Jerome Gambit: Secrets Update

It is time to update my "Secrets" series.

As I wrote in "Jerome Gambit: Shhhh! It's A Secret"

About 3 years ago I started a series of occasional posts presenting "Jerome Gambit Secrets" - moves or lines of play that were good, but were overlooked or rarely played.

To date, I have presented 15 of them.

Secret #2 is no loger officially a "secret". I do not know if that is because the player was aware of this blog, or if his creativity happened to parallel my discovery. Either way, the defender got the drop on the attacker, and in the end he was able to deliver checkmate.

SergioQuinonez - leonardodavichi

10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.O-O Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. How does the position compare to the regular Jerome Gambit? The computer still favors Black, but it increases White's assessment about a 1/2 pawn.

5... Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 

As I noted

Here we have a position from perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, 10 0 blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 46). In fact, there are 10 games with this position in The Database - all played by me - and White has won every time.

However, if you play this line with White, it is important that you not become overconfident. As far back as December 2, 2008 on this blog, I recommended that Black play the retrograde 8...Bf8!?, as then the Rook in the corner is off limits: 9.Qxh8? Bg7 10.Qh7 Nf6 and the White Queen is lost.

Currently there are 12 games with this position, and White has scored 11-1, the loss coming in a 3-minute blitz game when he accidentally hung his Queen.

8...Bf8 

This is a strange-looking move, and it should have raised White's suspicions. 

9.Qxh8 

The temptation was too great.

9...Bg7 10.Qh7 Nf6 

The Queen will be lost. White will get a Rook and a Bishop for Her Majesty, but it must be remembered that White sacrificed material earlier.

11.Qxg7+ Kxg7 

White has only a Rook and two pawns for his Queen.

However, like a good Jerome Gambit player, he continues to fight.

12.e5 Ng4 13.d4 Qh4 14.h3 d6 15.hxg4 Bxg4 16.Bf4 dxe5 17.Bxe5+ Kh7 

 White now has a Rook, a Knight and a pawn for his Queen. Things are about even. But "even" does not mean "drawn", and the position is not easy.

18.c3 Rf8 19.Nd2 

Stockfish 14.1 doesn't like this move, and prefers 19.f3 with a complicated followup, 19...Qg5 20.f4 Qf5 21.Nd2 Qc2 22.Rf2 g5 23.Nf1 Qe4 24.Bxc7 gxf4 25.Bd6 Rf6 26.Be5 Rf7 27.Nd2 Qg6 28.Raf1 f3 29.Kh2 Qh5+ 30.Kg1 and a likely draw by repetition. That's pretty complicated, though.  

19...Be2 

This is the move that Stockfish was worried about. It wins the exchange, as White's Rook can not move, due to the attack on f2.

20.Nf3 

Instead, 20.Bxc7 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 leaves White with only a couple of pieces and a couple of pawns for his Queen. I suppose if White's d-pawn can advance, it would help, but otherwise he does not have enough compensation.

20...Bxf3 

Even stronger was 20...Rxf3.

21.gxf3 

More help could be found in 21.Bg3 first. 

21...Rxf3 22.Bg3 Qg5 23.Kh2 h5 

Adding to the attack.

24.Rg1 h4 25.Bxh4 Qxh4+ 26.Kg2 Qh3 checkmate.