Jerome Gambit: Fast and Furious

If you saw a movie listing for "Fast and Furious" it would not be unreasonable to think that it was about bullet chess. (I wish!) How else to describe play that unfolds with only a minute on each player's time clock?

The following game is a good example. Black might be prepared for the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) or he might be prepared for a bullet game, but he does not appear to be prepared for both. Disaster follows.

Thus the old saying: The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.

Tsetso6 - mhoseinht

1 1 bullet, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qxc5 Qe7 8.Qc4+ Ke8 9.Nc3 d6 10.Nd5 Qe5 

This move gets the Queen out of danger, but that is not all that is going on.

11.Nxc7+ Kd7 12.Nxa8 Nf4 

The intention is to hit back, but it overlooks the same danderous square. The defender's game goes to pieces.

13.Qc7+ Ke6 14.Qxc8+ Kf6 15.d3 Qd4 16.Bxf4 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Zzzzzz.... Huh? (Part 2)

perrypawnpusher - moush54

3 d / move, Chess.com, 2021

Not wanting to wind up in the tedious lines of Whistler's defense after 7...Qe7 8.Qf4+, I chose an alternate line and wound up with fewer prospects...

Fortunately, this was a chess game against a human player, and there was always the possibility he could be bored out of the full point.

12.f4 d6 13.exd6 cxd6 14. Nc3 

I remember a comment once made about Aaron Nimzovich, hypermodern chess player, that he rejoiced in advantages so small that his opponents could not see them.

Here, I have possible pressure against Black's d-pawn, and I can castle either way - uniting my Rooks might come in handy with the enemy King still in the center.

14...Ba5 

My opponent was not quite sure what to do, but very reasonably puts pressure on my Knight, which holds back the d-pawn.

Actually, he could have played 14...d5, any way, as 15.exd5 Bf5, followed by ...Rd8 would recover the pawn, as well as activate the Bishop.  A more sensible response for White would be 15.Bd2, when 15...dxe4 16.Nxe4 Bf5 17.Nd6+ Kd7 18.Nxf5 Nxf5 19.O-O-O would at least get rid of the pesky prelate. 

15.Bd2 a6 

Stopping White's Knight from attacking the pawn from b5.

16.O-O 

Probably castling Queenside was a bit better.

16...Bd7 

17.Rad1 Nc6 18.Nd5 Bd8 19.Bc3 

It might have been a bit better to reinforce the Knight first with 19.c4.

19...Rf8 

I am reminded of the many games I played against the computer "Chess Challenger 7", years ago. It had a few quirks in its play, including if it could not come up with an acceptable move, it usually played a Rook pawn up 2 squares. It also was happy to leave its King in the middle of the board, if it could surround it with pieces.

20.g3 

Better might have been 20.h3, but I did not want to see 20...h5 

20...Be6 21.Rfe1 Ne7

Going after the Knight.

22.Nf6+ 

I saw that this move could be met by the sacrifice of the exchange 22...Rxf6!? but I did not think that my opponent would find it. After the game, both Stockfish 13 and Komodo 10 liked the move, evaluating the resulting position as equal.

22...Kf7 23.Nxh7 Black resigned

I suspect that my opponent saw both the threat to his Rook on f8 and the threat to fork his King and Bishop, winning a piece.

Either that or he expired from terminal boredom. Not the usual way to be finished off by the Jerome Gambit.

There was more to the position though, very little of which I saw while the game was going on. Afterward Stockfish 13 suggested 23...Bxa2 24.Nxf8 Kxf8 25.Rxd6 Bf7, When White would have a Rook and 3 pawns for a Knight and Bishop.

At the time I had expected 23...Bg4 when I figured that 24.Rxd6 Nc8 25.Nxf8 Nxd6 would have meant that White had grabbed a couple of pawns, giving him 4 pawns for the sacrificed piece. In the post mortem, Stockfish 13 still preferred Black. It's choice, instead, was simply to retreat the White Rook with 25.Rd3, and then when Black's Rook moved, play the tricky 26.h3!? when 26...Bxh3 27.Rxd8!? Rxd8 28.Ng5+ Ke7 29.Nxh3 would have left White with 3 pawns for the exchange.

Jerome Gambit: Zzzzzz.... Huh? (Part 1)

 

I thought I would interrupt the string of posts about Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura's adventures with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) in order to share my most recent Jerome.

