It is interesting how often Black defends well against the Jerome Gambit, until he suddenly lets his game go - Boom! Here is another recent example.
Wall, Bill - Guest6791785
PlayChess.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6
Black does better giving up the Bishop with the direct 6...Bxd4, but he still is better after the text move.
7.dxe5 Ne7 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.O-O
Bill points out that he could draw with a repetition, i.e. 10.Qf3+ Kg8 11.Qb3+ Kf8 etc, - but, seriously, nobody plays the Jerome Gambit to draw.
10...d5 11.Nc3 Be6
This sets up some interesting play concerning the d-pawn.
12.Bg5 c6 13.Rad1 Qd7 14.Bxe7+ Qxe7 15.exd5 cxd516.Nxd5
White has won the pawn - but, wait, can't Black take advantage of the pin along the a2-f7 diagonal?
16...Qf7
Better was to forget about the pawn, and play something like 16...g6, which would lead to a balanced game.
17.Qa3+
Ouch! Bill points out this threatens 18.Nxb6 winning the Bishop, as the a-pawn is pinned.
Black resigned
I have long subscribed to the "time bomb" notion in club chess: that players are apt to play reasonable chess until, suddenly, a cognitive "time bomb" goes off, and they make a blunder. The frequency of these "explosions"/blunders depends upon the level of skill of the player: strong players may slip only once a game (or even less often) while more "average" club players can have their "time bombs" go off much more often, even every other move.
The following game shows Black defending reasonably well (and White, solidly) until - Boom! The unbalanced and unbalancing Jerome Gambit is the kind of opening that increases the likelihood of such a slip.
Wall, Bill - Guest4148523
PlayChess.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.O-O Nf6 9.Re1 Be6 10.f4 c5
A common move in similar positions, and not bad - despite my sense that it can be dangerous to "kick" the Queen. In this game, White works to prove that the backward d-pawn is a liability.
11.Qc3 Nc6 12.f5 Bd7 13.Bf4 Qe7
This is not a bad move, but Black might have done better to have defended the pawn tactically with 13...Re8.
14.Nd2 Ne5 15.Nc4 Nxc4 16.Qxc4+ Kf8
The d-pawn is still alive.
White can now try to pick up a pawn with 17.e5 dxe5 18.Rxe5 Qf7 19.Qxc5+, but Black has the sharp alternative 18...b5!?, instead, to keep things in balance.
Black now relaxes a bit too soon, and his position goes Boom!
17.Rad1 Bc6 18.Bxd6 Black resigned
Just ran across Jerzy Konikowski's Polish language blog "Chess in my life" that provides the additional "We provide information that is successful or not, but always true!"
His post on the Jerome Gambit has a link to Jonathan Speelman's "Agony" column #24, at the chessbase website, that covers a couple of my Jerome Gambit games.
Nice to be causing mischief the world over!
