Jerome Gambit: A New Game In An Old Line

Sometimes the best way to understand a recent game is to reflect upon past games with the same line of play. The following game is a good illustration.

Yohannessen - saumilpradhan
5 5 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6

The Two Knights Defense. 

Jerome Gambit players have to deal with it - see "Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3) and (Part 4)" for starters.

Recently, I have been seeing a lot of games featuring 4.Bxf7+, a variation I have loosely referred to as an "impatient Jerome Gambit" because White does not wait for ...Bc5 before sacrificing.

4.Qe2

White has a different idea. To put it into context, see "No Way A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit! (Part 1)". There is also the historical perspective reflected in "Proto-Jerome Gambits? (Part 3)".

The earliest example that I have seen with this move is Pollock, W.H.K. - Vernon, J.E., Bath vs Bristol match, 1883: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Be7 5.d4 d6 6. d5 Nb8 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.Bd2 Nb6 9.Bb3 Bd7 10.Nd1 a5 11.a3 c6 12.c4 c5 13.O-O O-O 14.Ne1 Ne8 15.f4 Bf6 16.f5 Bg5 17.Ne3 Bxe3+ 18.Bxe3 g6 19.Bh6 Ng7 20.f6 Nh5 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Qe3 Nxf6 23.Nf3 Ng4 24.Qd2 Kg7 25.Ng5 Nh6 26.Rf2 Qe7 27.Raf1 Rf8 28.h4 a4 29.Ba2 drawn

It was also played in Gunsberg - Burn, 6th American Chess Congress, 1889 (1/2-1/2, 27) and Bird - Chigorin, 6th American Chess Congress, 1889 (0-1, 53).

4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+

For the earliest example that I have found of this move, see "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1 & 2)", which focuses on the game Albin,A - Schlechter,C, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament Vienna, 1914 (0-1, 31).

5...Kxf7 

The game has transposed into a possible Jerome Gambit line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6.

6.Qc4+ Ke8 7.Qxc5 b6 

Black pushes back. If he were able to castle, the pawn deficit would not matter much.

By the way, the alternative, 7...Nxe4 is met by 8.Qe3 d5 9.d3 Nf6 10.Nxe5 and White has recovered the pawn, while opening the dangerous e-file.

8.Qe3 Ba6 9.d3 Nb4 10.Na3 Ng4 

The time control for the game is 5 5 blitz, and a flurry of active pieces is a good strategy. White responds by exchanging Queens. 

11.Qg5 Qxg5 12.Bxg5 h6 13.Bd2 Rf8 

An oversight.

14.Bxb4 Rf4 15.Bd2 Rf6 16.Bc3 d6 17.d4 c5 18.dxe5 dxe5 

19.Nxe5 Rxf2 20.Nxg4 Re2+ 21.Kd1 Rxg2 22.Ne3 Rd8+ 23.Kc1 Re2 24.Nf5 Rd7 25.Bxg7 Rf2 26.Re1 Rdd2 

Black continues to pressure the White King.

27.Bxh6 Rde2 28.Rxe2 Rf1+ 29.Kd2 Rxa1 30.Re1 Rxa2 31.b3 Rxa3 

Play continues in a rowdy fashion, but now White turns to his passed "Jerome pawn".

32.e5 c4 33.bxc4 Bxc4 34.e6 b5 35.e7 a5 36.Ng7+ Kf7 37.e8=Q+ Kf6 38.Qf8+ Kg6 39.Nf5 

Black resigned

 What would happen next: 39...Kh5 40.Qg7 Rd3+ 41.cxd3 a4 42.Qg5 checkmate

No Way A GM Plays the Jerome Gambit! (Part 1)

Readers of this blog have seen a lot of creative and historical coverage of the Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, and related openings, such as the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+. In addition, there have been explorations of "proto-Jerome Gambits" - earlier lines of play that might have inspired Alonzo Wheeler Jerome to create his opening. 

One such Jerome Gambit "relative" was showcased in "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1 & 2)", highlighting the game Albin,A - Schlechter,C, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament Vienna, 1914. The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bc5 5.Bxf7+, which easily could have been a transposition from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6, a "modern" (no 5.Nxe5+) Jerome Gambit.

White's 4th move was anticipated at least by James Mason, who, in the August 1895 British Chess Magazine, gave a game “played recently by correspondence between Brandfort and Bloemfontein, South Africa” which went 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qe2 d6. Mason suggested the move 4…Nf6, because “there would be plenty of time to play the Pawn - perhaps two squares instead of one. For, as the Cape Times remarks, if White adopts the ‘Jerome Gambit’ 5.Bxf7+ Black replies 5…Kxf7 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4 with advantage.”

