Jerome Gambit: Simplicity Can Be Enough

One defensive idea for facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is exchanging Queens - sometimes even at the cost of returning the sacrificed material.

In the following game, Bill's opponent simplifies things - he thinks. The resulting Queenless middlegame / endgame still has many dangers, including, in the end, checkmate.

Wall, Bill - Guest380145

PlayChess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+  7.c3 Nc6 

This move has been faced by Jerome Gambit regulars such as chessmanjeff, frizerkaHR, HauntedKnight, jfhumphrey, PasChat, snthor and teterow but it appears that it is the first time Bill has seen it.

Black's method of returning some of the sacrificed material leads to a game where he has a slight edge.

8.cxb4 Nxb4

Quickly returning more.

9. Qb3+ Ke8 10.Qxb4 Qe7 

Holding things together, but Bill is willing to enter a Queenless middlegame a pawn up.

11.Qxe7+ Nxe7 12.Nc3 c6 13.O-O h6 

Black has arranged to avoid the cut-and-slash lines of the Jerome Gambit. He has given White an easy game to play, however - and, again, there is that extra pawn.

14.f4 Rf8 15.Bd2 d6 16.f5 b5 

To fianchetto the Bishop at b7, and possibly undermine the protection of White's center with b5-b4, but there will not be time for that.

17.g4 Bb7 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Rd8 20.Ne4 Nc8 

An awkward necessity to keep White's Knight out of d6. Possibly Black had anticipated the Knight fork of King and Bishop, and had planned to capture White's Bishop at d2 in return - but, say 20...c5 (an otherwise useful move) 21.Nd6+ and Black's King would be forced to d7, blocking the action of his Rook.

21.f6 g5 

If 21...gxf6 then 22.Bxh6.

22.Bc3 Rf7 23.Rad1 Rd5 24.e6 

Those pesky "Jerome pawns"!

24...Rxd1 25.exf7+ Kxf7 26.Rxd1 Black resigned

White is Rook up, and Komodo 10 says that he has a checkmate in 10 as well.