Jerome Gambit Tournament: Chapter IV

Today's game selection is a two-fer, for reasons that will soon become obvious.




Capt. Mandrake - perrypawnpusher
JG3 thematic, www.chessworld.net, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0–0




Here we see a "modern" approach to playing the Jerome Gambit, which would include the similar 5.d3 and 5.Nc3. The earliest examples I have in my database are about a decade old.

White is of the opinion that it is a bad investment to sacrifice the second piece with 5.Nxe5 and instead focuses on development.

As Unorthodox Openings Newsletter editor Gary K. Gifford wrote in "Jerome Gambit, or Jerome Gamble?" (UON #17)

I am pretty much convinced that White has a forced loss after: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+ Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5.

I believe White is taking a big gamble.... and that "The Jerome Gamble" may be a more appropriate name.

If there is any soundness to be found in the Jerome, then I believe it involves replacing 5. Nxe5+ with a different move.

Capt. Mandrake, indeed, played 5.0-0 seven times in this tournament.

5...Nf6 6.d3 Rf8 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.Nf3 d5



Black has castled by hand, made a pawn break in the center – and is a piece to the good.

Here White overstepped the time limit.

That may seem a bit odd, given that players had up to 5 days to make each move. Maybe the good Captain simply lost interest.

In some ways it's refreshing to think that there are more important things in a person's life than the Jerome Gambit.

perrypawnpusher - Capt. Mandrake
JG3 thematic, www.chessworld.net, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8


This defense was first suggested by Jerome in the July 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal. It is a line he played successfully against his own gambit in two correspondence games against Daniel Jaeger in 1880.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.0–0


In the DCJ Jerome gave 9.c3 followed by 10.d4. White still has a lot of work to do – before he can even dream about equalizing the game.

However, here Black over-stepped the time limit again.

In fact, Capt. Mandrake in effect withdrew from the tournament by losing all but two of his games on time. The remaining pair he lost, anyhow. I didn't feel bad about receiving the gift of two points, as everyone benefited equally.




graphic from clipartheaven .com

But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part II)

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "playable"...

Stop by Chessworld these days and you are likely to see three Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments in progress.

Somebody is still playing this stuff!

(Me, for example. I should take top honors in one tournament with a 16-2 score. That would be 7-2 with the Gambit and the White pieces –but 9-0 with the Black pieces, which should say something, but I'm not sure what.)


In the current issue of the Unorthodox Openings Newsletter (tirelessly and
ably edited by Gary K. Gifford)
I have an article on a recently concluded Jerome Gambit tournament.

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I made reference to Nigel Davies' comments on club play (see "But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part I)") and then described the games:

This wisdom is relevant to the tournament under consideration, where players ranged from the 1200s to the 1800s according to chessworld's rating system, and where knowledge of the “book” lines of the Jerome Gambit ranged from a good bit to not much at all.

We are not going to be looking at masters searching out the ultimate truth of the opening, we are going to see how it is played at club level.

Please remember, too, that we are not looking at the Ruy Lopez, or even the Blackmar Diemer Gambit. We are looking at the duck-billed platypus of the chess opening world.

Some surprises were inevitable, including this one:

Contrary to my initial impressions, White won 63 games in the Jerome Gambit Tournament, lost 90, and drew 3, for a score of 41% – this is unimpressive in comparison with “legitimate” chess openings, but a bit surprising for an opening that GM Keene once wrote “should never be played.”

So: at the right time (and time control), with the right opponent, playing in the right mood – perhaps the Jerome Gambit is a bit playable...