Jerome Gambit for Dummies 2.0 (Part 4)

                                                  

[continued from the previous post]

5.Nxe5+

This is the third Critical Position.

Black's most frequent response is the logical 5...Nxe5 (more than 95% of the time, according to The Database), but he has alternatives in 5...Ke8 and 5...Ke7 and 5...Kf8. 

The first of these "others" leads to an odd, somewhat quiet, unplayed line that is about even. It was first mentioned on this blog in "You, too, can add to Jerome Gambit theory" and later in "Jerome Gambit Secret #3": 5...Ke8 6.Nxc6 Qh4 (still a novelty) 7.d4 Qxe4+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Kxe2 Bb6 10.Nb4 Bxd4 11.Nd5 Kd8. White can try for something with 12.Bg5+ and 13.c3.

Instead, the twin games Hultgren - Harrow, SVE cup, Campbell, CA, 1960 and Blackstone - Dommeyer, skittles, Campbell, CA 1960 continued in a more Jerome-like manner after 5...Ke8 with 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qf6+ 9.Nf4+ Kd8 10.d3 d6 11.Rf1 Qd4+ 12.Be3 Qf6 13.c3 Black resigned. Black missed the stronger defense starting with 8...Nf6, when White seems just about to get things together at several points, but never does: 9.Qh4 Rg8 10.Rf1 Rxg6 11.Kg1 d5 12.d3 dxe4 13.Bg5 Qd4+ 14.Kh1 Ng4 15.Nc3 e3 16.Rae1Nf2+ 18.Kg1 Nh3+ 19.gxh3 Qg7 20.Qh5 h6 21.Rxe3 Kd7 22.Ne4 Rxg5+ 23.Nxg5 hxg5 24.Rf1 Rh8 25.Qe2 Qh7 26.Re1 Nd4 27.Qf1 Bxh3 28.Qf6 Nc6 29.Rg3 Kc8 30.Rxg5 Bd7 31.Re2 - interesting enough that I could go on another 20 moves, but you get the idea.    

The second alternative, 5...Ke7, is insufficient and can be dispatched in typical Jerome Gambit manner after 6.Qh5, as we recently saw in NN - Pokimane-bot, Chess.com, 2022 (1-0, 21).

The last of these "others", 5...Kf8, is a respected defense going back to Jerome - Brownson, Iowa 1875 (1/2-1/2, 29). An early look on this blog, "Critical Line: 5...Kf8 (1, 2, 3 and Revisited), remains relevant today.

By the way, the thematic and optimistic Banks Variation, 5...Kf8 6.Qh5, (see "Jerome Gambit and Vlad Tepes..." and "Jerome Gambit, Vlad Tepes... and Garlic!") is tempting, but Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's 6.Nxc6 is best.

5...Nxe5This is the fourth Critical Position.

White follows up with 6.Qh5+ (scoring 58%) about four times as often as he plays 6.d4 (scoring 56%).

[to be continued]