Jerome Gambit: Sacrifice Theory

 

Yury V. Bukayev has pointed out that, related to the Russian-language chess book, Gambit, by Natalia Ryabova (see the post "Jerome Gambit: Gambit"), there is also her brochure "Sacrifice Theory. The Bishop" with a section on the Jerome gambit.

Besides presenting the two games Keeble,J - Cubitt,J W, Norwich, 1886 (1-0, 17) and Charlick,H - Mann,J, correspondence Australia, 1881 (1-0, 74), there are 11 training games, players unnamed. 

The games are well worth examining, which I will do in future blog posts.

Jerome Gambit: Dangerous At Any Speed

In the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), Black must be aware of the dangers that may arive along the f-file. Truly, it is dangerous at any speed, perhaps most deadly in bullet games.

angelcamina - SteelMovingOptician

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 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.Qb5+ Qd7 10.Qe2 Nf6 

11.O-O 

angelcamina has also played 11.Nc3 Kf7 (11...Rf8 12.O-O Kf7 13.d4 Kg8 14.f4 c5 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Nd5 17.Ne4 Ndxf4 18.Bxf4 Nxf4 19.Qf3 Qd4+ 20.Kh1 Ne6 21.Nf6+ gxf6 22.exf6 Rxf6 23.Qg3+ Rg6 24.Qb3 b6 25.Rae1 Qd6 26.Qf3 Bb7 27.Qxb7 Black resigned, angelcamina - knoekvent, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023) 12.O-O Re8 13 .d3 Kg8 14.f4 d5 15.e5 Qe6 16.exf6 Qb6+ 17.Qf2 Black resigned, angelcamina - vladandk, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022. 

11...Ne5

There's something about this move... Black is returning his Knight to the Queenside.

Also 11...Kf7 12.d4 Re8 13.Nc3 Qg4 14.f3 Qh4 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.Qc4 Be6 17.exd5 Bd7 18.Qxc7 Rad8 19.Qxd6 Qxd4+ 20.Kh1 Kg8 21.c3 Nh4 22.cxd4 Re2 23.Qg3 Nf5 24.Qg5 Nxd4 25.Qxd8+ Kf7 26.Qxd7+ Black resigned, angelcamina - Dundulic, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022. 

12.f4 Nc6 13.Nc3 Kf7 

14.e5 

Premature - but this is a bullet game, and deeper analysis has to wait until afterward.

14...dxe5 15.fxe5 Re8 

Pinning  the e-pawn to White's Queen, but 15...Qd4+, instead, would lead to its win.

16.Qc4+ Kf8 17.exf6 gxf6 

You can see what's coming.

18.d3 Re6 19.Bh6+ Kg8 20.Rxf6 Ne5 21.Qf4 

Or 21.Rf8+#

21...Ng6 22.Rf8+ Nxf8 23.Qxf8 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Risk of Dismissing

For every chess player intimidated by the Jerome Gambit, there has to be a half-dozen who dismiss it as foolish and unsound.

Unsound it may be, but, for defenders to thoughtlessly dismiss the Jerome - and its moves - as barely requiring their full attention, is, well, foolish.

The following is a painful lesson for Black.

Abshakespeare - lossmoose

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 Ne5 

Provocative.

Looking at The Database, Black seems to do better with 9...Nf6, (9...Ne5 scores 23% vs 9...Nf6 scores 37%).

Stockfish 16.1 agrees, rating 9...Nf6 as about a pawn better than 9...Ne5.

But - why worry? It's only the Jerome Gambit.

10.f4 Ng4 

Apparently Black's idea.

11.Qf3 N8f6 

He might have explored 11...Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh3.

12.O-O Kf7 

Black prepares to castle-by-hand. He must be careful, as his King is now on the danger file. Still, the game is about even.

13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Nxe5 

Looking good. Black can handle this opening with his brain tied behind his back...

15.Qb3+ Kf8 16.c3 

Stopping the Queen check.

16...Qd5 

Yikes!

The is defense hadly worth the thought...

If only defeating the Jerome Gambit were actually that easy.

17.Qxd5 Black resigned

Another Jerome Gambit miniature for the record books.

BSJG: Enemy King in Danger

When Black counter's White's plans for a Giuoco Piano, by moving the game into a Blackburne Shilling Gambit, he needs to be prepared for the dangers that can come if White counters by moving play into the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

Mr_Yan - Bata1111

15 0 rapid, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

4.Bxf7+

The Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7 

Staying off of the e8-h5 diagonal?

The King is up to less mischief on e8.

6.Qh5 

Going after the enemy King immediately - even at the risk of danger on his own Queenside.

Standard play starts with the kick 6.c3.

6...Nf6 

Flexing. Instead, 6...Qe8 provided more defense. 

7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Nc4+ 

8...Kc6 9.Ne5+ 

White realizes that chasing the enemy King to the Queenside isn't going to give him the result he had hoped for.

