It is heartening to see new videos about the Jerome Gambit!
There are a couple by PawnpusherLive
(Featuring the game Yury_V_Bukayev - MateSharkVlad, Chess.com, 2025) Also, PawnToKing has |
(Presenting the opening moves of two main lines of play; I subscribed)
angelcamina - banatosakk
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
At 32 ply, Stockfish 16.1 ranks the four major moves in order of strength as 6...Ke6, 6...Kf8, 6...g6 and 6...Ng6; although all are rated as good for Black.
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qb5+
A thinker. Will Black give up his b-pawn with 9...Bd7?
9...Qd7 10.Qc4 Nf6
angelcamina has been here before:
10...N8e7 11.O-O c6 12.f4 b5 13.Qe2 Bb7 14.f5 Ne5 15.d4 Nf7 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Nd8 18.f6 gxf6 19.exf6 Black resigned, angelcamina - georges88, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023;
10...Ne5 11.Qb3 Nf6 12.Nc3 Qe6 13.Qa4+ Bd7 14.Qb4 Nc6 15.Qxb7 Kf7 16.O-O Rab8 17.Qa6 Rb6 18.Qe2 Nd4 19.Qd1 Qg4 20.f3 Qg6 21.d3 Bh3 22.Rf2 Nh5 23.Be3 c5 24.Nd5 Rxb2 25.Bxd4 cxd4 26.Kh1 Rhb8 27.gxh3 Nf4 28.Qg1 Nxd5 29.Qxg6+ Kxg6 30.Raf1 Rb1 31.f4 Black resigned, angelcamina - SerhiiKovalenko, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024; and
10...Qe6 11.Qa4+ Qd7 12.Qb3 Qe6 13.Qa4+ Bd7 14.Qb4 c5 15.Qxb7 Rd8 16.O-O Nf6 17.Nc3 Kf7 18.f4 Rde8 19.f5 Qe5 20.fxg6+ hxg6 21.Qxd7+ Re7 22.Qa4 Qxh2+ 23.Kf2 Qh4+ 24.Kg1 Qh2+ 25.Kf2 Ng4+ 26.Ke2+ Kg8 27.Qb3+ Kh7 28.d3 Qh5 29.Be3 Nh2+ 30.Kd2 Nxf1+ 31.Rxf1 Rhe8 32.Nd5 Re5 33.Nf4 Qh6 White resigned, angelcamina - KantIllya, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025.
11.Nc3
Another game took a slightly different path with 11.O-O Ne5 12.Qe2 c5 13.f4 Nc6 14.Nc3 Kf7 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Re8 17.Qc4+ Qe6 18.Qxe6+ Rxe6 19.exf6 Rxf6 20.Rxf6+ Kxf6 21.d3 Bf5 22.Be3 Rd8 23.Bxc5 Nd4 24.Bxd4+ Rxd4 25.Rf1 Ke6 26.Re1+ Kd7 27.h3 Rd6 28.Ne4 Rg6 29.Nc5+ Kc6 30.Nb3 Bxh3 31.Kh2 Bxg2 32.Nd4+ Kc7 33.Ne6+ Kb6 34. Nd4 Black resigned, angelcamina - Senecan, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2023.
11...Ne5
Or 11...Qe6 12.Qa4+ Bd7 13.Qb4 b6 14.O-O Rf8 15.f4 a5 16.Qd4 Ne7 17.d3 Nc6 18.Qe3 Kf7 19.b3 Kg8 20.Ba3 Kh8 21.Rae1 Rab8 22.Qh3 b5 23.Bb2 Nb4 24.Re2 Qxh3 25.gxh3 Bxh3 26.Rf3 Bg4 27.Rg3 Bxe2 28.Nxe2 Nxc2 29.e5 Nd7 30.e6 Nf6 31.h4 Rfe8 32.h5 Rxe6 33.h6 g6 34.f5 Rxe2 35.Bxf6+ Kg8 36.Bd4 Re1+ Black won on time, angelcamina - HenryLalu13, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022.
12.Qe2 Kf7 13.O-O Rf8
White has the safer King, and is ready to put his "Jerome pawns" in action.
