Jerome Gambit: Careless and Inefficient Defense

How many times have you read the caution that an advantageous chess position "won't win itself"? The same holds for a disadvantagous position - say, one that White has at the beginning of the Jerome Gambit. White's game "won't lose itself", either; Black has to make it so. In the following game, the defender slips into carelessness, becoming inefficient - and his game suffers. 

Wall, Bill - NN
Florida, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb6 

Black's move maintains his advantage. It is not as complicated as 6...Qh4, nor as simple as 6...Bxd4. There are 153 games with 6...Bb6 in The Database; interestingly enough, White scores 57%.

More importantly, Bill is 19-0 against the move.

7.dxe5 Ne7 8.Qf3+ Kg8

Bill has also faced 8...Ke8 9.O-O (9.Qg3 Ng6 10.Bg5 Ne7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bd2 Rf8 13.O-O-O Rf7 14.e6 Rf6 15.Qxg7 Rxf2 16.Bxh6 d6 17.Qh8+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest2896104, PlayChess.com, 2019) 9...Rf8 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qxh7 d6 (11...g5 12.Qh5+ Rf7 13.Bxg5 c6 14.Nd2 Qc7 15.Nc4 a5 16.Nd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - WGMS, FICS, 2017) 12.Bh6 Rg8 13.Bg5 Be6 14.Nc3 Qd7 15.exd6 cxd6 16.Rfd1 Kd8 17.e5 Bc5 18.exd6 Bxd6 19.Ne4 Kc8 20.Rxd6 Qe8 21.Rxe6 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest11863268, PlayChess.com, 2018. 

9.Qb3+ Kf8 10.O-O Ng6 

This is an improvement over 10...d5 seen in Wall,B - Guest6791785, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1-0, 17). 

11.Qf3+ Ke8

The better retreat. Black should not be hypnotized by the g8 square, as he is better in the game: 11...Kg8 12.Qb3+ Kf8 13.Qf3+ Kg8 will only draw.

12.Nc3 d6

Or 12...Rf8 as in Wall,B - Guest5463336, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1-0, 15). 

13.Nd5 Nxe5 14.Qg3 Ng6 

15.Bg5 Qd7 16.a4

White can afford to be patient: from a practical point of view, Black is hampered by his Queen blocking in his Bishop, which, in turn, restrains his Rook - a classic Jerome Gamit defender illness.

16...Rf8 17.a5 Bc5 

You've got nothing, Black likely thinks, and, as a result, he becomes careless and inefficient. The Bishop needed to go to d4, and then f6, directly.

18.b4 Bd4 19.Rad1 Be5

Giving away another free tempo.

20.f4 Bf6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 

22.Qc3

Double attacks on both c7 and f6.

My guess is that Bill passed on 22.e5 because after 22...fxe5 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.Nf6+ Black can take the annoying Knight with 24...Rxf6, when 25.Rxd7 Rxf1+ 26.Kxf1 Bxd7 would give Black a Bishop, a Knight and a Rook for his Queen. The position might well be "dynamically equal", but there was no need to find out, when the text was available.

22...c6 

The King had to go to d8 to protect the c-pawn.

23.Nxf6+ Rxf6 24.Qxf6 Qe7 25.Rxd6 Qxf6 26.Rxf6 Ke7 27.e5 Bd7

White has a Rook and 3 pawns for a couple of pieces. Those dangerous "Jerome pawns" give him the advantage.

28.Rd1 Be6 

A slip tht hastens the end.

29.f5 Nxe5 30.Rxe6+ Black resigned