Faster-er and Furiouser-er

My opponent and I were playing a "normal" blitz Jerome Gambit game until we each started to make our moves too quickly. Things degenerated quickly into a state where "the winner is the one who makes the next-to-last blunder". In this case, it was me. 

perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

According to The Database, Gryllsy - zagothal, blitz, FICS, 2013 continued 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.c3 Bb6 9.Be3 d6 10.Nd2 Bg4 11.Qg3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 h5 13.h3 Bd7 14.0-0 Ke7 15.Ndf3 Rf8 16.Nh4 Be6 17.Ng6+ Kd7 18.Nxf8+ Qxf8 19.Nxe6 Kxe6 20.Rf5 Qf7 21.Raf1 Rf8 22.Qf2 Ne7 23.g4 Neg8 24.g5 Nxe4 25.Rxf7 Nxf2 26.Rxf8 Ne7 27.R1xf2 Black resigned

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

I have a theory about this move. Some defenders push the g-pawn because is part of a defense - Blackburne's, Whistler's - that they are familiar with and are ready to play. Others do so, though, almost as a reflex, to punish White for his early Queen attack - and they figure that they will work out the rest of the defense later.

I checked The Database and found 411 games with the position after 6...g6. Of those games, 139 continued, after 7.Qxe5, with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6. Another 52 games saw Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. That means that in over half of the games where 6...g6 was played, Black was either committed to an inferior defense, or to "figuring something out" - which amounted to the same thing. 

7.Qxe5 Nf6

"I'll take Door Number Three, Monty."

8.Qxc5 Re8 

Instead, Black played 8...Nxe4 in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also seen was 8...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48); and 8...d6 in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008 (1-0, 24), and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41). 

9.d3 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 

Also played: 10...d5 in perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15) and 10...Kg7 in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63).

11.Qf3+ Qf6

For historical purposes, let me point out that 11...Kg7 was Black's response in Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 (1-0, 39). 

12.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The game has lost its attack and counterattack, but White is ahead two pawns.

13.0-0 Kg7 14.Nc3 a6 15.Bg5 Ng4 16.h3

The mistakes start to creep in, small ones at first. A bit better was 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nc7 Be6 18.Nxa8 Rxa8.

16...Ne5 17.f4 Nf7 18.Bh4

Better still was 18.Nd5 Nxg5 19.Nxc7 Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Rf8 21.Nxa8 Nxf4 but at this point I wasn't looking that deeply into the position. 

18...b5 19.Nd5 Ra7 20.Bf6+ Kg8 21.Ne7+

Missing 21.Bd4 c5 22.Nf6+ Kf8 23.Nxe8 cxd4 24.Nf6 Kg7. 

21...Rxe7

A gift. I had expected simply 21...Kf8 22.Nxc8 Rxc8. 

22.Bxe7 c5 23.Rae1?

Returning the favor. I learned to drive in New Jersey, where the two controls on the car are the gas pedal and the horn...

23...Rxe7 

The game is now roughly even, with White having an Rook and two pawns vs two pieces.

24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Rxe5?

25...Nxe5 was the proper recapture, even with the risk of leaving the Knight pinned to an undefended Rook, because of a tactical shot that my opponent and I both missed. 

26.Rxe5 Nxe5 27.Re1 Nc6

Black's best here was 27...Nxd3, although he is worse after 28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Rxc8 Nxb2 30.Rxc5 Kf6.

28.c3?

My opponent and I both missed that 28.Re8+ would fork King and Bishop. 

28...Bf5 29.Re3 Kf7 30.g4 Be6 31.a3 Kf6 32.Kf2 Kg5? 

One last slip, to seal the game.

33.Rxe6 Black resigned

This game is somewhat reminiscent of the old saying "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get."

WWAWJD?

Further questions continue to arise regarding the announcement (see "Jerome Gambit Book") of my plan to write a book on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), tentatively titled All Or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit, and sub-titled Losing, Drawing, and Even Winning with the World's Most Notorious Chess Opening.

Primary among them is

Q. Will All Or Nothing! focus only on the Jerome Gambit, or will it be a repertoire book, guiding readers on how to meet defenses other than 1...e5, like, say, 1...c5 or 1...e6 or 1...c6?

At this point I suspect that someone is trying to pull the Readers' legs, but it is probably germane to point out that years ago Jyrki Heikkinen, the creative gambiteer host of the blog "Gambits and Pieces" mentioned that he had played a Sicilian Jerome Gambit (see "Sicilian Jerome").

Certainly a "Jerome Repertoire" would feature Bc4 and Bxf7+, as well as Qh5 for White, but that is well beyond the scope of All Or Nothing!  I have no Alonzo Wheeler Jerome games or analysis to support such speculation, by the way.

In any event, it would be unwise for me to commit to a second book while the first one is in its planning stages, but I welcome thoughts from readers on such a "Jerome Repertoire".

All or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit

Questions have already come up regarding the announcement (see "Jerome Gambit Book") of my plan to write a book on the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), tentatively titled All Or Nothing! The Jerome Gambit, and sub-titled Losing, Drawing, and Even Winning with the World's Most Notorious Chess Opening.

Q. What lines of play will be covered?

A. Starting with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, both the Declined (4...Kf8, 4...Ke7) and Accepted (4...Kxf7) Jerome Gambit will be considered. Further, in the Accepted lines both Classical (5.Nxe5+) and Modern (5th moves other than 5.Nxe5+) will be explored.

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ will be examined, both for it's "Jerome-ish" nature and the fact that it can arise from the Jerome Gambit proper (i.e. after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nc3 Nf6).

This holds true for the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0/various Bc5 5.Bxf7+) and the Semi-Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+) as well.

There will be coverage of the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Bxf7+, because of its relatedness, despite the fact that there is no proof that Alonzo Wheeler Jerome played the BSJG, or that Joseph Henry Blackburne played the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.

There will be at least a little coverage, for historical reasons, of the Evans Jerome Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5/Ba5 6.Bxf7+, and some coverage of the unnamed 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ for completeness sake.

At this point, the many games featuring an early Bxf7+ for White, outside of the Jerome Gambit lines, will not be covered.

Q. How much History will there be?

A. The life of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, the gambit's creator, will be presented, including his career as a soldier in the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War, and not neglecting his civilian life as inventor and hemp farmer.

The History will not be so in depth, however, as to include minutia, such as the fact that Jennie Jerome, Wheeler's widow, remarried again shortly after his death, only to have her second husband die, as well; whereupon she married a third time, only to have this husband throw himself down a cistern; the accompanying suicide note was recovered and is available.