Jerome Gambit: All Is New That Has Been Forgotten

 

I just received the latest issue (#43, July 2025) of the Unorthodox Openings Newsletter, from Lev Zilbermintz, Editor-in-Chief. (https://unorthodoxchessopenings.com/UON/UON-43.pdf)

UON#43 contains a lot of unorthodox games and analysis, as well as a long, historical article that I wrote about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+).

I based my piece on the article that I wrote for the German language chess magazine, Kaissiber, which went unpublished; and which I serialized on this blog in 2008, "The Jerome Gambit Article (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8).

Check it out.

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.

Jerome Gambit: Familiar

I am playing in Chess.com's second "Italian opning [sic] rapid players". In the first round, Group 1, I have manged to play only one Jerome Gambit game, but it was a successful one.

Past experience prepared me for a good start in the game.

perrypawnpusher - BIJAN_H_F

italian opening rapid players, Chess.com, 2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

This is a familiar position. The Database has 1,300 games where it occurs, with White scoring 63%.

Closer at hand, I have reached this position in 64 games, scoring 78%.

10.O-O 

Or 10.f4 as in perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS,2010 (1-0, 18)

10...Rf8 

I have faced 10...Kf7 a number of times; 

perrypawnpusher - Feestt, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19);

perrypawnpusher - thehunterrjames, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 25);

perrypawnpusher - Nadante, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 59);

perrypawnpusher - stcamillis, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18);

perrypawnpusher - Jore, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 32); 

perrypawnpusher - avgur, blitz, FICS, 2013 (0-1, 27); 

perrypawnpusher - kenkenaditya, blitz, FICS, 2014  (1-0, 33); 

perrypawnpusher - scarsetto, blitz, FICS, 2014 (0-1,18); and

perrypawnpusher - acasimon1987, Chess.com, 2021 (0-1, 38) 

Also 10...Ng4  

perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2-1/2, 58); 

perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 47);

perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS 2011 (1-0, 24);

perrypawnpusher - FiNLiP, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 59); and

perrypawnpusher - Riversider, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 18)

After 10...Qe7

perrypawnpusher - Edvardinho, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 57); and

 perrypawnpusher - Borislav007, Chess.com, iPhone 2024 (1-0, 12)

11.f4 Rf7 

Or 11...Ng4 as in

perrypawnpusher - blackburne, Jerome Gambit 3 thematic, chessworld.net, 2008 (1-0, 38);

perrypawnpusher - MRBarupal, blitz, FICS, 2010 (0-1, 47);

perrypawnpusher - jgknight, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1/2 - 1/2, 58);

perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 37);

perrypawnpusher - lorecai, blitz, FICS, 2010  (1-0, 47); and

perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS 2011 (1-0, 24)

Enough history. Back to the game.

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4 

Or 13...Neg4, perrypawnpusher - dkahnd, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 30) 

14.Qd3 Nb6 

Also possible was 14...b5. In similar positions, however, I have scored 7 - 1- 1. In this game, I now have a small advantage, based on my pawn center and Black's King's uneasy placement.

15.Bg5 h6 16.Bh4 Nbd7 

This move takes away a resource - exchanging Queens - that was still possible after 16...Bd7 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Bc6 19.exf6 Qxd3 20. cxd3 gxf6 and White has only a small advantage. 

17.Nc3 Nf8 

The Knight has been around: Nc6-e5-g6-e5-c4-b6-d7-f8.

18.Rad1 g5 19.Bg3 

Stockfish 16.1 prefers more active play, showing how to take advantage of the weak Black Kingside; 19.fxg6 Nxg6 20.Bxf6 Rxf6 21.Nd5 Rxf1+ 22.Rxf1 Be6 23.Qg3 Bf7 24.Rf6 c6 25.Rxg6 Bxf6 26.Qxg6+ Kf8 27.Qxh6+ Kf7 28.Qxh6+ Kf8 29.Nc7

19...N8d7 20.e5 

White will win material, and maintain his advantage.

