Jerome Gambit
The Jerome Gambit gives up a bishop and knight for two pawns. Learn why 5...Nxe5 is the refutation and how 6...Kf8 stops White's queen checks.
Opening Moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7
Accept the second sacrifice, answer Qh5+ without returning both pieces, and convert with one low-memory defensive route.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+, Black is in check on f7. The exposed king makes every king move feel urgent. That feeling is the Jerome Gambit's practical point.
Black does not have to move the king. The checking knight can be captured.
White's knight on e5 checks the king on f7. Black's knight on c6 can remove the checker immediately with 5...Nxe5. — r1bq2nr/pppp1kpp/2n5/2b1N3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQ - 0 5
Useful next actions:
Count The Sacrifice One Capture At A Time
The move order matters because the material story is often told incorrectly.
The full acceptance is 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5.
After 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7, White has traded the light-squared bishop for the f7-pawn. After 5.Nxe5+, the white knight has taken the e5-pawn, but it is still on the board. Only when Black plays 5...Nxe5 have two white minor pieces actually disappeared.
That is a bishop and a knight for two pawns, not both bishops. It also separates the Jerome from the Fried Liver Attack, where the knight goes to f7 in a different Italian branch.
White has bought an exposed king and a few forcing moves. White has not bought enough material or development to make the sacrifice sound by itself.
Take The Knight Before You Move The King
The refutation is 5...Nxe5. Black's c6-knight captures the checker and accepts the whole offer.
The current danger is psychological. A player who sees the king on f7 may look only at ...Ke6, ...Ke7, or ...Kf6. Moving the king immediately leaves the white knight alive and gives away much of Black's advantage. Playing 5...Ke6 before the capture hands the advantage to White instead.
There is a later position where ...Ke6 works. It comes only after 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+. Remembering the square without the capture is how the two positions get confused.
The rule is shorter than the theory: take the knight before you move the king.
Qh5+ Is A Test, Not A Refutation
White's most forcing reply is 6.Qh5+. The queen checks along the h5-f7 diagonal and attacks the knight on e5 at the same time. If that knight falls, the bishop on c5 becomes the next target along the fifth rank.
Qh5+ gives check and attacks the knight on e5. Black has six legal replies, but the king squares are not interchangeable. — r1bq2nr/pppp1kpp/8/2b1n2Q/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K2R b KQ - 1 6
All six legal replies fit into one table. Hover or tap a move to see the position it reaches.
| Reply | Verdict | What the move asks of Black |
|---|---|---|
6...Kf8 | Holds a winning advantage | Calm practical choice; accept that White may recover the e5-knight, then save the bishop with ...d5 |
6...Ke6 | Strongest, but sharpest | Keeps the extra material but leaves the king exposed and requires accurate calculation |
6...g6 | Holds | Blocks the checking diagonal with a pawn and attacks the queen |
6...Ng6 | Holds | Interposes the g8-knight on the checking diagonal |
6...Kf6? | Favours White | Allows a second queen check and loses both the e5-knight and c5-bishop |
6...Ke7? | Favours White | Lets White recover the e5-knight with check, then collect the c5-bishop next |
The two losing king moves deserve to be seen, not merely marked with a question mark.
See why 6...Kf6 fails: 6.Qh5+ Kf6 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxc5.
See why 6...Ke7 fails: 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Qxe5+ Kf7 8.Qxc5.
In both lines, White recovers the two sacrificed pieces and keeps the two extra pawns. Black's error is not accepting the gambit. It is choosing a square that lets White recover the knight with check before collecting the bishop on the next move.
Turn The Check Into A Developing Move
For a practical defence, choose 6...Kf8. White's natural continuation is 7.Qxe5, taking back the knight and attacking the bishop on c5 along the fifth rank.
Black answers 7...d5.
Replay the calm route: 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 d5.
The pawn does not attack the queen. Its job is subtler: it blocks the queen's line to c5. At the same time, moving the d-pawn releases Black's c8-bishop. Black has stopped answering checks and started developing while keeping a minor piece for two pawns.
That is the conversion plan. Do not spend time hunting another pawn. Save the c5-bishop, develop the g8-knight, connect the rooks, and make White prove that the displaced king matters more than the missing piece.
If White Plays 6.d4 Instead
White can postpone Qh5+ and attack the bishop with 6.d4. One clear reply is 6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6.
Replay the central recovery try: 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6.
There are sharper choices than 6...Bxd4, but this historical line is easy to understand and still leaves Black clearly better. After ...Qf6, the queen on d4 no longer wins the knight on e5 for free.
If White wants an Italian gambit with a sounder exchange of material for time, the Evans Gambit is the more serious comparison. The Italian Game guide covers the normal plans that the Jerome abandons.
Why The Name Outlived The Attack
Jerome's Double Opening in 1874
The line appeared as "Jerome's Double Opening" in the April 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal and is associated with Alonzo Wheeler Jerome. On the board, the offer comes in two stages: bishop on f7, then knight on e5.
By 1896, Chess Openings Ancient and Modern was already treating the sacrifice as unsound while warning that the attack still required accurate defence. That is why the name survived. The opening is not objectively good, but it gives Black a small set of forcing decisions where one remembered move in the wrong position can reverse the game.
Use Three Positions As A Calculation Drill
Cover the answer column and reconstruct the reason before revealing the move.
| Position | Answer | Reason |
|---|---|---|
After 5.Nxe5+ | 5...Nxe5 | Capture the checking knight before considering a king move |
After 5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ | 6...Kf8 | Choose the low-memory route and avoid ...Kf6 and ...Ke7 |
After 6...Kf8 7.Qxe5 | 7...d5 | Interpose on the queen's line to c5 and open the c8-bishop |
| Goal | Go here |
|---|---|
| Rehearse the sacrifice from both sides | Practice the Jerome Gambit |
| Compare Black's replies | Open the explorer |
| Learn the parent opening | Italian Game |
| Compare a sounder Italian gambit | Evans Gambit |
| Drill the line until the move order is automatic | How to practice chess openings |
Keep studying this opening
- Practice Jerome Gambit: Train the position against realistic replies.
- Explore the Jerome Gambit position: Review the move tree from the opening tabiya.