The Salvio Gambit (see"The Salvio Gambit??" and "The Salvio Gambit?? [more]"), from analysis from the early 1600s, is related: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 and now 3.Qe2 Nf6/Nc6 4.Bxf7+.

It is probably timely to reiterate that I refer to 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ as the "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" (see "Abrahams Jerome Gambit" Part 1 & Part 2), not because Alonzo Wheeler Jerome ever played the line, nor Abrahams, as far as I know, but because it was referred to as the Jerome Gambit in The Chess Mind (1951) and The Pan Book of Chess (1965), by Gerald Abrahams.

It is hard to overlook another possible precursor: the game Hamppe - Meitner, Vienna Club, 1872, which begins a little bit like a reversed Jerome Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Na4 Bxf2+ and is covered in "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit? (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Endnote)".

Another opening with themes akin to the Jerome - with an initial Knight sacrifice at f7 - which may have caught Alonzo Jerome's eye - is the Sarratt Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 usually followed by 5...Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7. Similar (although I occasionally mix them up) is the Vitzthum Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 followed by 6.Qh5. A good review can be found in the post "Capt. Evans Faces the Sarratt Attack".

Then, of course, there was the rumor that culminated in the post, here,"A GM plays the Jerome Gambit??", followed by "Here, have a Bishop..." and "Here, have another...".

That was topped by the rumor that Alexander Alekhine had defended against the Jerome Gambit - see "The Jerome Gambit is Going to Drive Me... (Part 1 & Part 2)"; and then, sadly "Much Ado About... Nothing".


Oh, oh, oh... Can we get back to the time when a modern, 2700+-rated Grandmaster didn't play the Jerome Gambit??

[to be continued]

Proto-Jerome Gambits? (Part 3)

Of course, as Alonzo Wheeler Jerome was developing his Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e4 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) there is always the possibility that he was influenced by the games of the Italian chessplayer Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634), who started off his own gambit with 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qe2, with the possibility of 3...Nf6 4.Bxf7+ followed by 5.Qc4+ picking up the Bishop on c5. 

Actually his idea was to follow up with 4.f4.

The idea of Qe2 for White in the Jerome Gambit has shown up in a number of games, however. See: "Home Cooking" for one set of examples, and "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" and "(Part 2)" for another interesting game. Of course, there are any number of games by Bill Wall, including this one.

So Much Fun...

Looking back at some of the highlights of the early posts to this blog was so much fun, I decided to do a little more digging and sharing... Here we go.

I have made at least a half-dozen trips to the White Collection of the Cleveland Public Library to look up Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games and analyses. I have also used my local library, interlibrary loan and the online Google Books.

For example, a few years ago I came across Volume XI of The Westminster Papers of London, "A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and The Drama" which had this note in its February 1, 1879 issue:

We shall be most happy to receive some games fairly well played in which the Jerome Double Gambit was adopted. They will be handed to our annotator indue course and will analyse them in an unprejudiced and impartial manner.

Unfortunately, the The March and April issues which complete Volume XI have no further reference to Jerome's Gambit; and, alas, they were the last issues of The Westminster Papers to be published 

Sometimes the searching turns up fun stuff. What about a "reversed Jerome Gambit?" Sounds crazy, but the posts on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5, known by some as the "Busch - Gass Gambit", or, with the addition of 3.Nxe5 Nc6, as "Chiodini's Gambit" might be "Worth A Second Look"

Jumping on the trend, I invented the fictional "Jerome Gambit For Dummies" and provided educational material that I've added to from time to time (you can use the "search" feature on the blog). It's as lighthearted as "Whodunnit?", but that's okay. It makes more sense than "The Jerome Gambit shows up in the oddest places..."

The "Optical Illusion" variation of the Jerome Gambit continued to crop up.Jyrki Heikkinen shared his version of the "Sicilian Jerome Gambit". There was some work on "The Kentucky Opening". Then, there is that "Pie-in-the-Face" Variation"...

I opined on "A Side Line to Watch". I started sharing some "Stats" on the Jerome.

Who knows if there is a "Conspiracy of Silence" surrounding a particular variation of the Jerome Gambit? What about that "Critical Line 5...Kf8"?  What do we know about "The Life of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome"? What's with "the Nudge"? Did Adolph Albin actually play the Jerome Gambit? Can you handle the "Jerome Gambit Quiz"?

