Jerome Gambit: The Defense Rests

In the following Jerome Gambit game, the defender hangs in for a while, but, in the end, his army is over-run and he must tip his King.

Wall, Bill - Dasasary

sparkchess, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 

6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Bxc3+ 

Instead, Black had the calm withdrawal, 7...Be7, or the aggressive 7...Qh4, e.g. 

7...Qh4 8.O-O Ng4 9.h3 Be7 (9...Bxc3? 10.Nxc3 N4f6 11.e5 Ne4 12.Qf3+ Ke8 13.Nxe4 Nh6 14.Bg5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest11706903, PlayChess.com 2018) 10.hxg4 d6 11.Qb3+Ke8 12.f3 Nf6 13.Be3 b6 $6 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nxg4? 16.fxg4 Qxg4 $4 17.Qf7+ Kd7 18.Qd5+ Ke8 19.Qc6+ Bd7 20.Qxa8+ Bd8 21.Nd2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest436030, PlayChess.com 2018. 

8.Nxc3 Ng6 9.O-O d6 

White has only a pawn for his sacrificed piece, but he can make things difficult for the enemy monarch.

10.f4 N6e7 

None of the other defenses that Bill has faced have fared any better - 

10...Qf6 11.f5 Ne5 12.Nd5 Qh4 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nxc7 Rb8 15.Qd5+ Kf6 16.Ne8+ Ke7 17.Qxe5+ Kf8 18.f6 Nxf6 19.Nxf6 gxf6 20.Rxf6+ Kg8 21.Qe8+ Kg7 22.Qf7 checkmate, Wall,B - NN, internet, 2016; 

10...Nh6 11.f5 Ne7 12.Qh5+ Kg8 13.f6 Ng6 14.Bxh6 gxh6 15.Qxh6 Kf7 16.Qg7+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Facundo, lichess.org 2017;

10...N8e7 11.f5 Nf8 12.Qh5+ Kg8 13.f6 g6 14.f7+ Kg7 15.Bh6 checkmate, Wall,B - Alta, internet, 2022; and

10...h6 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5+ Ke6 13.Qb3+ Kd7 14.Qd5+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Kahve, internet, 2022) 

11.g4 

Bold and risky, but there is no mistaking the intention.

11...Kf8 12.f5 h6 13.h4 

See the note to move 11.

13...a6 14.Be3 b5 15.Qf3 Bb7 16.d5 Nf6 17.Ne2 Kg8 18.Nf4 Bc8 

The center is blocked. Black has holes on the light squares, White on the dark squares. 

Now the Kings, then the Rooks, adjust.

19.Kg2 Kh7 20.Rh1 Re8 21.Rae1 Neg8 22.Bd4 

Bill is not in a hurry. 

His opponent's extra piece helps shore up the defense.

22...c5 23.dxc6 Bb7 

This looks like a mouse slip, or a touch-move error.

24.cxb7 Rb8 25.e5 

Breaking in the center, strafing the Queenside.

25...dxe5 26.Bxe5 Qd2+ 27.Re2 Qd7 28.Bxb8 Rxb8 29.g5 

The center, the Queenside, now the Kingside.

29...Qxf5 30.gxf6 Nxf6 31.Re7 Qc2+ 32.Kh3 Qf5+ 33.Kh2 

33...Ng4+ 34.Kg3 Ne5 35.Qh5 Qf6 36.Re6 Black resigned

The defender has had enough for one game.

Jerome Gambit: Valuable Time (Part 7)

 

                             

[continued from earlier post]

Our game just finished.

perrypawnpusher - JAMARTINO

Not only the Italians play the Italian, Chess.com, 2025

41....Kxh2 

Speeding things up, but there is no escape from mate.

42.Kf3 b4 43.Bxb4 h4 44.gxh4 Kh3 45.Rh1 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: The Bandit Queen

One criticism of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that the attacker moves his Queen too often.

However, in the following game, Bill Wall's Queen is very active, invades the opponent's position, captures material, and escapes.

Wall, Bill - Chest

sparkchess, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6 

Bill has reached this postion 29 times in his games, scoring 95% (27 - 1 - 1).

Black has the straight-forward threat of ...Nf3+, winning the Queen. 

