Jerome Gambit: To Be Fair...

To be fair, after all those Jerome Gambit Queen sacrifice and double check "smothered mates" against Black in The Database, I checked to see if there were any against White. I found 9. Here are the final positions. 

Rollyeon - okabc, FICS, 2002

geroellheimer - Defensor, FICS, 2005

ecimsa - joachimeide, FICS, 2007

esar - MarianF, FICS, 2007

KnightyNite - pvkbr, FICS, 2008

ecisma - igorfm, FICS, 2008

chessmanjeff - CycleForPi, FICS, 2013

malkisedeq - remilaci, FICS, 2014

ZXYW - PolarKing, FICS, 2015

Jerome Gambit: Yet Another Smother

Here is a final game ending in a "smothered mate". That it was played at lightning speed makes it a bit special. Once again, Black counter-sacrifices a Bishop, without proper compensation.

arggy - elJake
lightning, FICS, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Bxf7+ 

The so-called Abrahams Jerome Gambit.

3...Kxf7 4.Nf3 Bxf2+

Returning the sacrificed piece in this way is more of a psychological move than anything else. It is not counted among the refutations of the opening.

The Database has 210 games with this position. White scores 64%

5.Kxf2 Nf6 6.Rf1 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Rf8 8.c3 Kg8

Move, move, move. Kings are safe. Great. Move, move, move.

9.Qb3+ d5 10.d3 Nf6 11.Nxe5 c6 12.c4 Qc7 13.Bf4 Ng4 14.d4 b5

15.cxd5 Nd7 

Oops.

16.d6+ Kh8 17.dxc7 Nb6 18.Nf7+ Kg8 19.Ng5+ 

Missing it the first time (19.Nh6+) but White has just won a Queen, so maybe he was thinking more prosaicly. He figures it out a moment later, though, and when Black doesn't snap off the Knight at f7...

19...Kh8 20.Nf7+ Kg8 21.Nh6+ Kh8 22.Qg8+ Rxg8 23.Nf7 checkmate

There we go.

Jerome Gambit: Another Smother

Here is another "smothered checkmate". It is interesting that it is the computer program that falls victim to the Queen sacrifice and mate.

chessmoods - LuigiBot
standard, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.Bxf7+

Transposing to a "modern" (vs "classical") version of the Jerome Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 Nf6, etc. The Database has 1,065 games with this position. White scores 41%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ 

Now White decides to go "classical" after all. It is as if the game started 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 and then continued 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 (or 6.d4 Nf6 7.0-0). If LuigiBot has a "book" it is likely it is out of it.

6...Nxe5 7.d4 Re8 

Black sees no reason to retreat a piece from the d-pawn's attack, as White will win one, anyway. So, he develops.

8.dxc5 d5 9.Bg5 dxe4 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Qe1 Qd4

Black is certainly active and better. The game still has to be won, however.

12.Bxf6 Kxf6 13.Nxe4+ Kf7 14.c3 Qd5 15.Ng5+ Kg8 16.Qc1 Qxc5

Now Black's King is safe, and there is still the matter of the extra piece. What's to worry? Well, for starters, humans can be pretty tricky...

17.h3 Nd3 18.Qc2 Be2

The computer can not see far enough ahead to avoid the Queen sacrifice.

19.Qb3+ Kh8 20.Nf7+ Kg8 21.Nh6+ Kh8 22.Qg8+ Rxg8 23.Nf7 checkmate

Nice.

This is not the first time that LuigiBot has been bested by the Jerome Gambit. See "Poor, Poor Computer" for example.