Jerome Gambit: Neither Blackburne Nor Whistler

I have looked at Black's defense in the following game before. It is another one of those lines that feels like it might work, because it is similar to a couple of lines that do - but is, in fact, a scary looking error. In a bullet game, it comes off more as a bluff that does not fool the opponent.

angelcamina - yisustorres19
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bd6 

Black could play the Blackburne Defense with 7...d6, or the Whistler Defense with 7...Qe7. In the first, White can take the Rook and avoid disaster if he knows the complicated followup. In the second, taking the Rook is immediately self-destructive.

So - why not 7...Bd6?

8.Qxh8 Qf6 

Okay, this is an indication that Black is constructing his defense move-by-move. It was time, instead - especially since the time control was one minute, no increment - to go all-out for something scary like 8...Qh4 9.d3 Nf6, temporarily trapping White's Queen as in the Blackburne Defense. Then, after 10.Nd2 Ng4 11.Nf3 Qxf2+  12.Kd1 White's King looks at risk. The question is, how does Black continue? The greedy 12...Qxg2 allows White to checkmate, starting with 13.Ng5+. Best for Black seems to be 12...Bf8, unblocking the d-pawn, and after 13.h3 Qxg2 14.Qxh7+ Bg7 15.Ng5+ Kf6 16.hxg4 d6 17.Qh2 Bxg4+ 18.Ke1 the attack on White's King has run down, and Black's bluff has been called.

9.Qxh6+ Qg7 10.Qxg7+ Kxg7 11.0-0

White is ahead the exchange and 3 pawns. He just has to play ordinary chess now, nothing fancy.

11...Be5 12.f4 Bd4+ 13.Kh1 Nf6 14.c3 Bb6

15.e5 Ng4 16.h3 Nf2+ 17.Kh2 Nd3

Blocking White's development - but he soon gives the idea up.

18.Na3 Nxc1 19.Raxc1 d6 20.d4 dxe5 21.fxe5 c6 22.Nc4 Bc7 23.Nd6 Bf5

24.Nxf5+ gxf5 25.Rxf5 Rf8 26.Rxf8 Kxf8 27.Rf1+ Ke7

The game has simplified, and only the clock can hurt White. He creates a couple of Queens and finishes things.

28.g4 c5 29.g5 cxd4 30.cxd4 Bb6 31.Rf4 Ke6 32.g6 Kd5 33.g7 Bxd4 34.g8=Q+ Kxe5 35.Rxd4 Kxd4 36.h4 Kc5 37.h5 Kb4 38.h6 b5 39.h7 Ka5 40.h8=Q a6 41.Qc3+ b4 42.Qd8+ Kb5 43.Qdc7 Ka4 44.Q7c6+ Ka5 45.Q3c5 checkmate