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

Jerome Gambit: Beautiful!

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) was created for the attack on the enemy King. Along the way, there may be unusual postions on the board, but when the final one is a checkmate - beautiful!

BoomBoomTNT-YT - 123456789010chess
3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

Analysis of this position first published

Dubuque Chess Journal  

April 1874, Vol. VI, No. 50, p. 358-9

"New Chess Opening"We have received from A.W. Jerome of Paxton, Ford county, Illinois, some analyses of a new move in the Giuoco Piano, first played by him, which we offer our readers as: Jerome's Double Opening...

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qf6 

9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qxe5+ 

A recent example of avoiding the exchange of Queens: 10.Qf8+ Kc6 11.Qf3 d6 12.c3 Bb6 13.d4 Qe7 14.O-O Nf6 15.e5+ Nd5 16.Re1 h5 17.Kh1 Bg4 18.Qe4 dxe5 19.c4 Rad8 20.cxd5+ Rxd5 21.Nc3 Bxd4 22. Qxd5+ Black resigned, SurgeonOfDeath27 - ajirin, 15 10 blitz, Chess.com 2020) 

10...Kxe5 11.b4 Bf8  

According to The Database, this is a new position.

Here is a look at alternatives.

In the meantime, such a position should get a Jerome Gambit player's heart beating rapidly. Komodo 10 says everything is okay for Black - but this is a human vs human 3-minute game.

12.O-O Nf6 13.d4+ Kxe4 

This is playable, but it is the first step on a slippery slope.

14.Nc3+ Kxd4 

15.Nb5+ Kc4 16.Nxc7 Rb8

Saving the Rook. What could be more natural?

However, White now has a forced checkmate! 

17.Rf4+ Kc3 18.Nb5+ Kxc2 19.Rc4+ Kd3 20.Rd4+ Ke2 21.Bd2 

Black resigned

It is checkmate the next move. Bravo!

Jerome Gambit: Ghosts of Moves Unplayed

Playing a 3-minute game often requires both players to put aside any thoughts of what moves they could have played, or should have mande, but didn't. With more time to reflect, such musings might help in forming future plans, but in blitz, they can haunt ongoing play.

BoomBoomTNT-YT - tyronev1
3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 

Now, Black can choose Blackburne's Defense, 7...d6, or Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7 - both are complicated and dangerous - or amongst a handful of lesser lines, e.g. 7...Bd6.

7...Qe7 

8.Qd5+

We have recently taken a look at this infrequently- played move. See "Jerome Gambit: Largely Overlooked by History".

Recent alternatives:

8.Qxe7+ Kxe7 9.b3 a6 10.Bb2 Nf6 11.O-O Kf7 12.Nc3 Bd4 13.Rae1 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 d6 15.e5 dxe5 16.Bxe5 Rg8 17.Bxc7 Bg4 18.f3 Bh5 19.Bd6 Rad8 20.Bb4 g5 21.Re7+ Kg6 22.Rxb7 Rg7 23.Rb6 Rd4 24.Bc3 Rd8 25.Rxf6 checkmate, Ghigi,N - NN, 5 1 blitz, 2020;

8.Qxh8 Ke6 (8...Qxe4+ 9.Kd1 Qxg2 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.c3 Qxh1+ 12.Kc2 Qe4+ 13.d3 Qa4+ 14.b3 Qg4 15.Bh6+ Nxh6 16.Qxh6+ Kf7 17.Qh7+ Kf6 18.Nd2 Bxf2 19.Ne4+ Kf5 20.Qf7+ Ke5 21.Qf6+ Kd5 22.c4 checkmate, tomkoolen1996 - ThomasBovenkerk, 10 5 blitz, lichess.org, .com, 2020; or 8...Nf6 9.d3 b6 10.Bg5 Bd4 11.c3 Bb7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Qxh7+ Kf8 14.Qxe7+ Black resigned, Anonymous -Anonymous, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 9.Qxg8+ Kd6 10.Qd5 checkmate, decidueyemainbtw -MarcosEngenheiro, Chess.com 2020; and

8.Qf4+ Qf6 9.Qg3 Bd6 10.f4 Bxf4 11.Qb3+ Qe6 12.O-O Qxb3 13.Rxf4+ Kg7 14.axb3 d6 15.d4 Ne7 16.Nc3 Bd7 17.Be3 a6 18.Raf1 Rhe8 19.Rf7+ Kh8 20.Bg5 Nc6 21.Bf6+ Kg8 22.Rxd7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest744598, PlayChess.com, 2020.

