Jerome Gambit: More Wandering

It is worth repeating

One criticism of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that White's Queen is developed too early and moved too often. Time and again, though, White keeps things together and succeeds.

Blitz time controls sharpen play: can the defender get counterplay before the attacker's Queen turns the tables?

DylanYuIM - Cafe12

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qf5+ 

White does not want to exchange Queens, but that might have been the wiser choice.

9...Ke8

10.O-O d6 11.Qb5+ c6 12.Qb3 

White's Queen's travels are reminiscent of the recent game angelcamina - Baronvontotterkind, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2022 (1-0, 36)

12...Nf6 13.d3 h6 

Black is careful to prevent the thematic Bg5.

14.Nc3 Rb8 

Careful. He was also able to play 14...Be6.

15.Be3 b6 16.f4 Be6 17.Qa3 Ng4 

Having secured his Queenside, Black looks to attack White's King.

18.Bd2 Rf8 19.f5 Qh4 

Reminder, this is a 3-minute blitz game. Such attacks sometimes work. DylanYuIM is not intimidated; he has an attack of his own.

20.h3 N6e5 21.Qxd6 Kf7 22.Qxe6 checkmate