The following game shows my magical ability to turn a wildly dynamic opening into something quiet and sleepy. I was going to say that my plan was to play something "masterly", but GM Nakamura has already destroyed that notion, repeatedly.

Anyhow...

(I have included games in the notes because they might have more ideas than I had.)

perrypawnpusher - moush54

3 d / move, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7

Whistler's defense. Alonzo Wheeler Jerome faced this several times in a correspondence match with Lt. G. N. Whistler, secretary of the Lexington, Kentucky Chess Club, in 1876.

See "Jerome Gambit: Escape" for my latest suggestion that White now avoid capturing the Rook.

 8.Qd5+ 

I thought I would play something new (instead of my usual 8.Qf4+) - although the move is actually quite old.

About a year ago, I mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Largely Overlooked by History"

The highly dangerous (for White) 8.Qxh8 appeared in Jerome - Norton, D., correspondence, 1876 (1/2 - 1/2, 20) and Jerome - Whistler, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15). Jerome was fortunate to gain a half point from the two games. The December, 1876 issue of  American Chess Journal, commenting on the Whistler game, recommended 8.Qd5+ without analysis.

Then 8.Qd5+ practically disappeared from the face of the earth.

That comment was in the context of examining the game eronald - ayushsankar1006, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 and I did publish BoomBoomTNT-YT - tyronev1, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 a couple of months later, but the fact is that there are still fewer than 20 games in The Database with the move - and all but two were played either last year or this.

8...Ke8 

A few games with the alternative 8...Kg7: 9.d4 Bb4+ (9...Bb6 10.f3 Nf6 11.Qb3 Bxd4 12.Nc3 d5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5 Bf5 15.Be3 Be6 16.Qxb7 Rab8 17.Qxa7 Bxb2 18.Rd1 Bc3+ 19.Kf2 Rhd8 20.Bd4+ Bxd4+ 21.Rxd4 Rxd4 22.Qxd4+ Qf6 23.Qc5 Rb2 24.Qxc7+ Qf7 25.Qc3+ Qf6 26.Qc7+ Bf7 27.e5 Qf5 28. Rc1 Rxa2 29.Qc3 Qe6 30.Qd4 Ra5 31.f4 Rd5 32.Qe3 g5 33.c4 Rd8 34.g3 gxf4 35.gxf4  Bg6 36.Qa7+ Qf7 37.Qxf7+ Kxf7 38.c5 Ke6 39.c6 Rc8 40.Ke3 Be8 41.c7 Bg6 42.Rc6+ Kd7 43.Rf6 Rxc7 44.f5 Be8 45.Rh6 Kd8 46.Kf4 Rg7 47.e6 Ra7 48.Ke5 Bb5 49.Kf6 Ke8 50.Rh4 Kf8 51.Rb4 Rb7 52. Rd4 Be8 53.h4 h5 54.Kg5 Rg7+ 55.Kf6 Rh7 56.Rf4 Rh6+ 57.Ke5 Bf7 58.f6 Bxe6 59.Kxe6 Rh7 60.Rf5 Ra7 61.Rxh5 Ra6+ 62.Kf5 Ra5+ 63.Kg6 Rxh5 64.Kxh5 Kf7 65.Kg5 Ke6 66.h5 Kf7 67.Kf5 Kf8 68.Kg6 Ke8 69.h6 Kd7 70.h7 Kd6 71.h8=Q Kd5 72.f7 Ke4 73.f8=Q Kd5 74.Qhf6 Kc4 75.Q8e7 Kd5 76.Qfd6+ Kc4 77.Qec7+ Black resigned, DerMichel - Waschbaer231, lichess.org, 2020) 10.c3 Nf6 11.Qe5 Qxe5 12.dxe5 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Re8 14.Nc3 Rxe5 15.O-O d5 16.Be3 c6 17.Bd4 Black resigned, BoomBoomTNT-YT - tyronev1, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020; 

and 8...Kf8 9.O-O c6 10.Qc4 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.Qf4+ Nf6 13.d4 Bd6 14.Qd2 Qe4 15.Re1 Qh4 16.Qh6+ Qxh6 17.Bxh6+ Kf7 18.Nc3 Ng4 19.Bg5 Be6 20.Nb5 Bxh2+ 21.Kh1 a6 22.Nc7 Bxc7 23.f3 White resigned, eronald - ayushsankar1006, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020. 

