Jerome Gambit: Theory and Practice (Part 2)

Another game from Vlastimil Fejfar. His opponent fearlessly offers a piece (matching the one Vlasta offered in the opening) for active counter-play, but the followup is marred by some inaccuracies, and once again the Jerome Gambit - and the gambiteer! - triumphs.  

Vlastous 2344 - Iva 1816
ChessManiac.com, 2016

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 10.Nc3 

Varying from the previous game of Vlasta's that we took a look at, which saw 10.0-0 instead.

10...Rf8 

Alternately:

10...Kf7 11.f4 (11.d4 Re8 12.O-O Bd7 13.f4 Kg8 14.f5 Ne7 15.Qf3 Nc6 16.Be3 Qe7 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qxe3+ 19.Qxe3 Rxe3 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.c4 Rae8 22.d5 Bd7 23.b3 Re2 24.f6 gxf6 25.Rxf6 Rf8 26.Rff1 Rxf1+ 27.Kxf1 Rb2 28.Re1 Kf8 29.Re3 Rxa2 30.Rf3+ Ke8 31.Re3+ Kf8 32.Rf3+ Kg7 33.Re3 Kf6 34.Rf3+ Ke5 35.Rf7 Bf5 36.Rxc7 b6 37.Re7+ Kf6 38.Re3 a5 39.h3 h5 40.Rf3 Ke5 41.Rg3 a4 42.bxa4 Rxa4 43.Rb3 Rxc4 44.Rxb6 Kxd5 45.Rb5+ Ke4 46.Rb8 d5 47.Rh8 Bg6 48.Rg8 Kf5 49.Rf8+ Kg5 50.Rd8 d4 51.Rd5+ Kh6 52.g4 hxg4 53.hxg4 d3 54.g5+ Kh5 55.Ke1 Rg4 56.Kd2 Rxg5 57.Rd8 Rg2+ 58.Kd1 Kg5 59.Rd5+ Kf4 60.Rd8 Ke3 White resigned, mrjoker - serge57, Internet Chess Club, 2008) 11...Rf8 12.O-O Ng4 13.Qg3 Kg8 14.f5 N6e5 15.d4 Nf6 16.dxe5 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 dxe5 18.Bh6 Qe7 19.f6 Qf7 20.fxg7 Qxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 22.Kxf1 Black resigned, shugart - Amanchous, FICS, 2013); or

10...Be6 11.d4 Qd7 (11...Qe7 12.O-O Kf7 13.f4 Bc4 14.Re1 Rhe8 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nd5 17.Qf3+ Kg8 18.b3 Rf8 19.Qg3 Nxc3 20.Qxc3 Bd5 21.Qe3 c6 22.c4 Be6 23.Bd2 b6 24.Rf1 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Rf8 26.Rxf8+ Qxf8 27.Qf3 Qxf3 28.gxf3 Nh4 29.Kf2 Nf5 30.Be3 Nxe3 31.Kxe3 Kf7 32.Ke4 Ke7 33.d5 cxd5+ 34.cxd5 Bh3 35.f4 g6 36.a3 Bf5+ 37.Kd4 h5 38.b4 Kd7 39.a4 a6 40.a5 bxa5 41.bxa5 Kc7 42.Kc5 Be4 43.e6 Bf5 44.d6+ Kd8 45.Kd5 Bh3 46.Ke5 Bg4 47.Kf6 Bf5 48.Kf7 Bxe6+ 49.Kxe6 Ke8 50.Kf6 Kd7 51.Kxg6 Kxd6 52.f5 Ke7 53.f6+ Kf8 54.f7 h4 55.h3 Ke7 56.Kg7 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - chesstraininglab, FICS, 2008) 12.f4 Bf7 13.f5 Ne7 14.O-O Bc4 15.Re1 Kf7 16.h3 Rhe8 17.Qf2 Nc6 18.b3 Ba6 19.Bb2 b5 20.Rad1 b4 21.e5 bxc3 22.e6+ Black resigned, MrJoker - DamjanBlazeka, Internet Chess Club, 2011; or

10...Qe7 11.O-O Kf7 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Qxe3 14.fxe3+ Ke7 15.d4 Bd7 16.g3 Bb5 17.Rf5 Rhf8 18.Rxf8 Rxf8 19.Bd2 Kd7 20.e4 c6 21.dxc6+ bxc6 22.d5 cxd5 23.exd5 Bc4 24.Bc3 Ne5 25.Rd1 g6 26.b3 Be2 27.Rb1 Nf3+ 28.Kg2 Ng5 29.Re1 Bf3+ 30.Kg1 Bxd5 31.Rf1 Rxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Be4 33.Bd4 a6 34.c4 Bb1 35.a3 Ba2 36.b4 Bxc4+ 37.Kf2 d5 38.Ke3 Kc6 39.a4 Ne6 40.Be5 Bb3 41.a5 Kb5 42.Bd6 d4+ 43.Ke4 Bc2+ 44.Kd5 d3 Black resigned, Haroldlee123 - Knight32, ChessWorld JG6, 2011. 