These are just some of the highlights of the blog posts made in 2009 alone (with 365 a year, there are plenty to choose from). Many games were presented that year, and I continued to share my Jerome Gambit wins and losses (my score is 83% in games with that refuted opening)

Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 2)

Readers of this blog may remember that in the 2009 ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, GladToMateYou played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 fourteen times, winning eight of those games (see "Home Cooking").

Five of those games (GladToMateYou won four of them) continued with 5...Nf6, transposing to a Jerome Gambit / Two Knights Defense line that can arise from the play mentioned in yesterday's post: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2, which can be followed by 4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Qc4+ and 7.Qxc5. 

The earliest game that I have in my database with 4.Qe2 meeting the Two Knights is Bird - Chigorin, Sixth American Chess Congress, New York, 1889 (although the related 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qe2 probably goes all the way back to Ruy Lopez), about which Wilhelm Steinitz briefly wrote, in the tournament book, "Not as strong as the authorized move Ng5".

The earliest game in my database with 4.Qe2 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ as mentioned previously (see "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" and "(Part 2)"), is Albin - Schlechter, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament, Vienna, 1914.

The line has surprise value, and, as NiceToMateYou showed, some practical use in club play, but Black has resources (if he can find them) in 6...Kxf7 7.Qc4+ d5! 8.Qxc5 Nxe4! when after 9.Qe3 Re8 Black is somewhat better, and White is scrambling for playable ideas.

Still, none of this dissuaded Bill Wall from playing and winning with the opening this year:

Wall,B - Asesino
Chess.com, 2010

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

4...Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 dxe4

8.Nxe5+ Nxe5 9.Qxe5 Re8 10.Qb5 Qd4 11.0-0 c6 12.Qb3+ Nd5

White has already achieved an edge in the game.

13.Nc3 Be6 14.Qxb7+ Ne7 15.Re1 Bd5 16.b3 Kg8 17.Bb2 Rf8

For the illusion of an attack, Black surrenders a piece.

18.Qxe7 Qxf2+ 19.Kh1 Rae8 20.Qg5 e3 21.Nxd5 exd2 22.Qxg7 checkmate

Jerome Gambit vs Two Knights Defense (Part 1)

What to do? What to do?

You're looking forward to a nice Jerome Gambit, but after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 you wily opponent plays 3...Nf6, signalling the Two Knights Defense.

Well, if you have a favorite attack against the Two Knights (e.g 4.Ng5 or 4.d4) you could simply play that.

Or, you could try 4.Qe2!?, as explored in "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" & "(Part 2)" and "Back to the Wall".

There are over 900 examples of 4.Nc3 (my current favorite, heading for a chance at the Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit ) in the updated New Year's Database and 46 examples of the interesting 4.0-0!?.

The next few posts will explore the possibilities open to the prospective Jerome Gambiteer.

Back to the Wall

Truth be told, not all of Bill Wall's early efforts involving the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and Jerome-ish openings saw him on the side of the angels.

Nilsen,E - Wall
Taylorsville, NC, 1978

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qe2

Without the Knights developed, the idea behind this Queen placement is at least as old as Greco. Here, White will soon transpose into one of the "modern Jerome Gambit" lines, as explored in "Home Cooking" and "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" and (Part 2).

4...Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7

This position can be reached by the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6

6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4

8.Qb5

Or 8.Qe3 Re8 9.0-0 (9.d3 Nf6 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Ng5+ Kg8 12.h3 Bh5 13.f4 h6 14.Nf3 d4 15.Qf2 e4 16.dxe4 Nxe4 17.Qh4 Qxh4 18.Nxh4 Ng3 19.Rf2 White resigned, Mahmoud - Wahls, Novi Sad Ol, (men) 1990) 9...Kg8 10.c4 Nf6 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Qe4 Nf6 13.Qa4 e4 14.Ne1 Nd4 15.Nc3 a6 16.Nc2 c5 17.Ne3 Be6 18.Qd1 Bf7 19.Kh1 Bh5 20.f3 exf3 21.gxf3 Qd7 22.Kg2 Re5 23.h4 Rf8 24.d3 Ne8 25.Ng4 Ref5 26.f4 Nf6 27.Nxf6+ R8xf6 28.Qd2 Rg6+ 29.Kf2 Rf8 30.Ke1 Qh3 31.Ne4 Rg2 White resigned, Albin - Schlechter, Trebitsch Memorial Tournament, Vienna 1914.