9.d4

Or 9.O-O Nf6 10.Qc4 Nxe4 (10...d6 11.Nc3 Be6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Qf7 14.Re1+ Kd7 15.d4 Bb6 16.Qa4+ c6 17.dxc6+ bxc6 18.c3 Rae8 19.Bg5 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Re8 21.Be3 Ng4 22.d5 Bxe3 23.Qxg4+ Qf5 24.dxc6+ Kc7 25.Qxf5 gxf5 26.Rxe3 Kxc6 27.Rxe8 Black resigned, gbxdl - eistgleichmcc, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 11.Re1 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bxe1 13.d3 Nf2+ 14.Kg1 Qe2 15.Qd4 Rf8 16.Qe3+ Qxe3 17.Bxe3 Ng4 18.Bg5 h6 19.Bd2 Bxd2 20.Nxd2 d6 21.Re1+ Kd7 22.Ne4 b6 23.h3 Nf6 24.Nc3 Bb7 25.d4 Rae8 26.Rf1 Nd5 27.Nxd5 Bxd5 28.c3 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Bxa2 30.g3 c5 31.dxc5 dxc5 32.Kf2 b5 33.h4 a5 34.Kf3 b4 35.cxb4 axb4 36.Kf4 c4 37.g4 c3 38.bxc3 bxc3 39.g5 h5 White resigned, GreteVals - BigB0y, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; or

Or 9.d3 Nf6 10.Qb3 d6 11.O-O Be6 12.Qc3 Kd7 13.Bg5 Raf8 14.d4 Bb6 15.Qb4 a5 16.Qa4+ c6 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Qb4 19.Qxb4 axb4 20.Bxf6 Rhg8 21.Nd2 Ba5 22.Nc4 Bxc4 23.Rfd1+ Kc7 24.b3 Be6 25.Rd6 Rxf6 26.Rad1 Rf7 27.Rxe6 Rd8 28.Rxd8 Kxd8 29.g3 Bb6 30.Rd6+ Kc7 31.Rd2 Re7 32.Re2 Kd7 33.Kg2 Ke6 34.f4 Kf5 35.Rf2 Bxf2 36.Kxf2 g5 37.Kf3 g4+ 38.Ke3 h5 39.Kd4 Rd7+ 40.Kc5 Rd2 41.Kxb4 Rxh2 42.a3 h4 43.gxh4 Rxh4 44.c4 g3 45.a4 g2 46.Kc5 g1=Q+ 47.Kd6 Qb6 48.c5 Qxb3 49.e6 Qxe6+ 50.Kc7 Rh7+ 51.Kb6 Qb3+ 52.Ka5 Qc3+ 53.Kb6 Qb4+ 54.Ka7 Qa5+ 55.Kb8 Rh8+ 56.Kxb7 Rh7+ 57.Kxc6 Qa6+ 58.Kd5 Rd7 checkmate, Terminator20 - l3xr3x, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

9...Bb6 

Or 9...Nf6 10.Qxc5 Qxc5 (10...Qxe4+ 11.Kf1 Nd5 12.Bh6 d6 13.Qc4 Be6 14.Nd2 Ne3+ 15.Bxe3 Bxc4+ 16.Nxc4 Qxc2 17.Rc1 Qd3+ 18.Kg1 Kd7 19.h3 Rhe8 20.Kh2 b5 21.Rhd1 Qf5 22.Nd2 g5 23.Nf1 g4 24.Ng3 Qg6 25.h4 Rf8 26.h5 Qe6 27.Rc3 c6 28.Rdc1 Rac8 29.Ra3 Rc7 30.b4 Qd5 31.Rc2 Kc8 32.h6 Kb7 33.Rac3 Rf6 34.a3 Re6 35.Rc1 Rce7 36.Re1 Rg6 37.Rec1 Ree6 38.Rxc6 Qxc6 39.Rxc6 Kxc6 40.Nf5 Kd5 41.Ng7 Rxe3 42.fxe3 Rxh6+ 43.Kg3 Rg6 44.Nf5 h5 45.Nh4 Re6 46.Kf4 Re4+ 47.Kg5 Rxe3 48.Kxh5 Kxd4 49.Nf5+ Ke4 50.Nxe3 Kxe3 51.Kxg4 d5 52.Kf5 d4 53.g4 d3 54.g5 d2 55.g6 d1=Q 56.g7 Qd5+ 57.Kg6 Qg8 58.Kh6 Kd4 59.Kg6 Kc4 60.Kh6 Kb3 61.Kg6 Kxa3 62.Kf6 Kxb4 63.Kg6 a5 64.Kh6 a4 65.Kg6 a3 66.Kf6 a2 67.Kg6 a1=Q 68.Kh6 Qaxg7+ 69.Kh5 Qg6+ 70.Kh4 Q8h7 checkmate, batupahat - elmousse7, 10 0 blitz, lichess.org. 2020) 11.dxc5 Nxe4 12.O-O Nxc5 13.Re1+ Ne6 14.Bh6 b6 15.Nc3 c6 16.Ne4 Kf7 17.Nd6+ Kf6 18.Rad1 g5 19.Nxc8 Raxc8 20.Rxd7 Rcd8 21.Rxa7 Nd4 22.h4 gxh4 23.Bg7+ Kg5 24.Bxh8 Rxh8 25.c3 Nf5 26.Rf7 Kg6 27.Rc7 c5 28.Re6+ Kg5 29.Rxb6 Re8 30.Rxc5 h3 31.g3 Re1+ 32.Kh2 Kg4 33.Rb4+ Kg5 34.Kxh3 Rh1+ 35.Kg2 Ra1 36.g4 Black resigned, Alf02 - AndreasKaemper, 6 5 blitz, lichess.org, 2017; or 