8...Kg7

The text move looks a little bit better than 8...Kf8, which might place the King in the way of a Rook that wants to be developed, e.g. eronald - ayushsankar1006, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 (0-1, 23). 

9.d4 Bb4+

Not quite as strong as 9...Bb6, levigun - obviously, 5d + 2d GameKnot.com, 2004, (0-1, 11) 

10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 

White has to be careful, with only one piece developed vs three, even with his strong pawn center. Fortunately, Black helps him out.

11...Qxe5 

Exchanging Queens in the Jerome Gambit if often a help to the defender. In this case - a 3-minute blitz game - Black has not looked deeply enough, however.

12.dxe5 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Re8 

14.Nc3 

A bit stronger was 14.0-0 Rxe5 15.Bf4 Re6 16.Bxc7. This possibility seems to haunt both player's thoughts during the next few moves, perhaps unconsciously.

14...Rxe5 15.O-O 

Of course, White can not now play 15.Bf4 Re6 16.Bxc7 because of 16...Nxc3+.

15...d5 16.Be3 

This is a solid move, although, again, 16.Bf4 was on.

16...c6

Black suddenly realizes that the 16.Bf4 skewer could win a pawn, so he moves that pawn to safety. But he overlooks something.

17.Bd4 

Black resigned

The Rook is a goner.

Jerome Gambit: Active and Passive Sacrifices

The Jerome Gambit is based upon active sacrifices: 4.Bxf7+ and 5.Nxe5+. The attacker practically throws his pieces at the defender.

The following game also contains a passive Queen sacrifice: White places Her Majesty where she can be attacked, and then he just leaves her there. Black might as well capture, as the alternative is to let a pawn advance and promote to another Queen.

TheCuriousGreg - MIN_0
15 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

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 N8e7 

10.f4 Rf8 11.O-O Kf7 

Black is thinking about castling-by-hand, always a prudent response to the Jerome Gambit.

Less accurate is 11...Bd7, as seen recently in the uneven game that continued 12.d4 c6 13.Nc3 Qb6 14.Bd2 Kd8 15.a4 c5 16.dxc5 Qxc5 17.Qxc5 dxc5 18.Nb5 Bxb5 19.axb5 b6 20.Rad1 Kc7 21.f5 Nh8 22.Bf4+ Kb7  23.Rd7+ Kc8 24.Rxe7 Kd8 25.Rxg7 Black resigned, pupuvi - DeschainPK, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.

12.f5 Ne5 13.Qb3+ 

Pausing to chase the enemy King away from safety.

13...Ke8 14.d4 N5c6 15.Qd3 Bd7 

A curious Jerome Gambit position! White, the gambiteer, has only 2 pieces developed to Black's 4. The material balance still favors the defender, who has a piece for 2 pawns. There is the matter of Black's King stuck in the middle of the board, however.

If White believes he has the advantage (and I believe he does), it's time for him to show it.

16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 g5 

This move is risky. It turns White's f-pawn into a protected passer. Worse, it allows White to open up the Kingside by capturing enpassant.

18.fxg6 Qc8 19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 20.Qf3+ Ke8 

The ugly alternative was 20...Bf5 21.Bxe7+ Nxe7 22.g4 Qe6 23.gxf5, when White's extra, avanced, pawns will prove decisive.

21.Qf7+ Kd8 22.d5 Be8 23.dxc6 

Funny. White can offer up his Queen. He can get another.

23...Bxf7 24.gxf7 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Hunter's Lament

In Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games, it seems that victory for the attacker turns on a few things happening, while defeat turns on a few things not happening. In a 5-minute game, sometimes that works out, and sometimes it doesn't. But - the games are always exciting.

ratconspiracy - titulajebordo
5 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

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 Qe7

10.d4

About equal to the text are:

10.O-O Nf6 11.Nc3 Kf7 12.f4 Re8 13.d3 b6 14.b3 Bb7 15.Ba3 Qd7 16.Rae1 Kg8 17.Qg3 c5 18.Bb2 Rad8 19.f5 Ne5 20.Ne2 Qf7 21.Nf4 Bc8 22.h3 Nh5 23.Nxh5 Qxh5 24.Rf4 Qf7 25.Rh4 Bb7 26.Rf1 Qf6 27.Rhf4 Rc8 28.Rg4 Re7 29.Bxe5 dxe5 30.Rg5 h6 31.Rg6 Qf7 32.Rxh6 Rd8 33.Rg6 Red7 34.h4 Rd6 35.h5 Rxg6 36.hxg6 Qf6 37.Qg4 Qd6 38.g3 Qd7 39.Kg2 Qe7 40.Rh1 White won on time, angelcamina - RomainTristan, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020;

