What follows is a pretty standard Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit as played by Bill Wall, where things become quite unlucky for Black at move 13, and the second player's game seems to spiral down out of sight after that.
Wall,B - Snoopy
Chess.com, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5
Semi-Italian Four Knights Game.
6.Bxf7+
Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
I find it fascinating that Rybka, on "blunder check" at 5 minutes per move, suggested: 6.Na4 Be7 7.d3 0-0 8.h3 a6 9.Nc3 Bc5 10.Nd5 d6 as being slightly better for White.
analysis diagram
6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Nxe5 8.d4
8...d6
The current game is the only example of this move in the updated New Year's Database, but there are a number of games from the Four Knights move order (without the Semi-Italian ...h6 and 0-0).
9.dxc5 dxc5 10.Qe2 Bg4
Similar to the move in perrypawnpusher - foreverblackman, blitz FICS, 2010: Black gets his Bishop over to where the action is, causing White to play the inconvenient f2-f3, and perhaps planning to return the gambitted piece for a pawn.
11.f3 Bh5 12.g4 Bg6 13.f4
This move is thematic (i.e. advance of the "Jerome pawns") but leads to a very complicated position. Black can – and probably should – play 13...Nexg4, capturing a pawn, even though he will lose the Knight eventually.
Rybka suggests 13...Nexg4 14.Qc4+ (to avoid the exchange of Queens which would occur after 14.h3 Qd4+) Ke8 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.h3 Rd8 17.Re1 Ne5 18.fxe5 Qxe5 and it looks as if Black is better on material, development and King safety – although there are many ways either player can go wrong.
analysis diagram
13...Nc6
Certainly this is a reasonable move, but White's game now gathers momentum.
14.e5 Nd5
Black still has a piece to give back, and Rybka suggest that he do so with: 14...Kg8 15.exf6 Qxf6 16.f5 Bf7 17.Be3 Re8 18.Rad1 Kh7 19.Rf4 b6 when White's edge is minimal.
analysis diagram
15.Qc4 Re8
Returning material, but it does not help much.
16.Nxd5 b5 17.Qxc5 Nxe5
Hastens the end.
18.fxe5+ Kg8 19.Bxh6 Rxe5 20.Rad1 Bf7
21.Qc3 Qd6 22.Nf6+ Black resigned
When I meet the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4) I respond in the Jerome Gambit way with 4.Bxf7+. I have confidence in that strategy, but I am often surprised at how much remains either unexplored or unclear. Lines of play get tangled, and it seems that some knowledge of theory is essential for White's success.
Darrenshome - PlatinumKnight
blitz FICS, 2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4
4.Bxf7+
Of course White can also play 4.0-0, 4.Nxd4 or 4.c3 with a good game.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6
6.c3 Kxe5 7.cxd4+ Kxd4
Certainly throwing down the gauntlet in front of White by grabbing that extra pawn instead of retreating with 7...Ke6: What are you going to do about it, Gambiteer??
8.Qa4+
This move is seen in 35 games in the New Year's Database, with White scoring 40%. Strongest is 8.d3, with White scoring 73% in 11 games.
8...Ke5 9.f4+
9...Kxf4
Indigestion!
The King has eaten one pawn too many, and now faces checkmate. Retreating would have given Black the advantage.
10.0-0+
This move is good, and it wins, but faster was 10.d4+ Kxe4 (10...Kg4 11.Qd1+ Kh4 12.Qf3 Bb4+ 13.Ke2 d5 14.g3+ Kh3 15.g4+ Kh4 16.Qg3#) 11.0–0 Bb4 12.Qxb4 Qg5 13.Nc3+ Kd3 14.Rd1+ Qd2 15.Rxd2+ Ke3 16.Rd1 checkmate
10...Ke5
Black would put up more resistance with 10...Kg5. Then best play, according to Rybka, would be 11.Qb3 d5 12.d4+ Kh5 13.Qf3+ Bg4 14.Qf7+ g6 15.h3 when Black will lose his Bishop and face aggressive follow-up moves such as Rf5+.