11.d4 Ng4 12.Qg3 Qf6 

Black builds his pressure on f2. Perhaps he avoided the reasonable 12...Nxf2 because of 13.O-O!? 

13.f3 h5 

Bold! Daring White to open up his King by taking the piece. (The "objective" Stockfish 7 prefers the Knight retreat 13...Nh6.)

After White chases the enemy Queen away from her attack on the pawn at d4, he accepts the piece. 

14.Nd5 Qf7 15.fxg4 Bxg4 16.Be3 Rc8 

Both Kings will remain in the center, but White's will be safer, and the first player has an extra pawn.

17.Kd2 Qd7 

This is a tactical oversight, as it un-protects his Knight, making his Bishop loathe to move.

Vlasta is quick to respond.  

18.h3 h4 19.Qxg4 Qxg4 20.hxg4 c6 21.Nc3 b6

White is clearly better.

22.Raf1 Rc7 23.Rf5 Rh8 24.Rg5 Nf8 25.d5 c5 26.Nb5 Rd7 27.Bf4 Rh6 28.Rf5 Rf6 29.g5 Rxf5 30.exf5 

30...g6

Allowing checkmate, but Black's position was untenable. White's material advantage is too great; Black's King is too vulnerable.

31.Nxd6+ Kd8 32.Rxh4 gxf5 33.Rh8 Ke7 34.Be5 Ng6 35.Re8 checkmate

Adequate Resources

The last two posts have shown the dangers that can befall Black if he does not react properly to 5.c3 in the Jerome Gambit. (For an oddly related game, see "Radioactive". Ouch!)

However, as others and I have shown - for an example, see one of my games in the 2008 ChessWorld.net Jerome Gambit thematic tournament - Black certainly has adequate resources.

(Ah, that was a tourney to remember! Although my success was "Overrated!" I was happy to take first place, three points ahead of the field, with a score of 16-2-0, winning 7 out of 9 games with White - and 9 out of 9 games with Black.)

The following game shows Black taking advantage of one downside of 5.c3 - Black can play 5...d5, and after 6.exd5 Qxd5 White does not have the natural hit at the Queen, Nc3.

Knight32 - AsceticKingK9
ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.O-O Nf6 8.d3 Bf5 

White needs some ideas here, and what he comes up with is not enough to steer the game in his direction.

9.Ng5+ Ke8 10.Nd2 Bxd3 11.Re1 h6 12.Ngf3 Kd7 

13.b4 Bd6 14.Nb3 Rae8 15.Be3 e4 16.Nfd4 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 b6 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Qg4+ Kc6 20.Nd2 Rhg8 21.Qd1 

The position looks ripe for a concluding sacrificial attack that ends in checkmate.

21...Bxh2+ 22.Kxh2 Rxg2+ 23.Kxg2 Rg8+ 24.Kh2 Qg5
White resigned

The Return of Jerome Gambit for Dummies (Part 4)

As I continued looking for the "essence" of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), or at least an insight into how it "works", I discovered that some of the 7-move games in The Database began to "predict" some of the regular main lines.

For example, in the following three games White's recovery of one of the pieces that he had sacrificed is enough for Black to surrender, even though the second player actually remained with the advantage.

mediax - TJay2465
Jerome Gambit Thematic
ChessWorld.net, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5 1-0

Petasluk - mihck
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 1-0

perrypawnpusher - Aerandir
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 1-0

Some of the other short games began to highlight the attacking ideas open to White in the Jerome Gambit, if the defense faltered.

stivb_99  - spymaster
gameknot.com, 2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 (in The Database, White won 6 out of 8 games against this move) 6.Qh5 d6 7.Qf7#


