Jerome Gambit: Killer Shrews!?

Here is the latest Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game from intrepid "Cliff Hardy". The notes are by Cliff. I have added diagrams and the occasional comment, in blue - Rick 

Enjoy!

I had a Jerome Gambit blitz game recently where the Jerome pawns attacked like killer shrews (my allegorical inspiration may have come from the fact that late last night I was watching the 1959 film "The Killer Shrews" on local TV).

Cliff Hardy (2251) - NN (2212)

5 0, Lichess, 4/12/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6?!

Other defences like 6...Kf8 or 6...Ke6 are better.

[According to The Database, Cliff was 11 - 2 against this defense before this game. He should have been pretty comfortable with his play - Rick]

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 

10.0-0 Qe7 11.Nc3 c6 12.d4 Kg8?! 

A creative unusual journey for the king but the more usual 12...Kf7, intending to artificially castle by ...Re8 and ...Kg8, would have kept an edge for Black.

13.f4 h6 14.f5 Nf8 15.Qf3 Bd7 16.g4??

White neglects development and this means that if Black were to play 16...Re8 -++ now, White could then only defend the e-pawn by playing Re1, but White really needs this king's rook on f1 to support a future push of the f-pawn. The much better 16.Bf4 ++-, intending to answer 16...Re8 with 17.Rae1, would have left White in a strong position to push through the Jerome e- and f-pawns, with rooks behind both pawns.

16...N8h7 17. h4 Re8 18. Re1 Qf7 19. Bf4 d5 20. e5 Ne4??

Stockfish says that Black should sacrifice the knight for the oncoming pawns with 20...Nxg4! 21.Qxg4 Bxf5 -++ but Black underestimates the power of the white e- and f- killer shrew pawns. Both of those killer shrews now get shot, but White still has other killer shrews lurking.

21.e6 Bxe6 22.fxe6 Rxe6 23.Nxe4 dxe4 24.Rxe4 Rxe4 25.Qxe4 Nf6 

[White is a pawn up, has a bishop vs a knight, and a freer rook. He is better. - Rick]

26.Qf5 Nd5 27.Qxf7+ Kxf7 28.Rf1 Kg6 29.Be5 Ne3 30.Rf4?? +=

Much stronger would have been 30.h5+! Kh7 (30...Kg5?? 31.Bf4+) 31.Rf7 Rg8 32.Rxb7 ++-, when White's rook would have been much  more active than its black counterpart.

30...Nxc2?? ++-

This may appear to be a logical move but it risks Black's king getting caught in a mating net. Preventing White from advancing his h-pawn by blocking it with his own with 30...h5! would have kept Black in the game.

31.h5+ Kg5 32.Kg2 Re8 33.Kg3 Rxe5??

Black spots that White intends to checkmate by playing Rf5, but he could have limped on by preventing that move by playing 33...Ne3! (not 33...g6?? 34.Bf6 mate), intending 34.Rf3? Nxg4.

34.dxe5 g6 35.e6 gxh5 36.gxh5 Ne3 37.e7 Nd5 and Black resigned

Unfortunately, Black resigns just before allowing the killer shrew on the seventh rank to mutate and savage viciously with 38.e8=Q Nxf4 39.Qe5 mate.