Jerome Gambit: What Makes A Game A Jerome?

The Jerome Gambit family of openings is extensive. But what, exactly, makes a game a Jerome or Jerome-ish?

Is it from the Italian Game stem, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 ?

Is it the sacrifice of a Bishop on f7?

Is it the attacking Queen that races to h5?

Is it the material imbalance of a couple of pawns for a piece or two?

Is it the disorientation that the defender feels, so that many times he defends well - until suddenly he doesn't?

Yury V. Bukayev sent me the following game which features a couple of top grandmasters and meets three of the above criteria.

Wang, Hao - Giri, Anish

Beijing FIDE GP. 2013

1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 

This is the Philidor Defense, Hanham variation, reached by a modern move order.

I don't think tht GM Giri had played this defense before. He had played against it a few months earlier, in Giri,A - Driessens,P, Netherlands 2013 (1-0, 27), where play took a completely different turn with 5.g4!?

5... exd4 6.Qxd4 Be7 7.Bxf7+ 

Well, this had to be annoying.

Surely, in his opening preparations, GM Giri had noticed this sacrifice, as well as a reasonable response to it.

The problem with facing this kind of attack (and Jerome and Jerome-ish attacks) is a bit like carrying a heavy weight. Sure, you can move it a short distance. But, what happens if you have to carry it for a long time, across a long distance? Slips and falls can happen.

GM Wang is ready to provide the tactical pressure and fireworks.

7...Kxf7 

Just like with the Jerome Gambit, it is possible - but not advantageous - to decline the sacrifice, e.g. 7...Kf8 8.Bc4 c5 9.Qd1 Ne5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8+ Bxd8 12.Be3 b6 13.O-O-O Be7 14.f3 a6 15.a4 h6 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Rb8 18.f4 Bb7 19.fxe5 Ke8 20.Rhf1 Rf8 21.Rxf8+ Bxf8 22.Rf1 Be7 23.c4 Ba8 24.Kc2 Bb7 25.Bf4 Ba8 26.g4 Bb7 27.e6 Bxd5 28.cxd5 Rd8 29.Bc7 Black resigned, Grgic,S - Vujcic,T, Zadar 1999. 

8.Ng5+ Ke8 

The first example that I can find of the Bishop sacrifice was in Rodriguez Camio,A - Wexler,B, Rosario, 1952, which continued 8...Kg6 9.f4 Ne5 10.O-O Nfg4 11.f5+ Kh5 12.Nf3 g5 13.Nd5 Rg8 14.Qc3 Kh6 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.f6 Bf8 17.h4 Kg6 18.Bxg5 Kf7 19.Nxc7 Rb8 20.Rad1 b5 21.Qb3+ Nc4 22.Nd5 h6 23.Qf3 Ne5 24.Qh5+ Rg6 25.Rf5 Bb7 26.Be3 Bxd5 27.Rxd5 Ng4 28.Bd4 Qa5 29.Rf1 Qc7 30.c3 Qc8 31.Rxb5 Rxb5 32.Qxb5 Qe6 33.Qb7+ Kg8 34.h5 Rg5 35.f7+ Kh7 36.Qa8 Qe7 37.Qxa7? White Resigned

9.Ne6 c5 10.Qd1 Qb6 

11.Nxg7+ Kf7 12.Nf5 Bf8 13.O-O 

White has 2 pawns for his sacrificed piece, as well as a safer King. At 30 ply, Stockfish 15 rates this position as "0.00" - exactly even. So, White clearly has compensation for his material.

13...d5 

Thematic, but not absolutely necessary. Later in the year Horvath,I - Berkes,F, Gyula, 2013 (0-1, 23) saw 13...Rg8.

14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5+ Ke8 

If GM Giri had been familiar with the Jerome Gambit, he might have seen 15...Qe6 with the idea of exchanging Queens and lifting his defensive burden a bit...☺

16.Bg5 Qg6 17.Rad1 Rg8 18.f4 a5 

Preparing a Rook "lift" from the Queenside to the Kingside. It will not come soon enough.

19.e5 Qxf5 20.Qxg8 Ra6 21.Rfe1 Rg6 22.e6 Black resigned

Brutal.

Black's only option to avoid checkmate is to capture the offered Queen, but after 22...Rxg8 the Queen comes back with 23.exd7+ Kf7 24.d8/Q, and White has too many open lines for attack.