Qc4+ Tg Z - Lai, W, Kuala Lumpur, 1992.

It can also be exciting to sacrifice the Bishop against the Two Knights Defense, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Bxf7+, although, again, after 4...Kxf7, Black's King is relatively safe, and there is no material lying around to scoop up. White can go completely Jerome-ish with 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4, but he could have a long battle ahead of himself.

There is also the Bishop's Opening 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Bxf7+ (The Database has about 450 examples) and a whole lot of other openings where Black doesn't even play 1...e5.

The question comes down to how much of a risk you want to take. Of course, that is the question that underlies the Jerome Gambit, itself.

Before getting into things Jerome, it can be helpful to visit "But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part I)" and get a little perspective from Geoff Chandler's "Blunder Table". 

Sacrifice away.