Scoring 95%+ with the Jerome Gambit, Bill Wall can afford to think of a draw as "losing a half-point". In the following game, his opponent clearly has had enough excitement wandering through the fog of war and goes for the repetition of position, splitting the point.
An honorable draw against Mr. Wall. An honorable draw against Jerome's "Double Gambit".
Little did Black realize that by doing so, he was losing another half point.
Wall,B - Guest2627909
Playchess.com, 2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.d4
One of the "modern" Jerome Gambit lines, instead of the classical 5.Nxe5. For a couple of earlier posts regarding 5.d4, see here and here.
5...Bxd4 6.c3 Bb6
Avoiding 6...Bc5 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 from Wall,B - Guest1366999, Playchess.com, 2011 (1-0, 38)
7.Qb3+ Kf8 8.Bg5 Qe8 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Nbd2 d6
11.a4 Qe6 12.Qc2 h6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nc4 Be6 15.Qe2 a6 16.Nxb6 cxb6
17.Rfd1 Rd8 18.Qe3 Bg4 19.Qxb6 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qxf3
21.Qxb7 Ne7 22.Re1 Nf5? 23.Qb6
This is all well and good, but what if on move 24 (or 26) Black had played 24...Nh4!? instead of suing for peace? Could he really afford to offer a double-Rook sacrifice?? (Did he have the time or the energy or the confidence to look for such a saving line of play?)
White's only choice would be to take one Rook with 25.Qxd8+, but after 25...Kf7 the threat of checkmate keeps him from taking the second Rook. He can try 26.Qc7+, as all but one reply allows him to constantly check as well, but 26...Ke8 is strong. There can follow 27.Qc6+ Kf8 28.Qxd6+ Kg8 and White has pretty much run out of options. He will have to go for 29.Qd8+ Kh7 30.Qxh4 and after 30...Qxh4 Black would clearly be winning.
This all seems to indicate that White should have tried 24.Kf1 instead of putting his King in the corner, although after 24...Qh3+ Black can either pursue repeated checks and a draw with 25.Ke2 Qg4+, etc. or return a piece with 25...Ke7 26.exf5 although the resulting position is likely to be eventually drawn, as well.
My guess, though, is that Guest2627909 was happy with his draw, and might even have felt fortunate to have obtained it.
(I remember a last round game in a long-ago tournament where I had a better endgame against a higher-rated opponent. He suddenly offered a draw, pointing out that I would then be well-placed enough to collect some prize money. We shook, I took a half-dozen steps toward the Tournament Director, and then stopped... By winning the game, I suddenly realized, I would have collected even more prize money. The draw allowed my opponent to cash in, too, while a loss would have left him with nothing.)
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