9...Kd6 

10.f4 

Protecting his Knight.

Worth a try was abandoning the piece with 10.Na3!?, as the greedy 10...Kxe5 would allow checkmate: 11.Nc4+ Kxe5 12.d3+ Kf5 13.g4+ Kxg4 14.Rg1+ Kh3 15.Rg3+ Kxh2 16.Bf4 d5 17.Ne3 Bb4+ 18.c3 Bxc3+ 19.bxc3 Nc2+ 20.Ke1 Nxa1 21.Qg4 Bg4+ 22.Rxg4 Kh3 23.Rg1 d4 24.Rh1#

The best response to 10.Na3 is the pragmatic 10...c6, creating an escape square for the Black King.

10...Qe7 11.Qc4 

It is difficult to believe, at first glance, that Stockfish 16.1 evaluates Black as winning, here.

That is because it "sees" one move that solidifies his advanced Knight and allows his King escape to safety.

11...Nc6 

It is easy to overlook 11...c5, but the text blocks the King's movement. 

12.Nf7+ Qxf7 

Unfortunate.

13.Qxf7 Be7 14.e5+ Black resigned

Black will lose more material.

Jerome Gambit: Once More, Danger on the f-File

The following game illustrates the danger that rides along the f-file, toward the defender's King. 

Even if it takes a tempo, shuffling the King one way or the other is more likely to help survival.

If not, the game can end quickly.

angelcamina - ObaHube

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ N8e7 9.O-O 

angelcamina has reached this position 21 times previously, and from here he played 9.O-O 19 times. The other two games he played 9.Qe3

Stockfish 16.1 (32 ply) prefers 9.f4 right away.

9...d6 10.Qe3 Bd7 

Black's play is passive. Possibly he is not familiar with the Jerome Gambit, and so misses the thematic 10...d5. 

11.f4 Qc8 

This looks like Black is taking steps against the possible advance of White's f-pawn, but this is ineffetive. Better, reaching the center, is 11...c5.

Remember this is a 1-minute game, and there is not a lot of time for positional analysis.

12.f5 Ne5 

Sacrificing a piece for two pawns with either 12...Nxf5 13.exf5 Bxf5 or 12...Bxf5 13.exf5 Nxf5 would fall to 14.g4.

The defending King is on the dangerous f-file, facing the Rook. 

13.d4 Nc4 

Active, but the alternative, 13...Nf7, would have offered his monarch more shelter. 

14.Qb3 b5 15.Bg5 Qb7

Black's Queen snipes at the enemy center. This overlooks the coming danger. 15...h6 16.Bxe7+ Kxe7 would at least get the King out of the line of fire. 

16.f6 Nc6

The Knight abandons his King, and allows a forced checkmate. It is understandable that Black shies away from 16...gxf6 17.Rxf6+ but that was his "best" choice.

17.fxg7+ Kxg7 18.Qg3 

The threat of discovered check intensifies the problem.

18...h5 19.Bf6+ Kh6 20.Qg7 checkmate

Rattling Around in My Brain (Not the Jerome)

The game drumme - rajasthan, blitz, FICS, 2023 (1-0, 28) has been rattling around in my brain, lately. 

I took a look at it for this blog about a year and a half ago, in "Out-Weird the Jerome Gambit", a post aptly titled, as the game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nb4?

There are 29 games in The Database, with White scoring 90% - certainly not a nightmare for the first player, especially because there are 2 short games (4 & 14 moves) that appear to be wins for Black on time or forfeiture, as they end with a position where White is clearly better.

A check at the massive online lichess.org database shows 40,598 games with those first 3 moves, with White scoring 73 1/2%.

Why, then, the jumbled thoughts?

In an early (2008) post about a similar line, "Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit," I noted that, according to Wikipedia

The first known mention of this line [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4] was by Steinitz, who noted it in 1895 in the Addenda to his Modern Chess Instructor, Part II. The earliest game with the opening on chessgames.com is Dunlop - Hicks, New Zealand Championship 1911 [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.O-O Nxf3+ 5.Qxf3 Qf6 6.Qg3 Bc5 7.Nc3 c6 8.Kh1 b5 9.Bb3 d6 10.f4 h5 11.d3 Be6 12.f5 h4 13.Qg4 Bxb3 14.Bg5 h6 15.Qxh4 O-O-O 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.axb3 Nxf5 18.Qxh8 Ng3+ 19.hxg3 Rxh8#].

The game Muehlock - Kostic, Cologne, 1912 also came to mind, another example of the Blackburne Shilling Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3 checkmate.

Note that the Black Knight went to d4 in the Shilling Gambit games, not b4. Also, that Black answers the pawn grab, 4.Nxe5, with the sharp 4...Qg5.

Which finally brings us to today's game.

Bjarne_V - ale198333

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nb4 

I don't have a name for this idea, but according to The Database, the earliest game there saw Kvram play this move.

4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7?