11.d4+
White actually let the position slip away from him and allowed Black to deliver the checkmate in LordMonkey - uko, FICS, 2007: 11.Nc3 Bc5+ 12.d4+ Bxd4+ 13.Kh1 d6 14.Qb5+ c5 15.Bf4+ Ke6 16.Qc4+ Kd7 17.Qb5+ Kc7 18.Nd5+ Kb8 19.Bxd6+ Qxd6 20.Rad1 a6 21.Qb3 Be6 22.Qf3 Ne7 23.Nf4 Ka7 24.Nxe6 Qxe6 25.Rd3 Rhf8 26.Qg3 Rxf1
analysis diagram
11...Kxe4
12.d5+
White sees a checkmate and goes for it, bypassing a few shorter ones (e.g. 12.Nc3+ Kd3 13.Rf3#) in the process.
A win is a win.
12...Kxd5 13.Nc3+
13...Ke6 14.Qe4+ Kd6 15.Bf4+
15...Kc5 16.Qd5+ Kb6 17.Qb5 checkmate
The other day I was looking through Niels Jorgen Jensen, Tom Purser and Rasmus Pape's Elephant Gambit monograph when I ran into something interesting in the "Introduction" that applies equally to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)
...it is evident that many openings – the Sicilian Defense, for example – have been diffused almost beyond reasonableness. Consequently, if you play the Sicilian, as black or White, you must accept the probability that your opponent has studied the latest grandmaster variations to the beginning of the endgame.
On the other hand, if you play something off the beaten track – let's say the Elephant Gambit – you can be quite secure that your opponent has no prepared variation; quite the contrary, he will be forced to play chess on his own. This can give you a pronounced psychological advantage: your opponent is likely to be facing his first Elephant, and has studied no variations, and the only thing he might have is some vague recollection of having read that the opening is incorrect, unsound, and unplayable. He will be looking for easy refutations, and may become frustrated when he does not find them. The pressure will all be on him. After all, he will appear ridiculous if he cannot beat an "unplayable" opening.
After a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, I like to consult my database and see if' I've seen that line of play before and see if I've crossed swords with my opponent previously.
The following game contains two strange "echoes".
perrypawnpusher - Kotimatka
blitz FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
I know that objectively this move keeps Black's advantage, but I'm always glad to see it because it allows me to capture the Bishop on c5, giving my f-pawn a faster chance to get moving.
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
10.0-0 Ne5
After the game I discovered that Kotimatka and I had played a game last year. Even more interesting was how the game went. The opening was a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit: 3...h6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Ne5
analysis diagram
11.d4 Ng4 12.Qg3 N8f6 13.Nc3 Be6 14.h3 Bc4 15.Re1 Qd7 16.hxg4 Nxg4 17.f3 Nf6 18.e5 Nh5 19.exd6+ Kf7 20.Qh2 g6 21.Re7+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Kotimatka, blitz FICS, 2009.
In the current game, Black is a tempo ahead of last time, having not played ...h7-h6.
11.f4
Better was 11.d4 Neg4 12.Qb3 b6 13.h3 Nh6 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nfg8 16.Qf3 Be6 17.Rd1 Qc8 18.Nc3 Ne7 19.Nb5 Rf8 20.Qxa8 Kf7 21.Qxc8 Rxc8 22.Bxh6 gxh6 23.Nxa7 Rg8 24.Kh2 Nf5 25.g4 Ne7 26.Nb5 h5 27.Nxc7 hxg4 28.Rd6 Bf5 29.Rf6+ Kg7 30.hxg4 Bg6 31.Rd1 Bxc2 32.Rd7 Black resigned, Gandybh - Noel1942, Chess.com, 2009
11...Nfg4
12.Qg3 Ng6 13.f5 N6e5
The Knights are begining to trip over each other. Black could have brought about a roughly even game with 13...Qh4, e.g. 14.Qxh4 Nxh4. Perhaps my opponent couldn't tolerate the notion of losing a half-point to the Jerome Gambit.
14.d4 c6
Black gives back the piece and prepares for his Queen to enter the combat.
15.dxe5 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Nxe5
17.Qxg7 Rf8
18.f6
I looked at 18.Bh6, a better move, but I didn't look deep enough to be comfortable with it. Too bad: 18...Rf7 19.Qg8+ Kd7 20.Bg5 is strong. I missed the Bishop move.
18...Be6
Okay, so I wasn't the only player to overlook something.