Esistes - ClosetDoor
blitz, FICS, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 (The Database, White won 22, lost 8, and drew 1 against this move) 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qf7#

escapade  - Sakebomb
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxe5+ Ke8 7.Qh5+ (in 89 games in The Database that reached this position, White won 59%) 1-0


perrypawnpusher - gelgel
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Qxe5+ 1-0


Knight32 - Haroldlee123
Jerome Gambit Thematic,
ChessWorld, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Qb3+  (White won 2 of 5 games with this position in The Database) 1-0

Sunday Tournament Update

With one game left to complete in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, and that one largely unbalanced, the final standings can be predicted as follows



AsceticKingK9                27/28


mckenna215                 23.5/28


braken                          19.5/28


Rikiki00                       19.5/28


Knight32                      18.5/28


shm19cs                       16.5/28


blackburne                     15/28


Magni                            14/28


Haroldlee123                 12/28


DREWBEAR 63           11/28


pixifrufru                         9/28

Baron wd von

Blanc, heart pirate        8.5/28


Luke Warm                     8/28

klonka59                         5/28


martind1991                   3/28

"Only" A Draw

Here is another draw from the nearly-completed-now Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld. It is full of play on both sides of the board, and White only grows "peaceful" when his King is threatened.

Knight32 - Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate
Jerome Gambit Thematic TournamentChessWorld, 2011

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

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

7.Qxc5 N8e7 8.d4 Rf8 9.Nc3 d6

10.Qc4+ Be6 11.d5 Bd7 12.Bg5 Kg8 13.f3 Ne5 14.Qe2 h6 15.Bh4 g5 16.Bg3 N5g6

17.h4 c5 18.h5 Nf4 19.Bxf4 Rxf4 20.g3 Rf8 21.0-0-0 b5

22.e5 dxe5 23.Qxe5 Nf5 24.Ne4 Nd4 25.f4 Nf3 26.Qc3 g4

27.Qxc5 Qa5 28.Qd6 Qxa2

That's close enough, thinks White, who checks out.

29.Qg6+ Kh8 30.Qxh6+ Kg8 31.Qg6+ Kh8 32.Qh6+ Kg8 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Qh6+ drawn

There Be Monsters...

If the Jerome Gambit were simply a way for White to lose quickly – and at higher levels of play, it certainly is – then defenders would face it with calm assurance and not find its attacks to be frightening at all. On the other hand (or board), sometimes the Jerome can have a "bark" that is far worse than its "bite." For example...

Knight32 - Haroldlee123
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011


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

This is not the first exposure to the the Jerome Gambit for either player. Likely, they have heard tales...

4...Kxf7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Qb3+ Black resigned

Wow! Black plays 7...Kf8 and then White plays 8.Qf7 checkmate. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

(Unless Black sees 7...d5, instead.)

Sunday Tournament Update

With five games left in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, the leaders have been decided, but battles still rage up and down the finish line.

AsceticKingK9 has taken first place with 27 points out of 28 games, mckenna215 has taken second with 23.5 points out of 28 games, and braken has taken third with 19.5 points out of 28 games.

However, with a recent win Rikiki00 has lept to a tie with Knight32 for fourth place with 18.5 points, and with one game still in play he could, with another win, move into a tie for third.

Down the ladder, Luke Warm is holding onto eleventh place with 8 points, but, with a final win, pixifrufru could leap over him to 9 points out of 28 games. Both could be bypassed by Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate, who has 7.5 points with two games to complete.

Even martind1991, holding down last place with 2 points out of 23 games, can vault over his nearest rival, klonka59, if he finishes strongly. 

Sunday Tournament Update

The standings of the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament

AsceticKingK9                                                  25/26
mckenna215                                                      23.5/28
braken                                                               19.5/28
Knight32                                                           18.5/28
Rikiki00                                                            17.5/26
shm19cs                                                            15.5/27
blackburne                                                          15/28
Magni                                                                 12/26
Haroldlee123                                                      11/27
DREWBEAR 63                                                11/28
pixifrufru                                                             8/27
Baron wd von Blanc, heart pirate                       7.5/26
Luke Warm                                                          6/26
klonka59                                                              4/24
martind1991                                                         1/15

Sunday Tournament Update

There is an old caution that If you strike the King, you must kill him. Anything less than a terminal blow will allow the monarch to strike back...

Two weeks ago I reported that the player leading the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9, had suffered his first and only loss, on time; and that in his remaining two games, he was past the time limit, so his opponent could claim wins there, too.