20...dxe5 21.dxe5 Qe7 

It is hard for Black to come up with an answer, as White's e-pawn not only threatens to take the Knight on f6, it threatens to advance to e7, forking two pieces.

22.exf6 Qxf6 

23.Rfe1+ 

Even stronger was 22.Nd5 right away.

23...Kf8 24.Nd5 Nc5 

Worth a try, but White will not slip at this point.

25.Qe3 b6 26.Qe8+ Kg7 27.Nxf6 Bb7 28.Nh5+ Black resigns

It is checkmate after 28...Kh7 29.Qxf7+ Kh8 30.Qg7# 

Women's World Chess Vice-Champion Simultaneous Exhibition

Again, another success for Yury V. Bukayev!

Chessfriend and major contributor to this blog, Yury V. Bukayev, reports that  Ekaterina V. Kovalevskaya held a 15-board simultaneous exhibition in Moscow. 

The 2004-2006 Women's World Chess Vice-Champion's game against Yury was a draw.

Again, Excellent, Yury!

The official report of Mrs. Kovalevskaya's Exhibition can be found athttps://moscowchess.org/news/18648

Jerome Gambit: Two Complaints

Two complaints about the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ ) are that White gives up a piece for some pawns, and then he moves his Queen too often.

The following game is a parody of these concerns, as White's pawns roam the board, and one promotes to a Queen - with two Queens to move around, the opponent can hardly avoid checkmate. 

Bill Wall's tactical awareness brings the full point home.

Wall, Bill - Kumar

sparkchess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qc3 

Varying from the more popular 8.Qg3 and the less frequent 8.Qf4+.

8...Qe7 

Bill has also faced 8...Qf6 in Wall,B - Guest10254637, PlayChess.com, 2014 (1-0, 38) and  Wall,B - Irene, internet, 2024.

Also 8...Nf6 9.d4 Bb6 10.f3 a5 11.O-O a4 12.Be3 Bd7 13.Nd2 Bb5 14.Rfe1 Qd7 15.Nc4 Bxc4 16.Qxc4 d5 17.Qd3 dxe4 18.fxe4 Kf7 19.Rf1 Ke8 20.Rad1 Rf8 21.e5 Ng4 22.Qxh7 Nxe3 23.Qg6+ Rf7 24.e6 Qe7 25.Rxf7 Nxd1 26.Rxe7+ Kxe7 27.Qf7+ Kd6 28.Qd7 checkmate, Wall,B - Noob, internet, 2025. 

9.d3 d5 10.O-O Bb4 

When in doubt, attack the enemy Queen.

In this case, it is Stockfish 16.1's choice, too.

11.Qd4 dxe4 12.dxe4 Bc5 13.Qc3 Bb6 

White has two pawns for his sacrificed piece, and an unsafe enemy King to focus on. At the same time, Black's dark square Bishop prevents f2-f4 for now, and he has the Bishop pair.

Bill puts his "Jerome pawns" to work.

14.e5 Bd7 15.a4 Bc6 16. a5 Bc5 17.h4 

Oh, those pawns! It is interesting to note that the computer sees the position as equal.

17...a6 

Focusing on the wrong pawn, Black slips. He needed a different pawn move, 17...h6.

18.Bg5

The Jerome Gambit offers oportunities for the tactically aware.

18...Nf6 19.exf6 Qe4 

Black casually threatens checkmate. Note that the defensive f2-f3, blocking the a8-h1 diagonal, is not possible.

Much to his dismay, however, White now has a forced checkmate.

20.fxg7+ Kf7 

Avoiding 20...Ke8 21.gxh8/Q+ Bf8 22.Re1 Kd7 23.Rxe4 Bxe4 24.Qhf6 Bd5 25.Qh3+ Ke8 26.Qhe6+ Bxe6 27.Qxe6+ Be7 28.Qxe7 checkmate

21.Qf6+ Ke8 22.gxh8=Q+ Kd7 23.Qhg7+ Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Paving the Way

Once again, the "Jerome pawns" have a say in the following game, paving the way to victory.

