Sometimes we can get so caught up in our ideas and plans that we overlook - something.
The essential skill a Jerome Gambit player needs to hone is an awareness of when that "something" arrives at the board.
COMTIBoy - BravoDelta
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.c3
As someone who generally plays the "classical" Jerome Gambit lines (i.e. 5.Nxe5), I am not very familiar with this move, and I was sort of surprised to find 1,601 examples in The Database. In those games White scores 41%. However, with 36 games in The Database, COMPTIBoy has a more respectible 53% outcome.
5...Kf8
Not the first move that comes to mind, and I think there is a bit of psychology behind it - not at all surprising in a 3-minute game.
Surprisingly, there are 48 games with this line in The Database. Perhaps not surprisingly, White scores 60%.
6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 d6
White's pawn center and the uneasy position of Black's King almost - but not yet - compensates for the sacrificed piece. The attacker needs some open lines.
10.e5 dxe5 11.Ba3+ Nge7 12.d5 Na5
Just the kind of chaos White wants in a fast blitz game, especially when you consider that "best" for Black is something like 12...Kf7 13.dxc6 Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1 Nxc6, giving back the piece to be able to exchange Queens and remain a boring pawn ahead.
13.Nxe5 Kg8 14.Qa4
Blitz attacking rule #1: Keep making scary moves.
14...Qxd5
Blitz defending rule #1: Beware of poisoned pawns.
15.Qe8 checkmate