A look at the ChessWorld site today indicates that AsceticKingK9 is back at the board and playing, again, giving the possibility of him finishing the tournament with 27 points in 28 games. 

Second place has already been wrapped up by mckenna215, with 23.5 points in 28 games.

Rikiki00 continues to creep forward in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 17.5 points in 25 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken  with 18.5 points out of 27 games. 

Sunday Tournament Update

Little has changed at the top of the standings in the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, where almost 90% of the games have been completed.

AsceticKingK9 remains the un-catchable winner with 25 points out of 28 games.

He is followed by mckenna215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games.

Rikiki00 has snagged a point in the race for third, fourth and fifth place, now having 16.5 points in 24 games. He is hoping to bypass Knight32 with 18.5 points out of 28 games and Braken  with 18.5 points out of 27 games. 

Sunday Tournament Update

Elvis has left the building.

After rocketing to the top of the chart with a score of 25 points in 25 games in the Chess World Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, AsceticKingK9 has lost his first game – on time – to Haroldlee123. His remaining two games, against martind1991, are over the time limit as well, but have not yet been claimed.

Not that it matters. 25 points is enough to win the tournament. (Oddly enough, early on I predicted that the winner would score 24 points. AsceticKingK9 exceeded that number, but 24 would have been enough to put him ahead of the second place finisher. Lucky guess!?)


Second place has been wrapped up by mckenna215, with a score of 23.5 out of 28 games. 


Third, fourth and fifth places remain a tangle. Knight32 has 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has the same score, with one game remaining. Rikiki00 has 15.5 points in 23 games.


It should be pointed out that Haroldlee123, currently in 10th place with 8 points out of 22 games, nonetheless now has upset wins over both AsceticKingK9 and mckenna215. 

Sunday Tournament Update

It is clear now that AsceticKingK9 will take top honors in the current ChessWorld Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) Thematic Tournament.

The 15-player, double round robin contest, is over 80% complete, and AsceticKingK9 leads with 25 points out of 25 games (with three games left to complete).

Second place has been sewed up by mckenna 215, with 23.5 points out of 28 games. His 84% score is impressive, as well.

Third through fifth places are still undecided. Knight32 has completed his run, with 18.5 points out of 28 games. Braken has 18.5 points out of 27 games, so, with one final win, he could pass Knight32. However, Rikiki00 has 15.5 points out of 23 games, and could bypass both Knight32 and Braken with enough wins of his own.

Sunday Tournament Update

With over 80% of its games completed, the ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament continues to be a monstrous battle between its top two competitors.

AsceticKingK9 leads with 24 points out of 24 games. Can he go all the way to 28/28 ?

Mckenna215 is close, with 22.5 points out of 26 games. If he wins his remaining 2 games, he will still need to receive some help from a handful of other players to overtake AsceticKingK9 and take the crown.

It is clear that the player who does not take first place will garner second.

There is an interesting battle shaping up for third place, however, between braken (18.5 points out of 27 games), Knight32 (18.5 points out of 28 games) and Rikiki00 (15.5 points out of 23 games). Braken's last game is against Rikiki00, and the winner would be the odds-on favorite to scramble to the top of the heap.

Draws continue to be almost non-existant, making up less than 2% of the completed games!

A Not-so-Simple "Simple Endgame"

In the following game, both players seemed interested in reaching a simple Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame. Apparently Black, a pawn down, assessed the position as drawn; while White believed that he could possibly out-play his opponent. Both of them were right. Except about the "simple" part.


mckenna215 - Knight32
Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament
ChessWorld, 2011

30.Bxa7

At first glance, this move seems extravagant: White gives up his Kingside passed pawn in order to have a 3-to-2 edge in pawns on the Queenside. However, Black's King is well-placed to blockade the White h-pawn, should it ramain on the board. White's move simply changes the game from "drawn" to "really drawn".

But, don't go away.

30...Bxh3 31.b4 c6

Putting your pawns on the same colored squares as your Bishop is the basic drawing strategy.

32.c4 Bd7

After the game was over, Black might have asked himself why he did not simply start to run his King over to c8, and save himself some hassles. The text move does not upset the draw, it just makes it possible, some time in the future, for it to become more complicated.

33.Kd2 Kg7 34.Kd3 Kf7 35.Kd4

35...Ke6

Coming out to "confront" the enemy, Black's King wastes important tempos. After 35...Ke8 followed by 36...Kd8 and 37...Kc8, he could have protected his pawns and allowed his Bishop to move where it needed to.

