Jerome Gambit: The Jerome Treatment (Redux)

You are playing a blitz game against a player rated about 175 points above you. Even worse, he plays an unorthodox line almost immediately. What do you do?

Well, if you are a Jerome Gambit fan, you provide a little instruction on how wild play can become - and you wrap up the win in under 10 moves!

COMTIBoy - valentinbasel
3 0 blitz, FICS, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 

If you play the Jerome Gambit, you will eventually meet this move.

It looks like Black would like to see 4.Bb3, when he can win the Bishop pair with 4...Nxb3. Of course, White can play the straight-forward 4.Nxe5, instead, grabbing a pawn and protecting his Bishop - not to mention attacking Black's f7.

There is another option for White, one explored a number of times on this blog, starting with "A Snack" about 6 years ago.

4.Bxf7+ 

The Jerome treatment. This leads to a roughly equal game, although White's attacking chances are to be preferred in quick play.

By the way, for a couple of earlier games by COMTIBoy facing the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, see "Incomplete" and "The Missing Element".

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Of course, Black wants to evict the enemy Knight, even though this move gives White the edge. His safest, and best, move is 5...Ke7, which is somewhat counterintuitive, as it blocks the diagonals of his Queen and Bishop; but it maintains an even game.

If you do not have experience in defending this line, the nuances are liable to escape you.

6.d4 d6 7.Qg4+ Kf6 8.Bg5 checkmate 

Gosh. That took less time than it takes to tell...

Certainly Black needed to try 7...Ke7, although after 8.Qg5+ Nf6 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.e5 dxe5 11.dxe5 Kf7 12.exf6 White would have recovered his sacrificed piece and retained an edge.