Jerome Gambit: Zombie Attack

The Jerome Gambit. Sigh. My favorite chess opening. It has been refuted many times, yet it still comes back to inflict pain on defenders. It might as well be a zombie.

And a fast one, at that. Consider the following 1-minute game as a recent example. (Those of you who are skeptical of the value of bullet games, check out the attending notes.)

angelcamina - JsFlexWay
1 0 bullet chess, lichess.org

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+

The "nudge", always a good move to throw in to make your opponent wonder - what's this? - and use up time.

 Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

This is a standard position that shows up in The Database over 100 times. The recommended move for Black, according to Stockfish 9, is 9...d5!?, which shows up exactly zero times in The Database. 

10.Nc3 Be6 

When this move is paired with ...Nf6, it frequently spells mischief. (Guess which move Stockfish 9 still prefers?) This is a nuance that a Jerome Gambit player would note quickly.

11.O-O Kf7 12.f4 Ne7 13.e5

Or 13.f5 Bc8 14.d4

13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Rf8 

The way out for Black required a bit of dancing: 14...Nf5 15.Qf4 Nd5 16.Nxd5 Qxd5 17.g4 g6 and the game would be about even, with White's King looking uneasily at an open g-file.

15.exf6 gxf6 16.Qh6 Rh8

A snap judgement to cover the h-pawn, but things now go from bad to worse.

17.Qxf6+ Ke8 18.d3 

Wow. Black has a Rook and a Bishop hanging, so White - thinks about development.

18...Bf7 

Clearly clock-influenced, but 18...Kd7 would have led to disaster as well.

19.Qxf7+ Black resigned

There is nothing but more misery ahead for the defender.