White's Knight is hanging, the enemy Queen is threatening both it and the g-pawn - it's a 1-minute game - go ahead and fork two major pieces.

With enough time (and Tylenol) White might have found the better, but still messy, 5.Bxf7+ Kd8 6.Nf3 Nxc2+ (trickier than the alternative, 6...Qxg2) 7.Kf1 (or 7.Qxc2 Qxg2 8.Rg1 Qxf3) 7...Qb5+ 8.d3 Nxa1 9.Nc3 Qa5 10.Bd2 d6 11.Qxa1 when White would have a pawn for the exchange, and Stockfish 16.1 would assess (27 ply) the first player as about 1 3/4 pawn better.

5...Qxg2 6.Rf1 d5 7.Nxh8 

7...Bh3 

Pressure on the Rook, but getting ahead of himself. Better was 7...dxc4 with advantage. 

8.Qh5+

Hoping to make the Knight trapped at h8 useful. It was time - if there were time - to settle things down a bit with 8.Be2, when White would be better. 

8...g6 

After 8...Kd7 9.Be2, the computer assesses Black - a Rook down - as clearly better!? 

9.Qe5+ Be7 

Here, Stockfish recommends some expected moves, eventually leading to a draw by repetion, i.e. 10.Be2 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Nc3 dxe4 13.Nd5 Bg4 14.Nxc7+ Kd7 15.Qb5+ Kxc7 16.Qc4+ drawing.

Wow.

10.Qc3

To prevent the Knight fork, but giving up the Bishop, which protects the Rook, which guards the King...

10...dxc4 11.Qxc4 Nxc2+ 12.Qxc2 Qxf1 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Gambit

From a webpage about the Russian-language chess book, Gambit, by Natalia Ryabova ["A book about gambits as a way of playing. It covers both popular and rarely encountered gambits in tournament practice. For a wide range of chess fans." - Google translate], a section - really, a lesson - on the Jerome Gambit:

VICTIM ON FIELD F7. JEROME'S GAMBIT

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bf7+

STUDY PARTY

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bc4 Bc5

4. Bxf7 + Kxf7

5. Nxe5+ Nxe5

6. Qh5+ Ke6

7. f4 d6

8. fxe5 dxe5

9. Qh3+ Kf7

10. Qh5+ g6

11. Qxe5 Bf8

12. O-O+ Nf6

13. d4 Bg7

14. Qc5 Qd7

15. e5 Rd8

16. exf6 Bxf6

17. Bg5 Qxd4+

18. Qxd4 Rxd4

19. Bxf6 Rd7

20. Nc3 b6

21. Be5+ Kg8

22. Ne4 Rf7

23. Nf6+ Kg7

24. Nd5+ Kf8

25. Nxc7 Rb8

26. Bd6+ Kg7

27. Ne8+ Kh6

28. Rxf7 Rb7

29. Bf4+ g5

30. Bc7 Kg6

31. Rf6+ Kh5

32. Ng7+ Kg4

33. h3+ Kh4

34. Rh6#

QUESTIONS FOR THE GAME (asked by the trainer during the show)

1. Why is 12. Qh8 bad?

Answer: 12. Qh8? Qh4+

13. Kf1 Qf4+ (Kd1? Bg4#)

14. Kg1 Bc5+

15. d4 Qc1+

16. Kf2 Qf4+

17. Ke2 Qe4+

18. Kd1 Bf5

19. Rf1 Qc2

20. Ke1 Re8

21. Qe5 Bb4

22. Nc3 Re5+

23. de Qb2

24. Rd1 Bc3

25. Rd2 Rd2#

2. Involve the rook in the attack (White's 12th move)

Answer: 12. 0—0

3. Use the pin (White's 15th move)

Answer: 15. e5

4. Use the pin (White's 17th move)

Answer: 17. Bg5

5. Create a threat of Nf6+ (White's 22nd move)

Answer: 22. Ne4

6. Give an open check (White's 24th move) so that the c7-pawn can be captured on the next move.

Answer: Nd5

7. What will happen on 27…Kh8?

Answer: 28. Rf7 h6

29. Nf6 Rb7

30. Be7 Re7

31. Re7 b5

32. Rh7#

8. Find a checkmate in 4 moves (from 31 moves of White)

Answer: Rf6+ Kh5

Ng7+ Kg4

h3+ Kh4

Rh6#.

Keeble, J. - Cubitt, J W. [C50]

Norwich 1886

1. e4 e5

2. Bc4 Bc5

3. Nf3 Nc6

4. Bxf7 + Kxf7

5. Nxe5+ Nxe5

6. Qh5+ Ke6

7. Qf5+ Kd6

8. f4 Qf6

9.fe Qe5

10. Qf3 c6

11. d3 g5

12. c3 Qf6

13. Qg3+ Ke6

14. Rf1 Qe5

15. Qg4+ Ke7

16. Bxg5+ Ke8

17. Qh5#