Instead of moving his Queen to f6, Bill's opponent has also played 7...d6 8.O-O h6 (8...Nf6 9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd3 Re8 11.Nc3 Kg8 12.b3 Kh8 13.Bb2 Nb4 14.Qd2 c5 15.Rae1 Qb6 16.a3 Nc6 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Ne7 19.Qc3 c4+ 20.Rf2 Black resigned, Wall,B - Chest, sparkchess 2025) 9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd5+ Be6 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qe2 Nge7 13.Be3 Re8 14.f5 Bxf5 15.g4 Kg7 16.gxf5 gxf5 17.Qh5 Rh8 18.exf5 Nd5 19.Qg6+ Kf8 20.Bxh6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Chest, sparkchess 2025. 

8.Nd2 Ng4 9.Qc4+ 

Bill has no interest in exchanging Queens.

9...Kf8 10.f3 Ne5 11.Qxc7 

11...Ne7

Played too quickly. 

Instead, 11...b6 12.Nc4 Nxc4 13.Qxc4 Ne7 14.O-O Nc6 would have kept his small advantage. 

12.Qd8+ Kf7 13.Qxh8 N7g6 14.Qxh7 

The Queen will escape with her treasure.

14...d6 15.O-O Be6 16.f4 Nxf4 

Not much stronger, but perhaps a bit more emotionally satisfying, is 16...Rh8 17.fxe5 Qxf1+ 18.Nxf1 Rxh7 19.exd6 when Black has captured the bandit Queen but is four pawns down. 

17.Nf3 

17...Nxf3+ 18.Rxf3 Ke7 19.Bxf4 Qxb2 

Clawing back a pawin, but it is poisoned. White now has a forced checkmate 

20.Rd1 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Rg8 22.Bxd6+ Black resigned

The defender has had enough.

Was H.Nakamura Right? Is JG ‘Unbreakable’, Is EG ‘Legendary’ For Beginners’ Games? (Part 11)

 Was H.Nakamura Right? Is JG ‘Unbreakable’, Is EG ‘Legendary’

For Beginners’ Games? (Part 11)

(by Yury V. Bukayev)

Again and again, if an expert’s appraisal is based on something without real proofs, he can be right or “almost right” here sometimes. That is so, even in the case where he realizes that his appraisal is hasty, or non-serious, or bold, or emotional. Sometimes he is right here for a large per cent (for example, 55, 75 or 95) of cases which he appraises.

We remember Rick Kennedy’s post ‘Jerome Gambit: Which Tier? Unbreakable?’ (September 23, 2020) where the notable dialogue about the standard system of the Jerome gambit (JG) between Top GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman was shown as the part of their popular video and as its approximate text. Thus, they have discussed there what chess opening tier for beginners’ practice is right for it. The end of this text contains several phrases by Mr. Nakamura where he places the standard system of JG near the top of ‘Unbreakable’. Mr. Nakamura’s words contain no proofs of this very high appraisal. In my opinion, the tier’s name ‘Unbreakable’ is very arguable, because we discuss an opening practice, not an opening theory: each opening can be broken in a game as a result of practical mistakes of a player. But this name plays no role for us, just this very high appraisal of 4.Bxf7+ for beginners’ practice is important for our consideration.

Before writing of my Part 1 of this analytical research (please, look at it: it’s a blog post of October 16, 2022) it was enough difficult for me to prove this Hikaru Nakamura’s appraisal, for a large per cent of cases. It was necessary to choose a certain control of time for beginners’ games, and I have chosen an unlimited one. And in the Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 of this research I have made some clear proofs of this Mr. Nakamura’s appraisal and some “not absolutely clear proofs” of it. We shouldn’t forget that the word ‘unbreakable’ includes a draw, not only a win.

And here is my new invented trap - no.17 - which is based on a similar ‘natural’ reaction of a beginner.

Trap 17. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Qh4 (It’s a strong theoretical way for Black, so White’s future trap is not only for games against beginners.) 8.dxe5!? Qxe4+ 9.Be3!? Qxg2 10.Rf1 Ba5? (It’s a typical reaction for beginners and not only for them: Black wants to not retreat from the centre, to continue …Bb6, to attack White’s important points. And it’s an idea of this trap.) 11.Qh5+! AN (White’s extremely strong idea 12.e6! makes the position unclear, with good chances for White to get an advantage further.)

That is why White will get here also a very large per cent of identical successful results against beginners. And against much more strong players!

It maybe, the invention of my traps 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and my approaches (Part 1, Part 2) will cause Mr. Nakamura’s and Mr. Rozman’s wish to replace the standard system of JG into their top tier ‘Legendary’ (on ‘GMHikaru’ YouTube channel).

Contact the author: istinayubukayev@yandex.ru

© 2026 Yury V. Bukayev (Copyright © Bukayev Yury Vyacheslavovich 2026). All rights reserved.

