Jerome Gambit: GMHikaruOnTwitch

A couple of months ago I mentioned (see "Jerome Gambit: GM Hikaru Nakamura Again") a YouTube video of GM Nakamura playing - and playing against - the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in 3 0 blitz games, online. I have taken a closer look at those battles, and found a number of them to be quite interesing.

It is clear that the grandmaster was playing the games for the entertainment of his viewers. Still, it is useful to have an insight into how a top player makes his way through the encounters. Especially since Nakamura scored 17 - 1 with the white pieces, and 17 - 1 with the black pieces.

Although GM Nakamura is a top blitz player, it is useful to note that he was playing against some relatively strong opposition.

While playing the Jerome Gambit with white, his opposition averaged 2149 (high 2718, low 1583).

While playing against the Jerome Gambit, his opposition averaged 2225 (high 2716, low 1918)

His own rating averaged 2997 with white and 2993 with Black.

(Does this mean that the GM actually underperformed and maybe should have only yielded a couple of draws? For interesting reading, check out "The Elo rating system - correcting the expectancy tables")

Curiously, the average length of a game when GM Nakamura played as White was 33 moves, as Black only 23 moves.

We can start off by looking at the shortest game that Nakamura played as White, uncharacteristically decided by a couple of blitz errors.

GMHikaruOnTwitch - 1c6O-1

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Qf6 8.Rf1 Ne7 

This move does not, as Fritz says, "get the bull off the ice". Probably best is 8...d6, but that move is not easy to find (or appreciate). Two other games

8...g6 9.Qh3+ Ng4 10.Qxg4+ Kf7 11.Nc3 d6 12.Qg3 Ne7 13.d3 Bb4 14.Bd2 Bd7 15.O-O-O a5 16.Kb1 a4 17.e5 Qf5 18.Ne4 Bxd2 19.Rxd2 d5 20.Nc5 (20.e6!?) b6 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Qg5 Qf5 23.Qh4 h5 24.h3 a3 25.b3 c5 26.Re2 Ke6 27.Rfe1 Nc6 28.Qf6+? Kd7 29.Qd6+ Ke8 30.Qxc6+ Qd7 31.Qxa8+ Qd8 32.Qxa3 c4 33.dxc4 dxc4 34.Qd6 Qxd6 35.exd6+ Kd7 36.Re7+ Kxd6 37.R1e6+ Kc5 38.Re8 cxb3 39.axb3 Black resigned, GMHikaruOnTwitch - Kgn1111, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021; and 

8...Nh6 9.Nc3 c6 10.d3 d6 11.fxe5 Qxe5 (11...Qg6) 12.Qh4 (12.Bg5) Bb4 (12...Kd7) 13.Bd2 Kd7 14.O-O-O Kc7 15.Bf4 (15.a3) Qe6 16.d4 Bd7 17.d5 Qg6 (17...Qg4) 18.dxc6 bxc6 19.Qe7 (19.a3) Rae8 20.Qh4 Ng4 21.Qg3 Ne5 22.Bxe5 Rxe5 23.Qd3 Ra5 24.a3 Qg5+ 25.Kb1 Bxa3 26.bxa3 Rb8+ 27.Ka2 Rxa3+ 28.Kxa3 Qc5+ White resigned, Kgn1111 - GMHikaruONTwitch, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021.

9.fxe5 Qxe5 10.Qg4+ Kd6 11.d4 Bxd4 

Ooops. Probably a reflex - 11...Qxd4 was better - but not the kind of thing you can do against a GM and hope to survive.

12.Bf4 Bxb2 13.Nd2 Kc6 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.O-O-O d5 

Striking the center and uncovering an attack on the enemy Queen. Less weakening would have been 15...d6, but the situation - with only two pieces and a pawn for his Queen - would still be dire for Black.  

16.exd5+ Kd6 17.Ne4 checkmate

Nifty.