8...a6 9.Qd3 Nxf2

10.Qc3

White needed to take the piece and allow the fork: 10.Kxf2 e4 11.Qc3 exf3 12.Qxf3+ Kg8 with only a small disadvantage.

10...Nxh1 11.Nxe5+

White's counter, but he has overlooked something.

11...Nxe5 12.Qxe5 Re8  White resigned.

Eric Schiller Doesn't Play the Jerome Gambit

American author and FIDE Master Eric Schiller doesn't play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). Despite his interest in unusual opening lines, he has spent far more time providing the club player with refutations of the Jerome.

His 2003 (with John Watson) Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings has a chapter on "Bashing the Jerome Gambit," which would be something akin to "Weapons of Mass Destruction versus the Mosquito" if it didn't at least shine a light on the poor, neglected creation of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome.

Still, as a followup to my two posts on Adolf Albin and the Jerome Gambit (see Part 1 and Part 2), I was wandering through my database when I came across the following game. There's at least a slight resemblance in the play to, well, you know...

Schiller - Shipman
New York, 1981

1.e4 Nc6 2.Bc4 e5 3.d3 Na5


4.Bxf7+
International Master Gary Lane (author of a couple of books on the Bishop's Opening), in one of his Opening Lanes columns at ChessCafe, wrote, in response to a reader who had asked about this line

I wanted to dismiss this bishop sacrifice, but in the spirit of the King's Gambit, I had to see what happens. I was surprised to realize that White is doing very well.

Michael Goeller (maintaining the best online resource for the Bishop's Opening), in his article on "The Hamppe - Meitner Motif" (see "Hamppe -Meitner Revealed" as well as "Godfather of the Jerome Gambit?" Part I, Part II, Part III, and Endnote) for the Kenilworth Chess Club website is more assertive, noting

If White does not have this move it's hard to see how he might even try to gain the advantage.

4...Kxf7 5.Qh5+ Ke6
Of course, the Jerome-ish 5...g6 was an option for Black, but not a particularly good one.

White plays 6.Qxe5 attacking the knight and rook, when 6...Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Nf6 8.Bxb4 is just very good for White – LaneInteresting, but ultimately unsatisfactory, is 5...g6!? 6.Qxe5 Nc6 7.Qxh8 h6 8.Bxh6! (8.Qc3?? Bb4! points up how much difference d3 for White can make!) 8...Bxh6 (8...Nxh6 9.Nc3) 9. Nf3 and White's Queen will not be trapped, meaning White retains a slight material edge and the safer King – Goeller

6.Qf5+

White has a much simpler alternative here: 6.Nf3! Qf6 (6...Nc6? 7.Ng5+ Ke7 8.Qf7+) 7.Ng5+ Ke7 8.Nc3 c6 and White wins back his material with advantage by 9.b4 or 9.Nxh7!? – Goeller
Instead, 6.Nf3 is met by 6...d6! and this simple way to deal with the threat against the e5-pawn 7.Ng5+ Kd7 8.Nf7 Qe8 9.Qf3 Nf6 10.Nxh8 Be7 slightly favors Black because he has two pieces for the rook, but 11.d4 is interesting since the king is misplaced on d7 – Lane

6...Kd6 7.d4

It appears that Schiller wished (mistakenly) to transpose directly to Hamppe - Meitner, but he thus missed his chance to turn White's extra tempo to advantage – Goeller

The move 7.f4 is stronger, according to Goeller and Lane ("The chase is on and White is in hot pursuit of the king").
7...Kc6 8.Qxe5 d5
9.exd5+ Kb6

Black can play for the win with 9...Qxd5! 10.Qe8+ Bd7!! 11.Qxa8 Nf6 12.Qxa7 (12.Nc3 Qxg2 13.Be3 Nc4 14.O-O-O Nxe3 15.fxe3 Qxh1) 12...Qxg2 13.Qxa5 Qxh1 14.d5+ Nxd5 15.Qa4+ Kb6 16.Qxd7 Qxg1+ 17.Ke2 Qxc1 18.Qxd5 Bc5. The text move should also favor Black, but it is much less clear – Goeller

10.Nc3 Qe7 11.Na4+ Kb5 12.Nc3+
Here 12.b3 was the move to draw.