19.Qe7 checkmate
I keep playing this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) variant – and keep not liking it.
Why? I'm 5-0-2 with it, which is respectable. Oh – I'm only 5-4-0 in the lines with ...h6 and 0-0 added (which should benefit White).
Maybe that's it??
More likely it's because I need more "help" than usual from my opponents in this line in order to be successful.
perrypawnpusher - HGBoone
blitz FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Bxd4
Someday I'm going to face the line recommended by Rybka after the game: 7...Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.Ne2 c6 10.f4 Bc7 11.e5 Ne4 12.0-0 d5 13.Be3 Re8 14.Nd4 Kg8 15.Rc1 g5
analysis diagram
This doesn't look comfortable for White.
8.Qxd4 Qe7
Well, this is no bed of roses, either, White having a pawn for his sacrified piece. What's a Gemeinde member to do?
9.f4
An alternative was 9.Bg5 Re8 10.Nd5 Qd6 11.0-0-0 Nxd5 12.exd5 Qg6 13.Qf4+ Kg8 14.Rde1 d6 15.h3 Rf8 16.Qe3 Bf5 17.f4 Nc4 18.Qc3 Nb6 19.Qxc7 Rac8 20.Qxb7 Rxc2+ 21.Kd1 Qh5+ 22.g4 Qf7 23.Qxf7+ Rxf7 24.gxf5 Rxb2 25.Rhg1 h6 26.Bxh6 Kh7 27.Bg5 Rxf5 28.Kc1 Rxa2 29.Re6 Rxd5 30.Re7 Ra1+ 31.Kb2 Rxg1 32.Bf6 Rg3 33.h4 Rd2+ 34.Kc1 Rh2 35.Bd4 Nd5 36.Re1 Nxf4 37.Be3 Nd3+ White resigned, Alby - roosje, FICS, 2000
9...Nc6 10.Qd3
After the game Rybka recommended, instead, 10.Qc4+, but after 10...d5 11.Nxd5 Qxe4+ 12.Qxe4 Nxe4 it is hard to get excited about White's position.
10...d6 11.0-0 Bg4
Black plans on returning the piece for a couple of pawns.
12.h3 Bh5 13.g4 Bxg4 14.hxg4 Nxg4
15.Qg3 h5 16.Bd2 Raf8 17.Rae1 Ke8
Each side is gathering its forces. Black is better, but his King remains a target, and the position is not simple.
18.Nd5 Qd7 19.Bc3 Rhg8
Getting the Rook off of the a1-h8 diagonal that the White Bishop just moved onto. Moving the King out of the center, instead, with Ke8-d8-c8 was probably a bit better.
20.e5
After the game Rybka preferred a long-winded line leading to a draw: 20.Qh4 Nf6 21.Kf2 Qf7 22.Nxf6+ gxf6 23.Rh1 Qxa2 24.Qxh5+ Rf7 25.Bxf6 Qc4 26.c3 Qd3 27.Reg1 Rxg1 28.Rxg1 Qd2+ 29.Kf3 Qd3+ 30.Kf2 Qd2+ etc, drawn by repetition.
analysis diagram
20...dxe5 21.Rd1
The move 20.e5 was a mis-calculation that I caught and tried to correct with 21.Rd1. Of course, it is possible to mis-understand my moves, and look at 20.e5 as a tricky sacrifice of a pawn, to open up lines toward the enemy King...
...In which case, that might cause a certain amount of (unnecessary) anxiety, and even provoke a quick defensive move that has a flaw in it.
21...Qe6
Ouch.
Rybka shows that Black can weave his way through the complications to a better endgame, although from a practical point of view, White may have drawing chances there (Bishop vs Knight, useful King placement): 21...Ne7 22.Ne3 Qe6 23.Nxg4 exf4 24.Rxf4 Rxf4 25.Qxf4 Qxg4+ 26.Qxg4 hxg4 27.Rd4 g3 28.Rd3 Nf5 29.Be5 Ke7 30.Bxc7 Rc8 31.Rc3 Kd7
analysis diagram
22.Nxc7+ Kf7 23.Nxe6
23...Kxe6 24.fxe5 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Ncxe5 26.Bxe5 Nxe5 27.Re1
Black resigned
