Jerome Gambit: Return to Transylvania

I jumped at a chance to play a couple of games with mika76, who had played some interesting games in the GameKnot Vlad-Tepes Mini-Tournament.

This challenging battle finished first.

perrypawnpusher - mika76
www.GameKnot.com, 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 6.Nxc6
Side-stepping the Banks variation as looked at in "Jerome Gambit and Vlad Tepes..." and "Jerome Gambit, Vlad Tepes... and Garlic!"

6...bxc6

Usually Black captures with the other pawn, as in Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, USA 1875: 6...dxc6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qf3 Qd4 9.d3 Bg4 10.Qg3 Bb6 11.e5 Nh5 12.Qh4 Be2 13.Qxd4 Bxd4 14.Re1 Bxe5 15.Rxe2 Re8 16.g3 Kf7 17.f4 Bd4+ 18.Kf1 Nf6 19.Nd2 Rxe2 20.Kxe2 Re8+ 21.Ne4 a5 22.Kf3 h6 23.c3 Ba7 24.Be3 Bxe3 25.Kxe3 Ng4+ 26.Kf3 Nxh2+ 27.Kg2 Ng4 28.Re1 b6 29.a4 Rd8 1/2-1/2

7.d4 Bb6 8.0-0 d6 9.Nc3


perrypawnpusher - hdig, blitz game, FICS, USA, 2007 continued instead: 9.f4 Bb7 10.Nc3 Qf6 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Bxd4+ 13.Kh1 Qxf1+ 14.Qxf1+ Ke8 15.Bg5 Kd7 16.Qf7+ Kc8 17.Qe8 checkmate

9...Qe7 10.f4


It's the same old story: Black has the advantage; White gathers up what he has and goes to work...

10...Nh6

An interesting, provocative idea.

11.f5 Bd7 12.g4
Eying the Knight, but White should have tried 12.f6 Qe6 13.Bxh6 gxh6 14.Qd2 when Black's edge is small.

12...Bxd4+

Giving back the piece for some pawns, a standard defensive maneuver for Black; but here he had more, by playing out what he had started: 12...Qh4 13.g5 Nf7 and White loses the too-quickly-advanced g-pawn.

White has weaseled his way out of a tough situation.

13.Qxd4 Nxg4 14.Bf4

Safe-guarding the Kingside.

14...Rb8 15.Rae1 Qf6 16.Qxa7

Here mika76 took a break from our game. I've mentioned before that this kind of thing is laudable: people lead busy lives and there is much more to the world than the Jerome Gambit.

16...Qh4

Oh, no. Come back to the board too quickly, you might miss something...
17.Qxb8+ Black resigns.
(I inquired about take-backs, but the site doesn't allow them.)