I have been away from the Jerome Gambit (see"Reliable") long enough that Bill Wall questioned if I had given it up. Not so, not so. That doesn't mean that all of my new games are gems - although the following one brought a smilt to my face. perrypawnpusher - grosshirn 2 19 blitz, FICS, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
If Black believes that White is making it up as he goes along, the defender is not likely to pay attention close enough to avoid stepping in a small trap.
13.fxg6+
Black resigned. I think my opponent was unhappy at having slipped. His position isn't "objectively" all that bad after 13...Kg8 14.gxh7+ Kh8! (14...Kxh7 15.Qd3 will win the exchange) 15.Qf2!? (15.Qd3 Bd7! 16.Rxf6? Qxf6 17.Qxe4 Re8!) and White will have to be happy to be just a pawn up (the White pawn at h7 is doomed) while lagging in development.
In the following game, Black defends well against the initial gambit, and then a further couple of sacrifices. Things are not easy for him, but he is well on his way to a full point when he makes a small slip... LeAlv96 - HydraxDev 3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 The Blackburne Shilling Gambit. 4.Bxf7+
White's extra offer of a piece, 6.Qg4+, offers additional risk to both players. Black can take the Knight and live, but he must be careful. So far he is defending well in an uncomfortable position. 8.e5+ Ke7 9.f5 Nxc2+ Not as effective is9...Nc6, which appeared in the up-and-down game JordanKwiatek - FrankBono, FICS, 2007:10.d4 h6 11.O-O d6 12.Nc3 dxe5 13.Qh4+ Ke8 14.Bg5 Qxg5 15.Qxg5 hxg5 16.dxe5 Bc5+White resigned. 10.Kd1 Nxa1 11.d4
White would improve with 11.Qh4+!? Nf6 12.exf6+ gxf6 13.Re1+ Kd6 although the position would still be better for Black. 11...Ke8 Black also struggled after 11...d5, i.e. 12.Bg5+ Nf6 13.exf6+ gxf6 14.Re1+ Kd6 15.Bf4+ Kc6 16.Re3 Bd6 17.Rc3+ Kd7 18.Bxd6 cxd6 19.Nd2 Qg8 20.Qh3 Qg5 21.Nf3 Qf4 22.Qh5 Qe4 23.Qf7+ Qe7 24.Rc7+ Kxc7 25.Qxe7+ Kb6 26.Qxd6+ Kb5 27.Qxd5+ Kb6 28.Qc5+ Ka6 29.b4 b6 30.b5+ Kb7 31.Qc6+ Kb8 32.d5 Bxf5 33.d6 Rc8 34.Qd5 Rc5 35.Qg8+ Kb7 36.Qxh7+ Kc8 37.Qg8+ Kb7 38.Qf7+ Kc8 39.Qe8+ Kb7 40.Qe7+ Kb8 41.Nd4 Bc2+ 42.Ke1 Bf5 43.Nc6+ Kc8 44.Qd8+ Kb7 45.Qc7checkmate, GOH - boggus, FICS, 2004. Black's best defense is 11...Kf7. The difference between the two retreat squares (i.e. at f7 the Black King can protect a pawn at g6) quickly becomes apparent. 12.Qh5+g6 13.fxg6 hxg6
I found the following Jerome Gambit game on a Reddit sub, with a heading about playing drunk or stoned. Whether that would help White's play or not, I do not know; perhaps it would ease the pain of losing? Readers can decide. The game certainly is exciting, regardless. ohhiwrigley - anonymous posted on reddit, 2016 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6 Returning the two sacrificed pieces. 7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf8 9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qd4
White continues to play creatively. This position is not in The Database. 10...Qg5 11.O-O This offers Black the opportunity of 11...Bh3, which he overlooks, tossing away a pawn, instead. Was this a high-speed blitz game? 11...c5 12.Qxd6+ Ne7 13.d3 Qh5 14.Qf4+ Ke8 15.Qg3 Rf8
Unwittingly setting up a trap that White falls into. 16.Qxg7 Ng6 Instead, Black had 16...Rg8 which could be followed up by 17...Bh3, with an attack that wins material. 17.Bh6 Bg4 18.Qxb7 Be2 19.Qc6+ Certainly playable was 19.Qxa8+. 19...Kf7 20.Bxf8 Bxf1 21.Bxc5 Nf4 22.Qxa8 Bxg2
White can now win another piece with 23.Qf8+ followed by 24.Qxf4, but he makes the very prudent decision - given Black's pieces clustered around his King - to be happy to have an extra exchange (after 23...Qxc5) and 5 more pawns, and to focus on development. 23.Nc3 Nh3+ This looks scary at first glance, but is actually just a fancy way to lose more material. (Again, time trouble suggests itself.) Still, what choice does Black have, other than to complicate things and hope? 24.Kxg2 Qg4+ 25.Kf1 Qg1+ 26.Ke2 Nf4+ 27.Ke3 Qg5
Give Black credit, he keeps on fighting, looking for chances. 28.Qxa7+ Kg6 29.Bd4 Nd5+ 30.Ke2 Qg4+ 31.f3 Qg2+ 32.Kd1 Qxf3+
33.Kc1 Ne3 34.Qg7+ The move that White has been angling for. Now it is all over for Black. 34...Kh5 35.Qxh7+ Kg4 36.h3+ Kg3 37.Be5+ Kf2 38.Qh4+ Kf1 39.Kd2+ Kg2 40.Qg5+ Kf2 41.Nd1+ Kf1 42.Nxe3+ Kf2 43.Rf1 checkmate