Italian Game: Jerome Gambit

The Jerome Gambit is an unsound offshoot of the Giuoco Piano: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5. White gives up two pieces for two pawns, and usually regains one of them, hoping to expose Black's king and attack it. The line was a brief fad in the late 19th century and is almost never seen today.

Origins

The opening is named after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1834–1902) of Paxton, Illinois. His game with it against the problemist William Shinkman was published in the Dubuque Chess Journal in 1876.

Blackburne wrote that he used to call it the "Kentucky opening", and that for a while after its introduction certain players favoured it greatly, but soon grew tired of it. Blackburne's name may come from confusion with 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, which the same journal published and called the "Kentucky Opening".

The 1896 edition of Chess Openings, Ancient and Modern called it an American invention and a very risky attack, unsound but "not to be trifled with". Du Mont wrote that it is unsound but leads to a lively game, so it suits an occasional friendly game, and that the defender cannot afford to be careless.

Main lines

After 5...Nxe5 White has two main tries.

• 6.d4 regains one of the pieces, but after 6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6 Black keeps a decisive material advantage.
• 6.Qh5+ is more common. Freeborough and Ranken analysed 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qf5+ Ke8 9.Nc3 d6 with a large advantage to Black, and also the bold 6...Ke6, walking the king forward, again with a large advantage to Black.

Traps for Black

After 6.Qh5+ Black must not play 6...Kf6, because of 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5, or 6...Ke7, because of 7.Qxe5+ and Qxc5. In both cases White wins back both pieces and ends up two pawns ahead.

The numbers

On Lichess Black wins more often: 51.2% against 45.3% for White in 251,126 games. Under 1400 it is closer, 49.7% against 47.1%, and from 1400 up Black wins about 51% against about 45%. There is only one master game over the board, too few to say anything.