9...c6 10.Qe5 Qxe5 11.dxe5 d5 12.O-O dxe4 13.Re1 Bf5 14.g3 Kd7 15.Be3 Ke8 16.Bxc5 Kd7 17.g4 Bxg4 18.h3 Bxh3 19.Rxe4 Kc7 20.Bd6+ Kd8 21.Rd4 Ke8 22.Bb8 Rxb8 23.e6 Rd8 24.Rd6 Rxd6 25.e7 White resigned, vrajeshpadiyar - RinshanKaihou, 1 0 bullet, Chess.com, 2020

The more I looked at this position, the less I liked it. It looked like I was going to lose one of my center pawns after Black got in ...Nf6. My choice of moves saved the pawns, but it was rather uninspiring. 

10.Qe5 Qxe5 11.dxe5 Ne7 

There is not a lot to be excited about, if you are White.

It is possible to protect the pawn at e5 with f2-f4, although that rules out castling Kingside as long as Black's Bishop is on the a7-g1 diagonal. If Black challenges the advanced pawn with ...d7-d6, White can exchange, leaving an isolated Black pawn at d6 that could be pressured along the d-file if White castles Queenside.

In the meantime, Black's two Bishops look like they could be a serious menace.

I decided to make safe, solid moves, and see what happened.

[to be continued] 

Jerome Gambit: Not In On The Joke

GM Hikaru Nakamura is known to indulge in unusual and entertaining openings, especially when he is playing blitz, and when he has an attentive audience. We have seen a number of his Jerome Gambits (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) as White.

The following game is the grandmaster's reaction when his opponent goes a little bit too far in his creativity. Was it an attempt at a joke? If so, it is clear that White bombed.

30second-guy - GMHikaruOnTwitch

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5  6.Ke2 

Oh, my.

This looks like a Bongcloud variation of the Jerome Gambit, something mentioned in a Chess.com forum (although the focus was on 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Ke2) and referred to here in this blog in the post "The Jerome Gambit but 100% more dubious".

The Bongcloud Opening is the name usually applied to 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2, after Andrew Fabbro's satirical booklet, Winning With the Bongcloud. 

A more serious name would be the "Vidmar joke opening" - see Yury V. Bukayev's post on this blog, "GM#1 vs you: Wing gambit bombs, BC & history: 1".

The opening received broad attention (not all of it positive) after the online game Carlsen - Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen Invitational, 2021: 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 Ke7 3.Ke1 Ke8 4.Ke2 Ke7 4.Ke1 Ke8 5.Ke2 Ke7 draw. Clearly, both grandmasters were in the mood for a draw, and the World Champion chose a line that his opponent had used in online blitz games; Nakamura had a good laugh, and then quickly helped split the point.

It is not clear in the current game if 30second-guy was offering a draw to GM Nakamura, or if he was just trying to be funny, but the response he received was quite serious.

6...Qh4 

(For the record, Black would still be better after 6...Ke7?!)

7.Qf1 Qxe4+ 8.Kd1 d5 

9.Nc3 Qg6 10.h3 Nf6 11.d3 Bf5 12.Bd2 

12...Nxd3 13.cxd3 Bxd3 14.Qg1 Rhe8 15.h4 Ng4 16.Nb1 Bxf2  White resigned

Ouch.