12...Kb6
There was more in 12...Ka6.
13.Bf4 Bf5 Drawn

If Black had wanted to play for a win, he might have tried 13...Nc4!. It remains unclear to me whether this was a pre-arranged draw gone wrong or a real contest – Goeller

Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 2)

Adolf Albin (1848 – 1920), of Romania, was a creative chess master with a number of opening experiments to his credit, most notably the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) and the Albin-Alekhine-Chatard Attack vs the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4).

As we saw last post (see "Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)" ) a case can be made that he dabbled in the "modern" variation of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) as well.

Albin,A - Schlechter,C
Trebitsch Memorial Tournament Vienna, 1914

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

Not good, as it retards White's development. Max Lange, in 1859, pointed out the weakness of 5.Ng5 Nd4 6.Bxf7+ Kf8 7.Qc4 Qe7. The best move is 5.c3. Deutsches Schachzeitung

An old continuation which only helps Black to develop. Deutsches Wochenschach

5...Kxf7

Or, from the Jerome Gambit move order: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qe2 Nf6. Voila!

6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4
8.Qe3 Re8 9.0-0 Kg8 10.c4

The decisive blunder. 10.d3 was indicated. Deutsches Schachzeitung

10...Nf6 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Qe4 Nf6 13.Qa4 e4

14.Ne1 Nd4 15.Nc3 a6 16.Nc2 c5

17.b4 was threatened. Deutsches Wochenschach

17.Ne3

Black would still have the best of it after 17.Nxd4 cd 18.Ne2 d3 Deutsches Schachzeitung

17...Be6 18.Qd1 Bf7

Threatening ...Bh5 and the sacrifice of the knight Deutsches Wochenschach

19.Kh1

There is no defense. If 19.b3 then 19...Bh5 20.Qe1 (or 20.f3 ef 21.gf Qd7) Nf3+ 21.gf Bxf3 with a winning attack. If 19.Ng4 then 19...Nh5 The reply to 19.d3 ed 20.Qxd3 is 20...Nf3+ Deutsches Schachzeitung

19...Bh5 20.f3

Or 20.Qe1 Nf3 21.gf Bxf3+ followed by ...Ng4 or 20.g4 Bg6 followed by ...Nf3 Deutsches Schachzeitung

20...exf3 21.gxf3 Qd7 22.Kg2

Otherwise Black plays 22...Qh3 Deutsches Schachzeitung

22...Re5 23.h4

Forced, on account of the threat of ...Rg5+ Deutsches Schachzeitung

23...Rf8 24.d3 Ne8 25.Ng4 Ref5 26.f4

If 26.Nh2 then 26...Nxf3 Deutsches Schachzeitung

26...Nf6 27.Nxf6+ R8xf6 28.Qd2 Rg6+ 29.Kf2 Rf8 30.Ke1 Qh3 31.Ne4 Rg2 White resigned

Adolf Albin Plays the Jerome Gambit (Part 1)

With the miracle of chess opening transpositions, and the inclusiveness of the "modern" variations of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), a bit of chess revisionism is hardly difficult to perform at all...

The Modern Jerome Gambit

The "Modern" Jerome Gambit – so-called because it was not seen during the days of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, and has only recently (within the last 10 - 15 years) appeared – can be classified as "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Not-Nxe5+":

5.0-0, 5.Nc3, 5.d3, 5.a3, 5.h3, 5.Qe2, etc. All of those fifth moves for White can be safely submitted to chess analysis engines and all will receive a "better" score than 5.Nxe5+.

Let's take a look at 5.Qe2: it received attention as the backbone of GladtoMateYou's play (see "Home Cooking") with White in the current Chessworld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament. As Black's response, let's give the reasonable 5...Nf6.

And now a bit of a historical digression...

According to the August 1895 issue of the British Chess Magazine, the cities of Brandfort and Bloemfontein, South Africa, played a game of correspondence chess that year. It began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 d6, and James Mason (writing for the BCM) wrote

Better 4...Nf6. There would be plenty of time to play the Pawn - perhaps two squares instead of one. For, as the Cape Times remarks, if White adopts the "Jerome Gambit" 5.Bxf7+ Black replies 5...Kxf7 6.Qc4+ d5 7.Qxc5 Nxe4 with advantage.

(It should be noted that despite Mason's assessment, GladtoMateYou won 3 of the 4 games in the Thematic Tournament that reached that position after 7 moves.)

We are now ready to proceed to Albin - Schlechter, Trebitsch Memorial Memorial Tournament, Vienna, 1914.

In the next post, that is...