Jerome Gambit: It Helps to Be Scary

When it comes to chess openings, it helps to be good.

When it comes to the Jerome Gambit and its relatives, if you can't be good, it helps to be scary.

Witness the following game.

Robepersky - JoeCee

3 5 blitz, FICS, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian opening.

4.O-O Nf6 5.Bxf7+ 

One of the variations I call "impatient Jerome Gambits" because White cannot wait for ...Bc5 before sacrificing. The value of having that piece developed - say, after 5.Nc3 Bc5 - is that it often becomes a target for attack or capture.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 

In this blitz game, Black has two extra pieces, while White has two extra pawns.

Way back in "But – Is this stuff playable?? (Part I)" I shared some of Grandmaster Nigel Davies' wisdom from his book Gambiteer I (2007)

Having examined literally thousands of club players’ games over the years, I have noticed several things:

1) The player with the more active pieces tends to win.
2) A pawn or even several pawns is rarely a decisive advantage.
3) Nobody knows much theory.
4) When  faced with aggressive play, the usual reaction is to cower.

7...Ng6 8.e5 Nh7 9.Qf3+ Kg8 10.Qd5 checkmate

We have seen different forms of this "Queen checkmates the cowering King" before.