Wall, Bill - Gevaar

sparkchess, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6

The Database has 1,302 games with this position. White scores 63%.

10.O-O c6 

Instead, 10...Ng4 was seen in Wall,B - Guest1660564, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 32). 

Also, 10...Kf7 11.d4 (11.Re1 Re8 12.d3 Kg8 13.Nc3 b6 14.f4 Bb7 15.Qg3 d5 16.e5 Nd7 17.f5 Ngxe5 18.Bg5 Qb8 19.Bh6 g6 20.Nb5 c6 21.Nd4 Nxd3 22.Qxd3 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 c5 24.fxg6 Ne5 25.gxh7+ Kh8 26.Qg3 Black resigned, Wall,B - ClemChess, internet, 2021) 11...Re8 12.Nc3 Kg8 13.f4 Bf5 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Bc8 16.Qd3 Nd5 17.Ne4 b6 18.Bg5 Qd7 19.Rf2 a5 20.b3 Ba6 21.c4 Nb4 22.Qc3 Nc6 23.Rd2 Qg4 24.Re1 h6 25.h3 Qf5 26.Bxh6 gxh6 27.Rf2 Qc8 28.Nf6+ Kg7 29.Nxe8+ Qxe8 30.e6 Nce7 31.d5+ Kg8 32.Rf7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2163615, PlayChess.com 2019; 

And 10...Qe7 as in  Wall,B - Dasasary, internet, 2024 (1-0, 34).

11.f4 Qc7 

Or the Queen can go to 11...Qe7 as in Wall,B - HeHe, chess.com 2010 (1-0, 19). 

12.d4 Ng4 

When in doubt, harass the enemy Queen.

The Knight soon gets in trouble.

13.Qd3 Rf8 14.c4 

Incidentally, there are 20 games in The Database with pawns at c4, d4, e4 and f4.

14...d5 15.h3 dxe4 

When your piece is attacked, you may not have to move it, if you can attack one of your opponent's pieces of greater value.

Good advice, but not in this situation, as White can move with check.

16.Qxe4+ Kd8 17.hxg4 Bxg4 

White is ahead only a pawn, and lags in development, but his center control ("Jerome pawns"!) and safer King make a great difference.

18.f5 Be2 

A slip

19.Bg5+ Ne7 20.Qxe2 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Silicon Sense of Humor

                                 

Looking at my database of games by the online computer program Boris-Trapsky (playing at lichess.org) I wondered, did the last two of its games that we looked at (see "Jerome Gambit: Silicon Miniature (Parts 1 & 2") show "contempt" for the human opponent, at least in the choice of openings?

I checked, and I have used the idea of "contempt" by compters in the past, but in a different way. In "Contempt?!"

If two chess players are equally matched and have fought hard in a game against each other, a draw might be a reasonable outcome.

If opponents in a game differ greatly in their strengths, the weaker player might be quite satisfied to split the point, while the stronger player might be unwilling to do so, except as a last resort.

Chess-playing programs have to take this into account: given that most of their opponents will be weaker than them, how ready should they be to accept a draw? It would be the height of absurdity if a human could open a game, for example, with 1.e4 and an offer of a draw – and the computer, seeing itself as worse off (even slightly, Black's fate) would agree to cease hostilities...

Programming a level of resistance to accepting draws is called setting its "contempt" level. Set it high enough, and the computer will play on, down a Rook or a Queen. That's contempt!

Nice comment about chess-playing programs resisting drawing against lower-rated players, but not quite what I was looking for.

Maybe, though, the program can be accused of having a sense of humor, starting a game this year with 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qf3+ Qf6 5.b4 - and winning in 35 moves!