Jerome Gambit: You Can Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later

In the 1970s and 1980s, the FRAM company ran television commercials for their automobile oil filter, warning "You can pay me now or pay me later," suggesting that purchasing their product would be a better choice than risking a serious engine failure later.

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Bill Wall offers his opponent the choice of an early loss, or an alternative, later loss. This time, the choice is "early".

Wall, Bill - Docteur

SparkChess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Or 5...Nxe5 6. Qh5+ Ke6 as in Wall,B - Docteur, internet, 2024 (1-0, 15)

6.Qg4+ Kxe5 

Or 6...Ke7 7.Qxg7+ Ke8 8.Qf7 checkmate, Wall,B-Guest13762608, PlayChess.com, 2019 

7.d4+ Bxd4 

Not 7...Kxd4 8.Be3+ Kc4 9.Qe2+ Kb4 10.Bd2+ Ka4 11.b3 checkmate, Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016.

8.Bf4+ Kxe4 

The text leads to checkmate, while the alternative gives up the queen (although Black has 3 pieces for it), i.e. 8...Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 as in Wall,B - Guest4105968, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1/2 - 1/2, 50). 

9.c4 Ne5 10.Nd2+ Kd3 11.Qf5 checkmate