36.Kc5 Bc8

37.b5

Routine play, reducing the 3-to-2 pawn majority to a 2-to-1 pawn majority. This is one step further toward producing a passed pawn, but that may not be the best goal to work toward, especially if White reaches a 1-to-0 pawn majority only to have Black sacrifice his Bishop for it.

The text ignoresWhite's winning plan: get his King to c7, where it chases away the Black Bishop and wins the b-pawn.

To accomplish this, White needs to advance his King, 37.Kb6, and then exhaust Black's extra tempos, eventually forcing the monarch away: 37...Kd7 38.c5 Kd8 39.Bb8 Kd7 40.a5 Kd8 41.Bg3! Kd7 42.Bh4 when Black's King must give up his protection of the c7 square and allow White's King to move in.

That is hard work, but that is what it sometimes takes to extract a full point from a "drawn" endgame.

37...cxb5 38.cxb5

The pawn structure foreshadows a draw. Imagine White's a-pawn advancing to a6, where it is captured by Black's b-pawn, and then White's b-pawn recaptures. Unless Black's Bishop can be kept off of both the a6-c8 diagonal and the a8-h1 diagonal, there will be nothing to stop it from capturing the remaining passer should it step on a light square.

Can White's King advance and scare off the Black Bishop? It can, but if Black's King can get around to White's pawns, then it can capture one of them while White is capturing Black's last pawn. Then, the Black Bishop will stop the remaining White pawn, as in the previous paragraph.

38...Kd7

Ouch! Black blocks his Bishop.

This is a good move if White plays 39.Kb6, as Black answers 39...Kd6. But what if White moves his Bishop?

39.Bb8 Ke6

It now looks like White's King can swoop in and execute the plan given in the notes to White's 37th move. But, no: the pawn exchanges have changed everything. White has to play 40.Bg3, holding onto the b8-h2 diagonal so that White's trip to the White pawns takes longer...

40.Kb6 Kd7

This is not an endgame, it is a commercial for a headache medication!

With 40...Kd5 Black would again have established a drawn position, even against the scary-looking 41.Kc7 Bg4 42.Kxb7, as 42...Kc5 puts the White King in place to grab one of the pawns, e.g. 43.Ka6 Kb4 44.a5 Be2, etc. One pawn will not be enough for White to win.

Now Black's King is again in the wrong place (and it blocks its Bishop, again, too).

41.Bg3 Kd8

42.a5

Having given his King and Bishop chances to  untangle the game, White now nominates one of his pawns.

42...Kd7

Instead, the tactical shot 42...Bd7 holds the draw, for all the old reasons, starting with 43.Kxb7 Bxb5.

43.Ka7

Yes!

43...Kd8

According to Houdini, the best defense is 43...Ke8, after which White has a mate in 87...

44.b6

Yes!

Not 44.Kb8 when 44...Bd7 is equal.

44...Kd7 45.Kb8 Kd8 46.Bf4 Kd7 47.Bc7 Black resigned

A smooth finish: Black's King will have to move, abandoning his Bishop and pawn.

Thank you, mckenna215 and Knight32 for a very educational game! 

Sunday Tournament Update

The ChessWorld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament is underway, all 15 competitors and all 210 games!

We are already seeing results (8 completed games so far, 6 wins by White) from AsceticKingK9, mckenna215, Rikiki00, braken, blackburne, DREWBEAR 63, Knight32, Magni, pixifrufru, shm19cs, klonka59, Baron wd von Blanc heart pirate, martind1991, Luke Warm and Haroldlee123.

Many games are in their early stages, others are racing along.

There are a number of examples of the Jerome Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kf8/Ke7) – a relatively rare beast making up only about 9/10th-of-a-percent of the games in The Database – those certainly will expand our understanding of that line.

At least 29% of the games are "classical" Jerome Gambits, with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7+ followed by 5.Nxe5+, which is the highest percentage that I have seen in a recent Jerome Gambit thematic tournament. Some "well established" theory is likely to be stood on its head by the time those games are done!

With about 7 out of 10 games following "modern" (non-5.Nxe5+ lines) there will be plenty of practice to round out the theory of this more tempered approach as well.

Next Sunday I will give further information on the progress of the tournament. When all games have developed far enough for me not to influence their play, I will begin presenting some with annotations.

(By the way, I predict that the tournament winner will score 24 out of 28 points.)