Jerome Gambit: The Anti-Bill Wall Gambit, Return to Discussion (Part 1)

Some lines of play in the Jeorme Gambit get me thinking, and researching, and looking up blog posts.

sub_nishanth - dzikasarna

3  blitz, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Bf2+ 

The Anti-Bill Wall Gambit, also seen in "Jerome Gambit: A Cautionary Tale" and "Jerome Gambit: Another Reason".

8.Kxf2 

The Database does not have any games where White declines the Bishop.

8...Nf7 

8...g6 was seen in Wall,B - Buster, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 11); 

8...Ng6 was seen in Wall,B - Equa, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 14);  Wall,B - Kumar, SparkChess, 2024 (1-0, 22); and Wall,B - Kumar, SparkChess, 2024 (1-0, 12)  

9.Re1 Nf6 

10.Qh3+ Ke7 11.e5 Nd5 12.f5 d6 13.e6

The "Jerome pawns" are making a problem for the defender.

The question is, what should Black do now?

Stockfish 17.1 (35 ply) suggests 13...Ng5 14.Qg3 h6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Qf8 17.Kg1 c6 when it evaluates White's position as almost 1 1/2 pawns better. If White tries the logical 18.h4, though, Black can sacrifice his Knight, and with 18...Nxe6 19.fxe6 Qf6 20.d4 Rf8 21.Be3 Bxe6 the position is a material-even mess.

13....Nh6 

Avoiding complications - and time may have been a factor, here - but settling for a worse position. 

14.d4 Rf8 15.Bg5+ 

15...Ke8 

Definitely looks like time trouble.

16.Bxd8 Kxd8 17.c4 Nf4 18.e7+ Black resigned

The loss of material will be too large.

Jerome Gambit: Viewership

 

A quick look at statistics from Blogger gives a list of the countries with 

top viewership numbers for this blog:

United States            791K

Singapore                 609K

Brazil                        262K

Hong Kong               197K

Vietnam                    196K

France                       146K

Russia                       113K

Germany                   100K

United Kingdom        80.3K

Canada                       64.2K

Iraq                            51.9K

India                           48.9K

Argentina                   41.7K

Bangladesh                37.7K

Spain                          33.9K

South Korea               33.6K

Mexico                       32.9K

Chile                          31.1K

Ukraine                      29.6K

Other                        838K

It is interesting to compare this list with one from the end of 2010 - early in the life of this blog. See "A World-Wide Phenomenon"

LESS

Quick Tournament Update

 

My tournaments (current, recent) where I have tried to play the Jerome Gambit as often as possible:

The Italian Game - waiting for Round 2 to start

Wal2010's 3rd Thematic Tournament: Community Poll Winner Italian Game - waiting for Round 2 to start

Not only the Italians plays the Italian game - waiting for Round 3 to start

BISHOP'S OPENING CUP 2025 - waiting for Round 3 to start

6th Thematic Quick Knockouts: Italian Game (1401-1600) - eliminated

Italian game - eliminated

Jerome Gambit: Knights Advance Too Quickly

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, Black's Knights advance too quickly, finding trouble.

Wall, Bill - PlayMe

internet, 2026

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 

Or 8...b6 9.Qc3 Qf6 10.Qxc7 Nf4 11.O-O Ne7 12.d4 Ne2+ 13.Kh1 Rf8 14.Be3 Kf7 15.Qc4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - NRKD, FICS, 2013. 

9.Qa3 

As we have seen in earlier Jerome Gambit games, Bill likes to experiment. There was nothing wrong with the typical 9.Qe3. 

9...N8e7 

Or 9...Nf6 as in Wall,B - Guest2360621,  2013, (1-0, 37); 

Stockfish 17.1 also liks 9...Qh4. 

Or 9...Ne5 as in Wall,B - Guest558550, PlayChess.com 2021 (1-0, 20); 

Or 9...Qg5 10.Qf3 N8e7 11.O-O Rf8 12.d3 Qh4 13.Qe2 Bg4 14.f3 Bd7 15.Nc3 Nf4 16.Bxf4 Qxf4 17.d4 Rf6 18.Rad1 Rh619.g3 Qf6 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.exd5+ Kf7 22.Rfe1 Re8 23.Qc4 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Qg5 25.Qxc7 Qf5 26.g4 Rg6 27.Kf2 Rxg4 28.Re6 h6 29.Qxd7+ Kg8 30.Re8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Hell, internet, 2024 

10.O-O Be6 

Calling forth White's next move.

More energetic is 10...Nf4 

11.f4 Bd7 

Avoiding the threatened pawn fork. 

12.d4 Nc6 13.f5

13...Nh4 

Stockfish 17.1 suggests 13...Qf6 with a subsequent draining of the dynamics of the game: 14.d5 Nd4 15.Rf2 Rf8 16.Be3 Qe5 17.Qd3 Nxf5 18.exf5 Rxf5 19.Nc3 Rxf2 20.Bxf2 Kf8 leaving White only an edge.

14.Qg3 

Moving the Queen back to the action.

Instead, 14.g3 would be met by 14...Nxd4, when 15.gxh4 Qxh4 16.Qd3 Bb5 16.c4 Qg4 leaves Black a bit better.

14...Nxd4 

A slip, falling to a fork. 

15.Qxg7 Rf8 16.Qxd4 Qe7 17.Nc3 Bc6 18.g3

18...Rg8 19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.exd5 Qe2 21.Qxh4 Black resigns

White is up a piece and two pawns. Also, his King is safer.