[A legal using of this investigation with a reference to it is permitted and doesn't require author's consent.]

Jerome Gambit: Psychic Pain

I always experience a bit of psychic pain when I face the Jerome Gambit, instead of play it.

Worse yet, I have a slightly better score defending, compared to attacking.

So when I was recently challenged...

NN - perrypawnpusher

chess.com, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7

As I noted in "Flaws (Part II)", concerning Blackburne's 7...d6

...Black has a stronger counter-attack here, starting with 7...Qe7! as Jerome discovered to his dismay in the games of his correspondence match with Lt. G. N. Whistler, secretary of the Lexington, Kentucky Chess Club, in 1876.

My advice, here, was clear in my post"Jerome Gambit: Don't Take the Rook" - mind you, in 7 games with the Black pieces in this position, I scored 100% when my opponent did take the Rook.

8.Qxh8 

For 8.Qd5+!?, see Yury V. Bukayev's "Anatoly Karpov & Jerome Gambit (Parts 7 & 8)" and "JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its Psychology (Parts 15 & 16)",   

8...Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Qh4 10.g3 Qh3+ 11.Kg1 

White is up the exchange and a pawn, but his King is in dire straits.

If 11.Ke1 Nf6 12.d3 Qg2 13.Rf1 d5 14.Qd8 (14.Bg5 Qxf1+ 15.Kxf1 Bh3+ 16.Kg1 Rxh8 17.Nd2 Ng4 18.Be3 Nxe3 19.fxe3 Bxe3+ White resigned, wolfwerner - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, 2024) 14...Qxf1+ White resigned, Seishiro_Chess - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit Classic #1, 2024. 

11...b6 

More to the point than 11...Qe6 12.Kg2 (12.d4, 12.Qxh7+) Qe4+ 13.Kg1 Qe1+ 14.Kg2 Qxf2+ 15.Kh3 d5+ 16.g4 Qf3+ 17.Kh4 Qxg4 checkmate, IndeedPerhapsYes - perrypawnpusher, Chess.com, 2021 

12.Qc3

With a defensive idea, but now Black has a forced checkmate. 

12...Bb7 13.Qc4+ Kg7 14.Qf1 

14...Qg4 15.h4  Qxg3+ 16.Qg2 Qxg2 checkmate

Pass the acetaminophen...

Jerome Gambit: Valuable Time (Part 6)

                                      

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - JAMARTINO

Not only the Italians play the Italian, Chess.com, 2025

The advanced pawn will distract a defender.

35...Rf8 36.Rxg6+ Kf5 

This careless move costs a piece. The King needed to continue to advance, instead, with 36...Kh3.

37.Rf6+ Kg4 38.Rxf1 Kh3 39.Bg7 Ra8 40.f8/Q Rxf8 41.Bxf8

[to be continued]

Jerome Gambit: Valuable Time (Part 5)

                                         

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - JAMARTINO

Not only the Italians play the Italian, Chess.com, 2025

20...cxd4

Instead, 20...Be6 would advance Black's development, and protect his Rook at e8, e.g. 21.Rd6 b6, with the first player still a little bit better.

21.Qxe8+ Kh7 

Would exchanging Queens, instead, with 21...Qf8 22.Qxf8+ Kxf8 23.Rxd4 be more helpful for the defender? In the computer's post mortem, it was something to consider. 

22.Rxd4 b6 

A slip.

My opponent misses it.

I miss it.

23.Qxe4 

Readers, no doubt, can find 23.Rd8!? (pin and attack) Be6 24.Qh8+ Kg6 25.Rxa8 Qf7 26.Qe8 Qxe8 27.Rxe8 Bxa2 28. Ra8 Bb1 29. Rxa7 Bxc2 30. Bxb6 and things are largely resolved, as White is a Rook ahead.

23...Qxe4 24.Rxe4 Bf5 25.Re7 Bxc2 

With Rooks off the board, the position would be quite drawish, due to the Bishops-of-opposite-colors.

26.Bd4 Rg8 27.Rxa7 b5 28.Rb7 Bd3 29.Kf2 h5 

To limit the Kingside pawns, and, possibly exchange some: When ahead, exchange pieces; when behind, exchange pawns

30.Ke3 Bf1 31.g3 Kh6 32.Rb6+ g6 33.f5 

Building pressure against the enemy King.

33...Kg5 34.f6 Kg4 35.f7 

The f-pawn continues forward, disrupting the defense, in its own way.

[to be continued]