14.f4 Nc6 15.e5
The slower 15.b3 followed by 16.Bb2 was available, but White wants to strike.
15...Ne8
Uneasy. Instead, he had 15...dxe5 16.fxe5 Qd4+ 17.Qf2 Qxe5 with advantage.
16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Qe2 dxe5 18.fxe5 Rxf1+ 19.Kxf1 Qf5+ 20.Kg1
Things look difficult for the first player, but the time control often proves that changes can come quickly.
20...Nxe5
A perfect example. Black had 20...Qxd5 and 20...Be6, both which would have been fine for him. But, what could be wrong with the text?
21.d4
White immediately shows that there is still danger in the position.
21...Ng4 22.h3
Kicking the advanced Knight, but 22.Qxe8+ was stronger.
22...Nd6
Argh! Taking the attacked out of danger, but protecting it with 22...Ngf6 was the move.
Certainly the clock is being felt by both players.
23.hxg4 Qxg4 24.Qxg4 Bxg4
Black discovers that he can not beat his opponent from an equal position in a game of beat-the-clock
25.Bf4 Rf8 26.Bxd6 cxd6 27.Rf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Bf5 29.Nb5 Bxc2 30.Nxd6 b6 31.a3 a5 32.Kf2 Bb3 33.Ke3 Bd5 34.g3 Kf8 35.Kf4 h6 36.Ke5 Bg2 37.Nf5
[Let me catch my breath]
White won on time
In the following game, I suspect that Black felt comfortable entering an apparently boring opening line - only to discover that his opponent was willing to mix things up with the sacrifice of two pieces.
The defender was able to inflict pawn structure damage on White, but his King could not escape the aggression that followed, allowing another Jerome Gambit miniature.
angelcamina - djtiempobullet
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6
8.dxe5
Stockfish 16.1 surprised me with the suggestion 8.Bg5.
I checked The Database and found 9 games with the move (White scored 7 - 2), the earliest of which was Philidor 1792 - NN, 2011 (1-0, 27).
The creative Philidor 1792 also played 5 games in 2011 with 8.f4. (scoring 3 - 2).
8...Bxe5 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3
Leave the e-pawn alone: 10...Nxe4? 11.Qd5+ Kf8 12.Qxe4 d5 13.Ba3+ c5 Black resigned, angelcamina - InmortalArtist, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.
More to the point was 10...Re8!? 11.f3 Kg8 12.Bg5 d6 13.Rb1 Re5 14.Bh4 Rh5 15.Qe1 Qf8 16.c4 Qf7 17.Rb3 Nd7 18.Bg3 Qxc4 19.Rc3 Qb4 20.Rxc7 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Qxc7 22.Qd1 Rh6 23.f4 Qc4 24.e5 Qxa2 25.f5 dxe5 26.Bxe5 Nxe5 27.Qd8+ Kf7 28.f6 Rxf6 29.Re1 Qxc2 30.Qd5+ Re6 31.Rf1+ Kg6 32.Qd4 b5 33.Qf2 White resigned, aymmd - Gamin, FICS 2011.
11.e5
The basic plan: get the King off of the dangerous e-file, then advance the e-pawn.
A few years ago, angelcamina tried this out in a delayed form: 11.f4 Kg8 12.e5 Ne8 13.Ba3 d6 14.c4 Be6 15.Qd3 Rf7 16.Rae1 dxe5 17.Qxd8 Rxd8 18.Rxe5 Bxc4 19.Rfe1 Nf6 20.h3 h6 21.g4 Rfd7 22.g5 hxg5 23.fxg5 Nh5 24.g6 Nf4 25.Re8+ Black resigned, angelcamina - raho22121964, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019.
11...Ne8
It is interesting that Stockfish 16.1 suggests that Black return a piece here, giving the drawish line 11...d6 12.exf6 Qxf6 13.Qd5+ Qe6 14.Qb3 Qxb3 15.cxb3.
12.Qd5+
Thematic.
12...Ke7
In a 1-minute game it can be hard to see that this "safer" move, isn't. With 12...Kg6 13.Qd3+ Kf7 14.Qxh7 Qe7 15.f4 the game would be even.
