Short and Unbecoming

The following Jerome Gambit game is short and unbecoming, a collection of moves on my behalf which look like a multiple choice test where the answers are all a) best, b) good, or c) barely adequate and I keep selecting c) as my choice.


perrypawnpusher - Conspicuous
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6

With the promise of an exciting game ahead.

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

Or not. The text is a counter occasionally seen: there are 63 games in The Database, with White scoring 67%.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Qxf6+ Nxf6

At the cost of exchanging a won game for one in which he is a pawn down, Black has reached a Queenless middlegame that is not what every Jerome Gambiteer wishes for.

On the other hand, I figured that it would not be difficult to grind this one out.

10.Nc3 Re8 11.d3 c6 12.Rf1

More energetic was 12.Ke2, as in Ghandybh - brownplant, Chess.com, 2009 (1-0, 20).

12...Kg7 13.Kg1 Rf8 14.Bg5 Nh5

This leaves Black open to a tactical shot, but I was only thinking "exchange with tempo".

If you compare Queensides, you can see that White's development advantage is significant.

15.Rxf8

Fine, but why not 15.Bh6+ ?

15...Kxf8 16.Rf1+ Kg7 17.g4 h6 18.Bh4

I had figured out the following line of play, but where would Black's Knight go after 18.Be3, instead?

18...g5 19.gxh5 gxh4 20.Rf4

Winning a rather meaningless pawn, as Black's remaining Kingside pawn holds back two of White's, anyhow.

20...h3 21.Rg4+

Making more sense was 21.e5

21...Kf6 22.Rg6+ Black resigned

Yes, White is better, but who's to say that Black didn't expire of boredom?