Jerome Gambit: Theory Helps

 

One thing that attracts players to the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that it quickly side-steps Italian Game theory and allows for (requires) creativity in play.

That having been said, the theory of the Jerome Gambit continues to develop and there is some value in being aware of it, if only to be able to avoid problems like those that occur in the following 3-minute blitz game.

 

sandyrosechessfan - GMHikaruOnTwitch

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 

Now White can capture the Bishop, and prevent the freeing ...d5.

7.f4

According to The Database, this is a new move.

According to Stockfish 13, Black is now more than a Queen better. 

How does Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura demonstrate this?

7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Qg4 

Give the position a long look. 

White can quote Joe Jacobs "I should of stood in bed".

9.fxe5

The troublsome thing is that after, say, 9.Nd2, Black can swap Queens with 9...Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 and then 10...Ng4 leaves him up two pieces with little danger facing him.

9...Qxe4+ 10.Qe2 Qxh1+ 11.Kd2 Qd5 

12.c4 Qxe5 13.Qf3+ Nf6 14.a3 d5 

15.b3 Bg4 16.Nc3 Bxf3 17.Bb2 White resigned

There is a checkmate in 5 moves.

Jerome Gambit: Maniac Alert

If the defender in the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is indeed a "bullet maniac", then he adopted the correct strategy in his 3-minute blitz game against Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura - attack, attack, attack.

That he was ultimately not successful was neither the fault of his plan, nor the vindication of the Jerome Gambit, but, rather, the fact that he was playing such a strong opponent.

GMHikaruOnTwitch - BulletManiac30sec

3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Black plays Whistler's defense, offering the Rook for a brutal counter-attack after 8.Qxh8?! Qxe4+.

It was interesting to watch GM Nakamura consider his next move, while asking himself "Is this a trick or is he bluffing?"

8.Qf4+ 

"I don't think he's bluffing," Nakamura decided, rightly. "I think this is some kind of weird prep."

8...Qf6 9.Qg3 Bd6 

Pure aggression. Its is a rare move, appearing only in Wall,B - Guest3289310, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 38) and Wall,B - Guest744598, PlayChess.com, 2020 (1-0, 22).

GM Nakamura also faced 9...d6 10.c3 h5 11.d4 h4 12.Qd3 Bb6 13.Nd2 h3 14.g3 Ne7 15.f4 Bg4 16.O-O Kg7 17.Nc4 d5 18.Ne3 dxe4 19.Qxe4 Qe6 20.Qxe6 Bxe6 21.b4 c6 22.Bb2 Rhe8 23.c4 Rad8 24.g4 Bc8 25.Kf2 Ng8 26.c5 Bc7 27.d5+ Kf7 28.Rad1 Bxf4 29.Nc4 Bxg4 30.Kg1 g5 31.Rd4 Rxd5 32.Nd6+ Kf8 33.Rdxf4+ gxf4 34.Rxf4+ Bf5 35.Nxf5 Rd1+ 36.Kf2 Rd2+ 37.Kf3 Rxb2 38.Nd6+ Ke7 39.Re4+ Kd7 40.Rxe8 Ne7 41.Rb8 Rxh2 42.Rxb7+ Ke6 43.Ne4 Rxa2 44.Ng5+ Kf6 45.Nxh3 Nd5 46.Nf4 Ra3+ 47.Ke4 Nxf4 48.Kxf4 Ke6 49.Ke4 Ra4 50.Kd3 a5 51.bxa5 Rxa5 52.Kc4 Ra4+ 53.Kb3 Rh4 54.Rg7 Kd5 55.Rg5+ Kd4 56.Kb4 Rh1 57.Rg4+ Kd5 58.Rg5+ Kd4 59.Ka5 Rb1 60.Ka6 Rb5 61.Rh5 Rxc5 62.Rh4+ Kd5 63.Kb6 Rb5+ 64.Kc7 Rb3 65.Rh5+ Kc4 66.Kxc6 Rc3 67.Rh4+ Kb3+ 68.Kb5 Kb2 69.Ka4 Rb3 (hurrying to avoid a time forfeit, Black falls into checkmate) 70.Rh2+ Ka1 71.Kxb3 Black resigned, GMHikaruOnTwitch - 30second-guy, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021

10.Qe3 Bf4 11.Qe2 Nh6 12.O-O Re8 

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "When you strike at a king, you must kill him." BulletManiac30sec must keep up the pressure, or risk the grandmaster's ire.

