Jerome Gambit: Wandering Through The Database

 

When I wander through The Database my eyes are often caught by long Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games that end in a draw. There is often a story to go along with the final position. 

Here are a few recent examples.

dontcallmelab - Lemmi_win, bullet, lichess.org, 2021

After 52 moves, White has recovered his sacrificed material and gained some more, but at this point it no longer matters, as his "Jerome pawns" have disappeared; in fact, all of his pawns are gone - he does not have checkmating material, so the game is drawn.

morgado76 - VladimirSlies, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

Here Black has battled for 53 moves and can be pleased that he is ahead in material, but it is not enough - again, he does not have checkmating material, so the game is drawn.

MinusCarlsberg - Antarebal, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

Black has reason to be optimistic with this position, as he has the "right" Bishop (i.e. it controls the Queening square) to go with his h-pawn and he has a prospective checkmate-in-10 moves. What he doesn't have, however, is any time left on his clock (time is often the attacker's secret weapon in the Jerome Gambit) - still, Whites does not have checkmating material, so the best he can do is claim a draw.

Fragmentation_chess - Jordavco, bullet, lichess.org, 2021

Black has an overwhelming advantage in material, and a pending checkmate in 3, but he is again undone by flag fall. Oh, that tricky Jerome Gambit! Again, White does not have checkmating material, so although he has not reached a win on time, he can still grab the half point.

sharpswords - clbishop, 20 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

Finally, it has to be admitted that Jerome Gambit players have a lot of luck. In this game between two 1900+ rated players, the defender may have been a bit too casual in punishing the attacker - his "reward" is a draw by stalemate.