Like the first "Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit", here is a game "that readily illustrates the highs and lows, attractions and pitfalls of that offbeat opening."
perrypawnpusher - jgknight
blitz, FICS, 2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nf6
10.0-0 Ng4
This move has more behind it than just being annoying. It's been played against me by Riversider, lorecai and pitrisko, but jgknight's follow-up has more potential poison.
11.Qg3 Rf8
The assessment of the position here is that Black is a bit better, but White should read his daily horoscope: As long as White guards the squares e2 and f4 and leaves the square h3 open, he should be okay.
Cryptic? Follow along.
12.h3
Uh-oh...
White should have tried 12.d3, 12.d4, 12.f4 or 12.Nc3.
12...N4e5
Instead, Black had 12...Nf4, protecting the Knight at g4 because of the awakward threatened fork at e2. After 13.Nc3, though, the follow-up 13...Nh5 shows just how bad things have gotten for White. Rybka 3 now recommends giving up the Queen with 14.Qxg4 as "best", as even the more hopeful-looking 14.Qd3 collapses after 14...Ne5, when 15.Qe3 is met by 15...Nf3+ 16.gxf3 Nf4 and White's King is in dire straits.
Oh, if only White's Queen could have escaped to h3 in respnse to 13...Nh5!
Let's continue a bit further in this "Day in the Life". Black does not take advantage of his opportunity, and soon the Jerome Gambiteer is looking pretty good.
13.f4 Nc6 14.f5 Qh4 15.Qe3 Nge5 16.d4 Nc4 17.Qd3 b5
I've seen similar c4-Knights in my games against saltos, VGxdys, parlance and pitrisko. The game is about even.
18.a4 Ba6
Tempting tactical fate.
19.b3
This made the most sense to me, but Rybka much preferred 19.axb5 Bxb5 20.Nc3 Nb4 21.Qe2 c6 22.Nxb5 cxb5 23.b3 Nxc2 (23...Nb6 24.Qxb5+) 24.Qxc2 Nb6. If you saw that line of play and realized at the end that White is not merely up a pawn, but has great attacking chances (starting with 25.Qc6+), good for you!
19...N4a5 20.axb5 Nb4
Black's Knights are tripping all over each other, but my tactical sense of what is going on fails me even faster than my opponent's does.
21.Qe2 Bb7 22.Rxa5 Bxe4 23.Re1
More direct, and stronger, was 23.Rf4.
23...d5 24.Ba3 Nxc2 25.Bxf8
At first glance it looks like White is a Rook up. But, of course, Black can capture the Rook at e1. Oh, well, that still means that when the Black Knight and White Bishop come off the board, things will still be even, right? Well, not exactly...
25...Nxe1 26.Nd2 Kxf8 27.Nxe4 Qxe4 28.Qxe4 dxe4
What we have here is a messy game that computers analyze as won for Black. In other words, simply another day in the life of the Jerome Gambit...
29.Kf2 Nd3+ 30.Ke3 Re8 31.Rxa7 Nc1 32.Rxc7 Nxb3 33.b6 Na5
And, just like that (almost) White is winning (again).
Well, at least according to Rybka 3.
34.Rc5
I was looking for a draw here, and so I was paying more attention to capturing Black's pawn on e4 than I was to promoting my b-pawn.
The trick to understanding the position is to realize that Black's pieces are all tied down. His King is confined to the 8th rank. His Rook has to stay on the e-file and protect the pawn at e4. His Knight dare not wander, as White can try b6-b7 and Rc7-c8 as soon as possible.
Black can play with his pawns on the Kingside, but when those moves run out, he will be faced with trouble. In the meantime, White's d-pawn can advance as well...
So, White's best was 34.b7 simply adding to Black's misery. Rybka 3 suggests 34...Nxb7, but after 35.Rxb7 the Rook-and-pawns endgame is strongly in White's favor: extra pawn, passed d-pawn, Black's weak e-pawn.
34...Nb7 35.Re5 Rxe5
My opponent pretty much acknowledged with his play here that I would like to escape into a drawn end game, and he goes along with my play. Little did he (or I) realize that this move again gives me winning chances.
36.dxe5 Nc5
37.b7
Going along with the same plan that my opponent was going along with which was my plan... which was wrong.
It was late in this day in the life of the Jerome Gambit, and I missed the simple 37.Kd4, nudging away Black's protecting Knight and finally allowing me to play 38.Kxe4.
37...Nxb7 38.Kxe4 Ke7
Here the "Jerome pawns" offset Black's extra Knight, and we go through the motions of exchanging everything off.
39.g4 Nc5+ 40.Kd4 Nd7 41.g5 Nf8 42.h4 g6 43.Ke4 gxf5+ 44.Kxf5 Ng6 45.h5 Nf8 46.g6 hxg6+ 47.hxg6 Nxg6 48.Kxg6 Ke6 49.Kg7 Kxe5 Neither player has mating material, Drawn
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