10.Nc3 c6 11.d4 Nf6 12.O-O Kf7 13.f4 Ng4 (13...Re8 14.f5 Nf8 15.Qf3 Kg8 16.Re1 h6 17.Bf4 N8h7 18.h4 Bd7 19.Bg3 Rad8 20.e5 Nd5 21.Ne4 dxe5 22.dxe5 Rf8 23.Nd6 g5 24.Rad1 gxh4 25.f6 Qe6 26.Bxh4 Ng5 27.Qh5 Qg4 28.Qg6+ Black resigned, Anonymous - Anonymous, 3 0 bltiz, lichess.org, 2020) 14.Qf3 d5 15.f5 dxe4 16.Qxg4 Nf8 17.Nxe4 h5 18.Qf4 Nd7 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Bd2 Nb6 21.Rae1 Qf6 22.Re8+ Qf8 23.Rxf8+ Kxf8 24.Qd6+ Kg8 25.Qd8# ChessBrah - samuelwillwin, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020;

10.d3 Nf6 11.O-O Ng4 12.Qe2 Nh4 13.Nc3 Be6 14.f4 g6 15.h3 Nh6 16. f5 N6xf5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Re1 K7 19.Nd5 Qd7 20.Nxc7 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest701131, PlayChess.com, 2019

10...Nf6 11.Nc3 a6 12.O-O Ng4 

The Knight's attack on the Queen should serve no purpose. For example, if now 13.Qd3 Qh4 14.h3 and it will have to move.

13.Qg5 Qxg5 14.Bxg5 h6 15.Be3 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Ne7 

White has 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, but they are not mobile. The exchange of Queens has taken the life out of his attack, as well. It will take some pluck and some luck to make progress.

17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bg4 19.e4 Rf8 20.e5 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Ke7 22.e6 Rf8 

The protected, passed pawn is something of value, but for now it is effectively blockaded. If there were an attack on the tied-down King, White might be able to make something of the position. In the meantime, too many pawns are stuck on the same colored squares as the Bishop.

23.c4 Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Bf5 25.c5 Be4 26.c6 bxc6 27.dxc6 Bxc6 28.Ke2 Kxe6 29.Kd3 Bxg2 30.Kc4 c6 

Black is clearly better. But, is time on his side?

31.b4 Bd5+ 32.Kc3 g5 33.a4 h5 34.b5 axb5 35.axb5 cxb5 36.Kb4 Bc4 

37.Ka5 g4 38.Kb6 h4 39.Kc7 g3 40.hxg3 hxg3 41.Kc6 g2 42.d5+ Bxd5+ 43.Kxb5 g1=Q 

44.Ka6 Qb1 45.Ka7 Bh1 46.Ka6 d5 47.Ka5 d4 48.Ka4 d3 49.Ka3 d2 50.Ka4 d1=R 51.Ka5 Rd8 52.Ka6 Ra8 checkmate

A tough fight. Remember the hunter's lament: Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.


graphic by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

Jerome Gambit: Amusement

From the pages of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, June 18, 1881

A letter received from Mr. A. W. Jerome calls attention to the fact that he does not claim the Jerome Gambit to be analytically sound, but only that over the board it is sound enough to afforda vast amount of amusement.

Sometimes, White is amused. Sometimes, Black is.

There is a lesson there, somewhere.


DeathStroke97 - lunareclipse777
15 10 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

Black's move is strong - if he knows some of the refutations of the Jerome.

Black's move is weak - if he is merely trying to hold onto all of the sacrificed material.

7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+ 

Often Black plays 8...Qf6. Is the text move, instead, just an annoying check before the Queen moves to f6? Or - is there something more?

9.g3 Nf3+

Wow.

This move goes back to a fictional game presented in the American Chess Magazine, June, 1899, which lampooned the recent introduction of chess-by-telephone.

Such a move is also a strong indication the Black knows something about the Jerome Gambit, and has decided to launch a strong counter-attack. The line is complicated - The Database shows White winning 29 games, losing 21, and drawing 3 - but "objectively" dangerous for the first player.

10.Ke2 

White needed to play 10.Kf1, or at least 10.Kd1. It is not enough to rely upon his first impression that the Queens will be exchanged.

10...Nd4+

White resigned


After 11.Kd1 Nxf5 12.gxh4 Nxh4 it is true that the Queens have come off of the board - but Black remains 2 pieces ahead.