Jerome Gambit: I Can Only Do So Much

 

I was wandering through The Database this morning, when I ran across a recent Jerome Gambit - a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit - which arrived at the following position, from the game MUNJA666 - TimCross, 10 0 rapid game, lichess.org, 2026: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0–0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 (1-0, 15)

The Database (close to 130,000 games) has 47 games with this position, with White scoring 74%.

 

In fact, it indicated that I was 10 - 0 with White.

There were games where Black continued 8...Nf6, 8...Be7, 8...Bd6, 8...Qf6, 8...d6, or 8...Qe7 

But, all of this is wrong.

Back in 2008, looking at my game perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 46), I had suggested in the notes that

[t]he right move was the retrograde 8...Bf8, since then 9.Qxh8 Bg7 would lead to the win of the White Queen.

In fact, the computer - back then, Rybka - evaluated Black as about 1 1/2 pawns better. That may not be a winning advantage in club play, but it certainly is an advantage.

Since then, in games inThe Database, there have been 46 games with the position in the diagram. In those games, Black played 8...Bf8 only 8 times.

On top of that, Black scored only 5 - 3 in those games after 8...Bf8.

I can help out the Jerome Gambit defender, but I can only do so much.

Jerome Gambit: A Pleasant Variation of the Giuoco Piano (Part 2)

 

[continued from the previous post]

perrypawnpusher - rffuse

Chess.com, 2026                          

13...Ke8 14.d4 Bb6 15.Rf3 

With a pawn center, and preparing to double Rooks on the f-file, I could feel my game improving - although rffuse's two Bishops look ominous, and are part of why the computer still favors the second player.

15...Rf8 

To challenge along the f-file, but 15...Be6 or 15...c6 are probably better.

16.Raf1 Rxf3 17.Qxf3 Qf6 

I wanted to pursue an attack here (my opponent has the classic undeveloped-Bishop-blocking-the-undeveloped-Rook), and so chose not to grab a pawn with 18.Qxf6 gxf6 19.Rxf6.

After the game, Stockfish 17.1 recommended the followup 19...c6 20.Rh6 Kf7 21.Rxh7+ Kg8, assessing things as equal. I don't get it: White has 4 pawns (2 of them connected and passed) for a piece; I don't see why he isn't better. (Maybe because the computer's rating is twice mine.)

Anyhow, the alternatives 18.Qe2 and 18.Qd1 are passive, but there is an alternative.

18.Qh5+ Qg6 19.Qd5 c6 

This move protects the b-pawn and kicks the White Queen away. It turns out that the Queen has only one good square to go to - but that is enough.

It is worth looking at, in passing, the messy alternative, a direct threat of mate by Black with 19...Bh3. In that case, 20.Rf2 would be an insufficient response, as 20...Ke7 21.e5 (21.Qxb7 Rf8) Rd8 22.Qxb7 (what else?) Rf8 and the heat transfers to White's King. 

Instead, after 19...Bh3, White's 20.Qg8+ Kd7 21.Rf7+ Ke6 22.Rf8+ Kd7 23.Qf7+ Qxf7 24.Rxf7+ Ke8 25.Rxg7 Kf8 26.Rxh7 Be6 gives White just an edge.

20.Qg8+ 

This move works against 19...Bh3, as well.

20...Ke7 21.Qf8+ Ke6 22.d5+ cxd5 23.exd5+ Kd7 

24.Rf7+ Qxf7 25.Qxf7+ Kd8 Black resigned

White has a Queen and two pawns for a Bishop and a Rook, but, more importantly, he has the safer King.

Jerome Gambit: A Pleasant Variation of the Giuoco Piano (Part 1)

An interesting and challenging Jerome Gambit against a chessfriend - what could be better than that?

Preparing for this post, I noticed the game starts along a familiar path, but soon wanders off.

perrypawnpusher - rffuse

Chess.com, 2026

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

The July 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal had an article on "Jerome's Double Opening" with the the following comment

Note: It should be understood that Mr. Jerome claims in this New Opening "only a pleasant variation of the Giuoco Piano, which may win or lose according to the skill of the players, but which is capable of affording many new positions and opportunities for heavy blows unexpectedly."

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

A position seen in that issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal.

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3 Qf6 

An all-purpose move, putting pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal and the f-file.

I had previously seen 8...Be6 in perrypawnpusher - GuestGCSC, blitz, FICS, 2023 (0-1, 49). 

9.d3 

I had also played 9.O-O g6 10.Nc3 c6 11.d3 in perrypawnpusher - kashifnaseem, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 34); as well as 9.Nc3 in perrypawnpusher - JoseSoza, Chess.com, 2012 (0-1, 37) and perrypawnpusher - Igorrud, Chess.com, 2024 (1/2-1/2, 24).

9...Nh6 

This move took me by surprise, although, as I worked on these notes, I was able to look up my game from 16 years ago, perrypawnpusher - recreation, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 13).

In fact, a number of Jerome Gambit players have faced 9...Nh6, here, including angelcamina, DrMarlonsky, Jagulep, mrjoker, Pauze, petsluk, ryuugu-rena, shugart, TePart0, Tracy824, and Wall,

10.Nc3 Ng4 

Putting more pressure on f2.

11.Be3 

To counter the pressre along the a7-g1 diagonal.

The alternative, 11.O-O, protecting the f-pawn with a Rook (and safeguarding the King), is evaluated (35 ply) the same by Stockfish 17.1.

11...Nxe3 12.fxe3 Qh6 

This is a fun move: my pawn on f2 thought it would be safer on e3, only to find itself in the crossfire, again.

The computer has no sense of humor, however, evaluating the game as even after this move, and recommending, instead, 12...Qg6.

13.O-O+ 

It was not time to throw my hat in the air, but I was glad to activate my Rook and link it with its sibling.

I don't have any games with this position in The Database.

[to be continued]