13.g3 Bd6 14.d4 Nf5 15.c3 Kg7 16.Qd3 b6

Black returns a piece to continue his development. His two Bishops, especially the one headed for the a8-h1 diagonal, look powerful.

17.exf5 Bb7 18.Nd2 gxf5 19.f3 Kh8 20.Nc4 h5 

Still more aggression. White now removes one of the dangerous Bishops.

21.Nxd6 cxd6 

Necessary, as the Queen capture would lose the pawn on f5. However, the shaky nature of Black's pawn structure will eventually become significant.

22.Bf4 h4 23.Rae1 h3 24.Kf2 Kh7 25.g4 Qh4+ 26.Bg3 Qg5 

27.Qxf5+ Qxf5 28.gxf5 Ba6 29.Rg1 Kg8 

Stepping into danger. 

30.Be5+ Kf7 31.Rg7+ Kf8 32.f6 

White's Bishop can afford to pretend that it's a "Jerome pawn".

32...dxe5 33.dxe5 Bc4 34.f4 

Opening the way for White's Rook to travel to the h-file.

34...d6 35.Re3 dxe5 36.Rxh3 Bxa2 37.Rh8+ Bg8 38.Rhxg8 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Annoying GMHikaruOnTwitch

Some variations in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can benefit from whatever light a Grandmaster can shine upon them. Below, GM Hikaru Nakamura shares his experiences.

GMHikaruOnTwitch - GM_xAhmedx

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 d6

The silicon or annoying defense, so-called because computer programs like it - and it can be particularly annoying for White. While returning a piece, Black's King is allowed to hang out in his advanced position, while forcing him back does not seem to do much damage to the defender. In the meantime, White has to take steps to be able to castle Kingside, while Black's two Bishops can cause problems.

8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3 

The best move, according to Stockfish 13, is the uncomfortable 9.Qh3+. Even if White manages to subsequently capture the enemy e-pawn, it doesn't help much.

White has also tried 

9.d3 Nf6 10.Qh4 h6 11.Nd2 g5 12.Qg3 Bd7 13.Nf3 Rg8 14.Qxe5+ Kf7 15.Qxc5 b6 16.Qc4+ Kg7 17.O-O c5 18.Nxg5 hxg5 19.Bxg5 Rf8 20.e5 Black resigned, GMHikaruOnTwitch - Romanov205, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2021; and 

9.b4 Nf6 10.Qg5 Bf2+ 11.Kf1 Bb6 12.Bb2 Rf8 13.Qxe5+ Kf7 14.d4 Kg8 15.Ke1 Re8 16.Qg3 Nxe4 17.Kd1 Nxg3 White resigned, MVM2008 - GMHikaruOnTwitch, 3 0 blitz, Chess.com,  2021.

9...Nf6 10.Qf5+ Kf7 11.Qxe5 Bf2+ 

Like I said: annoying.

12.Kf1 Bd4 13.Qf4 Kg6 

A bit of a tease. If need be, Black can soon castle-by-hand.

14.Ke1 

White could be a bit more aggressive with 14.Qh4, but after 14...Rf8 15.Ke1 h6 16.d3 Kh7 his own King is the one that is uncomfortable.

14...Re8 

The "Jerome pawns", often a dynamic factor on White's behalf, are now stifled.

The following moves, however, show that Black is not quite sure how to take advantage of his advantage.

15.d3 Ng4 16.Rf1 Be6 17.Qg3 c6 18.h3 Qa5 19.Bd2 Qe5 

 20.Rf4

White's best, according to Stockfish 13, was to enter the wild complications after 20.Bf4 Bxc3+ 21.Ke2 Bxb2 22.Bxe5 Bxe5 23.Qe1 Bxa1 24.Qxa1 Nf6 when he would have a Queen and a pawn against a Rook, Bishop and Knight; but he would have play against the Black King, e.g. 25.e5 Nd7 26.Qd4 Nxe5 27.Qe4+ Kh6 28.Kd2 Nd7 29.Qh4+ Kg6 30.Qe4+ with a draw by repetition.

20...Bf2+ 21.Qxf2 Nxf2 22.Kxf2 Rf8 23.g3 Bxh3 24.Ne2 Qxb2 25.Bc3 Qxc2 26.Ke3 Rad8 White resigned