Jerome Gambit: Numbers, We Got Numbers (Part 2)

 

Reflecting on the numbers drawn from The Database - see the previous post - I wanted to give the evaluation of the main lines, courtesy of Stockfish 16.1 (30 ply).

The line Jerome Gambit players have been most successful against, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6, is rated by the computer as being about 2 1/3 of a pawn better for Black.

The line Jerome Gambit players have played most frequently, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+Ke6, is rated by the computer as being about 3 pawns better for Black.

The line Jerome Gambit players have played nearly as often, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 , is also rated by the computer as about 3 pawns better for Black.

The line Jerome Gambit players have played the least, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8, is rated by the computer as being  2 3/4 pawns better for Black.

It all amounts to the first player being comfortable with giving up significant material (remember, 3 pawns = 1 piece), meaning finding the right time control and the right opponent to unleash the Jerome Gambit.