13.Bg5+
What was overlooked.
13...Nf6
What a mess! The "better" move was giving up the Rook with 13...Rf6.
14.exf6+
This wins. To note, 14.Rfe1 and 14.Rae1 would have put even more pressure on Black.
14...gxf6
Again, sadly, 14...Rxf6 was nominally better.
The value of the text move is that it ends Black's suffering.
15.Rae1 checkmate
I know, I know, "Grandmasters don't play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)"
Well, sometimes they do... Thanks to PawnpusherLive for a video presentation one of the games GM Nakamura - GM Kollars (for more, check out "Jerome Gambit: GM vs GM!?" and "Jerome Gambit: Oops, He Did It Again?!").
I have a Google Alert set to catch online examples of "Jerome Gambit", which recently turned up
Black played a brilliant game but still lost to the Jerome Gambit #chess - YouTube
In the following Jerome Gambit game, Black's Bishop uses up enough time that White's attack gathers steam, and then breaks through the resistance.
angelcamina - chicken_balti
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8
7.Qxe5 Be7
Black will re-purpose his Bishop.
8.O-O
One danger of bullet play: 8.Qf5+Bf6 9.e5 Qe8 10.d4 d6 11.f4 Bxf5 White resigned, angelcamina - cnyyyper, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022.
8...Bf6
angelcamina has faced other ideas: 8...Nf6 9.Nc3 (9.d4 d6 10.Qf4 Qd7 (10...Bd7 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Kf7 13.exf6 Bxf6 14.Nc3 Rf8 15.Qc4+ Be6 16.Qb4 Kg8 17.Be3 b6 18.Rad1 Qc8 19.Bd4 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 c5 21.Rc4 cxb4 22.Rxc8 Raxc8 23.Ne4 Bxa2 24.Ra1 Bd5 25.Nd6 Rxc2 26.f3 Rxb2 27.Rxa7 Rb1+ 28.Kf2 Rb2+ 29.Kg3 Rd8 30.Nf5 Rd6 31.Ne7+ Kf8 32.Nf5 g6 33.Nxd6 b3 34.Ne4 Black resigned, angelcamina - asalsakhaei, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021) 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Qf5 13.Qxf5 Bxf5 14.exf6 Bxf6 15.c3 Kf7 16.Be3 Rhe8 17.Nd2 Rad8 18.Nf3 Bg6 19.Ng5+ Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Rd5 21.Be3 Rd7 22.Rad1 Rde7 23.Rd4 Kg8 24.Rfd1 b6 25.Rd8 Bc2 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Rd2 Ba4 28.f3 Rxe3 29.Kf2 Re7 30.g3 Kf7 31.b3 Bc6 32.f4 a5 33.c4 g6 34.g4 h6 35.Rd3 Re4 36.Kg3 Kf6 37.h4 h5 38.gxh5 gxh5 39.a4 Re7 40.Kh3 Rg7 White resigned, angelcamina - shein20042, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020; 9.f4 d6 10.Qd4 c5 11.Qc4 a5 12.Nc3 b5 13.Nxb5 Ba6 14.a4 Qb6 15.d3 Ke8 16.e5 Nh5 17.exd6 Bxd6 18.Re1+ Be7 19.Bd2 Bxb5 20.axb5 Qg6 21.Rxe7+ Kxe7 22.Re1+ Black resigned, angelcamina - mehmeteminkonuk35, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022) 9...Kf7 (9...d6 10.Qg3 Kf7 (10...Qd7 11.d4 Qg4 12.Qd3 Ke8 13.f3 Qd7 14.f4 Qg4 15.h3 Qh5 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Nd7 18.b3 Nb6 19.Nb5 Bd8 20.Ba3 Qf5 21.Qd2 a6 22.Nd4 Qe4 23.Rae1 Qd5 24.c4 Qf7 25.f5 c6 26.f6 gxf6 27.exf6+ Kd7 28.Nb5+ Nd5 29.cxd5 axb5 30.dxc6+ Kxc6 31.Qd6 checkmate, angelcamina - agsugan69, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2021) 11.d4 Rf8 12.f4 Kg8 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 (14.dxe5 Nd5 15.Ne4 Bf5 16.Ng5 h6 17.Nf3 Bc5+ 18.Kh1 Qe7 19.Nh4 Bh7 20.Qb3 c6 21.Bd2 Kh8 22.Rae1 Bg8 23.g3 Nxf4 24.Qxg8+ Rxg8 25.Bxf4 Bb6 26.Ng6+ Kh7 27.Nxe7 Black resigned, angelcamina - Alequis1991, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019) 14...Nd5 15.Rxf8+ Bxf8 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.Rf1 Qg4 18.Qxg4 Bxg4 19.Nxd5 c6 20.Ne3 Be2 21.Rf2 Ba6 22.Bh4 h6 23.Bg3 Rd8 24.c3 c5 25.Nf5 cxd4 26.Nxd4 Bc5 White resigned, angelcamina - jahreddd, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2018) 10.f4 Rf8 11.Qb5 Kg8 12.e5 Ne8 13.Qb3+ Kh8 14.d4 d6 15.Be3 dxe5 16.dxe5 b6 17.Rad1 Bd7 18.e6 Bxe6 19.Rxd8 Bxb3 20.Rxa8 Bc4 21.Re1 Nd6 22.Bd4 Rxa8 23.Rxe7 c5 24.Bxg7+ Kg8 25.Be5 Nf5 26.Ne4 Rd8 27.Nf6+ Kf8 28.Rxh7 Rd1+ 29.Kf2 Black resigned, angelcamina - MIV_657, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024.
