Jerome Gambit: Experience Counts

There is enough chaos in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) that experience is an important factor in success.

The following game illustrates.

Tracy824 - leekaiinthesky

10 0 rapid, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

Tracy824 has 155 games with this position in The Database, scoring 63%.

7.f4 Nf6

Black's attack on White's Queen feels like a knee-jerk reaction.

The Database has 472 games with this  position, with White scoring 66%.

Even better than that, Tracy826 has scored 13 - 1 from this line.

Stockfish 16.1 assesses a swing in the balance of the game with this move, from Black being up the equivalent of about 3 pawns, to White being up the equivalant of about 2 pawns.

Jerome Gambit. 

(The strongest move was 7...d6) 

8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5 Re8 

Tracy 825 has also seen 9...d6 10.Qe3: 

Tracy824 - ewolcan, blitz, lichess.org, 2024 (1-0, 35)

Tracy824 - ooner2024, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024 (1-0, 17)

Tracy824 - Mr_mhjn, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org 2024 (1-0, 13)

Tracy824 - Wanji20, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024 (1-0, 17)

Tracy824 - hanymohamed, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024 (0-1, 52)

Tracy824-Njaja, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2024 (1-0, 21) 

Tracy824 - Drip1970, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 56)

Tracy824 - DavidVart2022, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 24)

Tracy824 - Iv-Iv-D, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 19) 

Tracy824 - esamghabour, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 59)

Tracy824 - hanymohamed, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 40)

Tracy824 - kerikn, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2025 (1-0, 67) 

10.d3 d6 11.Qf2 Ng4 12.Qg3 Qf6 

White has a 2 pawn advantage, and will soon put it to use.

13.O-O Bd7 14.h3 Nh6 15.Nc3 Kg8 

16.f5 b5 17.Bg5 Qd4+ 18.Be3 Qf6 19.Nd5 

The Knight threatens the enemy Queen and also threatens the fork at c7. Retreating the Queen would allow White to grab Black's Knight.

19...Qxb2 20.Bxh6 

Even more deadly was 20.f6, when either 20...g6 is met by 21.Bxh6, or 20...Ng4 is met by 21.f7+.

20...c6 21.c3 

Cutting off Black's Queen from defense of the Kingside.

21...g6 22.Nf6+ Black resigned

Black has had enough. His Bishop and Rook are threatened, White's Queen can infiltrate with Qxd6, and Black's defenses can be broken down with fxg6.