9.Qg3 Nh6 10.e5
Black continues to be active with his dark-square Bishop, then, surprisingly, exchanges it.
10...Bh4 11.Qf3+ Nf7 12.d4 Bg5 13.Bxg5 Qxg5
Should White be happy with an equal position? On one hand, that is a small benefit for an attack; on the other hand, having sacrificed two pieces in a "refuted" opening, to have an equal game is encouraging.
14.Nc3 g6 15.Ne4 Qe7 16.Qe3 Kg7 17.f4 b6 18.f5
18...gxf5 19.Rxf5 Bb7 20.Raf1 Raf8
21.Qg3+ Kh6 22.Rf6+ Qxf6 23.Rxf6+ Kh5 24.Qh3 checkmate
Grandmaster Nigel Davies (information about him can be found at lichess) has written some fine chess books and created some educational chess videos.
His books have looked at chess improvement, for example: Rules of Winning Chess, The Chess Player's Battle Manual: Equip Yourself for Competitive Play, and 10 Great Ways to Get Better At Chess.
GM Davies has also examined a number of chess openings.
The Death of Certain Openings
The dawn of high power computers has meant that opening theory has been revolutionized. One of the main effects is that some openings that were previously thought to be playable are now in deep trouble.
One of the highest profile victims is the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5), in which Black may no longer get compensation for his pawn. It goes without saying that gambits such as the Latvian (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5) and Elephant (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5) are doomed, but it seems that even the venerable King's Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4) is in some trouble. Top players have been moving away from it in their longer time limit games, though it is played quite frequently in rapid chess and blitz.
It goes without saying that humans may not be able to learn and remember the engine refutations, but playing a dubious opening can eat away at your self-confidence. What if one of your opponents has actually learned and remembered a highly effective line? Will you be able to overturn things in a practical game? And is it worth investing time and effort in finding new resources that keep it alive?
Personally speaking, I would prefer to play openings which are still considered sound, but offer chances to outplay an opponent. There are plenty of lines left which fit the bill, for example most of the Queen's Gambits (Accepted, Declined, Slav etc) together with the Nimzo-Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) and Gruenfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5). Against 1.e4 there seems to be little immediate danger to 1...e5, the French, the Caro-Kann and most lines of the Sicilian.
How can you tell which lines are still healthy? A good indicator can be the games of top over-the-board and correspondence players, if they're still being played then probably they're in decent shape. If not then beware, many openings are dying because of high-powered engine analysis.
